Peking University pride
"I am psychologically stable, and the bigger the occasion, the better. In the college entrance examination, I should be able to get into Peking University through normal play, but I don't necessarily get the first place (he was admitted to Peking University with the first place in Yangquan, Shanxi). "
In p>1968, Li Yanhong was born in an ordinary family in Yangquan, Shanxi. "When I was in elementary school, I passed the drama school and later gave up. Now I feel that giving up is also good, and technology can bring greater influence. " Li Yanhong recalled. When I was young, I was fascinated by traditional Chinese opera and was admitted to Shanxi Yangquan Jin Opera Troupe. But in middle school, Li Yanhong returned to his "main business" and devoted himself to his homework.
In p>1987, the diligent and assiduous Li Yanhong was admitted to the library and information major in Peking University with the first place in Yangquan City. "The free academic atmosphere of Peking University has greatly helped me to form my independent thinking ability." Li Yanhong said. However, in the ivory tower, there are many joys and sorrows. His excitement of leaving Yangquan for the highest institution of higher learning in China was gradually melted away by the tedium of library and information science. It is urgent to plan the future life path. "At that time, the atmosphere in China was rather dull, and it was already a very good choice to graduate from university and enter government offices and units. In my opinion, choosing to go abroad is a natural path. "
"I'm a very dedicated person. Once I decide my direction, I won't change it until I do it well." Since junior year, Li Yanhong has no distractions, bought books such as TOEFL and GRE, and lived a "classroom-library-dormitory" life. The goal is to study in the United States, and the direction is locked in computer science.
studying in America
"I didn't go abroad smoothly. Because I changed my major, I just came to the United States to study computer, and I couldn't keep up with many homework at first. Sometimes when interviewing professors, because I am more anxious, I talk about some areas that I don't know very well. As a result, those professors think that I can't. "
In p>1991, Li Yanhong once again crossed the wooden bridge and received an acceptance letter from the Computer Department of new york State University in Buffalo, USA. It was Christmas, and 23-year-old Li Yanhong was carrying his bags, breaking through clouds and fog, and embarked on his second journey in life.
It snows in new york State University in Buffalo for six months in a year. Here, he endured the freezing cold at night. I have classes during the day, cram English at night, and write programs. I am often busy until two in the morning. Here, he has experienced all the hardships of foreign students from China. "Looking back now, I feel that it was quite bitter at that time, but I should suffer when I was young." Li Yanhong commented on this experience.
"There is always justice in the world, and there is always reward for giving". Li Yanhong has the spirit of diligence, tenacity and persistence in his bones, which makes his professional skills improve rapidly. After staying in school for one year, Li Yanhong successfully entered Panasonic, Japan for an internship. "This three-month internship has played a vital role in my future career choice." Li Yanhong said.
galloping in Silicon Valley
"The biggest feeling that Silicon Valley gives me is that I hope to change the world and my life through technology."
Before the summer vacation in p>1994, Li Yanhong received a letter of appointment from Dow Jones, a Wall Street company. "After the internship, the research results were appreciated by the most authoritative figures in this field, and the relevant papers were published in the most authoritative journals in this industry, which is also very helpful for future doctoral papers." Li Yanhong said: "But at that time, there was a general trend among China students studying abroad, that is, once they got a job, they would give up their studies. At first, I didn't think I would. But the boss of this company is also a technical expert, and he appreciates my research very much. The two people have the feeling of meeting each other for a long time. A scholar died as a confidant, so I decided to leave school and accept the position of senior consultant of this company. "
during his three and a half years on wall street, Li yanhong dealt with real-time financial news every day, and successively served as a senior consultant of Dow Jones subsidiary and a designer of the online real-time financial information system of the wall street journal.
In p>1997, Li Yanhong left Wall Street and went to Infoseek, a famous search engine company in Silicon Valley. In Silicon Valley, Li Yanhong witnessed Infoseek's infinite scenery in the stock market and its subsequent gloom.
In p>1998, Li Yanhong analyzed and concluded in his book "Commercial War in Silicon Valley": "Technology itself is not the only decisive factor, but the strategy of commercial war is the key to winning thousands of miles; To allow failure; Let good ideas hatch conditionally; Tolerate creative confusion; To share the happiness ... "
These typical Silicon Valley business experience were later applied to Baidu's entrepreneurship with ease.
"I don't seem to have a very bad process on the road of life choice, but I am faced with some choices." Li Yanhong said. From Peking University to Buffalo to Wall Street to Silicon Valley, Li Yanhong seized the opportunity when it came. These years of accumulation laid a solid foundation for him to create Baidu in the future.
returning to China to start a business
"Don't ask whether it is too late to join the commercial war now. According to the current development speed of the information economy, who can bear the responsibility of not participating in the war?"
during Li yanhong's eight years overseas, the internet industry in China is undergoing earth-shaking changes. Since 1995, Li Yanhong has returned to China for an inspection every year. In 1999, Li Yanhong decided that the environment was ripe and it was time to join the war, so he set off for home.
I don't know whether it is coincidence or chance. Another Christmas, Li Yanhong flew from the east coast of the Pacific Ocean to the west coast of the Pacific Ocean, returned to an important starting point of life-Peking University, and quietly started his business. Li Yanhong rented two rooms in Peking University Resource Hotel, together with an accountant, five technicians, and his partner Xu Yong, a group of eight people, started to establish Baidu Company.
Then, Li Yanhong began to go back to the United States to look for money. He didn't like driving. He drove all day to lobby among venture capitalists in San Francisco. Finally, he successfully raised the first venture capital of $1.2 million, more than the planned $1 million. Nine months after Baidu was founded, venture capitalist De Fengjie and IDG invested another $1 million in Baidu.
Regarding why Baidu is favored by venture capital, Li Yanhong said: "Investors have a belief that Baidu will get better and better." In fact, when he decided to start a business, Li Yanhong was already among the top three in the world in terms of engine technology. And Li Yanhong's persistence, dedication and professionalism are well-known in the industry. In addition, the China market potential cultivated by Baidu is huge. With the combination of three factors, Baidu is naturally full of infinite temptations for investors. Li Yanhong said: "At that time, financing was relatively easy, but most enterprises still could not get financing. These investors we have selected should be said to be excellent and very able to see long-term goals. "
now, Baidu has gone through five years, during which there are many thrilling changes-fierce board debate, withdrawal of partner Xu Yong, relentless competition in shopping malls and other challenges, all of which are testing and impacting Li Yanhong from time to time. However, Li Yanhong has always remained calm and calm. With the continuous increase of capital and the continuous maturity of technology, Baidu has developed rapidly by leaps and bounds. In 22, Baidu search engine technology really matured. In 23, Baidu's traffic increased seven times compared with the previous year. In 24, Baidu brand was widely recognized by netizens. Baidu successfully went public in 25.
what is the road after success? The reporter asked.
"It is still my unchanging belief to change my life with technology. Listing is just the beginning of success, and the real challenge is still behind. " Li yanhong replied.
the woman behind Li Yanhong
"Yan Hong, I love you and want to marry you." Perhaps it is a joke like this, it is often posted on Baidu's Li Yanhong Post Bar. Some people even discussed which part of his five senses looks best: "If you have to choose one, it's still your mouth, like Gallen Lo's."
"Handsome, successful and talented", with the boldness of an entrepreneur, the charm of a mature man and the elegance, calmness and calmness of a scholar. Such a man makes some women feel: teach people how not to love him-< P > Unfortunately, he is married.
Li Yanhong belongs to the "flash marriage" clan. He and his wife got married after only knowing each other for six months, and now they have a daughter. Li Yanhong and his wife Ma Dongmin met at a gathering of overseas students in China. Ma Dongmin graduated from the junior class of the University of Science and Technology of China. When they met, she was studying for a doctorate in biology at the University of New Jersey.
Li Yanhong said, "My wife has a great influence on me. She is a hothead, and she will act immediately when she makes a decision, while I am a slow-witted person, and I only do it after consideration. Our personalities are complementary. I worked as an engineer in Silicon Valley before returning to China to start a business, and I felt quite happy with all kinds of flowers and plants. But my wife encouraged me to join the company. At that time, I wanted to make it bigger and control the direction by myself. Therefore, returning to China to start a business is the most suitable choice. But it is a challenge for her. Generally, girls who go abroad prefer the foreign environment. But for my career, she resolutely returned to China to support me, which is not easy. "
"Among the returnees who have returned to China to start businesses, the divorce rate is very high. But now my wife and children have returned to China. " Speaking of this, Li Yanhong smiled, and his handsome face showed infinite warmth and happiness.
Jinghua Times (B35 edition, September 12th, 25)
Baidu's listing depends not on performance but on expectations
Our reporter Zhang Jianyue
On August 5th, Chinese search Baidu landed on NASDAQ in the United States. On that day, its share price rose by 354%, which was the highest on the first day of IPO in the past five years. "Baidu does not rely on past performance, but investors' future expectations for the China search market!" On September 8, one month after listing, Baidu President and CEO Li Yanhong summed it up to reporters. "From the day of listing to now, I am almost busy with interviews with the media every day. It is time to return to normal work!" In the Chinese search market, there are Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Alibaba, Sohu and Sina inside. How to compete with these giants for food and increase their income scale has become a problem that Li Yanhong needs to face among flowers.
Wedoit! (We did it! )
"The final pricing of the issue price: $27 per share!" On the evening of August 4th, US time, after three price increases, Li Yanhong and Baidu listed underwriter team finally determined the price.
In the previous two weeks, Li Yanhong and his party set off from Hong Kong and traveled to Singapore, Britain and the United States to explain the story of Baidu to investment institutions in various places. The enthusiasm of investors obviously exceeded Li Yanhong's expectations. "The breakfast meeting of more than 9 people was originally scheduled, and 14 people came. Many fund managers with billions of dollars stood against the wall and listened."
the best way to cope with the investment enthusiasm is to raise the price, so the original issue price range of $17 to $19 has changed to $19 to $2, then to $23 to $25, and finally to $27.
"After the final issue price is determined, the listing work has basically come to an end, and the rest is to go through the procedures." Wang Zhansheng, chief financial officer of Baidu who followed Li Yanhong's roadshow from beginning to end, recalled: "At this time, Li Yanhong took out his mobile phone and dialed the phone of Liu Jianguo, chief technology officer who was waiting for news at Baidu's Beijing base camp."
“Wedoit! (We did it! ) "Li Yanhong, who connected the phone, finished this sentence, and his tears brushed straight down, choking and unable to speak. "At that time, I was suddenly moved by the hard work of the employees for many years, so I shed tears!" Afterwards, Li Yanhong explained.
the next morning, Baidu shares were officially listed on Nasdaq. At 11: 2, the first transaction was completed and the transaction price was $72 per share. And this is just the beginning. Baidu's share price continues to rise all the way. The prices of $1, $12 and $15 have been broken one by one, and the whole Nasdaq stock market is boiling. Since the bursting of the internet bubble in 2, such a stock market myth has never appeared again.
"I didn't cry when I saw the stock price!" Li Yanhong recalled. In fact, Li Yanhong has no time to sigh. Half an hour after the first transaction was completed, he was invited to the studio by CNBC (National Broadcasting Corporation), and then the major news organizations in the United States took turns to interview him until the market closed in the afternoon. At this time, Li Yanhong noticed that the market value of Baidu had increased by 3.5 times compared with the previous night, reaching 4 billion US dollars, becoming the first Chinese concept stock in the market.
"affiliated business" made Baidu
Baidu Company was registered at the end of 1999. When naming names, Li Yanhong listed three rules: to represent the culture of China; It should be related to search and not too straightforward; Keep it simple. People in China can understand it. "Several conditions are combined, which reminds me of Xin Qiji's sentence' Looking for him in the crowd'."
At the beginning of p>2, Li Yanhong started his business in two small rooms in the resource building of Peking University, his alma mater. His positioning was search technology, and his business was to provide Chinese search technology services for other network enterprises-this was the "concept" that Li Yanhong got the first investment of $1.2 million from venture capitalists. Soon, major domestic portals, including Sina and Netease, used Baidu's technology one after another, and Baidu charged a certain amount of technical service fees.
"We quickly occupied the absolute leading position in the Chinese search technology service market, but we still have no profit. This business model is obviously problematic!" Li yanhong quickly realized this key problem. Therefore, in addition to the original technical service business, Li Yanhong began to open up Baidu's "subsidiary business"-establishing a search portal for netizens to use, and then selling keywords by bidding ranking. The higher the bid, the higher the information.
By the beginning of 22, Li Yanhong concentrated on polishing his Chinese search engine. In the second quarter of 23, supported by the rapid growth of bidding ranking income, Baidu achieved profitability. According to the data of the listing prospectus released in July 25, at present, more than 9% of Baidu's income comes from the so-called network promotion, that is, the income from bidding ranking, while the original "main business" search software service income only accounts for 7%. Yesterday's "affiliated business" made Baidu today.
The relationship between rivals has been subtle for many years
When Baidu's share price soared on Nasdaq, almost all industry critics believed that it was inseparable from the excellent performance of Google, a global search giant that went public in advance. Google and Baidu, one is the world's largest search engine and the other is the world's largest Chinese search.