2021 is full of surprises. Some people say that 2021 is a big year of education reform; some people say that 2021 is a big year for live tax reimbursement; some people say that 2021 is a big year for antitrust; and some people say that 2021 is a big year for consumer Internet compliance. The myth of Internet wealth has closed the last door, and those who have already functioned and famous have also chosen their own endings, surprisingly, some people retreat to "poetry and far away" at their peak; some people suddenly go out at the peak of the moment; and some people choose the transformation and self-help that people never expected when the black swan arrived.
1
Unexpectedly, the second line is reversed
They single-handedly started their own business empires, and their value soared in just a few years, but as the company entered the decade, these founders unexpectedly chose to take a back seat in the year of dangda.
Zhang Yiming: 38-year-old "retired"
On May 20, 2021, 38-year-old Zhang Yiming chose to step down as CEO of ByteDance, setting the minimum age for internet giants to "retire". Compared with management and socialization, Zhang Yiming prefers to study organizational and market principles, and likes to surf the Internet, read books, listen to songs, and be in a daze. He also took on a romantic note in the email announcing his departure, "In the company's 2012 business plan, I said to the team that I hope that everyone will treat the entrepreneurial process as a journey to enjoy the scenery with peers." I hope you will support me in this 'journey'."
But "retirement" does not affect wealth growth, according to SoftBank estimates, Zhang Yiming's wealth increased by $19.5 billion. That's thanks in part to his keeping the TikTok parent company unlisted, insulated from market volatility.
Zhang Yiming. Image source: Xinhua News Agency
Huang Zheng: I also switched to life science research
Even though he had previously stepped down as CEO of Pinduoduo, Huang Zheng, who was less than 41 years old, completely "retreated to the second line" in the year of the fight, which was still unexpected by countless people. What is even more surprising is that when he announced his resignation as chairman, Pinduoduo's stock price continued to rise, and its value also soared, but he chose to share his shares with other partners and donated some shares to set up a charitable fund, reducing the shareholding ratio to 29.4%. From the founding of Pinduoduo to the retirement, Huang Zheng only took six years. However, after realizing the freedom of wealth and achieving fame, he chose to retreat from the rapids and devote himself to the life science research of the big guys. And all of this, according to Huang Zheng, stems from the childhood dream of becoming a scientist.
Su Hua: Returning to the strategic "far away"
The Internet industry ushered in a truly strong regulatory era in 2021, and along with the dividends of the times, there were also many Internet companies, including Su Hua, co-founder of Kuaishou. At the end of this year, Su Hua resigned as ceo of Kuaishou and retired to the second line, retaining only the titles of chairman, executive director and member of the remuneration committee, and will focus more on the company's long-term strategy in the future. Since the beginning of this year, kuaishou stock prices have fallen seriously, vibrato and WeChat video numbers have hit them back and forth, and the "dual core" model dominated by Su Hua and Cheng Yixiao has begun to be criticized by the outside world for slowing down the development of Kuaishou. In the face of more unknowns, perhaps Su Hua's return to the strategy of "far away", Cheng Yixiao's return to the business itself, is the best solution for Kuaishou to cope with the challenge.
2
Accidents and crossovers
They are the industry's biggest ips, and their individuals are the biggest IP of the company. However, when they were either active or forced to transform, they chose an unexpected track.
Luo Yonghao: The anchor who laughed to the end
"A tough life does not need to be explained", Luo Yonghao in 2021 interpreted this sentence with action. Once Lao Luo was the "industry lamp", but in the live e-commerce industry, he has become the last person to laugh in 2021. First of all, I moved a friend from Beijing to Hangzhou, and then the live broadcast room entered the 7x24-hour continuous live broadcast, and in addition to the main account of "Luo Yonghao", a number of vertical cargo accounts were hatched...
When will Lao Luo start starting a business again? "The day the debt is paid off ... No, the next day". Throughout 2020, Luo Yonghao has been making predictions for the upcoming debt repayment. Just now, Luo Yonghao's information on the executor was zero. Although it does not mean that the debt has been paid off, he has already locked in the next entrepreneurial goal. A month ago, he officially announced on Weibo that the next high-tech startup will be VR/AR/MR. No one knows if Lao Luo's next venture will succeed, but nothing is impossible?
Luo Yonghao (right) is broadcasting live. Image source: Luo Yonghao live room
Yu Minhong: Reunited with Luo Yonghao
Yu Minhong must not have imagined that a few years later, he would meet Luo Yonghao, an old employee of New Oriental, in the field of live streaming with goods. Just one is to pay off debts, one is to transform. From the preview at the beginning of the year to the landing of boots in the middle of the year, the education and training enterprises, including New Oriental, have embarked on the road of transformation.
After divesting the K9 business, New Oriental chose to create a live streaming platform for agricultural products "Oriental Selection", which debuted at the end of last year. Yu Minhong said, "Live broadcasting is not easy. I know that Wei Ya and Li Jiaqi live for more than ten hours or even twenty hours, working hard day and night, and no industry is easy to do. However, netizens said that perhaps compared to Li Jiaqi and Wei Ya, who want to target the target, Yu Minhong should learn from his old subordinate Luo Yonghao.
Yu Minhong. Image source: Xinhua News Agency
Lei Jun: The last major venture
In March 2021, the rumors of Xiaomi car manufacturing that have maintained the heat for seven years finally ushered in the answer. Lei Jun personally stood for the Xiaomi auto project and regarded it as "the last major entrepreneurial project in his life", with an initial investment of 10 billion yuan and an estimated investment of 10 billion US dollars in the next 10 years. What is even more surprising is that Lei Jun chose the seemingly more difficult path of "self-research and self-manufacturing", built his own automobile research and development team and built a vehicle factory with an annual output of 300,000 vehicles in two phases.
At the same time, Xiaomi has also invested in 62 smart car-related enterprises. For the future, Lei Jun's "one heart and two uses" want to achieve two "small goals" at the same time: in 2024, Xiaomi mobile phone sales rank first in the world, and Xiaomi cars also achieve mass production.
Lei Jun. Image source: Xiaomi live room
3
Unexpectedly, out
Over the past decade, the return on investment on any track has dwarfed that of consumer internet, especially e-commerce and live streaming. However, who could have predicted that the top streamers and the most bullish top 100 chain companies will be tripped up in 2021.
Via: Sent out
Via's autobiography, Life is Meant to Change, became her commentary in 2021. From the most gold-sucking anchor to being banned, Via's exit happened almost instantaneously. On the front foot, she was still warming up and attracting business for the New Year Festival, and the back foot was suddenly exposed to tax evasion and fines. According to the Hangzhou Taxation Bureau, Wei Ya was chased for taxes, collected late fees and fined a total of 1.341 billion yuan, and "YiWei" quickly surpassed "Yi Shuang" and "Yi Hong" to become a new unit of measurement.
The two major anchors that fell in 2021, Via and Sydney, are operated in the mode of a mom-and-pop shop, with the anchor responsible for selling goods in front of the stage and the husband responsible for the operation and investment behind the stage. Compared with the single and unmarried anchors, the story of Via and Sydney seems to reveal another drawback of the husband and wife file - the expansion of interests without restraint.
Via. Infographic
Zhang Jindong: Accidental loss of power
From air-conditioning installer to home appliance retail giant at the helm, Zhang Jindong once became the richest man in Jiangsu, and Suning continued to create legends, with a market value of 160 billion yuan at its peak. However, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of its establishment, suning Tesco, its subsidiary, frequently broke out the capital chain crisis. "A retail history, half of it looks at Suning", this is the evaluation of Suning by retail insiders, and its position in the history of the development of China's retail industry can be seen. But in the past year, Zhang Jindong not only lost control of Suning Tesco, but also withdrew from the board. From China's home appliance retail giant to today's deep financial quagmire, Suning's ups and downs are really lamentable.
4
Accidents and winners
They are a low-key alternative in the Internet industry, not known for speed, but with ingenuity to keep the original intention. In 2021, a year of ups and downs and the rebuilding of order, they unexpectedly became the winners.
Ding Lei: The fourth capital market bell rings
On December 2, 2021, Ding Lei, the founder of NetEase, who has been in the Internet track for 25 years and is known for "not doing business", rang the bell in the capital market for the fourth time in the year of knowing the destiny of heaven. On the same day, NetEase Cloud Music landed on Hong Kong stocks, after NetEase was listed on the NASDAQ, NetEase Youdao was listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and NetEase returned to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange last year.
When friends and businessmen are busy rectifying and being punished, Ding Lei seems to be the only remaining winner. But there is no eternal win or loss in the business world, as Ding Lei said at the listing ceremony, NetEase Cloud Music is still facing the challenge of "feelings and profitability". After the business split, whether NetEase can rely on the "meta-universe" to continue to write a new story is still unknown.
Ding. Infographic
Wang Wei: 3 companies are listed in a year
Following SF Holdings, Kerry Logistics and SF Real Estate Trust went to SF Tongcheng, and in the past year of 2021 alone, the listed companies under the name of Wang Wei, president of SF Group, have reached 4, with a total market value of nearly 400 billion yuan. In 1993, when Wang Wei founded SF with the 100,000 yuan his father lent him, he may not have imagined that 28 years later, he would be in the top ten of the Forbes Chinese mainland rich list with a net worth of 200 billion yuan.
In 2021, the express logistics industry will continue to grow at a high speed, the market share will continue to be concentrated in the head enterprises, and the market will shift from price competition to service and value competition. "Strong alliance" with the top players in various industries is the consistent style of Wang Wei and SF, and moving towards an international integrated logistics service provider is Wang Wei's ultimate long-cherished wish.
Wang Wei. Infographic
Producer: Nandu Business Data News Department
Planner: Zhen Qin Tian Aili
Written by: Wang Chenchen, Xu Bingqian, Ma Ningning, Fu Xiaoling, Huang Pei, Chen Peijun, Kong Xueshao