Kai-fu Lee: "Dream Maker" in the ideal country of innovation

The person who works around Kai-Fu Lee, or good friends, will say he is "very funny". A close person can often feel his humorous and sexual side. More dare to speak, more open, since Lee Kai-fu active in micro-blog after, give the outside such feelings. Not only micro-blogging, starting from the establishment of innovative workshops, Kai-Fu Lee from a professional manager to become entrepreneurs, investors, such a role change, let him more released. The person who works around Kai-Fu Lee, or good friends, will say he is "very funny". A close person can often feel his humorous and sexual side. Since September 2009, "Angel Investment + Incubator + entrepreneurial guidance," a new business model to start innovation Factory, has gone through more than three years. Innovation Factory has been invested in a new model, supporting nearly 50 start-up companies, 20 to get a round of financing, 3 through the form of the acquisition of successful exit, 3 of the initial investment return about 10 times times. In addition, there are 5 investment start-up companies are not successful and closed. Lee is not very satisfied with such a transcript. In the face of start-up companies, he is an investor. In the face of innovation factory investors, he is the entrepreneur, he needs to give a better return: "In the future we want more investment companies to exit the form of the listing." "In China's investment community, innovation workshops are experimenting with a unique model to complete the entrepreneurial dream of Kai-Fu Lee: proving that the Chinese can innovate." Embedded investors, three years ago, are more willing to invest in "good ideas". After several years of practice, Kai-fu Lee that people than "ideas" more important. "After more than three years of practice, we proved that our original idea was correct." Kai-Fu Lee in the "China Business newspaper" reporter interview, but also talked about the original intention of starting a business. The support and guidance that the entrepreneur needs in the early stage is completely different from the late stage. Entrepreneurs may be strong in one way, but there will be a shortage of diversified leadership and a need to quickly replenish the short boards. In addition, there will be a lack of strategic analysis capabilities, and it is difficult to grasp the opportunities for explosive growth. "It's the first 12-18 months of their business, and some startups may be less than 12 months if they can't help." "While the innovation workshops are investing, they provide embedded help to these startups, including legal, PR, personnel, finance, recruitment and other aspects, and even product and corporate strategy recommendations." This embedded help can greatly reduce the failure rate. Of course, in the help of the innovation Workshop also adhere to a: do not interfere, not arranged. "I think it's important that good investors are investors who can provide both value-added services and decentralization, and respect each other." "After more than three years, innovation workshops are slowly changing," we have become an investment organization, but unlike most investment agencies, we also retain embedded help for startups. "The change is that three years ago, innovation workshops were more willing to invest in" good ideas. Sometimes there are "good ideas" for entrepreneurs to find, and sometimes the team of creative workshops holding "good ideas" to find entrepreneurs。 After several years of practice, Kai-fu Lee that people than "ideas" more important. The success of entrepreneurship depends not only on the personal quality of the entrepreneur, but also on his previous pioneering experience, the various Internet products invested by the innovation workshop, and there is a large proportion of the entrepreneurial experience. For a team that failed to start a business, "some things really do happen once, and the probability of success increases a lot." We find that experienced entrepreneurs are more likely to succeed later. From an investment perspective, valuations and investment probabilities are (and therefore are) positively affected. "Innovation Factory is transforming from the" angel Investment + Incubator + entrepreneurial guidance "model into a pure investment institution. The difference is that they continue to maintain embedded help for startups and make a slightly different choice of investment. Most VCs are basically "cast" models, and innovation workshops consider "people" to be the most important factor, as well as the trends and the team's executive power. Idealized entrepreneur Once the role of professional manager, so that the outside world more to see the a side of Kai-Fu Lee, and now, he will be better to show B side. Fortunately, Lee has worked for Apple, Microsoft and Google's top companies in different times. Of course, this kind of luck is not accidental, but stems from his accurate grasp of the trend, he often can see a little farther than the same industry. When he started his business three years ago, he mainly invested in the mobile internet industry, when many people did not understand what he was talking about. But over the past three years, we have seen the explosion of mobile internet growth. "He has been very studious. He was judged by the people around him. Kai-Fu Lee will always read a lot of domestic and foreign research reports, and the international perspective to see trends. At the innovation Workshop, the analytics team and the investment team are also his sources of information and play the role of his think-tank. Kai-Fu Lee and his team, is very good at communication, from Silicon Valley, investors, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs and other perspectives to exchange learning. "We're really thinking about running the country and the world," he said. "Both data, and a line of information, plus Lee's own globalization of vision, so that his annual trend of judgment almost will be confirmed." So spend heart to grasp the trend, Kai-Fu Lee think the investment enterprises must be in the trend, otherwise it is difficult to succeed: "We are very comprehensive to consider whether this can become a billion dollar company, this is not the homeopathy, is not in line with industry trends." Just like last year, you will grow 3~4 times as long as you are a more presentable tool product related to mobile Internet. But if you are doing a more painful project, such as search engines, online games, there will be no mobile internet growth rate. Therefore, the selection of trends is very important. "Kai-Fu Lee was a very good professional manager. Kai-Fu Lee Frankly, in doing professional managers, each company has its own corporate culture, process, to follow the rules of affairs, "of course, the need for rigorous, conservative style, not hypocrisy." "Once the role of professional managers, so that the outside world more to see Kai-Fu Lee's face, and now, he showed the B side better. "Now to do the innovation factory, the whole company only 40 people, no hierarchy, no bureaucracy, holding their own ideals to do things." "Moreover, in the view of Kai-Fu Lee, investors are relatively free workers, more open, but also the most dare to talk on Weibo group of people, to share the real ideas, not too many constraints, nor too much regulation." "To me, is a good release. I used to be unified, and now I am a diversified one. A micro-bo, micro-letter people, are willing to put themselves frankly in the circle of friends and social circles, the appeal of social media from sincerity, truth. "But as a Weibo celebrity, Lee is also very aware of his influence," he smiled and said: "I am a person who knows the sense of propriety." "The only pressure is to return as an entrepreneur to one's own investors." Innovation Workshop has so far raised 180 million U.S. dollars, 275 million U.S. dollars two dollar funds, 400 million yuan funds. "Our communication with investors is clear, they trust us and do not interfere in our investment practices." "Investors are very trusting of Kai-fu Lee, not overly involved in the actual operation of innovative workshops, also do not rush with Kai-fu Lee calculate" small Account ", this year can get back how much, next year can get back how much. Kai-Fu Lee's ideal is to help Chinese entrepreneurs succeed, the completion of this ideal, investors will certainly get a generous return. So far, there have been three projects in innovation workshops that have been taken out of the form, with a return rate of about 10 times times. Next, Kai-Fu Lee hope that through more investment enterprises listed to achieve a better return on investment, "it will take time." He confessed.