Sum up everyone's windmill network CEO's entrepreneurial failure experience

Editor's note: The author of this article was on Facebook for Pinterest Pinterest, the CEO of Pinterest Pinterest, a social network operated by Renren.com, and he was on the high profile on March 20, 2012, until May 2012 On the 17th, the team was dissolved and the windmill network only experienced less than two months.

And this includes the author's experience in a number of companies such as Baidu, everyone, and also includes a lesson in the blood of entrepreneurship within the company, I think both for Internet practitioners or you are on the road to entrepreneurship, should have a very Positive reference. And we spent more than four hours time in the text in the PDF sorted out, I hope we can help, if the text is wrong, please entertain us.

Primer

In April of last year, for various reasons, I left Baidu that I did for 4 years. In fact, I had never thought of starting an undertaking or starting an internal business because at that time, like many managers of Baidu Technology, I was tired of various system architectures and coordination, and also tired of working with a group of fucking PM, hoping I can do my own favorite things. So after leaving Baidu entered a social game company, this time HR HR found me, that is, high-level hope to meet understanding, the results of an interview in the past, began to let me past the product responsible for rice and technology, I refuse (Not do not like to buy, these products are too much like, sticky rice at that time is half a pm part-time), and then there are individuals and eLong's joint venture internal venture "windmill" (started to call dragonfly, and later due to some The reason to retain the dragonfly, let us find another domain name, I found a windmill), the direction of travel, feel good, and everyone is about to go public, it passed.

Now think about it, a word especially to have a feeling, that is: choose more than effort. Whether college students looking for a job, is a job change for a variety of reasons, or a friend with a business start, cautious choice, choose reliable company, choose reliable products, choose reliable managers and partners, choose flyy boss, Spend more time and understanding, to avoid many detours. I just embarked on such a detour.

However, success and failure have their own income, is to correctly face. For my personal development, this detour is still very rewarding. If you sum up the precipitation, but also can become a kind of experience. As a discount store, Zhou Zhiqing and I said: Mrs. Chen to help you start a business failure to pay, give you a salary, this venture you actually earned.

I do not really like people who write memoirs, do not intend to write a record bloody record of entrepreneurship bit by bit. Write some ideas, and share with good friends, but also to help themselves precipitation. Do not be too serious about these things. After all, what you learn from the failures of others will be very limited and very shallow. A lot of reason is very simple and very simple.

1, do not first gentleman, after the villain

Tsinghua graduate school, with a few friends, a business, do telecommunications equipment providers (VoIP signaling monitor). A system can sell 38 million -45 million, the cost is only 2-3 million, the development is not bad, and then many manufacturers, including Huawei have also entered this area. However, these external factors did not destroy us, but several founders began infighting, CEO of telecommunications customers in Europe to eat and drink, and no list out; CTO think I also sold 2 units, can be done alone; part-time to do The hardware founder think you engage in the company sooner or later finished, and quickly cash withdrawn.

Finally, start-up yellow, brothers meet each other. When you think about starting a world of enthusiasm to fight the world together, everyone is a gentleman, saying you can not pay. Instead of a Title, you pay for the shares yourself, but after a little bit of improvement, you start counting and calculating each other.

Internal entrepreneurship, looking at fresh, rich resources and support, but the actual difficulty is very difficult to do, the success rate of internal entrepreneurship should be no external entrepreneurship. Do not be too optimistic at first, do not be too verbal promises, fight for more, come down with more realistic written things.

Entrepreneurship within the company, internal cooperation is the key, but also the most difficult place. Therefore, we usually draw some staff from various departments to this team (there are also many junk people kicked here). In this way, the cooperation on the ground floor will be smoother and on the other hand, it will also help to pass on the corporate culture. However, at first he did not realize this issue. When the boss introduces the project and team members to the head of each parallel team, the head of each department will dig their voices: welcoming together to seize the commanding height of the Internet, brothers and siblings also support you. In fact, this is not to say to you, that is to say to the boss.

Wait until the specific cooperation of the things, the general statement: This thing is not our KPI; you need to prepare in advance throughout the year plan, which is related to us, need to approve the boss; our products also want to support, but RD people not enough; we There is no problem with RD support, but you need to negotiate a schedule with your project manager and confirm your needs with the product. You often say that the company attaches great importance to this new business, he said that our department is indeed very ...

Therefore, in many companies are executives directly grasp the innovation project said the early incubation and resource coordination (I and the boss wrote a detailed introduction, the boss very government replied: Good point! We will study it. If not, You can get those resources up and running right from the start, what are the enhancements you need at the systems and technology level, how much inventory each quarter of your inventory offers, what kind of support BD needs to get in. Start off and get down to business.

2, find a reliable boss

Recently a very popular Internet company to find me, I hope I passed, I hesitated for a while, and finally gave up. To be honest, I am more afraid of the kind, business was acquired, and then make a big company to do high camp's head. Not to say that this does not fly, is my own snake once bitten, ten years afraid of the rope.

Inter-departmental cooperation with the company, although more complex, but well managed or very good coordination (I Baidu wrote two articles with the internal experience, and now Baidu can also search within the network, interested students can find me). But the most difficult, or venture project, plainly, you do not have the resources, rely on promise and flicker, no one 屌 you. To support you, in addition to the resources of the past, the newly established relationship, the most effective or your boss. Whether your boss and your feng ge is match, actively seeking resources for you, whether optimistic about this new direction is to be studied, whether the long-term plans and plans. If your boss directly as a product manager or development manager or forget it.

The product manager talked to the boss many times before he was forced to leave, but later left. After leaving, the boss said to me: Xiaofeng, you are new to this universal product is to steal the idea of ​​others, you and the product director's problem does not seem to be your feedback, I will arrange for these people to investigate, but I Now too busy, no time to engage in this matter, since the new product direction has been identified, you are full speed ahead, do it!

I am from this time began to lose faith in all networks, but also that bitten by the snake. Management has a basic principle Doubtless people, employers do not doubt. You do not understand this principle of management, but you should at least know that human beings do not even say anything suspicious. Investigate and understand first, pro!

There is a very senior director of personal network, chatting with me, she said a word, let me a little wake-up: internal business, you must first think clearly what the boss, not what your users want. These words are not necessarily theoretically correct, but definitely have real meaning.

Baidu library began in March 11, due to various reasons (the new point of interest to PM, copyright issues), began to do electronic payment reading direction. This time I was very much opposed, but I left in April. Later, Baidu also acquired the sweet potatoes that had been unable to pay wages. By the beginning of 12, it completely abandoned the team business. Well, we need to think about what is the hope of Baidu's library on the library? What is the hope for a bunch of new products? Do you want to earn 200,000 a month or do you want to make up for the web search? Who has. So paste it to do Peas, open space for access to the game, the library had to end the book to sell books. However, the situation of Baidu game is different, the boss of your position is to earn some money, engage in exclusive agency to do the brand of face to do is contrary to the original intention.

Well, as a joint project between everyone and eLong, we need to understand the students in the board and what they need. Let's start with eLong, eLong is a traditional OTA company, the boss used to sell sanitary napkins (which is not ironic, P & G's management is very good, the business is really good), his hope for dragonflies Only one: the use of everyone's traffic, product sales, so the windmills will be able to make money next month. The same product in the glutinous rice travel channel, go.qq.com (do not know still do not know), the former is very Match the demand for art dragon, also be able to sell 2.4 to 3 million rooms per month, which Tencent did not put into the promotion of resources, Estimated that will end up withdrawing. Therefore, the concept of social tourism, eLong sounds, it is estimated that the same and slowly fermenting the same stool. We look at Mrs. Chen, he actually in fact, this thing from the community, the need to operate, spend money will smash this truth, so he more partial Internet a little bit. But in the face of the capital market pressure that dropped from $ 20 to $ 3, the old lady often said that I gave you 1 million people and core users in the past. Can this product be made by itself? 1 do not want money, I want He is anxiously out of production, anxiously famous (do not listen to a person shouting realism slogan, depending on a person chasing fame and fortune).

3, treat your subordinates

Whether it is business or internal business, to be willing and willing to follow your men clearly understand the opportunities at the same time, make it clear that the risk. If not, your greatest guilt must have been to those brothers who followed you.

10 years I set up Baidu Japan IS technical team, many of my classmates are my "flicker" in the past, although I did my best, but after all, I also mud Buddha. October 10, Baidu decently shut down the Japanese business, this is my life's most suffering moment, I think I will always remember to spend three months to set up a 30-person technical team, spend three months to create a star team, and then spend 3 months away from each of the brothers and sisters. Not because of anything else, because of guilt because they did not explain the risk to them (or did not see the risk themselves). I still remember every one of them, everyone's eyes.

Later, to everyone, I have been able to clearly see the danger, so for every classmate, I have said the relevant risks. There are a few students hope to come, but also I rejected. A month before the launch of the windmill, just after the end of the year, the boss suddenly said that he would turn off the product. At that time, I was also very depressed because February was the hardest time finding a job, plus the sluggish overall IT industry in early December. Later, fighting with the boss for 3 months (5.14 did not lie to the money to disband), on-line products, financing, to the dissolution of the time in May, has been relatively calm, and find the next home has been found.

Follow my men, pay to join everyone, into the Jing'an Center workshop boiler room; follow my men, I hope to give up Baidu Offer windmill team, only because of the team atmosphere and the recognition of the product; follow me Under his men, they have several jobs and work overtime, just because the team needs them. They follow me to the end, to endure the complicated reimbursement system and disgusting internal push. I think the greatest assets in life are these friends. The windmills are, and I'm like every friend of mine, the windmills are gone, and I will help each one of them.

Recently chatted with friends, he said, Xiaofeng do you have time to sleep? I said ah, the flow of traffic I can not sleep, the traffic fell I could not sleep. A friend said that Liu Jian-guo could not sleep because the gang followed his friend and which salary cut followed his friend. In February, because it really did not go to bed for a few nights, it was better by May.

4, to live is the key to entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is getting easier and easier now. What are their own hobbies, to be a product out; do technology, what services can be done or applied out; to do the product, usually more to see the industry products, see more techcruch, have their own ideas, a Copy; Doing operations, what offline resources, open a shop or to be a traffic entrance. The low threshold is characteristic of the Internet, however, easy access also marks easy to die.

Entrepreneurship, to live is the key. You have to choose a point of direction, or your money enough for you many trial and error, may make you pay for some tuition to find the direction. Carefully plan your money how to spend each key point at what time, your money can support this time. When can we start to have income, ROI when forward. Estimate the risk at each stage and estimate the post-investment problem. Focus on user retention rates and focus on the team's rusticity and endurance.

Entrepreneurship within the company, to live is also the key. More troubling is that the internal business will face the boss's problem. In many cases, the direction of choice is not your choice, but the boss after the decision-making arrangements. So the internal business, the first is to figure out what the boss in the end, do a good job managing up is very important. If the windmill do it twice, I think I can do a better job in this area. The boss or the board does not support you, no matter how good the plan does not work.

For example. Recently contacted the traditional company, their board of directors hopes to make a breakthrough in the Internet industry, then chose the paternity of this charge, because the bosses have a child of water, think this direction more understanding, more potential, what to do Do not know them If I had to be the CEO of this project, first of all, I would understand each boss's situation, understand the approximate size of the investment, the company's expectations of the project's time (to blame, is very impatient, or peace of mind to develop it, most of them Is the former), the boss hopes this project to solve what problems he. Then I go to understand the industry's products, the case of the industry chain, the United States counterparts. Finally do some user research, if you encounter the product or operation of the industry even better. Select several entry points, do a good job of these entry point analysis (each milestone scale, human and capital investment, output, competition barriers;), for similar products, to find out the specific circumstances of each other's development Why do you still have a chance? For the products that are not in China, you should figure out why you should not do it. (Do not think of yourself as original, revealing secrets. There are definitely many people you think of or mistakes Up). The best, but also to draw simple and gorgeous main function UI design out.

To find investors mentality and preparation, to fight for a direction that you think fly (in line with the company gene, in line with the laws of the market, in line with input scale), so that they have confidence in this matter, so that they do a better long-term investment plan, Let them know that the risks are under your control, letting them know the foreground and timing of each node and gaining written support. And then find the gene in charge of the product, operations and technical person in charge, began to engage. Team formation, cultural formation, the company to sort out these relationships will not talk about the same.

In doing the process, but also to maintain good project progress reports, continue to cheer the boss, let him maintain the confidence of the project. For example, the phased progress of the project, reported out, so that the boss feel controllable; the development of similar products in the industry, reporting out, so that they see this yuan to the industry recognized; internal support, reporting out thanks, let the boss know, let Brothers and more support for important issues encountered at any time reported to let the boss know you can handle; what the key resources needed to describe clearly input-output, so that the boss is willing to cut the flesh. The boss likes the details, the material is ready to improve some; the boss likes to flatter, learn all network department manager. After all, what a big company does is also a professional manager, doing what you can control, tolerating things that you can not control, making it clear that you can control what can not be controlled, and that's the big truth.

Not for anything else, but for entrepreneurship to survive.

5, make up for lack of entrepreneurial genes

Windmill dissolution news, a lot of understanding or do not know my friends have come to comfort me, also said that why people say failure, doomed to failure or something. I would like to admit that some success is accidental business success, failure is inevitable; successful business has its commonality, the failure of a different business each; failed to learn from others failed to learn too many useful things, only their unforgettable After losing the government to understand that these are the process of growth.

Recently talked to a friend about the genetic issues as a product manager. A good product manager, who needs a personal gene that has a product of his own, is much more likely to be successful. For example, do not use forums, microblogging and Facebook people do inappropriate products in the community; students do not have 360 ​​client client is not appropriate; do not love to travel classmates do not do tourism products; children do not do parent-child products; no Retired parents and students, do not do the products of the elderly; do not love photography, do not play SLR students do not do photo album products; do not love AV, do not collect seeds of students, do mass storage products do not go to work a machine, Students from get off work a machine, do not design cloud storage products.

Here's the truth: scratch your own itch. Do products have the feeling, will use the competitor's products, analysis of strengths and weaknesses, will use their own products, and users will be hit into pieces for feedback. The same is true for Operations & Design, so my classmate who runs a business will definitely look at his Weibo account.

Entrepreneurship also has a genetic problem, this is my failure to learn. I understand that there are several types of entrepreneurs: engage in pure IT (schools, big companies, product technology students); traditional areas (media, finance, real estate, etc.); engage in operations BD, operations, marketing, small businesses before many people too). Not necessarily all.

Engage in pure IT, the idea is easy too simple, too optimistic about the market and users. Can make every good product, but it is difficult to call. Very impulsive, there is a simple idea out to do, but also may be a major event, such as Facebook's mark.

Engage in traditional, straightforward ideas, resources, and things close to money. Mostly done things are despised, but can be very moist hair small fortune. Very realistic, things are very simple and practical, such as most of the Taobao owner.

Engage in operations, the idea is more complex, more positive feedback for the market and users. More difficult to make products, tossing for a long time before people know what it is. Many of these people are hardcore players in an industry. They are rich in resources and can easily toss out various forums and organize their platforms.

Founder who determines his entrepreneurial genes directly, so the need for more complementary Co-Founder to make up (such as personality make up is another topic). Engage in IT + engage in operations, may be able to make a steady product, such as watercress, may also be a very reliable product; engage in IT + traditional, to be able to do a more just needed products, such as Jingdong; Engaged in the operation of the traditional +, can make a good industrial subsidiary products, such as Otani; If all three are good, it is very good, such as Weibo is such a product (more professional products and design , Strong media and celebrity background, super operation).

6, finally talk about the product

The vertical business mining of social users and social relationships is currently a less clear topic, not as good as Baidu is used in the vertical areas (such as mp3 search, photo video search). Facebook has also tried many vertical things, social commerce, social travel, etc., are not very successful, everyone doing latitude and longitude, the windmill, but also lost. The reason is very simple, Social graph in a field becomes a Interest Graph, or Local Interest Graph, the product re-establish the Graph difficult. Search does not exist in this Graph problem, is vertical features to meet.

Vertical application, the game is a non-anchor direction, which takes into account the two attributes of Social and Interest, but also abandoned the characteristics of Local. Similar areas, I think there are social hot spots, celebrity gossip, reading, listening to music, movies. Sina Weibo, Douban good.

Travel and public comments (including buy) is very different. The former once a year, once dig a lot of money, a bit like a marriage, once in a lifetime, Zaguomaitie; the latter once a week, once a few dollars, a bit like life, tea oil. The former is used at a very low frequency, which is frequently used.

For the use of low-frequency things, socializing is not very appropriate (social should trivial, celebrity gossip, angry politics), more appropriate tools to do products (to be simple, just need), packaged products (such as group, charter flights this Make, earn more), do the brand (where to accept Baidu investment, and Ctrip entanglement), do product sales, professional content (off Road, Lonely Planet, hornet's nest). Plus: But there is a need here is not just plan to develop, it is a supplement, especially a supplement to offline services, so I'm not very recognized "the first step", "Figure passenger circle" the current model is a just need.

For the high frequency of things, do a good job of entrance (Baidu, client, pre-installed, etc.), good reputation (good things do not go out, bad things dry), good cost control and process optimization and so on.

I often hear people say they want to be Social travel, Social Pets, Social baby and so on. I always think that products should make good use of Social's communication and take Social as another marketing tool after SEO. Do not do social products, unless you really have this gene, have time and money (the latter is still very needed in China), but also be taken over or defeated by Tencent commitment.

Conclusion

Recently, many employers find me past help, but also provide VP, CTO or even CEO post, there are many angels to talk to me, I hope I can continue to do in the tourism industry, microblogging there are numerous friends to comfort and encourage me. Proving that the Internet in China is also getting more and more mature, students are increasingly inclusive and endorsed by entrepreneurs.

Some colleagues also said after the gun, I have long been optimistic about the class, these people are not useful to me and influence. Entrepreneurship friends, will feel the harvest of this process, it is worth it, this is enough.