"Intruder" as a product manager and entrepreneur-Luo

Unlike the regular founder of the Science and technology company, Luo, a former English teacher, is not a science student, aggressive, and special "things", after he announced the mobile phone, the network is full of controversy and disdain. And how exactly can intruder Luo play the role of product manager and entrepreneur? Successful surrender of his work, this article will give up the argument of saliva, efforts to restore his two years of machine-building road.

Few startups can connect founders and products so tightly. So if it's from this point of view, then the founder of Hammer technology company Luo must be a freak.

On the third night after the hammer phone was released, Luo finally sat down to . looks he seems relaxed. But the war was not over yet, but the battle was now won, and he was able to speak with impunity.

"A bunch of idiots. He sprayed those who could not understand him.

On May 20, this middle-aged man, known as "Old Luo," has just enjoyed a "topic dividend" about himself.

The same day, Hammer technology, the first mobile phone Smartisan T1 conference scheduled to hold. Before the opening, there were a large number of scalpers outside the market to buy and sell tickets, a lot of people do not get tickets or fans from outside the Internet to watch the conference broadcast.

In Beijing National Convention Center, nearly 5000 people came to the scene, of which 3000 people bought tickets at their own expense admission, many people from the field to fly. The press conference also broke the webcast record of technology activities--the cumulative number of visitors to watch up to 2.74 million, the highest at the same time online nearly 330,000 people. In social media, the hammer became the hot word for the night.

For many people, "old" is already a label, representing struggle, rebellion and unusual. and hammer phone, it is not those parameters, but it represents the "feelings" of old Luo.

Whether admitted or not, Luo's personal past experience is one of the core commercial values of the hammer phone. For the press conference, hammer technology cost only 1.5 million yuan, and its advertising effect, Luo, is "at least worth 100 million".

The conference is naturally a result of careful design. On the stage, Luo, like his idol, Apple founder Steve Jobs, used a theatrical style: minimalist PowerPoint was projected onto the big screen, with stage lights and elegant curtains, Luo wearing t-shirts and talking for two hours a person. Unlike in the past, this conference he deliberately convergence do not use jokes to adjust the atmosphere, because he will avoid the "crosstalk actor" identity.

My colleague reminded me that I am now an entrepreneur. "Luo said.

Motorola

If Luo was sitting across the street in his iconic black shirt, you'd be mistaken for Motorola's office.

"How to improve meeting efficiency" is posted on the office wall, and Motorola's bat logo looms; in the elevator, a black sticker covering the entire elevator door reminds you that "when you speak, beware of someone Listening", signed by Motorola.

The intense entrepreneurial life of the past year has left him with no time to change the traces of his former owner. "Not even a carpet change. "Luo said.

For many of the hardware engineers of hammer technology, these traces are very warm, because many of them are from previous Motorola's mobile phone division. The company was a pioneer in the era of functional mobile phones, but a loser in the smartphone age. Motorola Mobile was first sold to the internet giant, Google, and later sold to Lenovo Group in China.

"There is no century-old shop in the technology industry. "Luo said," When the apple is mobile phone, Nokia, Motorola's people laugh like, the result of the iphone came out all scared silly, too good, revolutionary. ”

However, the office location of the Motorola building is not a deliberate result, only because the hammer technology before the office rent than the current 30% more expensive.

"Many engineers used to work in motorcycles, the home is nearby, if you want to go to work in Zhongguancun, psychological costs will be higher." "Luo now likes to put the" cost "on the tip of the tongue. He has been a number of jobs for the past two years, but his favorite product managers and "career speakers".

He admits that he is good at grasping human nature, and uncertain technology, the mobile phone industry technology is highly modular mature technology. "I believe the money will be done." ”

Of course, everything is not so easy, and he is not a rich man.

After releasing the Smartisan OS ROM product last year, he needed to find a CTO to help him with the hardware.

Luo made the worst of it, and if the hammer technology could not handle itself, do the OEM--is the Shenzhen manufacturer to a development program, they try to improve on this basis, and finally launched a reluctantly mobile phone, first sell a year, and then launch a better one another year, may be to the third generation, The fourth generation of products can have a better foundation. But that would take a long time.

For more than 40-year-old men, time is not well-off. Fortunately, after a friend introduced, Luo found his target-Chang.

At this year's press conference, Luo briefed the audience on the background of Chang. He worked as a senior engineering manager at Motorola, and was one of Motorola's three hardware research and development executives in China, and one of the other Zhou Guanping joined the Millet as Vice president. After leaving Motorola, Chang joined Marvell as hardware director.

Chang Buroyon a vast teenager. He experienced the golden age of Motorola, but in the ups and downs of the disappointment, even unwilling to return to the mobile phone industry. Half a year, Luo find Chang many times, each Chang are very enthusiastic, help him advice, find resources, introduce friends. But every time mentioned to him to come out to do, Chang lol, "are nearing retirement, I will not do."

Before the ROM was released last year, Luo found Chang and introduced his products to him in advance. To this end, he prepared a PPT, prepared the animation and interactive program, there are a few apps, in Chang's office, Luo said two hours, with the conference on the different, he did not use any speech skills, just put all the points introduced again, Chang did not think Luo is really a heart to do things. He used to think I was light, now a look at the product has ideas, and then was moved, anyway it is not easy, there are luck ingredients. "Luo said.

That night, Luo asked Chang's opinion. Chang said, ask their opinion. They actually refer to his old men, and that means the Don has to loosen up. From the next day, Luo daily reminders. Finally, Chang's old men were willing to work with him on the phone. Those people didn't trust Luo at first, nor did they know what hammer technology was all about, but the boss wanted to do it together. "He is the mobile phone industry in the name of a banner, all his old subordinates, a few with him to go to the Marvell chip, the rest are scattered to the company, and then he calls, the hula is all seated." ”

The hardware team basically did not make the company's human resources system laborious. Luo said, "You want to experience the backbone of the motorcycle engineers, are the elite, ran to a small factory in Shenzhen there to do mobile phones, the whole people feel that the boss colleagues are stupid, depressed mood." As a result, Chang, they all rejoiced. ”

Last May, Chang officially joined Hammer technology. With the addition of a hardware leader and a team, this is critical to the development of Luo and hammer technology, "I have no technical background, I find a reliable CTO, which for me is to solve half of our company." In July, Hammer technology moved to Wangjing, the original Motorola building.

Middle

Although the "feelings" of the commercial label, but only Luo know, how hard these two words.

He spent a lot of effort on the UI interface, animation smooth and graceful, which made the front-end engineers extremely "painful." For example, the nine Sudoku desktop after the unlock will have a wind-blown jitter animation effect. His engineers were forced to adjust the accuracy of the animation in milliseconds. "He is not sensitive to this, also not interested, you force him to adjust every day, one months of this thing, the engineers are set to spit blood." "To do nine Sudoku each plate of the blowing effect is comfortable, Luo himself to trial one hundred or two hundred times." This is a pure perceptual thing, through personal subjective to feel. When he was satisfied and then to the design staff to find fault, finally can not pick out to pass.

Engineers did not like their products at first, while cursing and developing, and sometimes feel that the unreliable boss does not know which day to carry. And Luo think that this is two kinds of people, they can not understand, to them are all white talk. The brain residue looked at the demo and screamed, the engineer thought it was brainwashed into a cult. When the product came online, they found that outsiders would be thrilled by a particularly insignificant little animation. After a while, the boast of more people will be complacent, this is what they do. Then use, and then use other mobile phone when the engineering machine will feel that other mobile phone is not good.

The industrial design of mobile hardware, hammer technology found the world's leading design company ammunition to design mobile phone appearance for T1. In the process of doing business, Luo to understand a problem, why some companies know the importance of design, but in the mobile phone hardware industrial design will appear some difficult to see things. "The boss does not know the design, the enterprise is no solution." If I sell fire, maybe many manufacturers to find ammunition, in fact, can not solve the problem. "And ammunition has an exclusive deal with hammer technology. Luo thinks the other party is willing to sign an agreement with them because they communicate smoothly. "To do a good thing is generally a knowledgeable party A and a cool party B sincere cooperation." ”

Luo's confidence in user experience and design comes from his own research and sensitivity, in the past he used to think about the user experience on the iphone, where he thought it would be hard to improve, and he would talk to his wife and other people, and when that happened, and as the iOS version improved and many places were revised and improved, Luo was recognized by his friends around him. "If I work at Apple, it must be a backbone product manager. "Luo said.

He thinks the hammer phone and the iphone are positioned similarly, with the main consumer groups being urban elites and middle-class people who are willing to pay for the design sense. That's why the hammer is priced at 3000 yuan. Luo stressed that he knew what the real needs of these people were.

He to rely on components to calculate the hammer mobile phone 1500 yuan cost of scorn, think that the design and workmanship is the value of the hammer; he doesn't think the hammer phone is a fan economy, think that the essence of the fan economy is from a group spread out when the dissemination will take up a little cheaper, the fan economy is suitable for selling low price goods. "Do you think Han Geng sells mobile phones? He is more famous than I am. ”

As for millet, Luo admits he will not be like lei "for cock silk service".

"Cock silk and economic conditions are not necessarily related to the attitude of life." For example, when I was poor, I would not say fry a dish, and then there are some oil stars, I will brush a little green onion to make a bowl of soup to drink. Luo said, "If jobs came along and you let him go to the cock market and lei, I bet he couldn't beat Lei, and jobs didn't know what dick liked." ”

But on the night of the press conference, he stood on stage thanking the founder and CEO of Millet company Lei. Pioneer Millet has changed the past in the mobile phone industry in the supply chain to the new entrants of the attitude, especially the background appears to be layman's entry. "Lei as a layman, stumbled into here to make it dry, leading to supply chain manufacturers to the emerging Chinese enterprises dare not underestimate, who also do not know you are not the next millet, but lei when the original do is a variety of cold, all kinds of reluctance. ”

The precedent of millet also let the relevant manufacturers focus on the market, such as Fujitsu, Sharp and so on. May 2012, Hammer technology in Zhongguancun hang out the brand, July, Sharp has someone to promote the LCD panel. Just opened, the Office of only 5 people hammer technology company "flattered", at that time, no one is understand hardware.

Luo asked the other party why they think the hammer will now buy the LCD panel? The other side didn't think the hammer could buy it right away, first came to establish a contact to make a friend. Before because of the lack of attention to millet, sharp China was criticized by headquarters, if the start does not establish good relations, the back is difficult to do.

But not every manufacturer will take the initiative to come to the door, and long-term supply chain management also need knowledgeable people run every day. A small screw 3 cents or 5 cents, for the first Luo of the industry, "very cheap", according to Luo's character, he will not grind and grind chirp, but hundreds of thousands of of the total order volume down, so regardless of cost will ultimately cost out of control. To that end, Chang a former partner who had been in the supply chain for 15 years at Motorola to head the supply chain.

Spent about half a year, supply chain supervisor to Luo set up the concept, no longer is careless think a component plus a 2 U.S. dollars also 12 yuan even to Riga, Luo now hear components to increase a few cents yuan will "ears pricked up."

For the supply chain to control costs, "regardless of these, there is no profit margin." Profit is always important to us, because we are to do quality, do quality words without profit margin is a vicious circle, there is a virtuous circle of profit margin. Apple, for example, has a high profit margin to develop things that all manufacturers are afraid to do. "Luo said. And after cost calculation, hammer technology mobile phone pricing in 3000 yuan, to ensure that the final profit is acceptable.

"Crosstalk actor"

For Luo, too high-profile brought marketing and attention, but also more or less overdrawn his true side.

Last year, a round of financing, Luo with ROM finally received 70 million yuan financing, of which the purple-FAI venture investment 40 million. Zhenggang is also a stranger to the investors, but also a digital enthusiast. It was yantan as Luo's friend and angel investor who recommended the hammer to Zhenggang. Under the purple glow, there are also some individuals who have been pitching.

In Zhenggang's eyes, "Old Luo is very original ecology, and speaks humorous straight stab a sore spot." But in the eyes of other investors, Luo is a "hot potato". His growing background is quite different from the typical technology and leadership entrepreneurs familiar with the history and venture capitalists.

Ordinary people think that the founder of a High-tech enterprise at least have a technical degree or long time to soak up a large company senior management experience, and the old Luo is not. "His personal characteristics lead him to speak and do things that do not cater to the needs of the capital, you do not listen to me is stupid means that the general investors listen to a certain heart has a big rebound." Zhenggang said, "Although I will also have a whisper, but I judge that this is the reality of the distortion field of talent may be the things he described. ”

At the end of March this year, hammer technology completed the B round of 180 million yuan financing. Prior to this round of financing, Luo was arranged for a more than 50-day intensive period to concentrate on the job to find investment in the business.

For a mobile phone priced at thousands of yuan, mass production requires a larger capital entry. Back to look at that time, Hammer technology company's highest single monthly expenditure is 150 million yuan, if the money can not be taken out, it is necessary to cut production capacity or production at the time of the start, the impact is great. According to the scheduling plan, Luo to get the money anyway.

The hammer's shareholder introduced a financial consultancy firm to Luo, and in more than 50 days, forty or fifty venture capitalists were arranged to meet Luo to talk about investment. Sometimes more than one day, many families also talk about two to three rounds.

"Some of them are not suitable for a pat two scattered, and some talk about a temper, he said we have a boss in Hong Kong, next week to talk about, and then talk about the second." After the second one, there was a meeting in Singapore, or a video conference call, and another time, and the third round of talks collapsed. It's a waste of time, but you can't. Luo said, "Most business owners, they do not do product managers, his main job is that, to me that as far as possible to let me worry less, have rushed to the product, but the company and no one can finance for me." ”

In the eyes of Luo, like many people on the internet do not see him as a mobile phone, the majority of investors can not understand, do not understand them. Some of the people he spoke to could not understand his specific plan, but understood his business logic. There is also a class that can not understand the specific plan, the business logic of his also completely do not understand.

"I am very aggressive, I want to see a fool especially impatient, sometimes he told me 1.5 hours in the process of asking three questions, all the questions are not on the point, a listen to know." "Luo cited an example of investors," I first put the importance of the design for 30 minutes, this idiot picked up the phone, the desktop of his own a Samsung mobile phone, he is a middle-aged, ask the side of those assistants, will someone because of the design satisfaction and buy a mobile phone? " Luo explained, "Statistics show that when the general public buys a mobile phone, more than 50% of the reason is the appearance, then the software these things." "The other side heard that it was impossible, and then asked whether some of his assistants will buy a mobile phone because of the appearance."

Luo to hear this special collapse. "The eldest brother spoke, has already preset the position, those several assistants dare to say?" They smiled awkwardly. The old man gave me a happy say see it, no one will buy a mobile phone because of the appearance. "In this situation, he felt no need to talk about it, this time should end." But it is awkward, about two hours, now talk about 15 minutes, and can not immediately leave the field.

Luo, who prefers to make products and is not keen on finding investment, describes the more than 50 days as a nightmare, "that's half the Fool." Better than these is to understand his plan, but can understand business logic, a bit interested in the hammer, ask some questions. Encounter this kind of communication, Luo feel, "this kind of person finally did not vote I am very happy, I and the intelligence normal person has made the exchange." ”

Of all the investors who met, about 20% were interested in hammer technology, and Luo felt they understood everything and asked for it, but internal resistance accounted for the vast majority. There are two or three partners who are optimistic and feel the need to do so, but the internal vote failed, and it turns out that the investment committee five people voted 2:3 failed and ultimately did not succeed.

For Luo, the intruder who makes mobile phones, some investors, although understood his idea, but also to his friends expressed worries and concerns: "The vote of the old here in case of failure will become the butt of investment circle, be peer said silly crosstalk actors do mobile phones are cast, your eyes blind?!"

Fortunately, the financing smoothly in place, then the output of mobile phones, Luo feel that the future refinancing can rely on performance talk. If the other person asked why the mobile phone to do so, Luo think you see the performance is good, and do not make false accounts.

After the press conference, some investors who had not been bullish on hammer technology once again contacted Luo. They changed their minds through press conferences and online speech videos, plus feedback from viewers and netizens.

Luo think this is sad, because he felt that on the stage have been told to the investors face-to-face, but the other side "indifferent, not he has a judgment, they do not judge." They also wondered, closed the door to also discuss didn't feel how ah. They are all like this, with little judgment. " After seeing a circle with an investor, Luo concludes: "These people actually look at the scenery, with a large sum of money cast to cast, the bones are professional managers, he is very concerned about the next job in the career is not easy to find, VC, like any group, we say that the investment community what smart people together, no matter, is also 80% of the Idiot, 20% Elite, all the same. ”

In the end, the hammer technology introduced several new investors, and the old shareholders also voted. With the investment circle, product manager Thinking of the Luo think, "This circle is really wordy, but these are not my concern, I am focused on products, I hope that the money does not care, so behind the words we only sell good, these are not a problem, but I am very tired." ”

Entrepreneur Old

After the press conference that evening, Luo saw his microblog, he was very concerned about the public response. He posted a 1 million-yuan microblog for the OpenSSL foundation in three minutes forwarding the break, reaching more than 30,000 before bedtime, and forwarding more than 40,000 the next morning. At the end of the conference, many colleagues spontaneously organized the celebration, and the whole field of Luo feel very tired, back to the hotel room after looking at the micro-blog evaluation is still more satisfied, then "fainted" passed.

After sleeping for 9 hours, Luo thought "everything is perfect". Afternoon to the company, the release of the rest of the company's mood is very hi. Luo the two floors and greeted all the people. Originally wanted to give staff to continue to cheer, the results found that no encouragement, employees feel that this is a start.

Unlike other vendors ' free bookings, hammer technology uses a 300 dollar advance to order mobile phones. On the internet, within a day, the hammer phone book volume of more than 30,000, two days close to 50,000 units, so that about 15 million cash, including the full payment of subscribers. The goal of Hammer technology in 2014 is to draw two hundred thousand or three hundred thousand units of sales, and more than 500,000 will make a huge profit.

In the absence of a trial experience of hardware, consumers rely solely on Luo's briefing, or on the hammer technology that was launched last year by the hammer Rom and Luo personal Trust, to achieve such results, Luo very satisfied. Compared to last year's launch, this year's preparation and performance is better than this. His best friend and angel investor, Yantan, played 85 points on his performance.

After the hammer, a lot of social public topics, Luo will not participate. In the past his personality, may be mixed to express opinions, and even scold his netizens to scold, but now his colleagues will remind him so bad, have to exercise restraint. "I particularly hate to quarrel with people on the Internet, if I can sell more than one point, for example, sold 10 million or so, I simply put the micro Bo off, do not speak, I have money to play ads, the internet I pay to do marketing promotion, why a boss out to quarrel with you to communicate, to understand people repeatedly said not necessary. ”

The Luo in the past looked down on the entrepreneur's sense of responsibility, he felt "very loaded", and now he found that some things happened after the natural. Weekend employees come over to work overtime, their other half also followed, when he found that there are five or six pairs of such, male in programming, girlfriend or lover to watch the magazine with him overtime, that moment Luo feel he to this group of people have responsibility. "It's not a pretend force. And I'm not saying how sensitive I am, or how much humanistic care is going to happen. Especially the hardware team, the age is big, the child has. If the company is yellow, it will make hundreds of families face the problem of re-employment. ”

After the success of the conference, Luo only sent a pep mail to all the staff. His employees want to find a hall, more than 300 people gather together, listen to the old Luo again to blow cattle, as an internal welfare. But he felt he could not open his mouth to his own people.

In fact, before the press conference, he also felt the pressure of Alexander, extremely nervous. This year's speech was a simple rehearsal for the afternoon, compared with a rehearsal for the release of the Rom last year. Back in the room, he kept looking at PPT until 15 minutes before the opening, and his hands and feet were all numb. Before the stage, he kept deep breathing in the background, as well as stretching exercises, various pitching movements to ease the tension. When it was time to go up, the National Convention Center staff told him to go up 10 minutes late, Luo feel like a suspended for 10 minutes. He asked his men to run to the lounge and bring the laptop over, taking advantage of the 10 minutes to prepare two more sentences.

To his surprise, on the stage, the audience was particularly excited, the front one hundred or two hundred people have stood up and applauded him. Luo said: "These irons are not easy, these two years they have me, in fact, the heart is also hard, they are around the people scold me, their colleagues say ' silly, hammer is what mobile phone, old Luo not big cheat? ' So it's hard for my people. His wife was also sitting under the stage, Leng, and then stood up. It would be strange for her to sit alone because she stood up. It was as if a group of people with common ideals was celebrating the birth of their ideas.

Just said three, out of "professional speaker" self-confidence, Luo feel no need to worry about, basically completed. Because more preparation time than last year, plus the opening of the relaxation, you can coherent to go on. Luo on the stage vaguely feel: this thing became.