Exclusive Interview With Zhou Hongyi, Chairman Of Qihoo Network: A Person Who Is Willing To "Go Back"

Qihoo network

Chairman Zhou Hongyi

November 17th, compared with many of those who have always been on the "capital side"

Compared with many investors who always stand on the "capital side", Zhou Hongyi, who is an entrepreneur, has become an example of investors coming back to help entrepreneurs.

Zhou Hongyi said frankly, different backgrounds are different for making investments.

The advantage of the former lies in the rich experience, the inspection and investment of many enterprises, the professional knowledge of the investment industry is solid, and the advantage of the latter is that it is easier to go deep into the enterprise.

Angels and demons exist in details.

But in the early days of an enterprise, it is difficult for investors to go deep inside.

Enterprises are more like a "black box" for them.

Investors often can only measure by some income and process.

And because the product is just starting, often even income is not common.

The experience of entrepreneurs enables me to go deep into the internal business to understand the operation process.

Zhou Hongyi, who has the dual experience of "a party B", may be more objective and more comprehensive in his view of entrepreneurship and investment. For CFO, his understanding of investment and company development has its own value.

Entrepreneur's "short board"

Reporter: in your opinion, in terms of investment and entrepreneurship environment, what is the gap between domestic and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs?

Zhou Hongyi: we feel that the entrepreneurial success rate of Silicon Valley is relatively high, and innovation is endless. It is said that Silicon Valley has an entrepreneurial culture.

But I think there are two other important factors if Silicon Valley is not enough to have entrepreneurial culture.

One is capital, that is, there are many VC and angel investors.

In addition to money, many angel investors who have had a successful entrepreneurial experience can also bring an intangible wealth to the enterprise, that is, their knowledge, experience, experience and resources or connections.

All these can make these start-ups stand on the shoulders of the first traveler.

The cycle of entrepreneurial investment has been 50 years old in Silicon Valley.

In the United States, an entrepreneurial enterprise has grown particularly fast because entrepreneurs are benefiting from the precipitation and recycling of entrepreneurial knowledge and experience. "The real sense of angel investment has just started in China, and it does not mean that there are a few money to invest in companies, that is, angel investors are not so simple."

Reporter: you have rich entrepreneurial experience, and now you are in touch with many entrepreneurs in the country. What impression do they give you? What is the fundamental reason for their failure?

Zhou Hongyi: Generally speaking, the domestic entrepreneurs are not very mature at present.

Many people start business more for money, and appear too eager for quick success.

I think a truly successful entrepreneur should have some idealistic colors and hope to achieve some of his dreams.

Some talent shows such as "win in China" and some so-called successful people have actually misled entrepreneurs.

Young entrepreneurs will think that as long as they have passion, can speak big words, can make sensational performances, they can succeed in business.

I do not know what entrepreneurship requires is "solid implementation".

And it is not luck to start a business, it is more likely to rely on failure and repeated defeats.

The probability of success in business is very low. There should be preparation for "failure to think first, failure to think first".

Irrational entrepreneurs may be the main reason for their failure.

At first, the idea was too macroscopic, too conceptual and too illusory. In fact, there was nowhere to be found.

At least, a great idea needs a small-scale verification, and it can not stay in an idea stage forever.

For example, if you are a chain store in China, you must first open the first store.

In addition, the details are very critical, because the failure of the company is often due to a certain detail error, such as the space shuttle to the sky, many factors, but as long as a screw problem, it will explode.

The great cause must be broken down into trivial things every day, and it may be a long and arduous process.

After getting the money

Reporter: many entrepreneurs think of "melting into money" as half of success, but such entrepreneurs will soon encounter problems. Entrepreneurs looking for VC is undoubtedly because of lack of money and how to make effective use of money. What advice do you have for them?

Zhou Hongyi: first of all, mentality is not equal to success.

Many entrepreneurs like to brag about how much money they have mixed up, as if they have succeeded. This is a big mistake.

Second, resources are always limited.

No matter how much money you have, you have to keep your entrepreneurial style and budget every coin.

Because before going to the sum of money, enterprises may go through many twists and turns, and they may have to explore some directions.

If the money is spent and the money can not be melted before the new direction is explored, is the enterprise not dead again? Therefore, enterprises need to pay special attention to cash flow.

Keep a cool head and use this money to make a good plan.

In addition, some people say that they can refinance after they spend their money, but the financing is not pferred by your will, or suddenly the economic situation is bad.

Third, learn to do "subtraction".

Because enterprises may be able to work for two people without money, enterprises are very efficient.

With money, a lot of people can be recruited, and management can not keep up.

When you are short of money, the limited resources will force you to choose the most important things. But after having money, you will feel that you can do a lot of things. The strategy of the enterprise may lose focus and lose its focus.

Continuous addition can lead to the runaway strategy of the whole enterprise.

When an enterprise does not really establish its core strengths, such as having a leading market share on its core products, including obtaining revenue models, it is not appropriate to do diversified explorations.

Because one thing has not yet been done successfully, and many more things will be done.

Fourth, inspire the future.

In my opinion, for some core employees, they prefer to share some stocks and options with them, so that they can earn a lot of money in the future, rather than making the salaries of their start-up companies the same as those of large companies.

There are many people who think that they will not come when their wages are low, but the reason is very simple. If they are attracted solely by their wages, there will always be bigger companies going to dig them away, so stocks can attract some "iron workers" who are willing to start business with you.

The essential factor of "human"

Reporter: in the key elements of entrepreneurship, what do you think is the order of importance of people, products, business models and management?

Zhou Hongyi: man is the first.

The most important thing is character, because investors are also disadvantaged groups. If we put money in him, we can not send a financial stare, so I think character must be honest.

The second is character.

The key is to have an open mind.

Because the open mind will decide these points. First, he has the ability to learn.

If he does not have the ability to learn, enterprises will always be self complacent; second, he must learn to cooperate with many people, because the future must be a cooperative world. If a self centered, do not know the introspection person, I do not think there is a real person willing to help him.

Third, can endure hardships, can withstand pressure.

In exchange, investors may be more powerful, he will "fade".

For example, I didn't invest in him. After I went out, I cursed me. Then I think these people are unable to withstand setbacks.

In fact, when many investors see entrepreneurs, they deliberately give them some pressure to see if they are resilient and have the spirit of perseverance.

Fourth, I may still be able to see his experience.

We are also concerned about the factors of "people", especially the details.

To see if this product can really solve any problems, how users will use it, and how big the market is, these are very important.

I probably didn't pay much attention to whether these products were perfect in the early days, and whether they could find the opportunity to earn money, because I think these things are exactly what we want to teach entrepreneurs.

One thing to note here is that enterprises should not blindly spend money on product promotion when their products are not good enough.

People are interested in the quality and use of products, especially on the Internet.

Therefore, we should give priority to making products the most perfect in a certain field, and then form a word of mouth, so that every user can become your promoter.

If the product is not ready to be promoted, it will result in a lot of negative comments on the product, but also a waste of money.

Besides, I do not particularly value their existing business models and management level.

Because if a person is open-minded, we can teach him that he can grow up himself.

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"Win" in communication

Reporter: what is the key to win win between investors and entrepreneurs with your dual experience of investors and entrepreneurs? Do you think it is an effective way to establish a gambling agreement between investors and enterprises?

Zhou Hongyi: I think the most important thing is mutual recognition, mutual respect and good communication.

In China, many problems of start-ups are unclear and need to be explored. It is really necessary for us to sit together to discuss and communicate, rather than simply solve problems through share-holding voting. If a company is reduced to vote by the board of directors to solve the problem, I think this enterprise is close to closing the door.

In addition, role positioning should be clear.

Investors tend to use their roles as mentors and nannies to help entrepreneurs, but investors can not make decisions for him, so we should respect each other. But angel investors tend to have richer entrepreneurial experience and share common interests with enterprises, so entrepreneurs should also learn to value investors' advice.

I generally disagree with the establishment of betting agreement between investors and enterprises. I think this agreement is a sign of lack of trust between the two sides.

Although the gambling agreement is not a big grab for entrepreneurs, but why PE and VC want to have such an agreement is very simple, because they can not see clearly this enterprise, the most convenient way is to make a bet agreement.

But gambling agreement is a double-edged sword, which has adverse effects on both sides.

As entrepreneurs, in order to achieve the terms of the agreement, they sometimes go fishing.

For investors, betting agreements seem to protect their rights and interests, but in fact, it affects their relationship with entrepreneurs, so I think this needs to be eliminated by communication.

Reporter: when should we introduce CFO in the course of enterprise development? What kind of CFO do you prefer from the perspective of investors?

Zhou Hongyi: in the early stage of development, there is no need to invite CFO.. I think in the first round and the second round of investment, enterprises need only a good financial supervisor to establish an internal control system.

More financing or CEO operation.

When the third round of financing is ready to go public, enterprises may need a good CFO to communicate with the capital market.

CFO can play a role when business is more complex.

In my opinion, the role of CFO is more of a "Shou" concept, that is, to ensure enterprise safety and develop balance.

He is not the role of the offensive, and the enterprise must develop to a certain stage to have safety. At a small scale, it is necessary to forge ahead and even take some risks.

If CFO becomes CEO, these enterprises will be more conservative and stable.

What kind of CFO I need is something I have been thinking about.

Of course, first of all, CFO should be recognized by the capital market and have a good communication with the western capital market, which is more experienced in the operation of financing and listing.

In addition, CFO should also have a tolerance for the culture of start-up companies.

After all, the company in the start-up stage is not an international company.

To enter a small start-up company from a large company requires a certain understanding of the entrepreneurial culture and the strategy of the enterprise.

Venture enterprises often need a lot of investment in the early stage, but also include trial and error. At this point, we can not talk about business indicators from the specific circumstances of enterprises, and restrict them by numbers.