Wang: Innovative dimension of "the most likely person to copy" of research-type entrepreneur

The United States Mission Network office location, has moved five times, the most recent one, is one months ago, from Beijing North Five ring, moved to five rings inside wangjing a far away noisy office building. It is hard to imagine a giant with 5,000 employees and hundreds of subsidiaries, in stark contrast to its rivals in Beijing's busiest areas of office space.

Compared to 5 years ago and even 10 years ago, Wang's appearance was magically changed, a little fatter, but still baggy shirts and trousers, with a pair of eyes always looking at each other, the media often described them as "limpid eyes." "Let's get started." "he said.

In the hands of the detonation of group buying business model, so that group buying become hundreds of millions of Chinese lifestyle, China has once had 6,000 similar sites, once known as the "Thousand-Regiment War." And in the Baidu investment glutinous rice, Tencent shares in the public comments, adhere to the independent development, only the rest of the United States Wang set up a family-a single large, but also the only profitable one.

In mid-May, the U.S. group announced the completion of the C round of 300 million U.S. dollar financing, and launched the U.S. listing. Wang 10 years of entrepreneurial long-distance running, finally to bear fruit.

"The best person to copy."

No one can tell exactly how many start-up projects Wang has started.

Two years before returning to the net, Wang has made input methods, short URLs, social networking sites, and even maps, no one can tell who their prototypes are, but so frequent turnover, so fast iterations, the only explanation is that he has his own goal as a template, and in this frequent trial and error.

At the end of 2005, Wang founded the campus net, and the project is still inspired by the external, a typical example is that its internal code is "Facebook." But this time Wang no longer try the wrong, he at the beginning of the project, to change the previous emphasis on technology light promotion strategy, recruited 300 "campus ambassador", supplemented by nearly 20 kinds of dazzling promotional means, a cannon and red.

A year later, the network of social networking has swept the country, dozens of different sites herd, the campus social turmoil into a red sea. But because of the financing failure, the campus has to 2 million dollars sold to thousands of oak group Chen a boat. 5 years later, Chen will be renamed by the School of Renren, to "China's largest social network" concept in the U.S. listing, the market capitalisation once in China's internet after Tencent and Baidu.

2007, Wang again started the footsteps of entrepreneurship, founder of the class Twitter site "Rice", a short six months on the line to reach millions of people, triggering the domestic microblogging boom, soon after, he started a similar school, but a wider range of social networking sites "at home", the development momentum is equally good. But not a short-lived, 2009, Rice because of "unrestrained speech" by the relevant departments close, even with the server "at the domestic", also closed together. But after the rapid growth of the portal microblogging, 5 years later, the largest number of users up to 500 million of Sina Weibo listed in the United States, the Wang opened a micro-bo feast, painted a full stop.

After this to 2010 the establishment of the United States regiment between a short period of more than half a year, it is said that Wang has done at least 5 entrepreneurial projects, but no one knows the specific name of the project, Web site or even a rough direction, the only thing to be sure, Wang began a new round of "large-scale trial

The results of the trial and error are unknown. But as it did 5 years ago, Wang quickly launched its own new start-up project, from content to form almost completely copied from Groupon's group purchase website, the American network. NET when once saw the play code again staged, just two months later, there have been a large number of media to "hundred Regiment War" as the title, describing the copycat swarmed, six months later, the term was quietly changed into a "Thousand Regiment war."

To the American regiment, Wang has not been able to escape from an entrepreneurial cycle, that is, imitation-red-is imitated-out-to start again, such a strange cycle, even more surprising is that Chinese entrepreneurs more than tens of millions, but this kind of ups and downs, almost only happened to him.

Many people believe that this is the fate of Wang, is the "small copy" brought about the consequences. For a long time, Wang was almost a spokesperson for the "Copy to" model, for example, the 360 founder Zhou said Wang "see a copy". More comment that, because lacks own innovation, "the most will copy" the Wang in face similarly is copied the predicament, only then will be helpless. But is that really the case?

The dimension of innovation

Delaware University in the east coast of the United States is one of the oldest universities in the United States, here are the green grass, and antique-style teaching building, because of the development of a number of independent declarations and constitutional signatories and well-known, the motto is "Knowledge is the light of the Mind", the school with computer science and technology well-known, in Wang left here, At the same time, the school has sold its multi-touch technology to jobs, which is the core of the iphone blockbuster and eventually became the world's first technology company by market capitalisation.

Wang's favorite response to Zhou's skepticism is that "innovation and scientific discoveries are different." Jobs also borrowed from others ' innovations. ”

Imitation is also innovation. For Wang, "copy" is only the beginning of the site to attract eyeballs and attention to a means, and the original, his domestic copy of the project, has always been a fundamental difference in the beginning. In the net, is completely and Facebook different promotion path and "second-hand market" and other different function settings; In the rice is not, it is the beginning of the support of Chinese 140 words, support text messages, and support pictures; in the United States Regiment, then from the fundamental foothold on the difference between the-groupon idea is the merchant first, consumer second , in the United States is the opposite.

This makes the "Wang Department" Entrepreneurial Project, in a Red sea always appear particularly eye-catching. Many people are wondering why Wang's "feeling" of choosing a project is so good. For example, Dangdang CEO Guoqing has asked, in a city to do the first not surprising, China has so many group buying site, how can the United States Regiment in so many cities to do first?

"There's always a lot of opportunities, but it's different. CEO's most important job is to ensure that important work is always well implemented. "said the king.

For example, the emphasis on quality, such as the three-year low, continues to emphasize high quality, low price, low cost and high technology, low margin, is our first thought clearly. Wang said, "There is no good IT system, no good execution team, these are impossible." We can not completely control the entire industrial chain, can only exert strength, China's service industry problems, the United States will be better, but there are reasonable expectations, we may be at any time to retire and other business launch, to slowly improve. ”

On this issue, Wang's rival, Tencent CTO Scomputer once gave a pertinent answer. He said that to do group buying, Wang must be stronger than Ma Yun and Ma, because "the core team's understanding is decisive, execution is good, cost, rhythm, order to do well, the strategy accurate and calm, when everyone burned money, choose the most economical, efficient and lasting way." ”

"We always keep an entrepreneurial mindset. "Wang to" South du Weekly, "said," three things others can never do, set the company's vision, to find the right talent, to maintain enough cash to operate the business can be used. ”

Anxiety, or the "emotional roller coaster" that foreigners describe as a startup, always follows. Today also feel that "we want to become the industry leader", tomorrow will feel "we are doomed", is completely the normal life. Wang has been accustomed to such a life. For ten years, he had almost kept the rhythm of his work, and he got up eight o'clock, drank a bowl of porridge and ate an egg, hot vegetables, eat to work, very late to work, always personally hands-on, home forever moved to the nearest place, home to sleep before doing things, or research business, "there are so many people do not use the United States Regiment."

Wang University classmate, roommate, pioneering partner Wang Huiwen said. Including college time, he and Wang lived under the same roof for more than 10 years, not to save money, but to discuss business convenience, and even after both parties married to a family, such a state continues for a long time.

"Wang is a research entrepreneur. If you're looking for someone like him, I think it's Amazon's Bezos. "Wang Huiwen said.

Research-oriented entrepreneurship

Wang's entrepreneurial journey, almost from beginning to end, is groping through the dark. The group's start-up team mostly from the original meal no period of technical engineers, the current United States Regiment COO Canga Wei, when the investment side Ali do the survey, had blunt United States Regiment team "lack of experience."

In Wang Huiwen's words, Wang is by no means a "literary youth". He does not watch TV, he seldom travels, he goes out occasionally, and he behaves like an ordinary tourist. But whenever he goes out, his bag is always full: a Macbook, IPad, Kindle, iphone and Nexus.

Both Wang and his team are almost always in a state of perpetual learning and research. Initially began to start a business without programmers, he and his team simply self-study programming, the campus need to promote, they self-taught to develop their own promotional routines, the United States Regiment now need to get the recognition of capital, he has learned the way of dealing with capital.

Earlier this year, Wang also put forward his own groping "four longitudinal three horizontal" prophecy: entertainment, information, communications, business, the four vertical areas, every 5 years will encounter a "horizontal" technological change, the past three Shan search, social, mobile, the upcoming fourth horizontal, is the internet of things.

"Where did vision come from?" You can see how far past you can see the future. Believe that some things, we work hard, not three years to try again, 6 years, or even 9 years, will always prove you are right. ”

Three Amazon-produced Kindle E-readers, the most closely connected Wang and Bezos. He still keeps a close eye on the internet, books in the industry and books outside the industry, "because all things are connected." Like Bezos, "using group reading to keep the team's attention from being distracted", he will also devote his time to thinking about the future. But Bezos to him the most influential, or "user first" way of thinking, and consistent "persistence."

Some people have summed up the Wang success of several magic weapons: vision, execution, luck, perseverance. Others said he was "jumping higher every time he got a stick". Learning brings foresight, hands-on experience brings users, luck provides courage, and perseverance brings hope. That the media often use the motto of Goldman Sachs to describe the company, "we are greedy, but we are greedy for a long time." ”

But all this requires a core reason to keep people stable during the most frenzied period of group-buying talent, and management to stay calm in the face of the temptation to burn money and keep moving forward at the lowest level.

"We believe in the power of the rule," Wang said, "that justice will prevail over injustice, that the contract will prevail over the trampling of the contract, and that the order will prevail over the disorder, which is why we have always adhered to it." ”