The failure lesson of Zhan Zhen Yang and the principle of "three not" of selecting investors

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Lee Colling advised him to do a page tour, he stayed to do the tour, the whole China development team are doing a page tour, he continued to do the end of the tour, the world's investors are looking for a hand tour project, he is still doing the end of the tour; The original Golden Hill game, one of five tigers, experienced the failure of entrepreneurship, and again stood in the starting point of entrepreneurship

When everyone flocked into the hand to swim, Zhan Zhen Yang is still busy doing his end tour. "Although the prospect of hand-swimming is very good, there are many opportunities, but first let the belly not hungry to say it!" He smiled and then filled it with seriousness: "The previous experience of a startup failure tells me that the first thing you need to do is to keep your business alive!"

Traditional end-tour developers in succession, and Zhan Zhen Yang and he founded Zhuhai Heart Travel Technology Co., Ltd., but hope to be able to dig in the end of the first bucket of gold, many people are shocked by his approach. Because now the end of the trip from the blue Sea to the Red Sea, the market pattern has long been formed, because of large investment, long development cycle, low success rate, the vast majority of entrepreneurs are not to avoid it, Zhan Zhen Yang is to squeeze inside.

"In the end of the market is not so bad, unless you have a deeper understanding of the new market and sentiment, otherwise I think the enterprise to support themselves is the most important." He raised his voice and said, "I remind you that we are human, not God, don't think we are omnipotent, our level is limited!" In that case, do what you are good at, and then see if there is a chance to cross your own, and you can make some breakthroughs in other areas. "But is it so easy to swim?"

Familiar with the history of the domestic network game may be known Jinshan online games five tigers. At the beginning of 2008, Jinshan released the new strategy of online games, at the same time set up by 5 senior executives of the new management of the game, they were the industry dubbed Jinshan Games Five Tigers title. And Zhan Zhen Yang is one of the five tigers, when his job is Jinshan Network game Division deputy general Manager.

Zhan Zhen Yang in 2001 after graduating from university joined Jinshan, as the company's mobile software division, deputy general manager. March 2004, he left from Jinshan, and then founded Beijing Century Communication Technology Co., Ltd., to do mobile phone machine design. Two years later, May 2006, the first venture failed, he returned to Jinshan again, began to play games. After this, they successively served as the general manager of the Jin Shan Mountain working room, Jinshan Games COO and Jinshan Vice president and other positions. Host the development and operation of the game has "spring and Autumn Q biography", "Swordsman World" and other well-known network games.

Is it easy to move, and can the experience of the past lead to his current success in the end? Is this a hard thing to do, or is it against the trend? How long is he going to do in the end? Will the future change?

This venture, Zhan Zhen Yang won the Investment of Innovation Workshop, which is also the first game project of Innovation Workshop. Titanium Media Editor in the Innovation Factory to see the Yang, he talked, sometimes bad laugh, and sometimes pat the table, but almost anything outspoken. "Fail to know what is most important".

He used to be a "fireman" in Jinshan, wandering around, still not settled in a certain place. "08 years later, my wife will not work, almost followed me around," now, the company's main team in Zhuhai, part in Beijing, wife and children in Zhuhai, investors in Beijing, he continued to rotate in both places. Let's hear his story, his dream!

The first entrepreneurial failure lesson: too fast, too much thought, no strategy

Zhan Zhen Yang's first venture is a trans-business venture. In 2004, he and several friends in Beijing founded the Mobile design company Beijing Enlightenment Century Communication Technology Co., Ltd. At that time, the domestic companies to do this line more, more well-known have tak letter wireless, the Chinese electric Dragon and so on. "Exactly, like the millet today," he said. ”

But at that time the handset license is controlled, therefore can only do the research and design, cannot directly do the handset sale matter. However, the company just started, the mobile phone industry into the overall confused period. "2005 and 2006 I feel is the most confused, wandering time, once very scenery of Tcl, Konka, Panda ah and so on, but that time has fallen, Nokia actually also appeared the problem." Zhan Zhen Yang They made several mobile phones, are also sales chat.

Now think about it, at this point the development of mobile phones is obviously technology-driven: color, from monochrome to how many shades of gray, and then from color True color, a variety of screens; in sound, mono, chord, MP3, MP4, MP5, then straight, flip, slide, ultra-thin. The market seems to be booming.

"I don't know what the mobile phone should be like next!" said Zhan-Yang: "We had this tangled period of time, take for granted a bunch of mobile phones, but not sell very well." After the launch of the first generation of Apple handsets in 2007, most of the companies that had been mobile phones failed, and the handset industry was completely subverted by the iphone. ”

In summing up the reasons for failure, Zhan Zhen Yang is considered to be the original strategic thinking did not think well. "The specific thing is, at that time to do what products, we do not think particularly clearly." Although it is difficult to think, nor did the enterprise do well, now think of our positioning is still biased high-end. "He said that although the external environment is really bad, but his own problems are there," if done at a low point, may still live well. However, at that time is to feel sure to do the brand, at least to do more high-end mobile phone, the cottage does not see. ”

"Entrepreneurship is not what you want to do, and ambition to be down-to-earth." "Zhan Zhen Yang summed up three experience: first, not too blind or impatient expansion, must control the rhythm; second, no matter how difficult it is, really have to focus on, do one thing first; third, take full account of the cash flow and risk of enterprises.

Three principles of investor choice: No holding, no gambling, no meddling

Zhan-Yang's venture again is a legend is gradually to do the process. "Innovation Factory has a partner called Lang Chunhui, she used to be friends with me." Strange to say, I really did not want to start a business, she did not know listen to who said I want to start a business, give me a call, said, you want to start? I'm at the Innovation factory, you want to start a business I want to talk to you. ”

"I didn't really think about starting a business at that time," he said. When I really want to start a business, I really don't remember this thing. I didn't remember, so I met some investors. Until one day, Zhan Zhen Yang in Take out mobile phone to see Lang Chunhui's telephone number. "Yo! It's like she asked me to give him a call, so I called." "he said.

In the later two sides chat, but see innovation Workshop is mainly mobile internet, Zhan Zhen Yang's heart and a little drum. "I particularly remember that we started talking about the December 30, 2010, after the chat I was ready to retreat, she told me you don't go, you wait for me one day." However, at this time the main head of the innovation Workshop went to the United States.

by January 4, 2011, Zhan Zhen Yang and innovation Factory Lang Chunhui, Hua together. "We went to the Tsinghua Science Park, the whole poly tak eat, chat very happy, has been talking to the store closed." Then I went to a café, chatted for a while and the café was closed, and then we went to my car, parked to the curb and talked there. "All feel good, later with Lee also negotiated a bit, and then innovation factory ready to cast."

In fact, Zhan Zhen Yang in the venture again with a lot of investors chatted. "I think different entrepreneurs have different requirements for various investment institutions," he said. I hope the investor is, I need your help you to help, I do not need the place you can make me more independent. Anyway, at least from my point of view, I think the innovation workshop is particularly good. ”

In the choice of investors, Zhan Zhen Yang set three principles: investors do not hold, do not sign to gamble, do not meddle in the company's specific business. "Of course the first one is reached, and the second third is not big." He said that if we did not gamble, in the course of business, can be in real sense according to business needs to develop, "business independence, is the whole business process of major decisions, can respect our views, unless we have obvious problems." ”

"We will certainly respect some of the investors ' suggestions in the big decisions." Zhan Zhen Yang said, good investors usually you should not feel too much of his existence, because you find investors every day, this is certainly not a normal state. "Because you're doing business most of the time, you're not dealing with investors," he said. ”

The necessary communication is indispensable. But most of the time, investors should be invisible rather than dominant. "What are you going to do, what you're going to do ..." is really a very high test for entrepreneurs. But not necessarily the investors are wrong, but for the parties, it must be too hard. Every week, each person's words are different, in the end who is wrong, because I have not experienced, I do not know how to evaluate, but for the parties, he must be very uncomfortable. All kinds of care, all kinds of attention, all kinds of questions, and then my plans are always disrupted, and then the opinions are inconsistent, and this is hard to suffer. For example, investors every day to find you: you this month flow can to what time ah, next can be ranked number ah, to do so, I feel that I will not survive.

How to squeeze over the end of the log?

Lee Colling once advised him to do web games, but he did not waver. He thinks that it is the advantage of his team that he should swim the end and then think of other possibilities.

For what to do next, Zhan Yang is very cautious. ' Strategic choices are too important for a start-up, ' he says. First the end of the tour to do well, to become a cornerstone, to feed his team, in the choice to do other, the mentality will be better.

Since we have chosen the end of the Red Sea to swim, how to play their advantages? How to let their products in the end of the market to grow upstream? Will he continue after the first tour? How will he go the next way? Titanium Media has arranged dialogues with Zhan Zhen Yang, and readers can read more from the interview.