UC Browser Yu: Entrepreneurial never safe zone to win

Yu, chairman and CEO of UC excellent View company

Yu, chairman and CEO of UC excellent View company

Founded in 2004, UC gifted company, now has become the world's most mobile browser users of the enterprise. Quarterly user volume has exceeded 300 million, month active user breakthrough 200 million.

But it's a company like this, how to turn a massive user into revenue? What is the difference between a mobile browser's business model and a computer browser? How can fast-growing enterprises avoid venture risk? The mobile internet industry is still in the early stages of turbulence. China Business Journal Reporters on these issues dialogue UC excellent as chairman of the company and CEO Yu.

There is never a safe place to start a business

Do business is not the pursuit of balance, but must pursue characteristics. The trait is to build by your genes, where the forte must become longer rather than the short plate. The result of a short plate may become a mediocre company, no different from others. The long board of UC is the product.

"China Business newspaper": Many peers to the UC full of respect, but also on the situation of UC this year worry: first, Tencent, such a large enterprise is trying to open up mobile browser market, UC will be crushed? Second, the mobile browser and the computer browser is completely different, you can find the direction of business model?

Yu: It's true that a lot of my friends have talked to me about this, and this is a question that has no answer. I don't think it's entirely safe to start this business. In the different stages of our development these years, there are always friends who are worried about our life and death problems. For example, 2007, we did a good job in Java, but when Symbian system up, friends began to worry about us. Then our Symbian system was done, but then Android and iOS came up. For now, our Android system has a market share of more than 70%, but people are starting to worry that app clients are popular and that no one will be using browsers. You will find that this is an eternal problem. My understanding is that technology platform changes will always exist, more than 90% of enterprises have not come. For UC, the last metre is likely to drown before it is ashore. For our enterprise, the core is two: first, you have the ability to leapfrog the basic platform, and the second is that you have the ambition to cross the platform. We've crossed over a few times before, and I'm sure the next step will cross over.

"China Business Daily": In addition to cross-platform capabilities, whether more competitive risk from Tencent's strong competitors? For example, although the rice chat cut into the market early, but last year, Tencent's micro-letter quickly robbed other companies market, become the largest market share of mobile communication tools.

Yu: Any enterprise, whether Tencent, 360 or UC, initially how to develop? Such enterprises in the first long period of time is not to be looked at, so also for a long time without great competition pressure. Starting a business is like a child, it takes two or three years to walk, to run. If the enterprise does not have this time and the space, will quickly die prematurely. Before June 2009, no one thought mobile browsers were valuable. But at this point in time, a lot of people are starting to get into this area of the Nuggets. At this time we have four or five years of growth, with a long time of precipitation, competitors have been difficult to smother us a stick.

Based on this experience, I have two tips for entrepreneurs: one must not grasp the opportunities that everyone sees, but look at the opportunities that may arise after three or four years. The opportunity that everybody sees now, big enterprise a shot you have no chance. Only can withstand the loneliness, avoids the big enterprise the vision, only then may do well the bedding and the nurturing process. Second, in the first three or four years, do not expose to the sun, do not go around doing publicity, to low-key, do not let other enterprises to stare at you.

China Business Daily: from your venture to the present, you are always interested in creating a technology-oriented company image. In the November 2011, you grilled Internet giant Tencent as the "first case against unfair competition" in the mobile internet field. Aside from this, the competition between internet companies is sometimes unscrupulous. Have you ever considered changing your team style?

Yu: The conflict with Tencent is a severe test of my heart, I keep thinking, or to insist on their own business when the type. If the entrepreneur regards the company as own child, I had hoped that the UC this child is a gentleman, do not all day striking shout to kill. Father told me early: The disadvantage is taking advantage. In the competition, we can guarantee our own style, but I can't guarantee the other people's type. I can make sure that I am in the sun, but it is a very passive thing to keep others in the sun. I struggled for a long time and decided to stick to my own style. Some people throw shoes, as long as not be smashed to death, we have to go down in the sun.

At the same time, we think about how to deal with this industry competition status. Two cases: if we are deliberately smeared, we must stand up for clarification. It is not advisable to be completely silent in this age. The other is that if we do have a problem, we must not hide it. Internet applications often have loopholes, even Microsoft (Weibo), Google will have loopholes, they are constantly patching. But in China, this is often used as a means of attacking opponents, so in China's big environment everyone is afraid to admit that they have problems. I think we should normalize the matter and admit it if there are any problems.

"China business newspaper": UC 80% of employees are developers, you have been trying to build the image of technology companies. More innovation in the Internet comes from the innovation of business models. Are you too naïve to think so?

Yu: The Internet over the past decade has been more of a sense of direction than courage. With the strength of millet, as long as the direction of the right can also achieve one side of the world. But looking back ten years from now, this industry has matured, can say that has entered the competition of military modernization, millet has no chance to win. In the future, all companies are fighting technology, such as electric business enterprises, the surface is e-commerce, if no core technology is impossible to win.

Do business is not the pursuit of balance, but must pursue characteristics. The trait is to rely on your genes to build, where is the forte must make the forte longer, rather than to repair the short plate. The result of a short plate may become a mediocre company, no different from others. Only paranoia can survive, and in the marketplace, companies with characteristics are valuable. UC Long board is the product, marketing is our short board, so we will not increase a lot of people to do user marketing.