Sohu Entrepreneurship: From "runaway" to internal entrepreneurship

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Liu Huangyuan

[Perhaps a lot of executives leave the entrepreneurial story of the sting of Charles Zhang, "internal entrepreneurship" in the growth of Sohu has a special significance]

Sohu staff just settled in the new media building Sohu, a 2003 old photos are sometimes displayed on the first floor of the huge screen. In the photo, Sohu CEO Charles Zhang, when Ren Sohu Vice President Koo, with 17173 of the Cai Zongjian, focus of the founder of the Web site Gong launch of the switch, celebrating two cases of Sohu more than 300 million yuan of successful mergers and acquisitions.

Time passes by, the old photos in addition to "parents" Zhang Chaoyang still host Sohu overall situation, once the right-hand man to choose to leave business: Cai Zongjian Venture Fuzhou, Koo, Gong final choice of video business, plus Sohu former Vice President Shanyou and former CEO of Sohu former vice President Li Fu Jun, Sohu has become the Network video field of "Huangpu Military Academy." When the first Financial Times reporter asked how to look at the evaluation, Charles Zhang smiled and said: "I am still very proud." ”

A few years ago, when the story of executives leaving the business is repeated in Ali, NetEase, Sohu began to become silent.

This is related to the internal entrepreneurial culture that Sohu has been advocating in recent years.

Miss Zhang Boss's founders

At the end of 2004, Koo, who decided to leave from Sohu's president and chief operating Officer post, has released ruthless words, the first is, "I hope to go to a company under 100 people"; the second is, "Start again, I want to be the boss." ”

6 years in Sohu, from the earliest to assist Sohu financing to take over Sohu sales, marketing, products, and other comprehensive operations, Koo left before leaving the number second under Zhang, his sudden departure has made the industry a lot of speculation. In this respect, Koo explanation is "weather, geography, people and". "Timing" is at that time Sohu has seen the popularity of broadband to bring the widespread use of video; Geographical location "is in sohu years of work experience so he learned how to run an internet company;" People and "then he personally likes to watch videos, like filming, travel." In particular, he said, "Sohu has a lot of good and humane things in culture, such as the respect between people, the combination of eastern and Western culture, and the simple interpersonal relationship, now entrepreneurship, good things will learn." ”

Soon, in Sohu and Koo have a brief intersection of shanyou, Gong then leave, and in the video site industry encounter. January 2010, Baidu set up a strange art net, gong as a new company Ceo;8 month, Hua friend century renamed Cool 6 media, Shanyou officially as the new CEO, Cool 6 Media successfully through the Nasdaq listed in December, the same year, Youku landed in the United States, the first day of the market close to 161.25%, Koo became an upstart in the Internet.

Koo, shanyou, Gong, Chen, Wang Xiaoquan ... Sohu can independently people in the industry is not small. In the view of Cloud technology founder Cheng, this is related to the style of Charles Zhang. "Boss Zhang is in the back." The following people want to think clearly, and then to rush, spell, to resources, forcing you to mature. ”

And Charles Zhang stressed that Sohu's "loose-style" management, requires everyone can independently, so everyone gets very good exercise, "of course, they have entrepreneurial dream of some people will go out, from Sohu financing is also easier, there are many other factors caused out." ”

Earlier, 酷6网 founder Shanyou this comment: In general, he (Zhang) directly control the Department of few successful, but leave Sohu people are very nostalgic Zhang boss, no longer meet like him to give subordinates loose trust space (boss), otherwise, Sohu will not produce so many successful entrepreneurs.

Find Sohu missed opportunities

In fact, as early as 2006, Sohu has to do the idea of genuine video, but the opportunity to leave the Koo, shanyou, such as separation of senior executives.

For the runaway Sohu, Gong has said to the media, he likes to do entrepreneurial things, but in Sohu will be financial, legal and other aspects of the department constraints. It is difficult to persuade a department to have different opinions. This kind of thing is not bad, but I do not like this kind of thing, increased the cost of communication. ”

Due to the founder of the Ren Sohu acquisition, and become Sohu Senior vice president of Chen a boat also said, later because "do not master, there is no momentum", choose to leave Sohu, founder of the Thousand Oak group.

In fact, Sohu has missed a lot of opportunities in the past few years. For example, SNS is hot, 2009 Sohu in the portal first launched a social product white society, but the first advantage of the white society to end up with failure; 2011 old rival Sina will be micro-blog to do a vivid, Sohu microblogging only just in beta, At that time, Zhang was only a product of Weibo as a common Internet "standard", to the end of "a slip of remorse."

"Now it seems that Sohu missed the Instant messaging, search, video, social networks, micro-blogging and other areas of opportunity, if each single take out, almost can make a market value and Sohu comparable, or even beyond the listed companies Sohu." One Sohu employee said to reporters.

Promote internal entrepreneurship

Perhaps a lot of senior executives left the story of the venture Zhang, "internal entrepreneurship" in the growth process of Sohu has a special meaning, swimming, Sogou input method, video and other key development of Sohu business areas, initially through the internal business incubation to grow up.

Zhang said that a bit of history of the company, there are pot problems, the internal entrepreneurial model allows a group of people to focus on a clear goal to do one thing, and this goal to achieve and not realize is very different, has a strong team motivation.

"I don't want to let the rules obscure my understanding of the problem. The whole company in every way, if there are particularly good signs we will continue to find, and then cultivate it into a key project. Charles Zhang said to our correspondent.

At present, the wireless department, which is being taken seriously by Zhang, is pushing the "cliff plan" of the internal project, with the previous Sohu tour, Sogou Input method similar: Select a small team, give a certain commitment to the future introduction of external investment, waiting for the right time or to do independent split.

"Cliff plan" name and Baidu "Call Wolf sex" similar, meaning namely bite.

Among them, the internal hatching of three mobile application products from the Tang poetry "Wild Fire, Spring wind and health" in the name, corresponding to the short video application of "Wildfire", reading the application of "Spring Breeze", recruitment application "and health".

One Sohu insider told reporters that under the premise of Zhang's full decentralization, the internal venture trial and error cost is low, which helps to reduce the loss of outstanding talents.

Gold seed Venture partner Dongjianyong, who came out of Sohu, also believes that the previous practice of big companies confronting rather than dredging has led to a lot of outstanding talent outflows, but over the past two years bosses have encouraged internal entrepreneurship and encouraged entrepreneurs to stay in the biosphere and moat. "Keep in view, entrepreneurship can not stop, on the two rights to take its light;" optimistic, internet entrepreneurs are more and more mature to control and management companies, internet companies are further towards the mainstream, the transformation of traditional industries lay a solid foundation. "Dongjianyong said.

Has the Internet dividend passed?

In the beginning of the six or seven years ago, the company Sohu pioneering help "monopoly" video industry after the upsurge, Sohu's entrepreneurial "thunder" is NetEase and Ali Rob.

"The peak of entrepreneurship based on the Internet has passed. "An industry insider evaluates it.

2011 left Sohu, now Orange Hotel marketing director Chen to reporters that in the early days of the Internet development, a lot of opportunities, but the Giants are busy with their own main business, which makes Koo, Gong, shanyou and other people in some sectors to find the direction, "money, team, experience, plus pc Internet dividend, Seven or eight years ago they had more chances of success. ”

But now the PC dividend is greatly reduced, Ali, Tencent, Baidu and other giants through acquisitions or their own expansion into the "Big Mac", the general entrepreneurs see opportunities are the Giants stare, resulting in fewer opportunities for entrepreneurial on the PC.

When entrepreneurs focus on the mobile internet, Chen that the majority of mobile internet entrepreneurship is product, technology as the core advantage, but Sohu people out of business mainly concentrated in the media industry. By contrast, NetEase help mobile entrepreneurs mostly get the former portal President Li Yong Angel investment, more like a "circle culture."

and Dispatch editor-in-chief, Sohu former financial director Wang that, Sohu turnover entrepreneurial ethos change, and the first bucket of gold also have no small relationship, "the first group of Internet people from the stock options accumulated the first bucket of gold, now to get from the company's stock options to obtain large profits has been difficult." ”