Portal for the end of the king, Charles Zhang, the source of depression

2008, our newspaper to do a reform and opening up 30 years of special topics, Charles Zhang as no original sin of the internet to create rich, become a typical of our report.

As a domestic internet industry's first wave of entrepreneurs, Zhang Chaoyang led Sohu in a short period of time through the acquisition of venture capital and then listed, complete the "overnight wealth." The private ownership of such a Western 200 years proved to be very mature mechanism, step in the Internet field, so that individuals obtain great wealth "step model" legalized.

Charles Zhang, 2008, has not been depressed. That will be the Internet or portal for the king of the era, Sohu and other gateway ruler of the Internet.

At that time, Zhang was 44 years old, Complacent, what impressed me most was that he stripped his coat and made a Schwarzenegger-like abdominal movement, appearing on the cover of a fashion magazine.

"At that time, I saw the beautiful girl is willing to say a few words, see the appearance of the average girl is too lazy." A lot of pretty women threw themselves at me and I didn't think I'd get married. That would be really sick, too inflated. "When Charles Zhang said this, it was an interview in August 2013.

Today's Charles Zhang, just from the depression of the troubled to come out. He did not want to share the cause of depression, but generally summed up as "fear."

After 2008, China issued 3G licences, the advent of the mobile internet era, the rapid development of social networks and E-commerce. Sohu in the field of E-commerce has no layout, mobile Internet is 2012 only started exerting force. On the social network, Sohu launched the following strategy such as Weibo, but finally lost to Sina Weibo. In recent years, Zhou 360, lei millet and other companies to rise rapidly, Sohu has been stagnant.

The era of the king is over, I think it is the biggest "fear" of Zhang Chaoyang.

At the end of the retreat after the return of Charles Zhang, give me the most direct feeling is a lot of humility to reporters. I asked him if he had a love story during the retreat. The Bachelor smiled and declined. Before a reporter asked the same question, he sleeves to leave.

Reporters in the circle have the same feeling, the retreat before the Charles Zhang is very cold to reporters.

Probably in 2010, I had a phone interview with Charles Zhang, scheduled for four o'clock in the afternoon, and I stayed in the office until nine o'clock. In a rage I rode home on my motorbike. I got a call from Charles Zhang on the way, and I told him to call back in half an hour. After half an hour, Zhang did not take the initiative to call, I called the past interview, Zhang also did not have the interview was postponed 5 hours to show any apology. Two details of the interview are still remembered. I said you are a person in the Internet industry. He modestly said: "No ah, ding lei is also very good." Second, I said Sohu why do not do. He mercilessly criticized me for not understanding the Internet.

In terms of age and contribution to the internet industry, Charles Zhang is like a godfather. In the Internet industry, born in 1964, Charles Zhang is a big brother, the circle only Ma and his age. Most of the other bosses are whenever. For example, Ma was born in 1971. Lei was born in 1969, Zhou 1970.

Zhang said that when he went to Shenzhen to make a speech, the scene and the concert, MA is the audience under the stage. He listened to my story super excited, went back to do QQ. "Charles Zhang said.

So when Tencent overtook Sohu later, Charles Zhang was once very unconvinced. Zhang on the list of China's richest man, Zhou just resigned from founder, ready to start a business, specifically to Sohu consulted for half a day Zhang. Today's 360, the annual net profit has reached half of Sohu.

For Charles Zhang, also many memories of their own entrepreneurial time of the bitter past, will let him in the face of the overtaking, the mentality can be calm, not into depression troubles.

February 1998, Sohu will set up a conference to choose the basement of a hotel, and the press conference is funded by a winery sponsored 50,000 yuan.

When he started his business, Charles Zhang went to the United States to raise funds to save money by staying at his classmates ' home and making phone calls to various investors. Finally, an investor promised to meet.

The man wanted to invest in Charles Zhang, but hesitated. Want to let Charles Zhang return to the company to do a lot more money. But he was afraid that Zhang would lose his chance to invest in Charles Zhang by merging his money from others. So it made a gimmick. He asked Charles Zhang whether he was still in contact with other investors, and Charles Zhang was a hothead, unprepared for this trick of the investment circle, lay that there was a Goldman Sachs Group who wanted to invest in him. Unexpectedly, the investor privately to the Goldman Sachs Group of potential investors out to eat, two people decided to temporarily do not invest in Charles Zhang, let Charles Zhang himself first to do the company, so the risk of investment is very small.

"They conspired well." The old man at Goldman asked me to go to his office and decided not to invest in me, and then tell me how to get to the elevator and let me out. Charles Zhang recalls that he was desperate, and went downstairs, on the streets of New York, to the phone booth to call the lawyer, holding the phone and constantly asked "how to do". In fact, Charles Zhang only wanted to melt tens of thousands of dollars. Later, his own MIT teacher gave him an investment.

When Charles Zhang recalled these memories, I was always in front of the movie "Godfather" trilogy, the young Godfather Vito in the streets of New York to fight the footage.

For the Chinese Internet industry's godfather Zhang Zhang, although has not been a big brother for many years, but I believe that people will remember that year in New York Street that Zhang, and the Beijing Tiananmen Square skateboarding that is full of energy entrepreneurs. Because at that time, Charles Zhang is a synonym for youth, change, freedom, openness, luck, courage and perseverance, and these words are the charm and essence of the Internet.