This is my first article on xlog, and I should write some meaningful words. But after thinking for a long time, I couldn't figure out where to start. So, I'll stick to the old routine and introduce myself, where I come from, where I'm going, and where I'm at. (Original article mirror link: https://mirror.xyz/arthurwu.eth/oVZ4b5Eizjklq9j1vui1OxAGRNxSsQeqbL6IH1X6EwA)
Where I Come From#
First Journey: "Pseudo" Entrepreneurship#
I graduated in 2016 and started writing content for public accounts since my junior year, doing things related to "traffic". Fortunately, with the rise of content, I made a lot of money in my senior year, so I continued to work on it for 2 more years. Unfortunately, the focus on "making money" blinded me, and I kept putting my efforts into "traffic", neglecting the core essence of public accounts: "content". In the end, the increasing "customer acquisition cost" and the decreasing "revenue" defeated me.
Afterwards, I reviewed this "entrepreneurship" experience:
Focus: You must focus on the core aspects of your field and avoid diverging.
Collaboration: Don't work alone, you need to leverage the power of a team and complement each other's strengths and weaknesses.
Long-term: Stick to things that have long-term value, only by playing the long game can you catch big fish.
Second Journey: Information Flow (Entertainment)#
Phase 1: Qu Toutiao#
After more than 2 years of failed attempts in the public account content ecosystem, I wanted to find a large content company to learn about the operation of the entire content ecosystem.
By chance, I joined "Qu Toutiao" during its rapid growth phase and witnessed its "glorious" journey to an IPO after reaching 35 million DAU in just half a year. Unfortunately, this "glory" was short-lived, as the underlying business model had significant problems (daily platform expenses were linearly related to DAU), and the rapid IPO after being pushed by capital led to the collapse of the user structure of the entire product.
Users treated Qu Toutiao as a "money-making tool" and the "content ecosystem" that Qu Toutiao wanted to build came to an end.
So, does Qu Toutiao have any value? In my understanding, its value mainly lies in three aspects:
- Content: It really brings more information content to users in the sinking market. Users who used to only listen to the radio or watch TV now have more efficient information flow products to understand what's happening outside.
- Money-making: Users actually earn money.
- Market: It brings a new business model to the market - online earning, and it has achieved it to the extreme.
I am very grateful for this experience with Qu Toutiao. It allowed me to quickly experience the explosive and decline phases of a product. Moreover, the high-intensity work at Qu Toutiao (10127) helped me bridge the gap in work experience compared to my peers (Note: For me personally, high-intensity work is a commendatory term).
With the decline of Qu Toutiao, during that period, I gained a greater understanding of the importance of designing a product's business model. This is something you cannot experience with a product with low traffic. Similarly, this is something you can only understand with a product that has not experienced "rapid growth → rapid decline".
Phase 2: YY#
In the context of the domestic content market being dominated (with the top players being Toutiao, Baidu, and Tencent; the middle players being Qu Toutiao-like products with 30-40 million DAU but not making money; and the tail players being products with a few million DAU like Dongfang Toutiao and Weilikankan, which can never grow big), I shifted my focus to overseas markets.
I worked on a tool-based short video project at YY, competing briefly with TikTok and Kwai in the Latin American market. Unfortunately, after six months, we still couldn't win. Looking back at this history, I gained the following insights:
- Management: Because of the profit and loss responsibility, I needed to think more from the perspective of "business units". Essentially, it was no different from entrepreneurship.
- Team: How to find the right people for the right positions when working on a 0-1 project, and how to manage teams with different demands in a more scientific and healthy way.
Third Journey: E-commerce#
After the failure of the YY business, considering the development of my future career, I wanted to understand the underlying business models of products more deeply, so I turned to "business". In terms of "business", the top company in China is Alibaba.
Among all the companies in China, Alibaba probably has the strongest "business" atmosphere, which is closely related to its position in the e-commerce industry (buying and selling goods is naturally a form of business). This is a very "weighty" field, which also leads to the overall culture of the company leaning towards entrepreneurship (most people are really running around in the mud, just like merchants selling goods). Alibaba is also one of the few large companies that still maintains organizational agility and coordination despite having its fair share of problems. But above these problems, there is a management team willing to change themselves, which is not common in China.
Looking back at my over 2 years at Alibaba, I didn't gain much improvement in terms of business capabilities, but I truly gained an understanding of the word "business". Knowing how to spend money, how to make money, every day the finance department would ask you why this project needs to spend this much money, where to spend it, when it can be recovered, and how to do it specifically... They asked more detailed questions than investors. It was these Alibaba finance colleagues, who are often overlooked, that forced Alibaba employees to constantly immerse themselves in the world of money, constantly transforming themselves into "business people". Perhaps this is Alibaba's greatest value.
I am grateful for my experience at Alibaba for over 2 years. It transformed me from a simple "product" role to someone who truly understands "business". I also achieved the original purpose of joining this company.
Where I'm Going#
Entrepreneurship#
I used to envy the people born in the 1970s and 1980s. They had plenty of time to flourish in our great country, and they had a high tolerance for mistakes. If they missed one opportunity, there would always be another. But what about those born in the 1990s? Even those born in the 2000s?
I used to hate not being born 3 or 5 years earlier, so I could catch the last train of web2 companies and at least stand at the waist of the pyramid with very low risk.
I used to be pessimistic, thinking that there are very few opportunities for us young people to leave a mark in history, and there are only a few "businesses" left, but it's hard to talk about "influence".
Under all these unfavorable conditions, there is no optimal solution for our generation, only the most reasonable one, which is "entrepreneurship".
In today's environment, whether you are starting a web-based business or not, I firmly believe that the result will be "survival of the fittest". In the end, only those who are serious, hardworking, and believe in the future will remain. Entrepreneurship is undoubtedly a risky endeavor, but isn't it also a form of growth when competing with these top players?
As long as you embrace "long-termism" and continuously accumulate your own capabilities in a bear market, when the bull market comes, you can truly stand at the poker table and continue your next journey.
I hope the future me in the next journey will have smooth sailing.
Feel free to reach out to me anytime for communication and exchange. TG: Arthurwu24, WeChat: arthurwu2020