Millet Chairman Lei: With the belief that must lose to start a business

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Lei, born in 1969. He is more cautious than he is, he likes balance, and it is hard to make up his mind. Innovation is like a fire, before the lei most of the time from the flame still a few minutes to stop the pace, which he left to his own safety limits. But in the end, the people who make China's most subversive start-up companies are lei.

2007, the departure and seek Baijun together founded Jinshan, is Lei life important knot. When he was thrown at the crossroads by fate, he finally had the courage to burn his bridges. Lei said, he was 40 to get out of the trough, holding not necessarily win is to lose the belief that the founder of Millet, not a half-life of the golden Enterprise. So you can realize the feeling of "jumping off a cliff" when you start a business.

Leaving Jinshan to Lei is a great blow, but also the fate of his greatest help. What happens to lei if you don't leave Jinshan? The result is obvious, Lei will be like in Jinshan, always be a good but not outstanding business leader, always be and succeed only one step of entrepreneur.

Now looking back, his life after three turning point, one is to leave Jinshan, one is to create millet, the last one is the moment. People tend to relish his second turning point, which is rarely mentioned before and after two.

Lei is one of the things that Chinese entrepreneurs do most like jobs. Jobs also returned after leaving Apple. But not through the years, with jobs ' talent and paranoia, jobs was still jobs, and Lei, without the setbacks of the year, may not be the lei of the day.

Millet market value has exceeded 10 billion U.S. dollars, for Lei, the 10 billion threshold is only a reluctantly acceptable bottom line. Today, Lei is at a new juncture. From the beginning to the present, Lei's dream has never changed, is to be an apple as great company. Apple's market capitalization, Apple in music, mobile phones, tablets and other fields continue to subvert continuous innovation, millet still have distance.

Lei has become lei, but has not yet become the most desired person in his dream, he also needs two revolutions, two times innovation. Judging by the standards of a great entrepreneur, the greatest moment of Lei is the moment when he is desperate to jump down the cliff. But now millet success has no suspense, this time if there is a new trend, Lei also willing to abandon to subversion? Everyone is watching.

Always one step from success

December 2007, two months after the listing of Kingsoft Software, Lei retired CEO. Lei never explained the reason for leaving Jinshan, but the more interesting question is why Lei didn't leave early? or what if he doesn't leave?

Internet big guy, Lei fame earliest, experience richest, programmer origin, 96 as Jinshan software general manager already is the top ten outstanding youth of domestic Internet, very dazzling. At that time, Robin Li was still studying in the United States, and Ma Teng raised money to start his first company.

Lei has claimed that a book he read at the age of 18, "fire in Silicon Valley", is a source of his dreams, a story about a group of people like Jobs and Wozniak who created the Apple Computer and changed the world.

"Jobs said they live to change the world, because Americans think they are the center of the world, I say I live to serve the country, do you believe it?"

Lei model students grew up, also live in the 60 's a set of educational norms, the system has not been questioned. When Lei first went to Hong Kong in 1992, he found that the streets were safe in the early hours, not the legendary mafia rampage, "the first time the crash." "Later went to the United States, and found that" the foreign moon is really more than China circle, and collapse again.

Lei said, a generation of people are very sad, until he met the founder of Jinshan Baijun, only to realize that away from the government can also achieve the country of science and technology. In the commercial order just established in China, like the dark night a few flashlight light, the road is limited, but there are always people rely on the inner power, for their own outline of a Everest, Baijun and Lei are one of them.

Before 1994, China's IT industry, the most famous is not IBM, Lenovo's president, but programmers-Baijun, Zhidong, Wangjiangmin and so on. Industry famous journalist Liu Yan has published "Knowledge Hero", the passion of the burning era metaphor for the heroic era, a programmer with his martial arts secret Gupta the same source program, you can start a company, achievements and fame.

If "The fire of Silicon Valley" gave Lei a role model, the trip to the United States showed him the great power of business, and Baijun brought him the dream of an entrepreneur. These three things together build Lei's original dream-to be a knowledge hero, to create a technology company as great as the Apple Company of America.

Lei of course has the right to dream, he is very smart, and more than the average number of times the diligence. Join Jinshan One of the reasons is because he cracked the Baijun to develop the WPS Office software. Now Jinshan vice President Fu Memories, Lei first saw him, holding a small Ben, said to ask how to do products, Fu say what, lei all write down.

Founded in Beijing Jinshan, Lei spent three years to develop software "Pangu", finally by Microsoft Impact, fiasco, a short walk away from Jinshan and then back-this experience and his idol jobs quite similar. Liu Yan told Caijing, Lei Heart extremely restrain, leave and go back is how difficult choice, most people open bow no back arrow, lei than many people have to reason.

After the Lei like a hero, led the Golden Hill to do the game, and the development of Kingsoft, out of the decline. He also at his alma mater Wuhan University and students shouted slogan: "I will use the next 10 years and Microsoft to a big gamble."

Now in retrospect, Lei and the vision of the founding of Millet how similar, but he missed the Internet development is the most golden stage. 1998, Lei as CEO of Jinshan Company. In the same year, Zhou, who wrote the program in Founder's company, abandoned the traditional software industry with 5 employees and founded 3721 companies, meaning that no matter 3,721, the Internet was directly killed. In the same period, Baidu, Tencent, Alibaba have been set up successively.

Lei not see the Internet. Liu Yan said that in 96 he and Lei in Zhongguancun, a small bar drinking beer, Lei advised him, now playing BBS is not interesting, it is recommended to spend time on the Internet.

A golden hill of the old staff evaluation lei is an extraordinary person, the biggest advantage is good at survival, good at cooperation, good at discovering and creating, but not good at snatch and conquer, mind, too cautious. Compared with the Zhou of that year, Lei than his success more than several times, but less that little bit regardless of 3,721 of the gambling.

Lei also tried to change, he did the electric business to do online games, learn new play, each industry has to do the field of subdivision, but never the eldest. Lei reflection 15 years to do many products are only one step away from success, but always missed. This is the Times, the company gene, the days of weakness.

October 2007, Jinshan finally listed in Hong Kong, market capitalisation is only a fraction of a mainstream internet listed companies. Two months later, Lei chose to leave.

Back to the original question, why didn't lei leave early? The Observer is not difficult to find reason, nothing but sense of responsibility, heroic feelings and vested interests. Lei told Caijing, he had thought Jinshan can carry his dream, so one thing for 15 years. "When you find Big Brother is not right, you dare not say, do not want to admit, very tangled." You also have great reversible days, broken axe into a boat, but will lose people and. ”

In the final analysis, the Lei less abandoned everything, the courage to rebuild everything. He had a dream of "the Fire of Silicon Valley", but the only thing missing was Mars.

The staff told reporters that it was very popular at that time a book called "from Excellent to excellent." Past experience has proved Lei's excellence, but someone knows how much his heart desires excellence. As early as 2000, Lei founded the first domestic E-commerce company, the name of Excellence Network.

This departure is a great blow, but also the fate of his greatest help. What happens to lei if you don't leave Jinshan? The result is obvious, Lei will be like in Jinshan, always be a good but not outstanding business leader, always be and succeed only one step of entrepreneur.

After leaving, Lei's life is at a low ebb. He started investing full-time. Someone outside commented that he could not be a CEO, but a chairman. At that moment, he may also believe such an assessment. After all, for a person so striving for perfection, Jinshan experience can only say that there is no failure, but certainly not success.

In the winter of 2007, Lei ran back to Jinshan building and later wanted to go home when he remembered that he had no driver. He had waited for more than 40 minutes in the wintry Zhongguancun to reach the car, his heart desolate.

Jump off a cliff

Others evaluation Jinshan period of lei lack that little bit of gambling, and investment, exactly is one after another gambling.

After leaving Jinshan, Lei has invested more than 30 companies, many of which have contributed in their respective fields, such as Lakara, Van Gogh products, UCweb, play, Amoy, etc. Winners such as YY more play, 2012 on the Nasdaq listing, lei this 1 million Dollar angel investment, gained about 113 times times the book return.

Lei's investment logic is to see the trend, two people. Lei a very good eye, the trend of the grasp is very accurate. 2005, he invested in mobile phone community Music Network, Beijing and East formally established less than 1 years, people just began to realize the charm of E-commerce, the mobile end of the whole concept; 2006 Lei Investment Network Instant Chat tool UCWeb, the company only less than 10 people. Four years later it's valued at $300 million trillion, becoming one of the enemies of Tencent's move into the mobile Internet arena.

An investor familiar with Lei told Caijing that Lei's character was not to be abandoned until the end of his tether, and that once a decision was made, it was more thorough than anyone else. Lei investment "ruthless", fancy a project, push off all things, other investors two weeks to open the meeting, Lei two days to run. Wang said that the day before he met with Lei, the next morning he had not got up, the phone rang. As the LEI said, the money was in the past.

As Lei's understanding of the industry deepens, his perfectionism begins to show, and he encourages the team to develop a new product to subvert old products. In the 2007, the team turned to create online group chat voice products, with the advance Lei investment ispeak similar products conflict. The media rumor is this thing let lei and original relationship is good, also invested Ispeak Zhou.

At this point, a successful investment career, Lei harvested two points, one is to know how to achieve success in the trend, the second is to learn how to do a perfect mobile internet products. More importantly, these two points gave him back his confidence. Compared to three years ago, he has more money and experience, can say, do a product can be successful in the mobile Internet, no one is more confident than Lei.

Liu Yan said that he saw more than two types of people, a category of people optimistic about a field, spell all bets once; the other kind of people is the study of 10 areas, the last one to choose the most confident, to start doing. Lei is the latter.

No one can stop the flames. Always humble lei even with the beloved entrepreneur directly conflict, he was the first "millet Studio" under the name of a "charming browser", and ucweb business competition, causing dissatisfaction. But Lei's choice is not to stop the product, but to quit the UC board.

Lei, the founder of the pocket, said, "Like a robot cat, there is a pile of things in the pocket, all are not small." Lei's projects cover mobile internet communities, content, applications, and so on, only to make the final collection of all the products in the large mobile phone.

2010, Lei founded Millet. He says great companies are always born in great trends, and he is bullish on the bursting of Internet handsets.

Lei once said that he is not good at adversity survival, he always first let himself invincible, and then set out. He has always been cautious, starting early with a low profile-first quietly setting up a company, then developing a MIUI system in the name of a third party, and not even saying he was a real boss when recruiting. An entrepreneur familiar with Lei told Caijing, such as Lei, people with heroic plot, hard work and frustration can endure, the most uncomfortable is to do not bring shame.

Entrepreneurship a year later in the summer, Lei a secluded club in Houhai held a small media communication, announced two things, one is Miui is Lei do, the second is millet next month to launch mobile phones. At that time the scene sparse sat more than 10 reporters, Lei to the stage repeated two times: I am a little afraid of failure.

One months later, lei in the form of an Apple conference, a person standing in the center of the stage, completed a two-hour speech, officially launched the Millet mobile phone. After the speech, Lei hid to smoke outside the door, was stopped by the reporter to ask him: in the face of doubt, ready? Lei replied, "No problem."

"Entrepreneurship is jumping cliff, I am 40 years old, I can again for my 18-year-old dream to gamble again." Lei said, since the belief that must lose to start a business, then do a completely innovative things.

Millet is considered to be the most innovative product in China's Internet. Millet mobile phone before the birth, the domestic smartphone market only two kinds of ecology: one is high price high-performance, such as Apple, the second is low price low performance, such as cool pie, such as domestic Andro. The Phantom mobile phone founder Zang has been placed high hopes, his product price and hardware is good, but lost system closed, poor service. At this time millet with low price high performance good service posture into, caught a fever crowd, is accurate.

After millet, many imitators, but followers only learned the fur, missing the essence, this essence is the MIUI system. Lei calls it a "live system," which, like Internet products, is ready to receive user feedback and quickly iterate over updates. Beautiful, easy to use, interactive and strong.

Most people only see the channel innovation brought by millet and marketing innovation, but millet the most innovative value point, but is lei want to use rice chat, a relationship between human and human software become the soul of the mobile phone, connecting hardware and software and community. This matter to the meaning of millet is no less than QQ in the internet era of the significance of Tencent. Unfortunately, after the micro-letter entered, Lei failed to achieve this goal.

Millet co-founder Li Vanchang said, Millet is lei product spirit of the perfect embodiment, lei in the first line of the product, he picked the boot screen millet phone, saw 1 million photos. Lei's product philosophy is to return to simple, but simple not only to wipe out the messy things, but to dig the depth of complexity, the complexity of the law is feasible, control products, let them listen to you.

The Millet age Lei looks radiant and completely immersed in the happiness of a product manager. Fu said, lei in Jinshan, open meet a business department general manager wearing a dark suit with light-colored tie, not formal, will command him immediately take a taxi home to change a set. Now, Li Vanchang can be interviewed by reporters in the office wearing shorts and flip-flops.

Baijun is a hero of the software age, but it disappears in the age of the Internet. And lei in a lot of not to give up, the courage to change, he understood to overcome the fear of the heart, the best way is to face up again, until become a habit. This is why he can not be abandoned by the times.

So, this time, Lei finally ran to the front, he used his own practice a simple truth--before 40 years old, character shape you, after 40 years old, you shape life.

A millet employee told Caijing, earlier this year, Lei said to him, at this time millet can not fail again.

Cliff and land

Product Manager Lei, first launched two products: Millet mobile phone and millet box, and then continued to do a lot of land, including television, routers and a large number of accessories. Into the 2014, the introduction of new products more and more frequently.

One investor said, the millet handset, the thinking leads two years, the technology leads one year, stands in the absolute leader position. But when the Millet box is launched, the leading edge is less than six months. And when the millet TV, millet route launched, the market similar products have been sold for several months. May 15, Millet released millet plate. Compared with Apple, Samsung and even Microsoft, such products are still differentiated, but not compared with the stunning "internet phone".

So, someone raised a question that lei may be reluctant to accept: why does the innovation of millet seem to be slowing down? How can millet, like Apple, scream again after a user screams once?

Lei stood at the threshold of tens of billions of dollars in the dream. Apple, from billions to billions, has launched ipods, IMac and Iphone,ipad, and Apple has a subversive itunes and Apple Store, and Apple is not just a product-driven company, but a platform, a service-oriented company.

For today's millet, if it is only to do a series of cost-effective products have much value? Millet mobile phone and the halo of Internet phone, but mobile power and millet speakers, the core is what? Is it an Internet power?

So, what is the core of millet products? If the answer is cost-effective, then millet will never become an apple. If the answer is innovation, platform and service, then millet needs to continue efforts and changes.

At present, millet for the MIUI system adjustment can be seen to the embryonic form of the platform transformation. MIUI's strategy is to make money from the system-level and service provider when the entire internet is making money based on apps. That is, from a simple app distribution channel to an integrator of the underlying service. For example, millet and contact number assistant cooperation, millet in the Dial-up interface to join the yellow pages of the treasure, so that users can directly use the service, do not need to download the app alone.

For Lei, now do hardware, sell hardware, already is an easy and smooth road. But if Millet wants to make subversive innovations, what he needs to think about is what is a truly innovative product? What should a better service and a better platform be done than Apple?

In Huawei's heyday, Huawei chairman Ren had written "Huawei's Winter", when Huawei's transformation from products to services, from leading cost-effective products to high value-added products.

Most people don't think that millet needs to change now, but Lei can't. Will he look back at the company as a transformational company?

This transition and choice in good times is not easy for lei. What Lei did was one of the most likely jobs in Chinese entrepreneurs. But they look so different.

Steve Jobs was so selfish and irritable, he often jumped on the table to curse, Lei Peace, again angry also without a word, bowed his head to smoke; jobs thinks that the world is not black, that is, a person is not a hero is a fool, a product is not a miracle is rubbish, lei balance, do not have the heart to hurt others; Jobs ' colleagues hated him and loved him, and Lei's subordinates followed , for the Lei Move, Bookshelf Book placed order, and move before the exact. More importantly, jobs created demand and lei catered to the needs of users.

Perhaps, two 99% of the difference will not hinder the success of Lei, but less is that 1% desperate. Lei's character is too cautious to win or lose. Lei is already great, no one can stop him, perhaps the only thing that can hinder him is himself.

Lei told Caijing that he had invested in a 45-year-old entrepreneur who thought he had a 1% success rate, but if successful, it would be enough to change the society. So he decided to gamble-the project failed. He dares to gamble other people's life, dares to put his life in to gamble again?