The Business Journal’s annual report on young entrepreneurs, some of whom entered the working world while in their teens.

For James Requa, the road to starting a business went through China.

Requa, 24, became fascinated with all things China when he was in prep school on the East Coast. He had fallen in love with a girl from China, and after graduation, Requa decided against his parents’ wishes to study in China.

“My parents didn’t think I had a coherent plan, but what I really wanted was to have a fascinating adventure,” Requa said.

He went to China’s Sichuan province, the home of his girlfriend Xiaochan Liu’s family. While attending a university there, Requa used his English skills to consult for some local companies. He also had several conversations about going into business together with his girlfriend’s brother, Yong Liu, also 24.

But Requa’s girlfriend decided to enroll at Pepperdine University. So he returned to the United States; the two soon married. Requa enrolled at USC and took courses in the entrepreneur program.

In 2006, Requa and Yong Liu launched an import-export company, called HRL Technologies, with Yong Liu running operations in China and Requa in charge of the overall company in the states. They received some initial funding from a few angel investors and from Requa’s wife’s family. Their first product was a mobile phone charger that could power cell phones from different manufacturers.

But, Requa said, the growth opportunity for the charger was limited, especially once giant companies got into the game. So, Requa and Liu shifted into voice- and speech-recognition technology, primarily for cell phones. They teamed up with researchers at China’s Tsinghua University to develop and market a cell phone-size device to deliver speech-recognition hardware and software, especially in the United States.

The next project: setting up a division to help U.S. companies find manufacturing partners in China. This effort grew out of Requa’s help for a USC classmate who was looking for a factory in China to make skateboards.

Like most entrepreneurs, one of his greatest challenges is hiring the right people. He’s also had difficulty raising money in recent months.

“It means I can’t grow the company as aggressively as we initially wanted, though we’re still profitable,” Requa said.

He also finds it a struggle to find time to spend with his wife.

“Luckily since we’re both in our 20s, we have a shared understanding that now is the time to take advantage of our youthful energy to focus more on building our careers,” Requa said.

FAST FACTS:

– James Requa, 24, chief executive, HRL Technologies, Los Angeles

– Business: Import-export, primarily speech-recognition hardware and software;

helping U.S. companies source manufacturing facilities in China

– Employees: 9, including several in China

– Financials: 2008 revenue $500,000; small profit