Millet "Hunger Marketing" founder Chuan: I and Lei and different

In November 2012, Millet bought Chuan founded by many companies, Chuan officially become the eighth Millet co-founder. He managed the Millet box and millet TV business, which is and millet mobile phone, millet router tied to one of the three product lines, and will become the market in 2014, many forces of the important war.

Chuan and other co-founders of the company have different backgrounds. Among the other co-founders, Liu De University, the head of the industrial design department, came from big companies. Look at a start-up company, Chuan prior to the creation of Lei technology, although occupy the Ktv song system nearly half of the market share, but also small, but he is the first millet investors, two companies merger is Lei hard talk for a year, talk about Chuan "feel embarrassed" to complete the matter.

"I've known Lei for many years. When the company was founded, they all invested in each other, he cast a more look, I cast millet, not because of lack of money, is an attitude, mutual participation. ”

Chuan has been playing an important role in the growth of millet. He is millet "hunger marketing" the initiator, is the Millet MIUI system "weekly iteration" advocates.

How does he participate in the company's internal management? And how to see the growth of millet?

"How does the company make money?"

Millet such a short time to achieve today's brilliance, is that the group of entrepreneurs, including Lei also did not think of, and even Lei did not have the means of how to make money on millet to give a convincing answer. As an investor in millet, Chuan experienced that stage. He was not polite to "expose" Lei, said he "did not answer the matter in the end." ”

"Small companies, just beginning to start a business, even if the lei have a reputation, everyone who came to the skeptical attitude, everyone sat down will ask this question, millet in the end how to make money?" I did not hear Lei have a convincing answer. If I have to summarize, I'll pick two of the most reliable. ”

The two answers are as follows, and they seem to be quite unreliable. Lei First answer is "unreasonable" type. He would ask each other a question: Am I rich or are you rich? If I had money, wouldn't I know how to make money better than you? So don't worry, just listen to me; the second answer is the "worst result" type: The starting point for what we do is to be valuable to the user. If this product is made, it will not make much money in the end. Then we can say to users, trouble everyone, we really can't live, can 5 yuan, 10 yuan to raise money. If the user really likes, I think we can still raise money.

"In the final analysis, compared to the business model, Millet's first more direct appeal is to be a company with fans." "This is different from the average company's entrepreneurial goals," Chuan said.

Chuan abandoned the business model without talking, but also by the LEI inspiration. When two people went hiking in 2007, Lei mentioned that he had invested in a company UCWeb and asked if he was interested. Chuan oneself listens for a long time, seem to also did not understand. He asked a standard "investor discourse": How the company made money. Lei also replied that he did not know. Two years later, when UCWeb's revenue exceeded 200 million, the two people talked about it again, Lei said, "I didn't know that at the time, but the trend was there." This thing is like we go skiing, I know that slope can certainly, but the specific how to only know when there.

This thing has been affecting the Chuan, including his later venture again to see more, "I do more to see, think of what people need to do, as to the development of what it is like, I did not think, this is the God to know." I talk to investors, the first thing to say is, do not ask me how to make money. ”

2009, Chuan for the first time and Lei said to read the idea of reading: "Money this thing, born not to bring death." Just take money as a company that doesn't make money. Do you think it is better to read the books well and make the Chinese more good? Lei didn't say flat, only asked him 2 million enough. "I said it was too much, I started the first company from 50,000." 2 million is not enough? At that time to think of how the worst, lost the Bai, what else can be, completely did not think how to make money. ”

Just hold the idea of making products for themselves, read more but eventually attracted a person's attention. The She Quanhong of the general manager at the time of Foxconn igdbg (innovation Green Digital Business Group) was the Kindle for Amazon's foundry. "You can't pay attention to the fact that someone around me has been brushing the Kindle's original system into Chinese and it feels like it's smoother and better than the original system." I think it's great, and I wonder who's doing this. "She Quanhong sent people in the country to find the Chuan, two people get to know. "It's an ideal person doing things. "She Quanhong evaluation Chuan, two people become acquainted with Millet and Foxconn a series of exchanges, cooperation opportunities, this is something."

Look more later and Patriots jointly released E-book Hundred, but the E-book market with the ipad impact did not expand the scale, look at the subsequent abandonment of e-book device direction, transfer to the set-top box.

In these processes, Chuan is rarely anxious. He said he and Lei most like the state is that two people actually have a commercial success, and then "retired people." "Just like those veteran cadres who have retired are doing what they want to do, so what I do is follow my heart and not live for the hopes of the investors or other people." "Chuan said.

Gentleman and rather different

Chuan from the intellectual family, but early in the university knew he was going to toss entrepreneurial character. After graduating from college, his idea of starting a business was unanimously opposed by his family. Father had a conversation with him, "that scene is now vividly visible." "Chuan said. Father asked his son: "You will deceptive, will deceive?" None of this is going to do business. ”

"My parents are DOS senior engineers, who read and study for a lifetime, they understand business is like this." "The parents strongly objected, Chuan said," I will see that I do not deceptive, do not deceive, can I make this thing. If I do not, I will not think of anything, go abroad, China will not be able to stay. If made, then I will not violate this principle, I want to earn money to go home and sleep. ”

2004 years or so, Chuan and lei meet. Two people of the same age, because they love skiing, holidays are generally two families travel together, so the relationship is very close. 2011, begged Baijun insisted Lei back to Jinshan, Kakawa as the CEO of Jinshan Software until Zhanghongjiang took office. Lei recalls the situation at that time: said he helped one day a week, the result of a week to four days of classes, he also has his own company, also in entrepreneurship, busy every night 2 o'clock, for me to go through fire and fire, without him I would have collapsed.

Chuan that this is a friendship between friends. "I have been friends with Lei for so long, after all, our values are the same." "It is obvious that in the one-hour conversation, the words" make a small restaurant "," The user Experience first "and" The Tong Ren Tong "are the same as Lei. But when Lei invited him to join Millet, he hesitated for a year. "Our friendship has no interest, and I have always believed in a gentleman's turn as a water." "Until he was Lei said" sorry to refuse again. " Lei said, to look at the acquisition of the most important is to chuan this person, "set up at the beginning of Millet want to do together, but has been hesitant not to make up his mind, Chuan first to do more to see." ”

After listening to Chuan talk so much and lei the same words. Chuan finally talked about the difference between the two people. "In terms of dealing with risk, lei is more aggressive and I'm more conservative." "For all the skiing sports that two people like, Lei is always the one who wants to take everyone to risk, and Chuan has always been a security element in the team and has been able to convince Lei."

and Chuan safety umbrella role, also reflected in the company management of Millet.

Millet mobile phone before the first release of a meeting, Chuan asked Lei, you have made hardware, no bar. It didn't seem to have made any hardware at the time.

"I did a little." So I know the extreme risk of supply chain. Make a 2000-yuan mobile phone, if the production of 1 million units per month, four months of capital is 8 billion yuan. But this phone, open mold to four months, the production will need to wait another four months. And the cell phone is seafood, it will rot there. This thing is not sold today, three months later will not sell, it every day on the price. You think, if our small company has 100,000 units in stock, the company will die in minutes. ”

Including Lei, the software and internet-born people, for the first time feel the supply chain, inventory details of the problem. As is known to all, the inventory problem is precisely the biggest hidden danger for Chinese handset manufacturers to occupy the market as much as possible.

Over the past few years, the stock management level of millet supply chain is obviously better than other manufacturers.

"I always told Lei how fast we were going, how many three years have we done?" Can we slow down a bit? If you drive 400 miles, you can flip over it casually. Anyway, I'm a team player. ”

Chuan's conservatism does not mean that he lacks boldness and can-do. In fact, Millet's weekly iterations and the internationalization of the road have his insistence.

Interesting to say, including Lei, where everyone worked in big companies, some of them from foreign firms. Chuan to Millet made a speech, "Millet began to recruit are the top talent of large companies, but they are also accustomed to the practice of large companies, every day nine to five of the rest and rest." What I said is very simple, what is the start-up company, what the start-up company should do. I do not prescribe 7x12, 6x12, just a sentence, you want to take the company as their own company to do. Lei also traversed a detour, he in the late days of Jinshan involuntarily think to put a company standardized, so serious and hard to learn standardized management method, Jinshan made a big company. Later, in the millet we slowly together to form a new concept, we will always be a small company, not standard is not standard Bai, how to do? ”

In this speech, Chuan the concept of the weekly iteration to millet, this upgrade rhythm so that the people were shocked. "I've been doing that a lot," he said. "Chuan said.

Also in the internationalization of this matter, Lei had hesitated, a chat, he and Chuan Exchange: Millet is not only to do the domestic market is enough. Chuan back to him: if only to do the domestic market, then I will not do.

"I know that if Millet is an international market, it is more difficult than domestic." But I've always had the idea that it's not the ability to earn foreigners ' money. China does not have a real world-class brand today, and Trout, the author of "positioning", has investigated what the Chinese brand means, made in, the quality is cheap. You see a line of words on the back of the Apple phone, designed by Apple in califonia,assembled. He understood that China is the assembly, so we can do the Chinese design, Chinese manufacturing, Chinese price, Chinese price is cheap, but if you only think that Millet is a bargain, then I will not do it. Chuan said the Red Star Gold Award in the Millet box was one thing that made him more excited than any other performance.

such as gossip yin and yang bipolar fusion and complementarity, promote millet fast and steady growth.

The Battle of the television

Compared to the millet mobile phone, Chuan is now standing in a more difficult position. When millet to internet thinking to do mobile phones, millet mobile phone, outside for Lei also dubious, but now, with the internet thinking to do TV has been everywhere, and even someone grabbed in front of the millet, chuan how to break the bureau?

Chuan is not a strange intruder to the television industry. As early as 1998, Chuan's first company, Lei, was involved in the Microsoft Venus Project and had extensive contact with home appliance manufacturers. It also made Skyworth's president, Yang Dongwen, meet him and pursue him for a while.

"Yang Dongwen has been aware of the problems of traditional home appliances manufacturers. He even says who dares to say that if we don't turn to the internet, I'll kill someone. ”

Yang Dongwen is also constantly looking for talent. Then he kept on persuading chuan. He told Chuan that you Come (do TV), Skyworth investment, even if only a small stake in the line.

Chuan had not thought of doing television, did not agree to Yang Dongwen. Yang Dongwen and because business partnership, in Find Jinshan CEO Zhanghongjiang, also want him to encourage chuan do this thing, talk about the last Yang put it, if Chuan do, Skyworth even only 10% of the shares can be. Chuan still didn't promise him, later Yang also find Lei continue to persuade.

"He is so persistent, of course, is aware of the use of the Internet to transform the traditional enterprise is right." But as a traditional manufacturer, he has no way to accept that hardware like millet does not make money. "It was only a matter of fact.

But to do TV, the road is far more bumpy than imagined.

Chuan's first thought was not television, but the box. At that time because of the ipad for the E-book market preemption, the idea of more E-book hardware has died out, only to stay read more applications. Look at the team inside after a discussion, decided to cut into the box.

In 2011, Chuan and Lei together to a trip to Taipei, Chuan to mention doing the box thing. "At that time Lei also completely did not think of this thing, so the outside is not always layout, the entrance to the view of millet." The nature is the entrance, it is not what you want to do. Think well layout to do again, that is not grand? ”

In October 2011, Chuan's team started doing "look for Apple" products. This software system enables the Apple to have Chinese operating environment and rich Chinese network video resources. Users ' feedback data exceeded Chuan's imagination, with weekly active users reaching 80%. One thing determined Chuan's determination: In the March of 2012, APPLE TV released its third generation, but on Taobao, it was the second generation that sold more than three to 600 dollars. "is because three generations can not escape, can not install our software, there are users continue to say you do it, do we definitely buy." We do it ourselves, according to the market situation, I can sell at least 600, 600 pieces I can't make a good box. "April 2012, look more decided to make their own boxes.

It was in the process of making the box that Chuan and Lei began to have the idea of making television. At that time, the Internet television market, the multi-party infighting has begun to flow.

At the time, the most optimistic situation was that millet was expected to release the first internet television in April 2013, grabbed the market opportunities. But it was the music of the top, but also used before the plan of millet. "We are going to do TV, definitely and supply chain to communicate our ideas and develop product solutions." Later, for some reason, Millet did not do this program. So Foxconn offered the scheme to the music vision, and all the strategies of last year's video were the same as those of millet before. "and millet, in order to achieve a better solution at the bottom of the interaction, television several dystocia, the final product release time to September, missed the best window period, when the market has been a free-for-all." Skyworth joined the attack millet queue, claiming that the millet TV and Skyworth, Ali Cooperative development of Intelligent television compared to the stone civilization encountered industrial civilization.

See Chuan on the same day, Le Vision just released 70-inch super TV, and the previous series slashed prices. Chuan said he knew nothing about the news. It looks like the gap between the and millet, according to the public sales of music, music, see the sales of Super TV has more than 300,000 units, and millet TV for the first time to sell 3000 units, after the number of open purchase has been similar to this.

Chuan seems to have no mind for the lottery, "commercially, the impact may be, but it is short-lived." Apple is not the first to make a MP3 player, not the first to make a smartphone. I don't think it really affects us. ”

He is still adhering to the conservative pie, "TV and mobile phone, to improve production capacity, need to do first mold, open a set of molds will be three or four months, the risk of the hardware is large, millet and the first time to do TV, I prefer to be conservative first." Or that sentence, the product well, waiting for someone to copy. ”

Chuan's battle has yet to be fought.