I remember it seems that in the early spring of 2003, Li Yanhong said in an interview with this reporter in his office: I am a storm lover, no matter how big the storm is, I will swim to the other side of success. On the afternoon of August 13, 2005, I was silent for seven or eight months, which passed the lock-up period before listing. Shortly after returning from the other shore, Baidu CEO Li Yanhong, wearing a red T-shirt, was interviewed by domestic reporters in a teahouse in the fourth ring road in northwest Beijing. Although the location was notified that morning, there was still news from the media. "We did it." Li Yanhong seems to be still immersed in the atmosphere of the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. [Blocked advertisement]
Baidu will "search" to the end.
At 0: 40pm Beijing time on August 5th, 165438+ Baidu was officially listed on NASDAQ with an issue price of $27 and an opening price of $66. It broke through 100 USD in less than three hours, and the highest sprint reached 15 1 USD. This success was so great that the 37-year-old Robin Li naturally became the hero of China Internet in 2005. The miracle of Baidu came so suddenly that even Li Yanhong and his Baidu employees felt "caught off guard". The miracle of Baidu has made Baidu employees have 8 billionaires, 50 multimillionaires and 250 millionaires.
Li Yanhong, a technical engineer, admits that listing is not Baidu's goal, but a means of development. "Listing has increased our popularity, and we can also use the capital market to do something." Li Yanhong said that listing for Baidu is just closer to the goal to be achieved in the future. For the future development direction of Baidu, Li Yanhong insists on "searching to the end" and everything revolves around search.
For the performance of Nasdaq on the first day, Li Yanhong himself said that the stock price was indeed high, but he also said that this did not mean that the Internet bubble was born. "As the basic demand of the Internet age, the current search is still in the early stage of development." Li Yanhong said that Baidu's future development still has a lot of room for imagination. Baidu's competitors will not be any company, but "the mature speed of the search market." According to Li Yanhong, less than 65,438+00% people in China surf the Internet, so they still face great development opportunities in the future. He said that in Baidu's focused search engine market, it is in the enlightenment stage. "We may introduce some measures to expand the scale or develop new business, but these are definitely related to search." The ambitious Li Yanhong has a clear vision for Baidu's future.
Although Baidu has been successfully listed, Li Yanhong, who struggled in the storm, can be said to have reached the "other shore", but in view of the market environment after listing, Li Yanhong has already taken precautions. In the face of Google's massive entry into the China market this year, how will Baidu, which has little lead, respond? Li Yanhong does not deny that if a company is committed to search like Baidu, it should be said that there will be fierce competition. But what worries him recently is how fast the company's performance is growing, because the rapid growth stage of the whole market has not yet arrived.
In this overseas IPO, Baidu raised $654.38+0 billion. Whether to increase technical investment or market investment to attract customers has not yet been determined. Li Yanhong said that he might buy some specialized small companies next.
The stock option system gave birth to Baidu.
As the founder and CEO of Baidu, Li Yanhong has 8 years of experience in the United States. He used to work in the Internet department of the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones, during which he invented his own patent for search technology and obtained $6,543.8+$2,000 in venture capital. Li Yanhong now manages 750 employees in a luxurious office environment. When Baidu was founded in 2000, Robin (Li Yanhong's English name) ordered that "all front desk employees should hold shares in the company" in order to motivate employees.
In addition to the high share price, Baidu's listing has aroused great concern in society. It is also because not only a few management teams, but also entrepreneurs who get rich together, which is very rare in domestic companies. As one of the two founders, Li Yanhong's shareholding in the company is not high, currently only about 22.9%. From the beginning of the company, he and another founder, Xu Yong, gradually distributed the equity to more employees, including early front desk employees.
It is this effective stock option system that has enabled Baidu to grow from $65.438+0.2 billion to nearly $65.438+0 billion in just five years.
Why is there such an alternative approach? Li Yanhong's answer is that it is natural for Baidu employees to become millionaires, because the risks of employees who just entered Baidu are far greater than those of later employees. Liu Jianguo, the first employee of Baidu, gave up the opportunity to be a university professor and joined Baidu. At that time, there was nothing in the company, so we started to work. To this day, many employees are like this and should get shares. "My principle is less commitment, more cash. Only in this way will they believe you. "
It is reported that Baidu employees have stock options, and the company personnel wear casual clothes, and there is no need to punch in at work, so the working atmosphere is very relaxed. An ordinary employee can also express his ideas without hesitation. It seems loose, but Baidu has strong cohesion and creativity. Li Yanhong said that half of the credit for Baidu's current development lies in the corporate culture under the option system.
"Option is the biggest constraint and the biggest incentive for employees. Other management methods have retired to a secondary position. " "Under the option system, employees in the company can dislike each other, but for the same goal, everyone can work together in Qi Xin." Li Yanhong said frankly, "Many people think that the biggest attraction of Baidu comes from myself. In fact, Baidu's atmosphere and future are more attractive to them. "
Baidu only had more than 300 employees last year, and now it has more than 700 employees. Will new employees be unbalanced in the face of those old employees who have become rich? Li yanhong believes that the risks borne by old employees are different from those borne by new employees, so it is natural to get more compensation. "I think this is natural. Six years ago, Liu Jianguo gave up the position of Professor Peking University and became the first employee of Baidu. He didn't even have an office at that time. Do you think he deserves more? I think new employees will understand. " Liu Jianguo is currently the chief technology officer of Baidu, and one of the eight billionaires created after Baidu went public. After Baidu's successful listing, Li Yanhong made the first "We did it" call to Liu Jianguo.
Since the earliest option exercise will be half a year later, Baidu now brings only "book wealth" to employees. In this regard, Li Yanhong said that the short-term fluctuation of the stock price is normal, but in the long run, the stock price will definitely reflect the true value of the company. "When the company was founded, I set the principle of' less commitment and more cash'. Now that Baidu is listed, I hope employees can benefit from it. "
Google is in China
In the first quarter of this year, China's search engine market share, Baidu ranked first with 37.4%, while Google ranked third with 19. 1, a big gap. Nevertheless, Google's share price on Nasdaq is still as high as nearly $300, and Baidu's rapid growth can be seen from the online market in China, where there are huge opportunities. China is already the second largest online market in the world. Experts believe that in the next two years, China will become the largest Internet market in the world.
As the world's largest Chinese search engine company, Baidu successfully landed on NASDAQ on August 5, raising $654.38+09 billion, setting a new record for overseas IPO financing of China Internet companies. On August 6th, it broke through $654.38 +050, surpassing the sum of Netease, Sina and Shanda, and became the highest price in China Internet market, which shocked Wall Street and made American investors crazy.
In the eyes of Americans, Google is definitely the company in Silicon Valley that makes the United States crazy, full of American spirit and innovative culture, but there is a place on earth, with Baidu and Li Yanhong, but it has defeated their hero Google! This story certainly stimulated Americans' appreciation of Baidu to the greatest extent.
Baidu's story is largely promoted and told by Google. For Americans, there is no story that is more popular and easy to understand, and more in line with American values and personal entrepreneurial heroes. It was Google that made Li Yanhong and Baidu popular on Wall Street, and it was Li Yanhong and Baidu that forced Google to face the China search engine market again and launch a new China strategy in an all-round way.
Among the major Internet companies in China today, Li Yanhong and Baidu are one of the most focused core businesses, most technology-oriented and most professional and pragmatic companies. Compared with the huge, comprehensive and diversified localization trend in China, Baidu is a bit unique. What can be accepted, understood and appreciated by Americans is technology and concentration. Shanda, Tencent, Netease, etc. In their minds, what they may see is more than profit.
At the same time, when the Internet "returnees" in China completely retreated and the "terrapin" occupied the center of the Internet stage, Robin Li, who has an American education and work background, undoubtedly made everyone feel refreshed. Li Yanhong and Baidu are closer to American culture, and this advantage cannot be underestimated.
Baidu and Robin Li, who make Americans crazy, will have an irresistible prospect. Many people who expect Baidu to be a flash in the pan may be disappointed, because Baidu's madness has a deep foundation, not a temporary fanaticism. This madness will achieve Baidu, inspire Baidu, and make Baidu truly become a more successful and crazy company.
Because of this madness, every Internet practitioner, even China people, will benefit from it. Many people will get venture capital faster and get more venture capital because of Baidu's success. Because of Baidu, the Internet in China cannot be popularized!