The highest state of a partner is to die for a bosom friend.

Xu Xiaoping: The highest state of a partner-a scholar dies for himself.

Partnership is not only the long-term interests of partnership, but also the communication mechanism and entrepreneurial concept of partnership.

How important is a partner? Xu Xiaoping brought you his profound thoughts.

Author | Xu Xiaoping

Birthday is a time for one to reflect on life and look forward to the future. Yesterday was my 6 1 birthday. I didn't celebrate much, but I met two entrepreneurial teams. One is at three o'clock in the afternoon and the other is at nine o'clock in the evening. Because the entrepreneur's time takes up the family's birthday dinner, but this birthday is also a celebration of life and the future.

At 4 pm, Lao Yu sent me a short message. He wrote: "Xiaoping, I wish you a happy birthday and wish my family and children in other places all the best." My life and career are more exciting because of friends like you, thank you. " I was given a lot of WeChat characters in the back, but I just couldn't cut them.

I was watching the project at that time, but two hours later I sent him a short message, which I edited for a long time. I said, "Hong Min, thank you for coming from afar to congratulate me, which brought tears to my eyes. You are an important friend in my life, and you are my guide and mentor in starting a business. Under your guidance and company, I have grown from an artist and a literary youth to a core member of the great education cause and a storm fighter in commercial times. This turning point has made my life transcend mediocrity and achieved extraordinary achievements. The friendship with you in Peking University and the brilliant cooperation in New Oriental are the greatest miracles in my life and career. "

Yu Hongmin replied to my message again. He said that our acquaintance, for both of us, is a lifetime of luck, and our lives are different because of both sides.

I read this passage to my two sons at dinner. The younger son said, aren't you and Yu old friends? Why are you so ... disgusting?

There is a painting hanging in my home, which was given to me by a calligrapher in Kaifeng, an ancient city,/kloc-0.5 years ago. It says, "Only a gentleman can be true, and a real hero can be romantic." True colors and true feelings are important qualities of people. At some important moments in life, you must show your innermost thoughts and feelings, express them, let the other party know, and let your other half know your thoughts.

I tell this story, which leads to a topic I often talk about, that is, the problem of partners on the road to entrepreneurship.

? 1

What is the purpose of starting a business?

What is the purpose of starting a business? Of course, in order to succeed. But on the road of starting a business, we should also gain partners, bosom friends and brotherhood. This is as important as money and success. Your life will be more fulfilling and proud.

When I was in New Oriental, I often went on business trips. As soon as I arrived in other places, I felt empty. At that time, his wife and children were in Canada and his parents and sisters were in Jiangsu. Yu He is two brothers. They start a business together and work hard together.

Beijing has New Oriental, students from New Oriental, people who need me, and I need them. Many years later, Wang Qiang and I founded Zhenge Fund and started our business again with Wang Qiang. Don't think that a model family is always friendly and respectful, but it is not. Wang Qiang and I often have conflicts of opinion. I will receive a letter from Wang Qiang criticizing me, just like I wrote a letter to Lao Yu criticizing him. These letters are all about the discussion and debate on the values, principles and strategies of Zhenge Fund.

Therefore, the role of partners, as far as the New Oriental Troika is concerned, has surpassed the general business and rose to the spiritual level. Finally, we rose from business partners to spiritual friends. This is the highest level of Chinese partners. Even if I stop cooperating with Yu, there will be no real economic benefits. This spirit transcends all worldly wealth and sublimates life.

I have talked a lot about the importance of partners, but I hope I can go deeper today.

Not long ago, a top scientist from a top overseas company came to me for financing. It has obtained strategic investment from top companies in the same industry in China. He said that your brand in xu teacher is good. Give me some money and I'll start.

This company is a 2B company without partners, and its founder holds 100% of the shares. He is a pure scientist, not a marketing manager. I said you need to find a CEO. He said, xu teacher, I'm looking for it. At this moment, I said, I said, I told you, you will never find it. He said I gave him 30% of the shares, I said you couldn't find it, he said I gave him 70%, and I said you couldn't find it either. Why? Because finding an object is actually more difficult than finding an object. You are all entrepreneurs. Think about it. Do you spend more time with your partner or with your spouse?

You and your partner may wake up and make a phone call. When I arrive at the company, I will work until I am exhausted at night, and I may fall asleep when I get home. 24 hours a day, 16 hours are with the partner of the entrepreneur, but in your dream, you are actually with the partner, not with your spouse. Your relationship with your partner actually exceeds your relationship with your spouse to some extent.

I told the founder that your position is so high, 100% of the shares. If you look for another person, you won't find one. Because the person you are looking for is your CEO, you will spend more time with you than your spouse. You can only "meet" such an important person in your work and life, but you can't "find". Even if you can "find", the process of your compatibility together is enough to make a startup lose its vitality.

If you don't have a partner and one or two core team members, it's best not to set up a company. Because from the beginning, it was doomed that this startup company had genetic problems.

Then how to solve this problem?

First, find someone first, and then change money. First people, then companies. When you find the money and go to another person, you are already the one who is priced by the market. At this time, for the partner who joined later, you gave him a kind of dedication and charity, instead of saying that two people set prices together and seek market recognition together.

Second, the distribution of equity should make the partner feel that his interests are consistent with yours. If in a company, the boss holds 90% of the shares, and there are three or four people left, each with one or two points, the company can't do much. Because at this time, the mentality of those three or four people is not the second child, nor the third child, but the second child and the third child. He just follows the boss, not as the owner of the company.

Why are gang members willing to kill the boss? Because the boss gives him food, you will die if you don't come with me. But the internal order of the underworld is also maintained by violence, and the bosses are often tired and dangerous.

There is a saying that a scholar dies for a confidant. It's good that you have such a partner, but it's not the highest level of a team, because you will die for your bosom friend, you will still be employed, and I will still work for you, just like the underworld.

What is the highest state of the team? The highest state of a team is that the reader dies for himself, not for his bosom friend or others, but for himself. Very simply, when your second in command and your team regard your career as his career and your life as his, this team will become an invincible iron army, and no interest, temptation or threat can defeat it.

When I started my business in New Oriental in the early days, I basically flew to Canada every two months to see my wife and children and stayed for two weeks before coming back. Once, because of some crisis, my plane just landed in Vancouver when I got a call from Yu. I stayed at home for one night and flew back the next day. But at that time, I never felt tired or bored. Why? Because New Oriental is my own enterprise, I don't work for Yu, I work for myself. Along the way, New Oriental has many such moments. Yu He certainly has the complex that a scholar dies for his bosom friend, but the most important mentality is "a scholar dies for me". The troika became the same life.

For a start-up, even if it has a certain scale, dozens, hundreds or even more, if you really want to go further and deeper, you must have such a partner: it is not the founder who gave you a way to live and gave you an opportunity, but this is your career, which is your future and dream.

Everyone knows that we voted for Xiao Heng jiaozi. Although Hengli himself has no work experience and education, our human resources director was surprised after visiting jiaozi, Xiao Heng, saying that although Hengli's company was very early, its human resources was the former human resources director of Marriott International Hotel Group, and the head of the development department was the former vice president of the development department of McDonald's. Such a team composition determines the height of the company.

Hengli's thirst for talents is worth learning. In the process of starting a business, the most important thing for entrepreneurs is to find top talents and bind their interests together for the same goal. Only by establishing a team of "scholars die for themselves" can we be in an invincible position, not only resisting foreign enemies, but also conquering the dark side of human nature.

When I look back on the past 20 years on my birthday, I have changed from a literary youth to an entrepreneur and an investor. Although there are more and higher goals to conquer, I feel very fulfilled in my heart. My sense of accomplishment comes from the blessings of Harmony and the friendship and trust they have given me. Because of mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual help among business partners, my life has been enriched and improved. Even today, I feel that it has just begun. "It is enough to have a bosom friend in life." I have many, including a large number of like-minded people in the entrepreneurial group like Heimaying, who are pursuing the future and looking for our dreams.

2

What kind of person is suitable for the initial stage of entrepreneurship?

I think recruiting people at this stage must be beyond your level.

There is an e-commerce startup company, which developed rapidly at first. I warned entrepreneurs that they must recruit people who are out of date after three years. Specifically, I told the other party to recruit a CTO who can resist the tens of billions of views during the peak period. As a result, the entrepreneur said, I hired a man from JD.COM. I said, can this person resist the burden of tens of billions of views? Entrepreneurs say there is no problem with a billion. As a result, in the Double Eleven, the network suddenly collapsed.

The development of startups is amazing, and talents often can't keep up. If you can't keep up, you will be caught, so talents should be laid out in advance. Every enterprise has such a problem, and the story of New Oriental is just the opposite. Lao Yu had three carriages, three musketeers, ... Luo Yonghao and Li Xiaolai from the beginning. At that time, they were only teachers in New Oriental and did not enter the management, but each of them could go out as a billion-dollar company.

three

In the face of plagiarism, copy it back.

There used to be a joke in New Oriental that competitors always copied the copy of New Oriental. As a result, I not only copied the copy, but also copied the phone number and email address of New Oriental.

There is a passage in the movie "Chinese Partner": What if life deceives you? You cheated. We have a project, and he said that dozens of companies are copying him. As a result, he learned from everyone who copied him to see if there were any new innovations. There must be, and then copy it back. The company is developing very well. Entrepreneurs should be competitive and not afraid of competition. I regard my opponent's plagiarism as an honor: you see, he copied us again.

? four

What if the team disbands and does the same thing?

The group split up and went out to do the same thing. I'll tell you how many people will do this outside New Oriental and Good Future. If you are afraid that you can't beat one person, a dozen executives or seven or eight executives, then don't do it. As an entrepreneur, you should have the courage to cut mountains and fill rivers when you meet water.

Who has no competitors? Competition is everywhere, and competition is a beautiful mistake in commercial society. You must regard the game as a party, a joy, an excitement and a marathon. Only in this way can we go far and fast and run to the first place. It's pointless to tell me why you are chasing me.

? five

About financing

Several students communicate with me, and we also do B2B. The cash flow is good and the profit is good, but do we need financing now? If so, I feel that this valuation has not yet reached expectations.

This question is very important. There are several principles:

First, in fact, financing brings not only money, but also systems, resources and wisdom, which money can't buy.

Second, run in small steps, eat less and eat more meals, which is the best way to raise funds. Why? With the rapid development of your business, your valuation will also rise. Don't dilute too many shares in order to make more money. Yes, I can take the money for about a year first, and then after half a year, if your business is on the rise, the company's valuation will be much higher if you refinance at this time.