Ji Qi: Entrepreneurship Is Very Addictive for Me

Ji Qi, 44, has long been known as the "godfather of entrepreneurship". Within 10 years, he founded and successfully listed three companies. He is a "world first" in the eyes of investors, and partners describe his big move as "no surprise".

The day Hanting's market value passed $1 billion was April 2, just a week before it went public. Ji Qi received a call from his friend in his sleep: "Hey, the market value is over 1 billion [dollars]!" Angry at being awakened, he did wake up. It seemed to him that this would happen sooner or later, only sooner.

Two days later in Beijing, surrounded by the media, Ji Qi looked sheepish at the reference to "the godfather of entrepreneurship". Yeah, this is the third time. For 10 years, he participated in or independent operation of Ctrip, home, Hanting to Nasdaq as the other shore. Ctrip, which went public in 2003, has seen its market value increase by nearly 20 times today; Listed in 2006, such as home, doubled about 3 times; It has become a billion dollar company($1 billion company) three times in a row, which is called "the world's first" by investors.

However, many "firsts" in this world are just floating words whose real value is engraved on the mind of the person concerned.

Decent humility was necessary, and the "godfather" status seemed to be on the verge of retirement; Ji Qi, 44 years old, is just starting his own business. Any reporter who wants to talk to him about retirement is in trouble with the interview.

"No doubt about it." Northern light venture capital partner Zhou Shuhua used four words to summarize Ji Qi's current handwriting.

Before starting a business history

In the spring of 1999, three alumni of Shanghai Jiao Tong University sat down at Lulu Restaurant in Xujiahui. They were Liang Jianzhang, consulting director of Oracle China, Ji Qi, CEO of Shanghai Xicheng Hi-tech Company, and Shen Nanpeng, President (director and head of China Capital Markets) of Deutsche Bank Asia Pacific. They are waiting for another alumnus, Fan Min, general manager of Shanghai Travel Agency, and deputy general manager of Xinya Hotel Management.

These were four highly qualified engineering men with a natural entrepreneurial DNA, all showing unusual potential in their fields.

Liang Jianzhang, a Shanghai native born in 1969, was nicknamed "Big Head prodigy" when he was a teenager. His intelligence quotient DOES not NEED TO BE tested, has its PROOF:13-year-old contact computer, half a year later developed a program that can help write a metrical poem, won the first National middle school students computer programming competition gold medal.

In 1984, Liang Jianzhang was interviewed by a Shanghai TV news film, Liang demonstrated this powerful poetry program. On the screen of the DOS system, as long as the poem title, meter, the first word of each sentence, and rhyme, ancient poetry appeared. The linguistic basis behind this is: "Three Hundred Tang Poems", "New Notes on Thousands of Poems", "Learning Poetry Hundred Methods", "Tang Poetry Appreciation Dictionary", "Chinese Poetry rhyme", etc.

At the age of 15, Liang Jianzhang, who did not graduate from junior high school, was admitted to the Computer science undergraduate class of Fudan University. A year later, he was admitted to Georgia Tech University.

Shen Nanpeng was born in Haining, Zhejiang Province in 1967. He almost grew up in a pile of math problems when he was a teenager. He won the first prize in the national math competition for Middle school students. Mr. Shen won the same programming award that Mr. Liang won in the same year.

After graduating from the Department of Applied Mathematics at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 1989, he enrolled in the Department of Mathematics at Columbia University in the United States. A year later, he transferred to Yale University for MBA. By 1999, he had been on Wall Street for years, from Citibank to Lehman Brothers, and was on the board of Deutsche Morgan.

Fan Min was born in 1965. He has been living on the campus of Jiaotong University for 7 years and entered the Shanghai New Asia Group after completing both undergraduate and postgraduate studies. He reset the starting point for himself: from the office assistant position down, to the Heilun hotel when the trainee management students; After that, it rose steadily step by step. By 1999, he had 10 years of experience in the tourism system and was the general manager of a state-owned enterprise.

And born in 1966, Ji Qi, the hero of this article, at this time has completed the first business in IT circles, with hand-integrated wiring, system integration, and software development of the hard technology, in the company founded by himself into the first bucket of gold dug life.

There are a few small things for ten years after the Ji Qi foreshadowing.

His first company was a state computer company. On the first day of work, Ji Qi handheld mobile phone, waist don't wear a walkman, talk bold, he patted the head of the boss's shoulder said: "H teacher, I dry here not long, it doesn't matter, we make a friend, I mix here two days to leave."

The middle manager of the state-owned enterprise did not get angry but said to him earnestly: "Xiao Ji, you are as aggressive and capable as I was. But, I tell you, the first man before work, character always go before the product."

After starting his own company, many of the friends he had made while exploring the securities market were willing to introduce business to him. Why would you like that? In business, generally according to the contract, the contract does not say that few people are willing to pay. But after buying a computer will encounter many small problems, such as computer crashes, Ji Qi is not a stingy person, always like a friend to help.

A friend who came to Shanghai from Rudong, Jiangsu Province, like Ji Qi, told the reporter: "Honest, honest, and warm, these are our characteristics of Rudong people."

Ctrip four gentlemen

Before the four of them sat down, Liang Jianzhang, a client and friend, said to Ji, "The Internet is hot in America these days. Let's start a website." Ji Qi said: "Good!"

At that time, Sina, NetEase, Sohu, and other portal sites are hot, there is no need to copy, where to cut? Supermarket OF BOOKSHOP ON THE NET, BUILDING MATERIALS IS FEASIBLE DIRECTION, LIANG JIAN ZHANG SPEAKS OF SUDDENLY ONCE TRAVEL WITH CUMMER TO GET LOST, ALONG THE DAY CANNOT FIND OUTLET, "DO A TRAVEL WEBSITE."

When they find Shen Nanpeng to say the idea, the latter's eardrum is "Internet" these three words frequently impact, and Shen Nanpeng did not hesitate to agree to join. A new company was soon set up, called You Fox. Liang Jianzhang and Ji Qi each paid 200,000 yuan, each holding 30% of the shares; Shen offered 600, 000 yuan for 40% of the shares. They soon discovered that an important piece of the map was missing: someone familiar with tourism.

So they invited Fan Min, a manager at a state-owned enterprise who had studied at Lausanne Hotel management school in Switzerland. During the first lobbying, Fan Min's face was motionless.

"My alumni are not invited," Ji said. "Others are more difficult to get."

After that, Ji Qi put on a salesman appearance and often went to Shanghai Continental Hotel 200 Xizang Road to talk with general manager Fan Min about his dream and future. Only by revisiting the past can we understand why people who have dealt with Ji Qi say that he has great passion and is a "fighter" in Ctrip's ranks.

Each time, the secretary will let Ji Qi wait outside the office, even if the leader is not busy, also have to wait. "It's normal for leaders of state-owned enterprises to behave like this. At first, it was 10 minutes, then it became five minutes as I got used to it." Eventually, "Manager Fan" agreed to participate in the start-up.

Why can Ctrip succeed? 'Because the four of us are different,' says Ji. An old man from Ctrip told the reporter: that Liang Jianzhang is a person who dug deep holes. He is delicate in management and good at embracing new things. At last, he chose to go to the United States to study for a doctorate, and his ideal is to be a research entrepreneur. Shen is familiar with the investment banking business, but he is also like a high-speed precision instrument in daily life. Wherever he goes, he will bring a gust of wind to where he goes. Fan Min, diligent and diligent, always can do their own three mu of things do well, is indeed a model of the industry type; And Ji Qi is full of passion, mind magnanimous person, he heavy affection, but not because of indecision.

Some details were clarified in the interview, such as Ji Qi was Ctrip's first CEO before Liang Jianzhang; In the initial entrepreneurial days, Ji Qi is a full time, and the other three use works together to have a meeting to discuss, walked through the difficult time at the beginning of the business together, the location is in the Xujiahui Church south meteorological building 17 half floor,200 square meters, and Ji Qi's company association into a common.

On October 28, 1999, the name of the website was changed from "You Hu" to "Ctrip" and it was officially launched. IDG Zhang Suyang, who made Ctrip's first venture capital investment, later explained the "investment" vision: "These four people are a bit like a set of meshing, each gear bite between the very good. The team members have the background and quality to run the company they will be running."

However, four smart people and four proud men get together to do a career, and friction and collision are expected. At the beginning of 2002, Ji Qi withdrew and founded Homeinns on behalf of Ctrip. After that, Liang Jianzhang went abroad to study and Shen Nanpeng founded Sequoia Capital.

When responding, Ji Qi often reveals his simple and honest side. He often accidentally reveals some details of his life, to prove that he and "Mr. Shen" really have no conflict, and still have a relationship. These, in turn, are often incorporated into the next round of analysis by the media magnifying glass.

In the interview scene, he shook his head innocently: "Really nothing! Are we to be X-rayed one by one to show our contradictions? You do things together, you have arguments, but that's healthy."

Every entrepreneur has his or her karma. To Ji Qi and his once partner, although interest personality is completely different, from the bottom of my heart to appreciate each other, and respect, their strengths and weaknesses is a wise attitude. In the interview, when talking about the entrepreneurs he admires, Ji Qi's eyes are fixed on a certain spot and he runs through a list of names: "Nanpeng has qualities I don't have..." 'I can't imagine where Ji Qi would be without Ctrip,' Mr. Zhou said.