The enemy of the Millet Empire is an inflated self.

Huangwang from Lei not only investment, but also a gesture.

As the company's CEO, in December 2014 at the end of the 35 million-dollar round of funding for the launch of the Conference, regardless of the tone of the story or wording, his pie in the Millet founder Lei Closer. "Ecological Chain" "tuyere" these lei frequently used words from his mouth. Although his company has only been established for 1 years, Huangwang has not been as jerky as the CEO of the start-up company.

1 years ago, Millet used an investment in Hefei, Anhui hardware start-up company "Incorporation", which is only millet in 2014, a small part of the 1 billion dollar investment.

If the biggest totem of the era is Apple, the Chinese mobile phone company has at least become a Chinese version of the Apple. The company not only lets users show a frenzy like Apple users, but also stirs up China's entrepreneurial circle.

Those who got the Millet investment company successfully became Lei Disciples, not only on the entrepreneurial road as an idol, but also take the initiative to turn their own company into Millet "subsidiary": Cut off the surplus business, concentrate on making with millet related hardware. But others have complained about it, and some have had to cling to the millet rivals in order to protect themselves.

The power of this company is no longer the same as it was at the time of its inception.

"The failure rate of a start-up company is 90%, and I think the success rate will be greatly enhanced after Millet's blessing." "Lei the millet investment start-up company as a" blessing, "which is a Buddhist term.

At the end of 2013, "first financial weekly" to the Millet as the annual company, but also as a start-up company, its valuation is 10 billion U.S. dollars, compared to Nokia 7.1 billion U.S. dollars in market capitalisation, everyone think the millet bubble too serious.

In 2014, although the smartphone industry dividend was disappearing, the company's valuations had ballooned to $45 billion trillion, and it had wobbled on the growth path of big companies.

July 22, 2014, Beijing Millet Technology Co., Ltd. held the 2014 Millet annual new Conference, the Conference on the theme of "a steel plate art trip." Millet CEO Lei in the press conference to introduce the entrepreneurial feelings of the team. Background image for the creative team to play as a student in the University of the sample.

No one laughs at the rustic lei and imitates Steve Jobs in dress and speech postures. On the second day of his 45 birthday on December 17, 2014, Lei entered the room dressed in a suit and blue shirt with a black bracelet on his left hand-he seemed more concerned about his appearance than in the past. A few days later, Millet announced the last financing of the year and its claim of a 45 billion dollar valuation. Lei said in a new year's address that Millet was "the world's highest-value unlisted technology company".

When Lei first looked for Huangwang in December 2013, it was a company called the Intelligence Unit, with its main business being flat-panel readers and internet distribution, with the team stationed in Hefei all the year round.

Huangwang to the outside to tell the story is: Lei only wear a day intelligence smart watch, immediately decided to and this company to talk about cooperation, commitment is "Let Hua mi become wearable field of millet."

Millet in this year is just a 3-year-old company. In August, it completed its fourth round of financing, valued at $10 billion, and was already one of the country's leading technology companies compared with the 4 billion dollar valuation of the third round of financing in June 2012. At that time, Millet began to trawl around the market for hardware start-ups, not only the bracelet, there are more bizarre hardware products.

To work with a company such as Millet, Hua-mi needs to pay its own price. The details of the negotiations between the two sides are not known to the outside world, and the specific investment amount and share are also unknown. But then you see, Huangwang quickly stopped all the original tablet computer and smart watch new product research and development, up to millions of yuan of many sets of new molds all set aside, and snow hid the "intelligence device" this brand, re-register a new company-Hua Mi technology.

Huangwang started to do a product that was never done before-hand rings. Hua-Mi team also from Hefei to Beijing, living in the small hotel near the millet company, dozens of people in the 9 floor of Millet retreat in the conference room for nearly 3 months. July 22, 2014, the team's products in the 4 press conference as one more thing debut, the product to the name of millet-"millet bracelet", the domestic price of the bracelet from hundreds of yuan to 79 yuan.

Huami not only got the investment, but also obtained millet supply chain resources, brand, product endorsement, peripheral and Internet cooperation support, including logistics, warehousing, customer service also into the millet system.

It looked as if the soldiers had been said to be "blessing".

The recent round of financing, Lei did not pull the strings, "only to see the track, not the company's" Sequoia but only in 15 minutes to make a decision, "as far as I know, they have not invested in similar enterprises." Huangwang said that the December financing will be mainly used to develop the next generation of products to help China to explore overseas markets. And its next generation of products of industrial design will be nest designer Yu Tao responsible for 1 years, Hua-mi has not been dwelling in Hefei, the unknown small company.

In Lei's plan, the millet bracelet has important meaning in his whole product chain. It can be used as an identity ID, connected to the smart home of millet and even all the equipment, and can be dressed to unlock.

In addition to Hua Mi, in 2014, Millet invested 25 start-up companies, all hardware manufacturers.

Millet internal Investment has a clear division of labor. These 25 investments are done through two team-router teams and hardware eco-chain teams. The former is to prepare for smart home, the latter covers all the products that may be used in daily life, the director of 3 eco-chain team to see the project, finally by Vice President Liu De.

2014 this year, the router team dug up the small ant intelligence camera, millet intelligent sockets, yeelight lights, Millet Intelligent Remote control center, such as intelligent home accessories, eco-chain team investment is to do the mobile power of the purple rice, to do the air purifier meters, do piston headphones plus one, do intelligent blood pressure meter nine Ann.

A strong hardware ecosystem has emerged. Unlike Apple, it is not the same as any company under the Android system.

This year, the Millet investment hardware company's news with its mobile phone business frustrated in the overseas news. At the end of 2013, Millet appeared to be in peril-the domestic market share to a certain extent, its products to sea will be subject to patent problems. It all happened in 2014 years, when Millet was sold in India and Taiwan, and was frustrated by rivals ' accusations of patents.

The expanding Millet Empire: Is it ready?
This is not a good year for smartphones. In the third quarter, Samsung's electronics revenues fell 20% year-on-year, operating profits were down 60% from a year earlier, and Christmas Eve was closing its flagship store in London.

Millet mobile phone sales are still respectable-January 4, 2015, the LEI issued to employees in the internal letter published in the growth of millet: 2014 sales of mobile phone 61.12 million, compared with 2013 growth of 227%; According to the third party market analysis company IDC data, Millet has surpassed Huawei, Lenovo and LG in the third quarter of 2014, becoming the world's third-largest expert maker after Samsung and Apple.

But handset sales are absolutely not enough to support its 45 billion dollar valuation. According to Lei published data, Millet 2014 annual tax-containing sales of 74.3 billion yuan, equivalent to 11.95 billion U.S. dollars. Before the sales figures are released, in a report on November 5, Bloomberg Businessweek questioned Millet's valuation of more than $40 billion trillion at the time, citing an analyst who said the millet valuation would need to refer to the ratio between annual valuations and annual sales, that is, the market rate, the ratio of Apple to 3, According to the current sales of millet, this ratio is close to 4. It cannot achieve high profits in the mobile phone industry.

Millet has to put more value into the company. "Our ultimate goal is to build the ecological chain of the millet mobile phone, so that these devices can be easily connected to the millet phone." One day we use the Millet mobile phone, may be all your equipment unknowingly with millet, invisible, the value of millet mobile phone increased, has not only a mobile phone. Lei a strategic vision of his investment in the first financial weekly. His goal is to "Invest 100 smart hardware companies".

In the process of moving towards this goal, many new companies on the industry chain are on the opposite side.

Liu Zongru is Broadlink founder and Ceo,broadlink was put into the Millet router third cooperation box, is used as a supporting equipment for routers sales, Millet once wanted to invest in Broadlink.

"We share the technology of routing fast to the millet router, millet promise future will not do similar products, at the same time will put our products to the official website of millet sales, pricing by their own decision, will not lower prices, cooperation after the proposed investment, but the final price is too low, we can not accept. "Liu Zongru said. In the end, Millet did not share the company, Millet router owner Tang Yu gave the explanation is: quality does not pass, can not reach the standard millet.

But there is another saying in the industry: Millet uses its own resources to make chips and cut investment prices to half of other investors. Michael is the first batch of millet investment company, compared with other investors, millet prices are exceptionally low-lei will the company's valuation cut off half, such as the same investment 200 million yuan, VC can only get 1% of the shares, Millet can get 2%.

But taking into account the hardware experience of millet, Lei's personal brand and the help of these entrepreneurs, Michael eventually reached an investment cooperation with millet. "The influence of millet cannot be said to be big who is smaller with a simple share ratio," Michael's CEO Zhang Cheng said, "The millet mobile phone has proved that the brand positioning is to achieve the ultimate price, it has been cast after the meaning of this layer on the brand of Andy's properties, the merchant is willing to buy a cheap but not worse than other services." ”

The expanding Millet Empire: Is it ready?
For these companies, millet is like a tree, but to get the shade, you must transfer some rights. A number of entrepreneurs to the "first financial weekly" that the industry-class enterprises often difficult to reach a cooperation with millet, because the terms are too "overbearing", such as: low quality and low price, low valuation Gao Jianbi, give up the self brand.

Some companies that have not entered the biosphere may have to prepare themselves for a strong opponent's low price offensive. "Now everyone is very alert, millet every industry will go in, our idea is only to do their own good, millet do low prices, then we go to do brand." "said one entrepreneur. For these entrepreneurs, there is not enough capital to burn money to cultivate users, only by selling the income of products to maintain development and innovation, can only wait to die.

For Lei, this is part of the competition, even for companies that invest in them. "Millet is definitely not an investment company, these 100 companies who can come out who can't, I do not care." The attitude of millet is-you are not profitable is your ability. "he said.

Millet never gives permanent protection to the companies it invests in. It sets a two-year protection period for smart hardware companies that invest in the same type of two years can only vote one, two years later if the company's products can not be made into a burst, millet will be transferred to other homes, because to maintain the ecological activity, if only one of the words it depends on the millet body.

Lei insists they indoctrinate the hardware start-ups with the optimized production patterns of millet. In the Chinese market, where most of Google's services have been castrated, companies such as Millet have provided optimized systems, won praise from consumers, improved production chains through the Internet model, and reduced the cost of manufacturing, lei to these companies.

As an internet company, making money through software and services is certainly more consistent with positioning. "As to what Millet is the company I have not cared about, because this does not make sense, is a very unique company." Lei replied.

If Apple builds an eco-chain with its iOS system, by attracting those app developers to their own ecosystems, millet is tying money to a large number of hardware developers in the form of optimized production, brand reputation, etc., which in turn seems to be in line with the trend of lower hardware manufacturing barriers, The same hardware between the increasingly small age, resources for the king.

Some of the money thrown out may be wasted. "There will certainly be a few in the future, I do not like a closed the people said that the millet mode of bankruptcy, I often see my investment in a company hung, we say lei." ”

Lei needs money, and Wall Street investors want to spend it-making the millet model work and go fast.

In October 2014, Millet announced a 1 billion-dollar loan from 29 banks, including Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse, most of which had just emerged from the party's IPO spree and were rushing to find the next company to be listed. Bankers said the millet loan attracted so many banks, the number of which has set the record of Alibaba. Alibaba borrowed $8 billion from 22 banks in 2013, most of which are keen to take a slice of Alibaba's IPO deal.

Lei cleverly exploited the partner's money as leverage for the loan, he told the first financial weekly that the 1 billion-dollar loan was leveraged by shareholders such as Temasek, as well as affiliated companies such as Jinshan software, or even a stake in a strategic partnership like art.

But he insists that Millet does not go public in 5 years, "Listed companies have a lot of short-term investors, I think when your company size and stability did not do enough, the listing will let you bear high pressure." It will make your long-term goals distorted. ”

Spending money, getting financing and high valuations, spending money again ... This can almost sum up the mode of capital operation of Millet in the past 1 years.

In addition to hardware, Millet did not abandon the use of software and Internet services to stabilize their ecological chain. The video is becoming the next content target of millet.

Millet has introduced millet TV and millet box, but it lacks video content, the only authorized content source is CNTV, with its biggest rival music video TV, millet in video content is somewhat single. November 2014, co-founder Chuan, a former vice president of Sina, Chen in charge of the investment in the content of millet, in the media meeting, Lei announced that Chen will use the first batch of 1 billion U.S. dollars investment content production side, the same month, Millet also cast out since the establishment of the largest funds, 300 million U.S. dollar shares in Archie Art, A few days later announced the cooperation with the content of Youku potatoes. Before this, the film and television company Hua Policy and Thunder also in the map of millet.

In Lei's view, in addition to the intelligent hardware ecological chain, mobile internet service ecological chain, the content industry ecological chain, Millet's next run-off point in the cloud services.

At the end of 2012, Jin Shanyun as a subsidiary of Jinshan Group was formally established, at present, Millet will almost all of its cloud storage business to Jin Shanyun operations. Jinshan Group in August 2014 put forward "all in" cloud service strategy, that is, the next 3-5 years time, investment 1 billion U.S. dollars to build cloud services.

According to previous media reports, the current number of millet cloud users of about 68 million, millet cloud overall storage capacity of about 47PB (1PB=1024TB), to pictures and video as an example, the current Millet users add 90 million photos and 1.2 million videos every day. The volume of data in 2014 was 7 times times higher than in 2013 and is expected to grow by 5 times times this year. There will be a surge in data based on the Millet platform in the next few years.

Millet cloud service layout, but also introduced a third-party power: Century interconnection. This is an Internet infrastructure service provider, and the Jin Shanyun will hire at least 5,000 cabinets over the next 3 years. At this point, Millet has sketched Izumo service contour: Small Mi Yun do application layer, Jin Shanyun is the middle tier, Century interconnection is focused on infrastructure.

"I am not at ease in giving my lifeline to 0 of the companies that control it." We find the best, do not do it ourselves, this is the progress of millet. I do not change the direction of its business, the board involves competitors of my own avoidance. "Lei said.

Although "not exclusive, open, not in a frame", Lei is a commitment to all partners, but from the results, the Millet department has become a mobile Internet circle can not be underestimated a force, Tencent to software platform to connect everything, now the millet has become the hardware kingdom of Tencent, the lei of the Millet Empire in the embryonic stage.

Tang Mu joined Millet for more than a year, just in time to catch up with its rapid expansion.

10 years ago, Tang Yu personally built the Tencent user research and Experience Design Center (CDC), in 10 years he is responsible for QQ, computer Butler, QQ Browser, QQ audio and video products, such as nearly 100 user experience design work, witnessed a lot of product life cycle and prosperity and decline. In June 2013, he became the head of the hardware product of the millet router. In the September, the router project started, now, the router project has become the entrance of intelligent home in Lei Eye, is one of 3 core products that millet concentrates on research.

Tang Mu compared with the difference between the millet and Tencent, the biggest difference is the speed, "millet too fast." ”

After entering the millet, what surprised him most is that the organization structure of Millet is not hierarchical, basically is level three, the core founder-Department leader-staff, and it will not make your team too big, a little larger will split into small team.

The first source of flat acceleration is the 8 partners of Millet. Lei is chairman and CEO, Lin is the president, responsible for the supply chain, and Li Vanchang originally responsible for the Millet network, Zhou Guanping responsible for the development of millet mobile phones, Liu De responsible for eco-chain investment, Hong Feng responsible for MIUI and software eco-chain, Huangjiangi responsible for routers, cloud services and intelligent home, chuan responsible for millet TV related business, Hugo Barra, who was dug from Google, is responsible for international business and Chen for content construction.

In addition to the concept of the partners, most of them have worked in large companies and managed over hundreds of people, the only Lei and Li Vanchang who have no background in the big company. From Beijing to the multicolored city of Millet company headquarters office Layout can see the organization structure of millet, each layer by a founder sits, everyone non-interference.

At the beginning of the venture, Lei's "a queue of small restaurant theory" is to support this flat core concept. Internally, their consensus is to "do less" in order to be quick. In addition to meetings held every Monday, such a management system reduces the time spent reporting waste between tiers.

But all management work is maintained at the level of a start-up company.

A general understanding in the industry is: on diligence, no one can lei its right. Lei's subordinates and friends were more aware of his exuberant energy, he can work all night long, sleep only four or five hours, meticulous work, attention to detail, the pursuit of perfection, even in the packaging, the product of the font, size, the size of how to pendulum, these details he has to intervene, He felt that this would ensure that all the things out of millet are consistent, maintain a very high quality. Under the influence of the founder, Millet may be the industry's most diligent company. Lei is good at learning, millet model from a variety of prototypes: Product Learning Tongren Temple Quality assurance, service art bottom fishing of the super expectations, cost and benefit of Wal-Mart, and Costco mode is the future path of millet transformation.

But as the company's speed increases, the personal style rather than the system management company brings some problems.

In a group of employees within the company, there are more and more complaints: every day to accompany the boss overtime, there is no private life, low wages but high intensity of work. Millet company just set up when the implementation of the full shareholding, full investment plan. By giving employees high stakes rather than high wages, it further compresses the cost of manpower.

Millet potential everyone can see, we bet is the future after the listing of millet, most ordinary employees are for millet shares to stay, "this may be the last wave we can catch the Internet dividend." A millet company man said.

In the 2014, Millet had a wave of turnover, according to internal staff said that the departure of the staff is a large part of the dismissal, the early establishment of millet difficult to recruit the top talent, the first part of the staff limited capacity, their own growth can not keep up with the speed of millet, And they hold a part of the employee stocks in the future may restrict the development of millet. The best way for millet to evade future risks is to dismiss and then reclaim the employee stock. But this kind of simple and crude way also has been criticized by many people. It currently employs more than 8000 people.

Lei first in Zhongguancun debut, by Liu and other zhongguancun first generation of entrepreneurs, the pursuit of not only the cause of success, people in the world also try to become a model, eager to be respected, look forward to admiration. He hoped that "the more friends the better, the less the enemy the better." ”

But the result is that Millet has made too many enemies in the industrial chain. In the millet PR will millet new round of financing message to a 500 of people's Smart hardware micro-letter group, members of the majority of the silence instead of congratulations, after a long time a start-up company CEO sent a message: "Millet I am afraid I can make friends." ”

Both internally and externally, the company's rapid growth poses an overwhelming challenge.

On the day of Lei's 45 birthday, 360 announced a 400 million-dollar partnership with Cool, Huawei launched its new mobile phone this day. Lei said: "My birthday has become a holiday, but also very good." "But then, he said," Sometimes I may be more black, also a bit emotional, I hope that millet become a national enterprise, to promote the entire round of the industrial revolution, so that all Chinese products become high-quality, user experience is very good. Today this word out, estimates will be a lot of people scold, but I still hope that domestic enterprises can unite together, muzzle elevation a foot, have the ability to play with multinational companies. ”

And when the outside world questioned whether Millet advocated its own value, millet every time with market performance and higher valuations to fight back. If the Black Swan event does not occur, perhaps the technology sector and the capital market another myth is about to appear, after all, from the release of the millet mobile phone 1 generations to now, it only used 3 years 2 months.

But in the process, it will be defeated by the enemy is the rapid expansion of their own.