A few days ago, Liu, founder and CEO of Chizicheng, visited Silicon Valley and accepted an in-depth interview with the co-founder of the well-known new technology media "Silicon Valley Secret Agent".
Liu
Founder and CEO of Qiqi City
More than 200 million users around the world downloaded the Solo system in Ikechi City.
The company is valued at more than $500 million.
Wallace (Forest Day)
Co-founder of "Silicon Valley Spy"
Doctor of Columbia University
Senior entrepreneur, media person, professor, investor.
So what kind of sparks did the conversation between the two collide? The following is part of the interview:
W: When you communicate with big companies in Silicon Valley and similar companies, what kind of strategic reassurance do you use to communicate and stay ahead?
Liu: It's very simple and crude. Although it is not obvious on the surface, we have cooperative relations with many companies, including competitors that others think, including these desktops, many of which are our partners. Even overseas, we basically have considerable cooperation with Nova Launcher and Apex Launcher. And big companies are even more humble. Our team has always followed the view that we should achieve others first and then ourselves. Therefore, our cooperation with companies like Google and Yahoo will always be the fastest, the strongest in execution and the deepest in understanding. Although our scale is not the largest, we work closely with many companies because we act quickly and achieve others. On the one hand, we cooperated with them, on the other hand, we learned a lot.
W: Can you disclose some specific ways of cooperation?
Liu: There are only a few directions. The first is cooperation at the product level, the second is cooperation at the user level, and the third is business cooperation. We can make money together. The fourth is some cooperation at the capital level, because we are also looking at some projects now, so the cooperation is very deep.
W: So you just said that you are also looking at the project now, that is to say, you are investing, so what direction and type of teams and projects will you aim at?
Liu: Actually, I have always had an idea. I hope what we do is more unconstrained. So we are not limited to the investment direction, because I have seen many companies doing intelligent hardware and agriculture in Silicon Valley. In fact, in a sense, we should be more unrestrained and unscrupulous. I think great innovations are all in the corner, and there are likely to be some very awesome companies. I especially hope to help others and achieve others.
W: So you have to come to Silicon Valley to do something like this.
Liu: Yes, I really hope to stay here most of the time.
W: Then let's ask, have you ever thought about giving up in the process of starting a business?
Liu: Never. Why do you say that? My motivation for starting a business is actually not very specific. I don't think I need to earn 1 0 million, 10 million,10 billion. I have no special needs. My needs are quite illusory, just as I realize my idealism and the illusory dream of a great company. I think this dream makes me very happy. This is the first point. My motivation for starting a business is not very clear.
W: I find that people who have been teachers have the same temperament and feelings.
Liu: (Laughter) The second one is that I seldom tell others. My starting a business is an escape from real life. Why? I don't want to be in a cycle like most people, which is terrible for me. Because I was born in a very poor family and didn't have enough food and new clothes to wear, I felt a little desperate about the observation of real life. I don't have much sympathy for what most people pursue. I may jump to the other extreme right away, because I prefer to realize something idealistic. In retrospect, you asked me if I ever thought about giving up. Of course I didn't, even in the most difficult times, even when I was alone at the earliest, because I started my own business at the earliest. Now Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications is still a good school. Everyone's graduation salary is quite high, ranging from one month to twenty-one months, with Beijing hukou and everything. But after listening to the teacher's graduation ceremony, I rented a small room, carried a bag, and started my business for 600 yuan a month. Then start your own business, from writing code to welding, to finishing the work at last, and finally buy it from Jin Wuxing.
Woman: Have you ever made hardware?
Liu: I came from a hardware background and studied electronics. So in a sense, I think I like this life, I like to pursue my own ideals, and I can't live that life. Based on these two points, I have never given up, nor can I have the idea of giving up.
W: Let's go back to the question of products. In the process of building a very good product, you need to have strong encouragement and training for the team. You just said that you want higher-level talents in Silicon Valley. So what is the difference between the entrepreneurial ecology, technical links and technical conditions in China and the entrepreneurial ecology and personnel quality in Silicon Valley? As you just said, in fact, in the era of mobile Internet in China, many things are ahead of the world and Silicon Valley. So what do you think are the places in Silicon Valley that China needs to constantly update and catch up with at present?
Liu: I think it should be a combination. I use this word to describe it, which may be dynamic, more product-oriented, more commercial, more technical and more operational. This is the difference between Silicon Valley and China. We can't say which is good and which is not. The combination of these two points is very important. Therefore, our headquarters office is in Beijing, and we also hope that the office in Silicon Valley can attract some talents for such matching and combination. What domestic teams lack is the feeling of making great products. Technically, there may not be as many experts in search and big data as in Silicon Valley. At the same time, Silicon Valley may not have many operational strategies in the Mainland, and it is extremely commercialized. Execution, so the combination is still very important. Therefore, I especially hope to build a combination of Sino-US cooperation. I think we have made some achievements now.
W: So during the release of products like Solo, many users came from third world countries. What is your experience in promoting products for users in these countries?
Liu: Our users are indeed distributed in some third world countries, but most of them come from countries with large populations, so there are more users in the United States, Brazil, Russia, India and Indonesia. If we use third world countries to describe some of our markets, our strategy of acquiring users is actually to make products well. This is also the view that we have always adhered to. Because our products are local, many users think that they are different from other products, which will naturally form a word of mouth, combined with our operating strategy in user acquisition. We have now built an open platform for Solo, which combines many other products. Other products can guide us constantly, and we can also guide them. This way of going deep into cross-promotion has also contributed a lot to gaining users in third world countries. But I still think the product is king. In many countries, we not only get users through products, but more importantly, we develop many users into partners. We have a user in Ukraine, and a child taught himself the basic programming of Photoshop and Android, and became our content partner to help us make various themes. So now the number of users searching for him on Google Play is very large, and he earns tens of thousands of dollars every month to support his family. Because Ukraine and Russia are at war, many people in his family have lost their jobs. He not only supported his parents, but also made a girlfriend, bought an Apple computer and took great photo studio photos. We also reported our Fk. This is a case. Not only do we recommend products to users, but I just said that users are our gods, which is actually very specific and clear. Users can not only make money, but also become the ground troops we promote in this country. He publicizes it to friends around him every day, so in a sense, solo is not a company with 100 people, but a company with hundreds of people, and our users are one of us.
W: So you are actually a UGC company made by PGC method.
Liu: Yes, user participation is very important. In fact, many things are done by users for us.
W: It's not easy for users to really participate deeply.
Liu: Yes, if you want to be an ascetic, you must be able to bear loneliness at an early age. Don't spend money on promotion easily. Fk didn't spend a lot of money to acquire users in the early days, but really solved the basic needs of users, and then users grew up at once. We must be careful when spending money, so we set a rule for ourselves at an early stage, and the products must be the ultimate and meet our requirements, and then recommend them to customers. So back to the topic, products are king, which is carried out in the company to everyone, including the front desk. We often say that how to take pictures together is a problem, which requires a product manager, that is to say, the photo organizer should set everyone up, order eggplant or cheese when taking pictures, and how to take a few pictures. This is the role of the product manager. So our team has been working hard in life.
W: This is how you lead the team. This is a very interesting way. Speaking of which, I think of a case. This is a well-known fund company. When they were taking pictures, they suddenly found that how to set the position is the job of the product manager. We are running out of time today. Let's share your experience with our friends in the last few minutes. That is to say, from now on, what are the three most important things for me to build a product at this moment? Of course, it would be better if you could let him concentrate on one thing.
Liu: We should start from ourselves. First, love this product and be interested. That's all that matters. Don't use it if you don't like it. Not loving this product is fatal. The second is to make a product of the order of one billion users, so as to enlarge your product base; Third, we must have a good business model. If it is horrible to make unprofitable products, then the first thing entrepreneurs should do is to be a profitable company. If you don't make money, someone may invest in the short-term capital boom, but if you don't make money in the cold winter, no one will invest because you can't see the possibility of making money. So our company has been talking about making money from the first day, but strangely, we have not clashed with products, and we have always adhered to the concept of making products. So this matter has always been a dialectical state. On the one hand, we should do the ultimate product experience, on the other hand, we should realize the ultimate realization, and there is a combination between the two.
W: I totally agree. Because as an entrepreneur, it is. All products that don't make money are hooligans, either cheating investors of their money or being complacent. In short, it is a rogue.
Liu: I think every product has its own characteristics. That's what I'm doing now, but for many people, it's still necessary to analyze specific problems. Some people can choose not to start a business because I want to pursue personal happiness. I think I'm happy like this, which is enough, but some people may be interested in making a small app. As long as they are happy, I think this is the most instinctive starting point, that is, I must be happy If I'm unhappy, I won't do it.
W: At the last minute, a new problem emerged. Will you be an operating system in the future? Customized operating system
Liu: I don't have this idea yet, but I may see the development of the industry in the future. Because the development of the whole industry has exceeded our imagination, mobile devices are not just mobile phones. Cell phones may disappear and be replaced. Could it be the operating system? Therefore, we should not define death for ourselves, but should follow the development of the industry. If you want to do it, you must do things that may change mankind in the next decade. Just like elon musk, I think such things are full of happiness.
W: So you might make a bottom-level thing?
Liu: Yes, it is possible.
W: Well, that's the end of today's private conversation. He Chun will continue to share with you their development experiences, experiences, needs and experiences in future private talks. Ok, that's all for today's private chat.
Liu: Thank you. Welcome to Solo.
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