“It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer.”
- Albert Einstein
Anxiety and fear accompany the entire entrepreneurial journey. Most things are frustrating and difficult, and even when you occasionally encounter situations that go smoothly, you start to question life, repeatedly confirming whether there's a bigger pit waiting for me in this situation, "why me"?
I returned from Japan to start a business in August 2015, and my current company was established in 2016. Looking back now, at the beginning of entrepreneurship, I wasn't prepared in terms of skills, the direction wasn't determined, the path wasn't thought out, and I didn't even have a team; only mentally prepared for entrepreneurship, with full enthusiasm, I joined the "mass entrepreneurship, innovation for all" trend, even rushing into it.
At the very beginning, some friends helped out of humanitarianism, and a few of them are still in the company (once again, heartfelt gratitude for their help in times of need). They helped alleviate a lot of anxiety and pressure, but the fear of uncertainty about the future could only be borne by myself.
At first, we made a yoga app, writing code until 2 a.m. every day, then calling the security guard to open the park gate for me, waiting on the road for a ride home. Each time, the guard would sigh: "It's so hard to make money these days."
Later, the guard quit because he couldn't stand being woken up just as he had finally fallen asleep comfortably every night.
To save money, we chose a very cheap office in a construction zone. The toilet often ran out of water, and the whole hallway stank. I was very anxious, worried that the harsh environment would make the partners who were already hard to convince leave.
The early stage of entrepreneurship started in Tianjin, but I found that this city was not suitable for doing anything. Later, we gradually moved from Tianjin to Beijing. Every morning, I took the earliest train to Beijing to talk to potential partners, learn from other entrepreneurs, and meet investors who were unlikely to give money. In the evening, I took the last train back, and every time I reached the building, it was exactly midnight. As all the elevator advertisements turned off, there was always a chilling wind that slowly blew open the door of the building, and the only feeling was sheer exhaustion.
The company got on track when our partner Cong joined us. Cong is capable, has good character, and is experienced; he gradually helped build the team, and the product entered normal development progress. We also caught the last wave of financing benefits for startups in the Internet sector, and overall, it was the luck of having the right people and money that helped the company get through the hardest early stages.
On July 4, 2017, we opened our U.S. office. Then a bunch of troubles began. Before launching the U.S. office, I had never worked or lived in the U.S. for a long time. At the time, the biggest feeling was "Yesterday Once More." As a novice entrepreneur, I had barely learned how to find people, money, and direction (including the path to do things) in China, and now I had to relearn everything in a foreign environment.
The first employee we hired later turned out to have drug problems and significant emotional issues. When we fired him, the police in the U.S. came to prevent his retaliation, and the U.S. office even worked from home for a few days. In 2018, I flew to the U.S. more than ten times, either on a plane, going to the airport, or dealing with jet lag every day. That year, I was completely disoriented and even called 911 once due to poor physical condition.
The first year of the U.S. office did not go well.
Once, I flew from California to Miami for a meeting, but the flight was canceled due to extreme weather. However, since I had scheduled media interviews and panel speeches, I needed to arrive on time, so I transferred three flights. When I arrived at the second transfer airport, the transfer city was a very small and chaotic place in the middle of the United States. It was already midnight, and the next day's flight was very early. I really didn't want to bother anymore, so I decided to stay at the airport for the night. But after sitting for not long, the airport actually closed! I was chased out onto the street outside the airport by the cleaning auntie; I dragged my luggage and sat on the curb all night, thinking all night. How can I make the American company successful? It seemed like no conclusion was reached. Only success can replicate success.
The biggest problem at the time was not finding the right person to consult with. Everyone needs a virtual board of directors, and the members of the board should be a true community of shared interests, while also being intelligent, having the ability to judge and analyze problems, and preferably having experience. Similar to how your written code needs to be reviewed by others, many decisions need to be discussed with members. But at the time, I was somewhat stubborn and made many bad decisions.
It can only be said that it was still due to luck that I later met the current head of our U.S. operations. Gradually, our U.S. company transformed from a cost center to a profit center; we also covered the U.S. business, PR, and investors. Later, when reviewing this matter with our Cong, doing anything requires first finding the right person, and before finding the right person, you can wait and not rush into action.
Later, between 2018-2019, the company faced even darker moments while searching for its second growth curve. This story can be told another time, but we eventually got through it. Currently, the company's main business is still developing healthily and rapidly, but the wave of the Internet is nearing its end. While we allocate 80% of our resources and energy to our main business, we also invest 20% of our resources in Web3. Let's see if the new track can bring greater vitality to the company in the next 5-10 years. But this time, my mindset doesn't seem as rushed as before. I'll take my time to watch, pay tuition (you definitely won't learn without paying tuition), accumulate cognition, team capabilities, and industry resources.
I don't want to rush, because rushing itself is an undesirable twentieth-century attitude. When you do something, wanting speed means you no longer care about it, you just want to move on to something else. So I want to take my time, carefully and thoroughly, with the attitude of finding the broken pin I lost. With this attitude, you can discover the cause, and there's no other way.
— Robert M. Pirsig, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance"
Since I enjoy the process of entrepreneurship so much, there's no need to rush, carefully and thoroughly doing things step by step.
Although I'm not as hurried as in the early days of entrepreneurship, I still have the same fearlessness as when I first started, with infinite anticipation and longing for a bright future.
Building a great company isn't something that can be achieved solely through personal will and effort; it requires the right timing.
We always think that our success is the inevitability of history, and our failure is the contingency of history; but in fact, it's the opposite - failure is inevitable, and success is just a very occasional thing.
When opportunities come, doing the right things and finding the right people can be felt. Before we wait for our appropriate opportunity, the only thing we can do is to ensure that we don't die, ensuring that we're still at the table. New opportunities will always come.
After a hundred battles, one returns still young at heart.