Happy Cheng: Entrepreneurship is sacred money not anxious

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The choice after a heartbeat of 100

Economic Observer: You are starting from the end of 2007 to prepare happy, the economic situation has begun to deteriorate. Why did you choose to leave Sina to start your own business?

Cheng: In 2007, except for a few prescient people, everyone felt nothing special, and many thought it was good. I actually do not have any consciousness, does not fry the stock, does not understand the capital market, is not very clear the overall economic situation, therefore I did not have to manage it. I just feel that the internet will have a better development, in technology and service innovation, there are many things to do.

Economic Observer: Why do you choose the sns--Community Network Service area?

Cheng: In fact, before we have a lot of companies have done SNS. At that time, many people think that there is no room for the field, there will be no new entrants, the entry will not be successful. There were a lot of people who told me that it was strange that you did it, it was a mature market.

At that time everyone seemed to believe that SNS only students have the demand, can only start from students. But I think white-collar workers should also have this demand, white-collar this market has not been developed. China's reform and opening-up for so many years, the economic development of large and medium-sized cities has been very good, white-collar life is very rich, but their mental pressure is very large, it is necessary to communicate more with friends and communication, need more fun, ease the pressure. So we envision a more relaxed interactive product that meets this need.

Economic Observer: Did you specialize in the white-collar community?

Cheng: No special research, just feeling. I have worked in a big company for many years, people around me are like this, is such a rough feeling. To be honest, we are actually more technical staff, do not understand the market, do market research, I do not know how to do.

Economic Observer: You worked for Sina for 10 years, why did you start your own business?

Cheng: I have never thought about entrepreneurship, I have a lot of friends around to start a business, I did not think of myself to go. I think "entrepreneurship" sounds like a sacred word, but I don't feel sacred now.

In fact, what I have always wanted to do, is to try to do some good products, so that many people willing to use, for a lot of people have helped, my idea is nothing more than this.

Then Sina decided to do the search, I do this thing in the process, encountered a lot of problems. At that time to do this thing, do my eyes can not read the word, one into the office my heartbeat to 100 times, I have to do their utmost. But then the company strategically terminated the project, which made me realize the difficulty of innovation in a big company. After that I decided to do something myself.

Economic Observer: I hope I can dominate?

Cheng: There are so many problems, for me this is the way to die. Now that the road is out of line, I will soon make up my mind to go out.

Economic Observer: When Facebook was already very hot, was it inspired by it?

Cheng: I decided to start my own business at the end of 2006, and I also saw Facebook, where I also had a Facebook account. But mainly in the late Sina work experience, give me a new attitude of change.

I used to be so focused on the results that I had to do something right. This with some people must earn how much money, or must pursue what things are the same, their own happiness and life are pinned on one such or that result. Sina search After that thing, I realized that this is wrong, I spent a long time, in the agony of reflection on this point.

Economic Observer: Is this change what you want to understand?

Cheng: Actually it was originally recommended to me an article, from a book called "Sunshine Mentality." The author Wu Wicu is a professor of management at Tsinghua University, but his "sunshine mentality" is not about management, but about mentality, I think it is very good writing. It's not that my mindset is exactly the same as the book, but you asked me what was particularly impressive at that stage, the book.

Economic Observer: Is there a "happy life" in that book?

Cheng: He said, "Life to keep the sun mentality, I extracted it." I think it is good to talk about life, in fact, no matter what the outside world, no matter what happened, you are happy or not happy or depending on yourself.

For example, you are 10 million, not necessarily a happy thing, at first you are very excited, and then there will be trouble, there will be a lot of things happen, such as a lot of people came to you to borrow money. I've seen a lot of reports that after a year or two of winning the lottery, those people are out of money.

I mean, you don't have to hold on to something, you have to let yourself be happy for no reason. Not because of the 10 million and happy, nor because the money is not happy. Whether you come across good things or bad things, even if you are sick, or can not be about things, you should let yourself have a better mentality.

"Sunshine mentality" that book tells a lot of soothing cases, in fact, I do not fully agree. I feel that living in this world, no matter what, you are subjectively happy, do not bother to think of what the truth, through what means, to achieve what the goal is happy.

In fact, we do a lot of happy net, is to let people have fun, and there is no reason to be happy.

So the question of extension is, how to make people happy?

I have seen Jackie Chan in the preface of a book wrote this paragraph, he said that people's life is often the cause and love these two things are tired, but friendship is God's greatest gift to mankind. For mortal beings covered with scars, friendship is the panacea for healing wounds and injecting power.

I think what he said is right, most of us unhappy really can be summed up in love and money. Love and money are two things that are not easy to meet. You are now one months to earn 10,000 dollars, not satisfied, want to earn 10 million, this pursuit is not the top. Love is the same, sometimes more pain than happiness. So if you have been led by money and love, you have lost the enjoyment of the time you have now. I think Jackie Chan is right, friendship is everyone can get, and simple friendship is not utilitarian, is a kind of no reason to let you happy things.

Economic Observer: On the happy net you move me, I pinch you, I am very glad.

Cheng: Yes, actually. Although in this process, we did not create new GDP, did not create material wealth for mankind, but we hope that through this simple interpersonal communication, this easy interaction, so that everyone happy.

Economic Observer: So when did you think of the name "Happy Net"?

Cheng: I've thought about it for 2007 years.

In fact, "happy" the two words, there is another meaning, is "open your heart." You look at these two Chinese characters, in fact it means, do you want to be happy? To open your heart, open your heart, and you will be happy. You think about this state, our hearts are open, open to friends, open to the world. So we feel that the word "happy" is a good way to condense and generalize our ideal life state.

Economic Observer: According to your opinion, the main function of happy net should be social, it is a platform and small society between friends. But in fact, many people are attracted by the plug-ins and games, this is not your original idea of the deviation?

Cheng: In fact, the two are not contradictory, we want to provide a relaxed interaction. How do you make friends interact and be happy in a relaxed way? If you let everyone go to the talk, it is certainly difficult to get happy, white-collar workers in the work of the nerves are stretched very tight. These games, is to let everyone relax, relax and let your mood better, more efficient, it is essentially a kind of communication between friends, and the game is actually different.

The experience of the game, you compare, play when you will be very nervous, you want to fight for a result, to the level of improvement, to keep playing, Non-stop pursuit, just like making money. And the friend sells, although it also has the value, but money is not an end, I bought you as a slave, I let you wash clothes for me, its main pleasure is that it is particularly intimate feeling, is to express my closeness to you, I like you, pay attention to you, so I brought you to my side.

Economic Observer: However, after these games rage, some people have not been active before, users in the happy net time less.

Cheng: I think it's normal. The essence of our site is a social network, users on the net a fundamental motivation is that I want to be with friends, I want to see what friends are doing. The game is just a helper. Friends Buy and sell these are very fresh fun, this experience, or, in fact, any experience, after a period of time will be tired. But happy net more basic thing, is to contact with friend.

Making money is not urgent

Economic Observer: How does the current operating situation compare with your expectations?

Cheng: I can't remember what was supposed to be, and then the actual development was definitely faster than we thought. Through friends to tell friends, is a good way, I think mainly because our technology is better, it can be relatively fast development.

Economic Observer: Some people say that the number of users to do more than 1 million, enough to support a website to survive. Now happy net all 45 million users, you start to consider how to make money?

Cheng: I have not done sales, do not know how to sell, money is sales. If the sale is not good, then I change, hehe, I actually trust my two sales.

Economic Observer: But you are the CEO of the company, your company is not a fund.

Cheng: Well, I'm not doing charity. In fact, what I want to do is not how much money to make. It's important for me to be a good product and be used by a lot of people to help these people. Now I do a good job, a lot of people like, I want to make this thing more interesting, so that more people to use. The company must be to make money, but I think, as long as a lot of people are useful, making money is a natural thing, don't be too anxious about this thing.

Economic Observer: The increasing number of users, there must be a commercial return?

Cheng: It's not exactly that, it depends on what kind of demand you provide.

There are a lot of users are very large but do not make money examples, such as email, no one site by email can be profitable, so it is not absolute. But I think, at least happy net, we just can let more and more white-collar users on the above, they need our services, then our business development is very normal.

Economic Observer: You are now the main focus on technology, product development, to attract more people to use happy net, rather than to contact advertisers, VCs?

Cheng: Yes, I mainly focus on how to make happy net do to users more helpful, more useful, more attractive to users. In this regard, both product and technology are important tasks. Other, I didn't spend too much energy.

Economic Observer: Just now you also said that the SNS market has been very mature, so happy net in the next three years and five years to go down, mainly rely on what and other community Web site competition?

Cheng: First, I think it is our site's positioning and philosophy, is "happy"; second, our products are a reason to attract users. But now, let's add one, which is that we already have a big white collar user network, which in itself is your advantage when you already have a large user base.

It's not like Facebook.

Economic Observer: Portals also have a large user base, if they also do the community?

Cheng: You go there to watch the news, chat, although a lot of users, but can you transfer them to the community? Many portals are in the community, it is possible to do well, but not that there is enough users will be able to do a good job, but also to see if you can put them into a network, in a community activities. At present, happy Net has become a white-collar network of this group.

Economic Observer: Aside from the white-collar identity, what kind of people will especially like happy net?

Cheng: I certainly hope all kinds of people like it. Why we are different from Facebook, on Facebook, people and people are actually very deep communication, but in the happy net, is a very easy interactive relationship. I think it boils down to the fact that Chinese people are very different from Americans. Yue, of the 0 survey, said in a news program that the Chinese are naturally more reserved than foreigners. Because our education is more to encourage you to learn knowledge, not to let you socialize. This makes Chinese people to deal with more introverted, more formal. The opposite is true of Americans. So Facebook is very hot abroad, and happy net is more suitable for Chinese.

Economic Observer: Facebook has more than 200 million users and hasn't started making money.

Cheng: In fact, SNS many have already been profitable. Japan's first few social networking sites, some of them rely on advertising, and some co-operation with operators to charge, the profit situation is very good. So, I want to correct an understanding that SNS are not profitable.

As for Facebook, I think it has a great platform strategy that takes a lot of effort to build a platform, and it's very difficult and risky, and it's a rock-breaking thing that they want to start a new era. Just like Microsoft, it makes a system to let others to develop software, I think it is very ambitious pursuit, everyone on this platform, you benefit I also benefit, but the most benefit of course is the platform. So, although many people say, you hurry to make money, the general people will take advantage of so many users to make money quickly, but it does not care, it is to focus on the platform strategy.

Economic Observer: What about happy net? Is there such a great strategic pursuit?

Cheng: We actually do not have a particularly great strategy, mainly to follow the user's guidance, we are in the direction of product grasp, more is to listen to users.

You see our site on the home page has a link to our comments, users where the unhappy, will write their views. These are very useful, and can be said to guide our direction of a thing. As for the platform strategy, not yet.

Economic Observer: Happy NET now the new office is rented with advertising revenue it?

Cheng: No, it's a venture capital. The Arctic light gave us the first venture capital, how about the second venture? I have not spoken to the outside. Our own current income is relatively small, not enough to support the operating costs per month.

Economic Observer: You must have a lot of VCs.

Cheng: Not now, enough money. Talk before, very tired, I have no interest always talk about that, I am not good at.

Happy turn

Economic Observer: Did you experience any unhappiness in the process of establishing a happy net?

Cheng: There must be a lot of new things to face, but when I was in Sina, I had actually made quite a few changes.

I used to be the type of typical introverted person, when talking to you I will blush, every day thinking of programming, not too contact with people, and is a perfectionist. A perfectionist will keep asking you when making a decision, hoping to find out all the conditions to make a decision. That's how I am. But in reality you can't do this, the real life problem has a lot of uncertainty. For example, if you're looking for someone to marry, do you know the person completely? You have to make a decision if you can't fully understand it.

I worked in Sina for so many years, to become a technical director, to do a lot of communication and management work, this process to do a lot of adjustment, can be said to be some leap, a great leap, need a lot of effort, even can say very painful.

Economic Observer: This quest to give up perfectionism is painful?

Cheng: Not only this, I just gave this example, in fact you have to make a lot of changes. Change is always difficult and uncomfortable, but overall I feel happy.

Leave Sina to do happy net, also need more big change, experienced a lot of, for example, I want to contact with some people, talk about some things that have not been contacted before, I am not good at, had to bite the bullet to do. However, in this process I was not stimulated by Sina big.

Economic Observer: Is there anything you don't want to change?

Cheng: I think, I basically set up a belief that the final thing to do well, in order to do a good job, how to do it, the change will change, nothing is not to give up, nothing can not be changed. I have not yet understood the stock market, if one day, in order to do things well need to do so, I will try hard. If I find that I do not do this thing well, I will ask someone else to do it.

Economic Observer: What do you usually do on happy net? buy and sell friends?

Cheng: I use happy net more is at work.