Reading Stats

14182 words•71 Minutes

On January 5, 2025, Duan Yongping, a famous investor and entrepreneur, returned to his alma mater, Zhejiang University, and had in-depth exchanges with teachers, students and alumni on site.

Key Takeaways

Learning and Growth

Investment philosophy

Entrepreneurial concept

Views on artificial intelligence

Life philosophy and values

Advice for young people

Transcript

The following is a transcript of Duan Yongping's exchange at Zhejiang University:

Host: In the context of AI, what ideas can our students make in their daily studies and future life plans to adapt to the times, especially when dealing with AI changes?

Duan Yongping: In fact, the times are always changing, the tools are changing, but the basic things are still the same. Of course, in school, it is a learning method. For example, AI may only make you more efficient, but when doing papers, everyone should be careful not to do that kind of thing.

In the end, I have the same answer to many of the questions you asked today, that is, you have to think long-term, and think about whether every decision is right after five years, ten years, and twenty years. In fact, whether it is your learning method or entrepreneurship, I think all aspects are actually connected.

Host: Thank you, Senior Duan, for not only giving us some advice, but also warning us to use AI tools appropriately.

Duan Yongping: Because AI tools, especially for academic and research, everyone should be cautious.

Moderator: Thank you again for your answer, Senior Duan. Now let's go back to the first formal question I got. It's from Wang Hao (sound), a student from the School of Economics. I'm very lucky to be the first student to ask a formal question today. How can you quickly judge whether a company is worth long-term investment when investing?

Duan Yongping: Basically, I don't know much about this. I've only talked about a few companies in the past ten years, and they are all accumulated from my understanding of enterprises, business, products, and everything over the years. I haven't seen anyone who can really be that fast, including Warren Buffett and Munger. In fact, people who are good at investing have a slow pace. Everyone doesn't care about losing some opportunities, but the most important thing is not to step on thunder. Many people may also say that of course you don't need to make money quickly because you have money. Then we need to make money quickly because I don't have money. This is probably the reason why you don't have money, because you always want to make quick money. In fact, I also want to make quick money. Who doesn't want to make quick money, but it is important to know that it is impossible, that is, you still have to do what you should do in a down-to-earth manner.

Host: Mr. Duan means to dare to try and have a longer vision.

Duan Yongping: The concept of dare to try depends on how you try. I am not a person who dares not take risks, but you have to take risks that you can afford. We can't just look at who made the right bet. The most powerful investment I made was more than 20 times in 20 minutes. People asked me what I did. I was in the casino. I made more than 2,000 yuan from 100 yuan, and I left. But can I repeat this? I can't. I also made more than 20 times in a few months when I invested in NetEase, and I was fully invested. People said you are really amazing, come again! I said I won't, because you ran into it. Our investment in Apple is also very good. I invested in Apple in 2001. Now it is 2025, which is almost exactly 14 years. You seem to be very good, but if you don't understand this business, culture, and business model, you would have run away long ago and it is impossible to stay until now. Speed is more difficult, unlike athletes who need to be fast.

Moderator: I will ask another question following the question about investment. This question was raised by Cheng Yaodong (sound), a student from the Department of Polymer Science and Engineering. Mr. Duan, as an entrepreneur and investor, will you still encourage contemporary college students to start a business, and why?

Duan Yongping: Is this before graduation or after graduation?

Moderator: I think his idea is that as a college student, he can have some entrepreneurial ideas in school before graduation, or implement them after graduation. In fact, many of our classmates are also carrying out some entrepreneurial projects in school.

Duan Yongping: I have never said, not "will you still do it?", and I have never encouraged it. I think people who are ready to start a business do not need your encouragement at all. If you have a strong idea, you will definitely do it. The conditions for starting a business now are much better than when we were there. You can still find support from VC, Startup, and various funds. We started from scratch at that time, and you didn't have anything else to help you. You could only do it bit by bit on your own.

Now and then are indeed not exactly the same, so the conditions for starting a business now are better than then. But I think it is very important that you can't start a business just for the sake of starting a business. You really have an idea. Also, when you are desperate, sometimes it is a good way to start a business, because we were desperate back then.

Host: Thank you for your answer, Senior Duan. The next question is from Zhan Zhiyi (sound), a student from the School of Media and International Culture, who is also the student representative who presented flowers to Senior Duan. Senior Duan, in the context of the ever-changing times, how do you personally keep learning and adapting to new knowledge?

Duan Yongping: Do I have to learn new things? I think the main thing you learn in school is your learning ability, but when you encounter an interest, you will not be afraid of the future. If you feel interested, you can think about how to learn. You will find books, check information, and understand, including logical ability. I think the learning ability is much better than those with low education. For example, my mother refuses to use iPhone or iPad, thinking it is too difficult. I definitely won’t. She refuses to learn. I have seen many people who refuse to learn.

Some time ago, one of my colleagues, I asked, "You wrote this handwriting?" He said, "Yes." I said, "Why don't you practice typing?" He said, "I never practiced." He is 10 years younger than me. I said, "Your words don't make sense. It only took me 3 days to learn how to type." Because you are so convenient. We didn't have this thing at the beginning. I also used a writing board connected to the computer. In fact, as long as you are not afraid and know that you can learn, there is actually no problem. Of course, you still have to learn what you need. This is an era of knowledge explosion. You can't say that you have to learn all the new things. That would be exhausting and useless. And many people seem to have profound knowledge. Can they be more profound than search? So why bother.

Host: Don't be afraid to learn, but also learn what you need. Just like the word "duty" of Senior Duan, do the right thing and insist on doing things right. Senior Duan really implements the word "duty" in it. The next question is asked by Wen Guangkai (sound) from the School of Media and International Culture. A good track often enters a period of low gross profit as competition intensifies. In such a period of low gross profit, how should entrepreneurs deal with it?

Duan Yongping: First of all, a good track will not enter a low-gross-profit business. Low-gross-profit businesses are all products with poor business models and little product differentiation. If an entrepreneur still wants to enter, then his brain is broken. Whether it is investment or entrepreneurship, in fact, you have to think about a business model very seriously. I think entrepreneurship is still a little different. Entrepreneurship is when you have to start a business, and what you are looking for is something you really feel. There was no other reason for me to make games back then, just because I love playing games, so I never criticize students who love playing games. I am like that. My son wants to play games, I let him play, I just try to discuss with him how much time he can play, he has to do a lot of things to earn time, instead of simply not letting him play. Because I like it myself, I think everything is a game. Some people like to study, in fact, they are happy, and games are also something that can bring happiness. Whether we are doing business or investing, it is actually a kind of experience, so games are a good thing.

Entrepreneurship is like this. If you want to make money and stand out, but you don’t know what you want to do, you really don’t know what you can do in the end, because you don’t have any feeling. When I was making games, I did encounter this, like when I was making the Subor game console. I knew that many people would be like me, so I thought about it very simply. I don't want to convince others to play games, I just want to make my products well. If you want to make a new thing and let others know what it is, the process is much more difficult than if you make something that everyone likes well, with good quality, good channels, and good services. The things that come later are actually not that difficult. Of course, when your scale reaches a certain level, you must move forward. In the early years, we said "dare to be the last in the world", and we were very small at that time. Now we also make a lot of new things, so there is no way. If you don't do it, there will be no one in front of you. What do you do?

Host: Thank you for the answer, Senior Duan. Although I am a complete novice in this regard, I feel that I have learned a lot from Senior Duan's sharing just now. The next question is from Lou Jin (sound), a student from the School of Economics. He wants to ask Senior Duan, your "duty" philosophy talks about doing the right thing. How do college students judge whether something is right?

Duan Yongping: Actually, I know. There are some things you don't know. You will know it in the future after you do it, because you will be punished. But if you find that you are wrong, you must stop immediately. I think most people know most things. But many people do wrong things. Why do many people continue to do them even though they know it is wrong? Because wrong things often have short-term temptations, such as smoking and drinking. Many people still smoke. Don't they know that it is bad? I know, of course, it is not a problem if it does not hurt others, but it is not good for your health.

There are many people who cheat and falsify papers. Don't they know that it is wrong? They know, but why do they still do it? Does this also need to be taught in universities? I have also seen some schools in the past, of course, like rural middle schools and primary schools, which still have "Teachers are not allowed to rape students". How can this be written? Of course they know it. I think it is difficult to deal with such things by law. Why does everyone need to be honest? It means that you have to have something to restrain yourself, and you should correct it immediately when you find that you are wrong.

Of course, the same is true in business. I found that many people who bought the wrong stocks will be like this. Of course, it is hard to say about stock speculation. He thought the company was like this, but found out it was like that. He would not run away immediately. He would say that he would wait for it to go back up before running. I remember someone told me about LeTV, saying that LeTV has dropped a lot now, to more than 30 yuan, and asked me what to do? I said that the price of more than 30 yuan is very good, because it will be 0 in the future, so any price you sell it at now is a good price. You have to wait for it to go back to 50 yuan, which is a bit difficult. Of course, I later found out that he wanted to sell the stock to me, and I felt that he was mentally ill. This was the second largest shareholder of LeTV. I think he is a bad person.

Host: Thank you for the answer from Senior Duan. From Senior Duan’s answer, we can hear that college students should keep a clear mind, resist short-term temptations, and insist on doing what they think is right. The next question comes from Ma Hanzhi from the School of Information and Electronics. How did you communicate with the teacher of Information and Electronics during your studies?

The deep friendship between teachers and students is enviable and moving. How do you think a young teacher who has just entered the workplace should inherit this spirit of education and achieve a two-way rush with students?

Duan Yongping: This is a bit difficult. I don’t know much about school life now, but I think the key between teachers and students should be the teacher. If the teacher pays attention to the students and you really care about the students, then the relationship with the students will naturally be better. I don’t know how much contact between teachers and students there is now. We did have more contact at that time, but there were fewer students and the place was smaller. We were in the third branch, and then the freshmen went there. Don’t you go there now?

Host: Now it’s the law school.

Duan Yongping: The law school is very good, but there are mosquitoes there and the weather is very hot.

Host: Just now, Mr. Ma should have visited you in Silicon Valley in 2016. I wonder if Mr. Ma is there?

Ma Hanzhi: I am very honored to have the opportunity to meet you for the second time at Zhejiang University today. The host just mentioned that in 2016, I went to Silicon Valley with two classmates to communicate and learn with you. Now all three of us have graduated with a doctorate, and I stayed in Zhejiang University to continue working. Another classmate works in the Economic and Information Bureau of Jiaxing, and another classmate works at Apple. It is equivalent to 9 years have passed. In this process, you mentioned that we should do the right thing, do what we are interested in, and insist on doing this thing well. This has a great impact on us and has also inspired us to make our own life choices. Here, on behalf of this team, I would like to thank you for your guidance to our juniors and juniors. Thank you!

Host: Thank you, Mr. Ma Hanzhi. I was a little choked up when I listened to Mr. Ma Hanzhi's speech just now. It should be that I remembered something many years ago and was very moved. The next question is from Yao Zongqing (sound) from Chu Kezhen College. If you are 20 years old today and you want to start a business, which track would you choose, and what are the criteria for choosing a partner?

Duan Yongping: I really don’t know this. I think if I have the opportunity, I will still find a job and enjoy my life. Starting a business is not easy. You don’t see that some people are successful, but the success rate is very low. Most people are busy all their lives, but there is actually no good result. Chu Kezhen College itself is also very powerful. Huang Zheng came from there. I know they are good, but it doesn't mean that their success rate will be much higher. But if you want to start a business, just go ahead. The conditions now are much better than when we were young.

Host: I guess that student Yao just now should also have the idea of starting a business, so I want to ask a question directly.

Duan Yongping: If you have ideas and conditions, just do it. If you start a business just for the sake of starting a business, you have to be careful. I don't know what everyone should do. How can I know now! Now that information is so explosive, I am busy playing basketball all day, who can care about these things.

Host: The next question is also related to innovation and entrepreneurship. It comes from Ding Haokai (sound) from the School of Public Administration. Senior Duan, what track can liberal arts students take for innovation and entrepreneurship? In fact, this is also a question of mine, because as a student from the law major, I have relatively few activities related to innovation and entrepreneurship during my undergraduate studies.

Duan Yongping: Simply put, I don't know. I am not a liberal arts student. I have never taken a Chinese class. There is no Chinese class in middle school, only political Chinese class, and all I learned is "The sky connects the five ridges and the silver hoe falls, the earth shakes the three rivers and the iron arm shakes." When I was in college, I scored over 60 points in Chinese. I was quite surprised. I really had no foundation. But my mother worked in the library, so I always went to the library. Although the books I read were not so advanced, they were okay, like "Golden Avenue" and "Sunny Days". You probably sound unfamiliar with these books because you are too young. So I don't know where to start a business now. I really don't know. It's a bit difficult.

Host: Thank you, Senior Duan. The next question is more interesting. It comes from Wu Canlan (sound), a student from the Medical College. Senior Duan, how do you relax when you are tired?

Duan Yongping: When you are tired, you should go to bed. Sometimes you don't know. Like stretching, taking a hot bath, physical therapy is probably like this. There is nothing special. We are all mortals, ordinary people. I don't have any mysterious things or tricks here.

Host: Actually, our West District will be completed soon. It is named after Senior Duan, the Duan Yongping Cultural and Sports Center. It is a very large cultural and sports center. In the future, many students will participate in activities in the cultural and sports center, including sports activities and relaxation. Senior Duan is welcome to visit his alma mater more often in the future.

Duan Yongping: I went to see that place today. I think it is very good. Students should also develop the habit of safe exercise before college and learn to stretch. I didn’t know it before, and now I feel that my knees have some minor problems because I didn’t pay enough attention to these things before. I think the conditions are much better now, and there are people teaching inside, which is very good.

Host: Zhejiang University students also have a lot of cultural and sports activities in their spare time. Senior Duan is very welcome to return to our built venue and play ball with students.

Duan Yongping: I think I can also play some table tennis.

Host: The next question is from Chen Qiulai (sound) from the School of Economics. What kind of temperament and atmosphere do you think Zhejiang University has, which has affected your entrepreneurial investment and life?

Duan Yongping: I remember there was a person in our unit who said he must follow Duan Yongping's footsteps and send his child to the Department of Information and Electronics. I said I went fishing in two rivers, but you haven't been there. In fact, I don't know. There are many factors that contribute to growth. If this factor is true, then everyone should be the same as me. Of course, you ask if it has anything to do with Zhejiang University? Of course it does. I think Zhejiang University is undoubtedly a good school, but there will be problems.

Because I don't understand it now. There are many more students and teachers now. When I was in the third division, I felt that the relationship between teachers and students was really good.

Host: Including the School of Information and Electronics, which is also the alma mater of Senior Duan, now the students of Information and Electronics have a very classic four-character phrase "diligent and optimistic". They all say that they must really be diligent and optimistic people of Information and Electronics. These two words are also the characteristics of the overall student cultivation of the School of Information and Electronics, including being diligent in learning, not afraid of difficulties, and insisting on digging out more difficulties. Then in daily life, we must maintain an optimistic and positive attitude, which is also the characteristic of students in the School of Information and Electronics now.

Duan Yongping: For me, the most important thing about "diligent and optimistic" is to do the right things and do things right. I ask you to be diligent, can you be diligent? I have never been diligent. I try my best to be lazy. I don’t mean that you can peek during the exam or use ChatGPT to write your paper. You can use it as a reference. But I think the most important thing is to have a sense of right and wrong in your mind, to do the right thing, and to correct the mistakes as soon as possible. Optimism is a personality issue. Not everyone can be optimistic if they want to.

After these two things are said, will everyone really get any benefits? Can I question it?

Host: In fact, before "diligent optimism", it was more about Zhejiang University's spirit of seeking truth and innovation. In fact, the "Seeking Truth" scroll that the teacher gave you just now, we also think...

Duan Yongping: Innovation also needs to be careful. Many people understand innovation as being different. I think that should be especially careful. The most important thing is what you want to do and what value you bring to users. You say that I have made something that no one has had before, it is innovative, but no one likes it, aren't you miserable? Innovation is to make up for what others need but have not done. Differentiation does not mean being different. Differentiation and innovation mean the same thing, that is, you have to meet the needs of users. Users include many aspects. Teachers who meet the needs of students are also users. Building a building is also a service. If you just build it beautifully, but it is not easy to use, it will not work.

Host: Following the senior’s answer just now, I also thought of the senior’s previous mention of "dare to be the last in the world, and strive to be the first among the last", which is actually the senior’s philosophy, that is, you can’t innovate blindly.

Duan Yongping: I said "dare to be the last in the world", and I can give you many examples, such as Google dares to be the last in the world, Apple dares to be the last in the world, and Microsoft dares to be the last in the world. Who else is not? Of course, there may be some new ones in recent years, but for example, AI just happened to come out with something, and in fact many people followed suit. Doubao is not new either. How many people started with ChatGPT. But I don’t understand this thing either. I use many of them now, such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Doubao also uses it, but do you think they are innovative? In terms of innovation, they may not be the first to do it. But he discovered this thing, he just happened to have this strength, and he made it better than others, so he may be more powerful. Google's search was not first developed by Google, Yahoo did it earlier. Apple's iPhone, we may have made mobile phones earlier than Apple, but they dared to be the last in the world, they were strong, and they were the last to attack. But some things may not work even if they are the last. Even if you are Microsoft, you can't beat Google in search, so you are particularly keen on ChatGPT, because you want to take back search from this angle. This is my guess, I don't know, I don't care that much, I just want to play well.

Host: The next question in my hand mentioned the "dare to be the last in the world, and strive to be the first among the last", and this student's question is almost the same as the answer of senior Duan just now. This student is from the School of Engineering, Peng Huilin, how do you view the relationship between chasing hot spots or imitation and innovation?

Duan Yongping: Chasing hot spots, the definition of this kind of thing is not very complete, I don't know what it means to chase hot spots, chasing stars is also considered, chasing the wind is also considered. You just mentioned the relationship between imitation and innovation, you have to be able to make something that is not imitated, and it is also very good, of course you can. But it is almost difficult for me to find an example that did not start with imitation, such as Microsoft. Microsoft did not make anything by itself at the beginning. It followed after similar products were made. Apple, Google, and Amazon are also like this. Does Facebook count? I am not sure. Social media did not seem to be so popular at that time, but it was actually built on the basis of others, and it seemed to be established on the Harvard campus network. I think this is not a contradiction in the first place, and then I don’t know what I should say. There seems to be no conflict in this.

Host: Thank you for the answer from Senior Duan. The next question is also from Liu Jing, a teacher from the School of Information and Electronics. What are the similarities and differences between the campus in Senior Duan’s memory and what you see today? I wonder if Senior Duan has returned to the Zhijiang Campus for a visit, or what is the difference between the current Zijingang Campus and the Zijingang Campus you visited before?

Duan Yongping: To be honest, I didn’t pay much attention. I took a car to go around, and I didn’t go to the third branch. There should not be much change in the third branch. The mosquitoes are still the same mosquitoes.

Moderator: The next question is from Zeng Feihong (sound) from the School of Materials Science and Engineering. Senior Duan, how to cultivate critical thinking in looking at problems?

Duan Yongping: I don’t understand this. I don’t have any critical thinking. I just think about what I am thinking about in essence? That is, I think about the long-term and the essence. You do the same as me, you are good, why should I criticize you? But I look at a lot of things, just like the "diligent and optimistic" mentioned just now, I don’t know what is behind it, and I haven’t thought about it carefully, but someone did say what is the most important thing? He said diligence is the most important, I said no, I said doing the right thing is the most important. Because I said diligence is the most important, will you become more diligent? You won’t, at least I won’t. But if you want to do the right thing, find that you are wrong and correct it quickly. In this life, accumulating more than 30 or 40 years, every decision is based on looking back ten or twenty years later, you will find that it will save a lot of effort.

We graduated thirty years ago, forty years ago, those classmates were very smart people, but some people have been spinning in the same place for thirty or forty years, and maybe every small decision is based on immediate interests. Are they diligent? They are diligent, but it doesn’t work. Sometimes I don't think it's critical, I will think about it myself, so I think it's good to develop the habit of thinking about the essence. You think about everything this way, and over time, you will have this habit of thinking about the essence. But is it critical thinking? I don't know. Critical thinking sounds vicious to me.

Host: Thank you for the answer from Mr. Duan. From Mr. Duan's answer, I can see that Mr. Duan is really a very determined person, a very high-energy person. It has always been Mr. Duan's philosophy to insist on doing what you want and insist on what you think is right. Next is Assistant Professor Chen Xiaohua from the School of Economics. How can you become a very determined and high-energy person like you, who can happily deal with or bear the challenges and pain in work and life?

Duan Yongping: I am a mortal, and I also have pain. I am still a lazy person. You see, I retired early, and I have been retired for more than 20 years. I am 63 years old this year, and I retired when I was about 40. Obviously, I just don't want to face such pressure. I have enjoyed it, and I know the fun of this job. Then we have younger and more capable people who can do better than me, so why not? But this is not what I want to teach them. Not everyone has such luck and has so many good partners to work with.

Of course, I also have my own experience. I can achieve what I have today because I have a lot of support and sharing spirit for people. I think many people let others work for themselves when they hire people. I hope they can work for themselves, not for me. Because you have to spend a lot of time to build such a system, I can also face less pressure. I am not saying that I will bear it.

Let me give you a very simple example. Our company does not have a sales department, but only for agents. Because in the early years, I found that the sales department is that every customer comes to you to talk, and I found that all the talks are about price. Later, I thought that this problem must be solved, so the company's price is the same for everyone, and there is no discount for big customers. How tiring it is! You are under a lot of pressure. At that time, I might have 8 meals a day, 6 saunas, and 7 or 8 karaokes. Is that crazy? I definitely don't want to go, but there is no way. Every customer pesters you and wants to negotiate the price with you. At that time, when we were doing a very small business, it was already like that. You thought that it would be finished in ten or twenty years, wouldn't it? Of course, in that case, it might not last ten or twenty years. In the end, it took about three years to build our sales system. This is also a way to deal with pressure.

Host: Thank you for your answer, Mr. Duan. Just now, you also mentioned that young people should work for themselves. The next question is from Liu Bingqi (sound) from the School of Mathematical Sciences. What qualities of young people will attract you, and what kind of people do you want to be partners with?

Duan Yongping: You said that I think young people should work for themselves, but that's not what I mean. What I mean is that I want our employees to work for them, which seems to be a little different. Of course, self-realization is also right, but it doesn't mean the same as what I said. As a CEO, I want to support them and make them feel that they are Working for yourself, instead of letting them say you have to work for yourself and kick me out, the meaning is not exactly the same.

Host: The question just now was what characteristics of young people would attract you?

Duan Yongping: Young people are young, your age is my dream, I can't go back.

Question: Hello, Senior Duan, I am very happy to discuss this issue with you face to face. What I want to know is, for example, I know that you and Huang Zheng have a deep friendship, and I must value Huang Zheng's points. What characteristics of young people would attract you very much?

Duan Yongping: In fact, it has nothing to do with age. I definitely don't like to deal with people I can't communicate with. I like Huang Zheng very much, and I am very happy to chat with Huang Zheng. I think he is a person who looks at the essence, just like me, I think this is more important. Is he a young person? Of course he is, and it is said that I am also.

Back to what I said, to do the right thing, do things right, you have to think long-term. I think Huang Zheng is that kind of person. When we chat together, we will not be on the same channel, but most people will. I chat with many people, but I don't think it's easy to keep chatting. So, I don't know if this answer is the answer to the question. I think we should go back to the origin of things.

Host: Thank you, Senior Duan, thank you this student. Our next question comes from Qin Yuyang (sound) from Zhu Kezhen College. He wants to ask Senior Duan, if you can make yourself who just graduated from college insist on doing one thing every day, what would you choose?

Duan Yongping: Sleep. What does insisting on every day mean? Do it often, like doing physical exercise. What else? There are too many things to do, but you have to choose one or two things. This question is a bit difficult.

Host: I guess this student wants to ask you about habit formation or the kind of persistence on the road to success.

Duan Yongping: Exercise is very important, not necessarily every day, because you have to keep your body healthy and your brain awake. Another thing is to go back to the logic I just said to be clear, you have to think long-term about everything, do the right thing first, and correct it quickly if you find it wrong. Doing things right is a learning process. You will make mistakes. Many people cannot distinguish between wrong things and doing things wrong. They are completely different things. You can't stop doing things because you are afraid of doing things wrong, because as long as you do it, you will make mistakes, but if you know it is wrong, you should not do it. Is this logic OK?

Host: Thank you for your answer, Senior Duan. The next question comes from Wang Qichao (sound) from the School of Information and Electronic Engineering. He wants to ask you, hello, senior, can you share what setbacks you have encountered in the process of studying and starting a business?

Duan Yongping: During the process of studying, I almost didn't graduate from college. Teacher Huang Gongkuan helped me a lot, otherwise I might not graduate, and I would not pass the graduation defense, which is also a setback. Entrepreneurship, there are too many, every product problem, my phone was turned on 24 hours a day, but I was very reluctant to answer the phone, because every call might be a trouble. Are there any other problems? There are too many.

Host: When you face these setbacks, do you have any ideas or experiences to solve them that you can share with us?

Duan Yongping: Actually, there are. When you do things, you should try to think long-term. Back to the point, you should not let important things become urgent things. This is very important. I don’t have this problem of answering the phone all day long. I basically stopped answering the phone a long time ago. Don’t have too many urgent things. For example, if you want to exercise, you can’t wait until you are too sick to see a doctor. In fact, it is difficult. Although seeing a doctor is also important, regular check-ups are very important. I remember that I did a program in Beijing before. They said "crisis moment". I don’t know if you have noticed it. I said that when I was the CEO of Beijing TV, I often went to (accept) interviews. This and that. Ask me what I would do in a "crisis moment"? I said I was driving a car at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour. There was a wall 20 meters ahead. I was sure to hit it. What do you think I should do? There is no way, I am dead, anyway. He asked what would you do? I said the most important thing is not to drive so fast. Why do you want to hit the wall? You drive a good car, a tank, OK. It solves this problem from a long-term perspective. Everyone likes to watch "Crisis Moment". This person is not afraid of danger, but he still died in the end. So it is meaningless. You have to prevent this thing, so safety comes first. Safety first does not mean that you have a solution at that time. You have to prepare in advance.

Host: In the sharing just now, Senior Duan also mentioned the word "long-term" many times. I wonder if you have taken a small notebook to write it down. Our next question is from Kang Heng (sound) from the School of Computer Science and Technology. He wants to ask Senior Duan, from your perspective, how much influence does information gap have on investment and choice?

Duan Yongping: Stock speculation has no effect on me, unless you want to sell it immediately after buying it, and want to make some money that you shouldn't make. Of course, there are some people who make money by relying on information gap. I don't like this thing so much. I think for me, investment is actually a, it is not a zero-sum game. Information gap is actually a zero-sum game. You use this information, and before others get it, you make money that others should make, or something like that. Of course, it can't be said that way. I think quantitative investment has a bit of that flavor, but if you don't do it, others will do it, which is understandable as a business. I think in the long run, these things are just small waves, you care too much, and you are very tired.

Do I still want to play my ball? You have to live your life. In the long run, you find a good company and you hold it. When people say "hold", they hear "good company", but they don't hear "wrong company". Wouldn't you die more miserably? I have told many people, but they just can't explain it clearly. It is said that value investment is long-term investment, which is not true. Value investment, may I ask if there are other investment methods? In fact, there is no such thing. You invest in value. If you don't invest in value, what are you investing in? So in the long run, get a good company, and your life can be much happier. So you see that whether it is Buffett or Charlie Munger, you see that they live a long life. You see that most of those famous speculators died miserably. This is true, or the business also died miserably. It is not uncommon in China. As a rich man, why can't you think about it when he goes to jail.

Host: Okay, senior, you just mentioned some issues about investment. There is also a student named Huang Yifan from the School of Economics here. He wants to ask, have you ever experienced a critical decision moment of high risk and high return in investment, and how do you balance risk and return in such a highly uncertain market?

Duan Yongping: You are crazy if you still do it even though you know the high risk. It is true, but venture capital is different. Venture capital does not take risks. It invests with your money. If it makes money, it will have a share. Of course, it will also have some judgments. This market or the future market may like it. He can raise more money. If you invest in the first round, you can make money in the second, third, and fourth rounds. Investment, venture capital, strictly speaking, is a very modern product. We did not have this thing at that time. The logic of investment itself is to look at other business models, future cash flow, and whether it can really make money. You dare to invest, but you are also happy in this way.

Venture capital does not invest like we do. It does not invest a little here and a little there. It actually makes money from a country. For example, if you take away the companies that made money in the past two years, Sun Zhengyi will not make any money. Even if you add them, he does not make much money. But he is a very famous venture capital. This is very interesting. You said that the money he made is still far from that of Buffett and Charlie Munger. But many people start a business. After the business is established, you, as the earliest founder of the business, are indeed worth a lot when the market value is high. But those are the people who are left. You may have 10 million people starting a business in the same year. Everyone has seen Elon Musk, and you also go to make electric cars. Look at how many people die in China every year because of electric cars. This is the truth.

Host: Thank you for your answer, Mr. Duan. Mr. Huang, who asked the question just now, is also a student from the Department of Finance of the School of Economics. Mr. Huang would like to ask, are you here? Is there anything you want to ask about Mr. Duan’s answer just now?

Mr. Huang: Hello, Mr. Duan, I am Huang Yifan (sound) from the School of Economics. Today I am here mainly to represent our club. I am from the Student Investment Association of Zhejiang University. Because the students in our association also admire you very much, and they agree with your concept of "buying stocks is buying companies", including ourselves. The question just now is because we have thought about it before. You just mentioned that there are many current investors such as venture capital. For example, in pharmaceutical companies, there are many companies that I want to develop a technology. At this time, there is a high degree of uncertainty. Can this technology be made? Can it be clinically used after it is made? At this time, you may need to consider the situation of high risk and high return, so I wanted to ask you at that time. Duan Yongping: I can understand what you said. As an investor, you may do this when I run a business. As an investor, you as a venture capitalist, it makes sense for you to do this, but it is more difficult when you have a large amount of funds. You can't say that you use the money you need to gamble with money you don't need. I earn 10% or 20% a year, which is good. If you make a 500% return, but you may lose everything, why should I do it? So I generally don't touch such things. The current mechanism is quite good, and it needs someone to touch this matter. The medicine you mentioned is a particularly typical place. Biology, medicine, and technology are actually the same. It has many new ideas, but you can't have a mature business model immediately. Investors like us should not invest because I don't have so much time. I want to play basketball. It's true.

Many people say that you care about A-shares. I say I don't care. I say I will come back when it gets better. I am not a professional investor. Although I may manage more money than most professional investors, the money I manage alone is equivalent to a medium-sized hedge fund, or even more, but I am not as busy as him. I see many people busy every day. What are you busy with? You see, I just bought an apple and held it, or I bought Moutai with RMB. In fact, can I play basketball? They are busy, and I see many investors busy themselves.

I understand what you said, and I agree very much. I just avoid it myself.

Huang: In other words, it can be understood as two different styles, but you prefer to find the kind of high certainty.

Duan Yongping: What you said is high risk. I don't know if there is a high return business. If I know it has a high return, I can take it. This depends on whether you understand it or not. If you don't understand this thing, I buy it, and everyone thinks it is high risk, but I don't think so. So it depends on how much you understand, and whether you understand what you invest in. I don't always say that you don't touch it if you don't understand it. Don't touch things you don't understand. In addition, don't use stocks as collateral. If you think the stock is going to rise, I will borrow a lot of money. If the stock falls before it rises, you are finished. Don't touch this kind of thing. It will be much easier this way, and you can still play basketball.

Host: Thank you, classmate, thank you, senior Duan. The next question is from Gan Rongxin (sound), a student from the School of Computer Science and Technology. He wants to ask senior Duan, how should young people deal with the economic downturn?

Duan Yongping: In fact, the elderly are also facing this problem now. What does this have to do with young people? It doesn't matter. I really don't know how to answer this question. Just do it yourself. Indeed, we are facing this problem. You can still find a good job. You can also study for a master's degree first, and then study for a doctorate if that doesn't work. If you happen to see a good company you like and have the opportunity to join, I think it is also a good choice. Because I have seen that even when the economy is not so good, good companies are doing well. Look at Tencent, Moutai, and companies like ours, they are actually doing well. The drop in Moutai's stock price does not mean that the company is in a bad state. In fact, it is very good. In fact, the wine is still not available. We have direct supply. If you buy their wine, the quantity given is very small.

Host: Thank you for the answer, senior Duan. There are several outstanding alumni representatives who came to our site today. There is an alumnus Chen Boyi (sound). I would like to ask you, how can Chinese companies truly achieve globalization and localization?

Duan Yongping: Which company?

Host: Is this alumnus here?

Duan Yongping: I know, I just ask a small question. Now China has done a good job in globalization. There may be only one Pinduoduo and one Douyin. The others seem to be partial globalization. I think the so-called globalization is like a false proposition. You don't need to pursue it. When you are supposed to go, you will naturally go. If you don't have the strength or the need, you can't go out.

Let's not talk about others. Just our company. I remember when I first arrived in the United States in the early years, I thought, wow, the "Super Bowl" is a particularly good place to advertise. I think we must have the right product and I must penetrate it. We have never done it. We have never found a suitable product to enter the Super Bowl, and we still haven't done it today. Huang Zheng did it. Huang Zheng asked me that time, what do you think of the "Super Bowl" advertising effect? I said I saw it, and asked me what do you think? He said the effect is OK. I said it's OK, you only put two ads, and he said that the next year there were four or five ads, I don't remember. So he got the point right away.

Now I ask in the United States, do you know Temu? Almost everyone said they know. Many people working in my family use Temu, aunties, housekeepers, but I don't buy many things on it, but some things are indeed bought by many people. In the end, it still depends on products and other things, and their model is still quite powerful. Its quality is moving forward little by little.

Host: Thank you for your answer, Senior Duan. The next question also comes from an alumnus, our alumnus Fang Yi (sound). He wants to ask Senior Duan, what are the comparative thoughts on the high-profile of enterprises and the low-profile of entrepreneurs and the influence of entrepreneurs?

Fang Yi (sound): Let me add to this question. It may be more challenging to write it in advance. Although your last name is Duan, you don’t tell jokes much and have always been very low-key.

Duan Yongping: Am I low-key? How many entrepreneurs dare to speak on Xueqiu.

Fang Yi (sound): Before I came here, many of our colleagues who watched Xueqiu yesterday told me that you are not low-key. But when everyone heard you speak, I felt that it was particularly valuable that you spoke in Mandarin, but everyone listened to it and cherished it. Why? There are fewer and fewer people who speak the truth and plain words. Now in public, many people are very cautious. How to keep this original heart is what we learned the most today, and I also talked about this. You mentioned the Super Bowl just now. Your product ads are actually bling, bling, but the number of times you advertise and endorse in public is It seems not much. This is what I'm asking.

Duan Yongping: I retired a long time ago. When I was a CEO, I came out many times. I can still find my videos from those years. I'm retired. I'm not in the position to do politics. I want to play basketball. It has nothing to do with being high-profile or low-profile. I can only say that I'm normal. I'm just an ordinary person. I've never deliberately been high-profile or low-profile. I just do what I should do. I'm not in the front line of the enterprise. If you look for me, I don't think I'm suitable. I don't want to compete with CEOs for credit. Everyone thinks this is still your company, it's not mine, it's theirs. I'm just a person who plays basketball.

Host: Just now, Senior Duan also mentioned your speech on Xueqiu.com. We noticed that your account nickname on Xueqiu.com is "The Great Dao is Invisible and I Have Style". I wonder why Senior Duan chose such a name?

Duan Yongping: There is no special story in this. The Dao is invisible. There is such a saying. When I was playing Fantasy Westward Journey, I used the Dao (the Dao is invisible). It seems that someone registered the Dao on Xueqiu. I made a joke that the Dao is invisible, but I can be "stylish".

Host: Thank you, Senior Duan. The next question is from an alumnus, our alumnus Jin Liang (sound). He wants to ask you to share what is the biggest commonality in value investment after communicating with Buffett? Are there any differentiated views on value investment?

Duan Yongping: Our view on investment is "the same understanding". Your investment is actually value investment. If you don't invest in value, what are you investing in? But speculation is different. What is speculation? Investment is in opportunities. It's OK to say that. There are differences. That is, our understanding of different businesses is different. He understands a lot of businesses that he understands, but he may not understand the business that I understand; but sometimes he may not understand the business that I understand.

I can give you a simple example. Buffett also bought a lot of Apple, but he started buying in 2016, and I bought in 2011. I talked to him about Apple once in 2018. I talked to him specifically that time. Anyway, we had some contact. I don’t know who told him about it. I guess he heard from someone that I have a blog. He asked if there is an English version of your blog. I want to see it. I said, you know my English level, how can I write in English, this is the first. Second, many of the things I wrote are from you, and he said OK.

I said, but if you want to talk about Apple, I can come and talk to you. He said, oh, anytime, I really want to talk to you, I said okay, and I went. He said come whenever you pass by Omaha. I just want to pass by? How to pass by? I checked the map and went to Chicago and passed by Omaha, so I quickly arranged a trip to Chicago and sent him an email saying that I was passing by, and he said then come, it was true.

When we got there, he was waiting for me in the hotel lobby. There were three of us. We had dinner and chatted. He was really amazing. At the beginning of that night, he was a very nice person. He tried to liven up the atmosphere by saying that he used to drink Pepsi when he was a child. I asked him how I didn’t know that. Didn’t everyone always say that he drank Coca-Cola? He said that at that time, the price of Pepsi was only half of Coca-Cola, so obviously I wanted to drink Pepsi.

We started talking about Apple and started eating. I said OK, let’s talk about Apple. I said that I think Apple’s business model, of course I’m mainly talking about the iPhone here, is better than Coca-Cola. He said “Wow”. Now, as a person with a marketing background, I know what the point is. This is what he cares about, and of course it’s also what I care about. Why do you say that Apple’s business model is good? I said, look, Pepsi is only half the price, so you drink Pepsi. Do you know how much the price difference is between Android phones and Apple phones? Look at the real Apple users who care, no one cares, at least in the United States. It's the same in China. In fact, people who really use Apple use Apple.

That's it. He said I got it. That night we talked about other things and didn't talk about Apple again. In 2022, I went to their shareholders meeting. He invited me to their dinner. There was a dinner at the Omaha Aquarium. I thought it was very interesting. Why was it in that place? I said I wouldn't make a mistake. Sometimes I think my English is not very good.

I said I would go earlier. I went half an hour earlier. As a result, I found it very smoothly. The road signs were very clear. As a result, when I entered the place, it had a large auditorium-like place with about 50 round tables for dining. When I entered, there was only one table with two people sitting inside, Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger. When I arrived at that place, a man named Bill Gates came over from the opposite side, and then the four of us sat down. Warren said something. He introduced me to Munger and Bill Gates. He said, "This is Ping. My name is Ping." "He said, he told me that Apple's business model is better than Coca-Cola, so I bought a lot of apples." I said, "Oh! You can imagine that we just said that sentence that night. Four years later, he got a point." I have told countless people, but few people can get it. He said it all at once. It was just one sentence. Four years later, you can imagine that I don't usually meet him, but he introduced it directly like that. Of course, he said he bought a lot of apples, which has nothing to do with me. It's a joke. However, he hasn't sold all of them until now, which may be related to me, but I don't know, I have no way to verify this.

Host: Okay, thank you for sharing, Senior Duan. Through Senior Duan's sharing, we also know that we should grasp this more in the future. Got the points. The next one is Huang Shaoqi (sound) from the School of Information and Electronics. He wants to ask you, on the road to becoming an excellent investor and philanthropist, what influence has Zhejiang University had on you? Duan Yongping: I went to college here, and I learned how to study here. It still has an impact, of course. But the academic style of Zhejiang University should be OK, mainly because it is not in a big city, so there are fewer places to play. In fact, I don’t know, Hangzhou is very powerful now. You see, both of our companies have set up branches in Hangzhou. There are many talents here, and the city has a net inflow so far, and many talents are flowing in. But whether there are more places to play, I don’t know, it should be. Of course, this is not a bad thing. I also like to play games and like this and that. We didn’t have anything else to play at that time, and of course there were no games when I was studying. We really didn’t have games at that time, at most we played chess.

Host: I believe that as Hangzhou develops better and better, there will be more places to play, and we will have more opportunities to encounter. We should get the points more. Huang Shaoqi (sound) student is very presumptuous to ask you, the School of Information and Electronics wants to take a group photo with you later, I wonder if it is possible?

Duan Yongping: It depends on the last time. I'm not in such a rush. I just need to be at the airport before 3:30 because I have to take off before 4 o'clock. I have to fly to Singapore. Because that airport won't let me land if I exceed that time, so this is a little troublesome.

Host: The last question is from Professor Zhou Limin from the School of Economics. At the same time, Professor Zhou is also the winner of our latest Yongping Outstanding Teaching Contribution Award. His Economic Law Theory and Practice is also one of the most popular elective courses in our school.

Duan Yongping: I saw your photo, which is hidden in the back.

Host: Teacher Zhou's question is, I would like to ask Senior Duan, what is your next life goal or ultimate goal?

Duan Yongping: First, see if I can live longer. I think life should still have quality. If you just live with a tube inserted for some reason, I think that is too painful. So I understand Qiong Yao. I think her point is reasonable, so when it's time to remove the tube for me, just remove it. But you have to work hard for this. You have to exercise well, live well, and be in a good mood. You need to be optimistic at this time.

Host: OK, is there anything else you want to say, Mr. Zhou?

Mr. Zhou: I am very honored to have such an opportunity to speak. I teach a course called Economic Law at Zhejiang University. The full name is Economic Law Theory and Practice. I have taught this course for 29 years. It is currently the most popular course for students at Zhejiang University.

Duan Yongping: I know, there are more than 500 students a year.

Mr. Zhou: Yes, there are almost 4,000 students a year. To be precise, starting from September last year, when I gave lectures in this teaching building, there was an extra layer of meaning. Some students commented on me online, saying that the winner of the Yongping Teaching Scholarship was telling the entrepreneurial story of Yongping senior in the Yongping Teaching Building. This is such a magical thing. To be honest, this is really a coincidence, but maybe there is a plan in the dark. I started teaching this course more than ten years ago. Because economic law includes enterprise law and company law, I have to talk about the history of the development of Chinese enterprises. One of the parts I think I must talk about is the history of your Little Overlord and BBK becoming bigger and stronger. This part is very special. When I taught this course, the Yongping Teaching Scholarship had not yet been established, so I never thought that I would have the opportunity to win this award, let alone tell the entrepreneurial story of Senior Yongping in the Yongping Teaching Building, let alone tell this magical experience in front of Senior Yongping one day.

Duan Yongping: This is possible, this is possible.

Teacher Zhou: So, I am very happy and honored. Finally, I would like to say one more small point. I particularly agree and like this sentence very much, which is what you said about always doing what you think is right. I think I did it right, and I am always willing to do it, using the greatest enthusiasm and lifelong love to do this thing, that is, to do education, teach this book well, and always fight for Zhejiang University and our education for a lifetime. Thank you everyone.

Duan Yongping: It's amazing. So many students like you. You must have put a lot of effort into it.

Host: Thank you, Mr. Zhou, for your speech. Our Q&A session will end due to time constraints.

Duan Yongping: My time is not that tight.

Zhejiang University student: Senior Duan, this occasion is very special. I may be the person who is most influenced by you. I graduated from the Department of Information and Electronics in 2002. In 2007, I started a business with Huang Zheng. When Huang Zheng told me the entrepreneurial story, the reason he convinced me was that our project was invested by Senior Duan, so I started a business with him in Shanghai in 2007.

Duan Yongping: Are you from OPPO?

Zhejiang University student: Yes, I am from OPPO. I also smoked two cigarettes with you at OPPO. Yes, yes.

Duan Yongping: Such a big secret has been revealed. Continue.

Zhejiang University student: I remember you told me about the entrepreneurial philosophy of "dare to be the last in the world". I started my own business later. Today I am here as a representative of entrepreneurial alumni. I use four words to describe my company's current corporate culture: truth-seeking and duty. I have always used my own unique system. I am also an alumnus of CEIBS, so we are indeed of the same lineage.

The biggest education I have received from Senior Duan in the past two years is that I often tell people around me about the history of our entrepreneurship and the way of doing things in the BBK system, including your ideas such as how I don't talk about prices with agents, how I let employees get greater benefits, etc. To be honest, when I shared with my classmates at CEIBS, it can be said that the most popular sharing class among classmates was this entrepreneurial philosophy. I have shared this in many circles. I don't know if this thing has been authorized, but I want to express it in person today.

Duan Yongping: No authorization is required.

Zhejiang University student: Thank you. Whether it is from the business philosophy, including our company is doing well now, a small company with a scale of several billion, but I think it still lives up to the identity of a junior student in the Department of Information and Electronics. Just express a thank you, no other questions.

Host: Thank you again, Senior Duan, for your support to our School of Information and Electronics. Just now, I saw that a student from our School of Information and Electronics brought a banner to thank Senior Duan for his support to the School of Information and Electronics. Our teachers and students from the School of Information and Electronics can wave and say hello to Senior Duan. Thank you again, Senior Duan.

Duan Yongping: OK, thank you everyone.

Host: We still have many students who want to ask questions later.

Duan Yongping: The last three questions.

Zhejiang University students: Thank you, host, thank you, Senior Duan. Hello, Senior Duan, I am also your junior from the School of Information and Electronics, and I am Wu Tianze (sound), a master's student in the 23rd grade. You also mentioned at the beginning that this is an era of AI. In fact, the development of AI is still very rapid.

Duan Yongping: Very rapid.

Zhejiang University students: Yes. Sam Altman, the founder of OpenAI, said that AGI may be achieved in two years or even faster. Of course, there are also some opposing voices, such as the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Hinton of AI some time ago. He believes that AI may make humans extinct in 10 years.

Duan Yongping: Didn’t you say 30 years?

Zhejiang University student: That may be my mistake.

Duan Yongping: OK, what’s your question?

Zhejiang University student: My question is, what do you think of the development of AI? Do you think AI will develop very rapidly in the next few years? What kind of significance will it bring to mankind?

Duan Yongping: My simple statement is that I don’t understand it clearly. I do think it is powerful, but I don’t really understand it. In the future, I will need to ask you, what will happen to AI? People in school must be ahead of us and see it more clearly. I am still asking today, what do you think of NVIDIA? Is it possible that its chips can be replaced? I really don’t understand.

Zhejiang University student: Senior Duan, I think you are also a very successful investor, including a lot of investment and venture capital related to AI now, including I have communicated with some VCs before. As a master’s student, I may consider the opportunity to study abroad in the future, but opportunities do not wait for anyone in this era. What do you think of me continuing to pursue my studies? Or should I give up my studies in order to choose to start a business and seize opportunities?

Duan Yongping: I don’t know. It depends on you. I know a guy who is also a basketball buddy. He later worked at LSI. When he was studying for a doctorate at Stanford, a company CEO talked to him for two hours and wanted to poach him. He was from Taiwan, but he felt that we Chinese must complete our studies first. The guy who talked to him for two hours was called Bill Gates. He didn’t go. He regretted this for the rest of his life. I guess. I don’t know. So, this is entirely your decision. But if he came across a "fake story" and went again, that would be another story, right? He didn’t complete his studies. So, you don’t know. So, this is something you have to judge for yourself as to what is the right thing to do. You have to think about your long-term, 10 or 20 years, not just the immediate benefits.

You said getting a degree is right, but you were not impressed by Bill Gates talking to you for two hours. You are indeed stupid. There is no doubt about this.

You have no idea what kind of person the other person is. You just think about the little bit of benefit. You want to get a doctorate degree. Otherwise, you will let your family down. Your parents will definitely... But you already have a master's degree. Of course, when Microsoft was not very powerful, if he went to Microsoft, he might be one of the top ten employees of Microsoft. How powerful he must be, earlier than the current CEO and Kai-Fu Lee.

Zheda student: There are still many opportunities and luck in life.

Duan Yongping: Anyway, you will eventually become the person you should be.

Zheda student: Because you just mentioned meeting Bill Gates with Buffett, I actually live in Beijing. I am very fortunate to have this opportunity. I came from Beijing yesterday to meet you. So I think my decision is very correct. Thank you very much. Thank you.

Host: Okay, thank you, student. Just now, everyone was really too enthusiastic. There are still many questions in my hands. The last two opportunities, one for the questions in my hand, and one for the students in the audience. I will first ask the question on my hand. Another alumnus is Liu Jianbin from Oufang Angel. He wants to ask Senior Duan that Pinduoduo, BBK, OPPO, and vivo all regard duty as corporate culture, but there are great differences in business operations. How should we understand this difference?

Duan Yongping: I know our company very well, but I don’t know much about Pinduoduo’s specifics. Many people told me this. I said that their users are increasing, and so many people like to use it. You insist that it is wrong. What does it mean? I know that when Huang Zheng first started his business, for example, when he was doing Pinhaohuo, he was very concerned about agriculture. He just wanted to develop agricultural products well. He really did a lot of things, including a lot of infrastructure he is doing now, which are related to this.

When he was doing Pinduoduo, he found it, and I invested in him in the end. But I didn’t know beforehand that I invested in him. One day we talked on the phone, and I asked him what he was doing, and he said he was doing this. I said, isn’t this the previous Pinhaohuo? He said yes, but it’s a little different now, doing more investment, etc. He said he hoped I could invest in them. I asked him if it could make money. He said he didn’t know. However, the user base grew very fast. Many people liked to use it. Moreover, his suppliers were very happy. All the things that were not easy to sell before were now sold. Especially agricultural products, because they were first introduced as agricultural products. If you can’t sell the oranges of farmers, they will die or rot. All fruits are the same. Through their channels, they really did a good job. He asked me to join. I asked if it could make money. He said he didn’t know. After he talked about the growth rate, I said, okay, I will treat it as a charity, because such a fast growth rate means that you are doing a good thing.

The final result was like this. I said, OK, if it makes money, I will donate it to my fund and treat it as a charity. If it doesn’t make money, but it helps so many people, I will treat it as a charity. Anyway, it is a charity. Then I put forward a condition to him. I said you can invest as much as you want me to invest. In fact, he didn’t come to me because he was short of money. He just wanted to pull me in and make me his investor. Of course, don’t tell this story to others, and I shouldn’t tell it. I suddenly forgot about it. There is nothing here. This happened before the listing, and it has nothing to do with the listing.

I have answered this question, right? I think what they did, first, I don’t know much, and second, I don’t know the details. In fact, I mentioned it to him. I think your product is not right. He said that it is indeed wrong and he will change it. However, I don’t have more details. I have seen various opinions on the Internet, but in fact, it is really powerful. The turnover, user volume, etc. have been rising. Some people who don’t like it have never tried it. Many people have never used it and think that it is bad. I think it is difficult to understand this kind of thing.

Zhejiang University student: Because I also know Huang Zheng, I also invited Huang Zheng to give a speech at Zhejiang University. I also know many people from OPPO. OPPO’s suppliers have been greatly treated, including various difficulties. I have also communicated with Huang Zheng and others about this.

Duan Yongping: I have heard about this. First of all, it is difficult for me to comment because I don’t know the specific situation. However, most of the suppliers are still staying there seriously. This is the first. Second, their competitive environment may be worse. We have very few suppliers. We pay much attention to suppliers. Compared with them, many suppliers have opinions. Can you tell me how many there are? If there are 10,000 suppliers who have opinions, he may have 5 million suppliers. So if you understand from this perspective, you may understand. But what is going on? I don't know, so I can't answer your question. But I think Huang Zheng is not a profit-seeking person. Many people don't understand this. I understand that he will not make money and will not deceive you.

Some time ago, when Pinduoduo plummeted, many people said whether it could be a fake? I said I don't know about other things, but I know this, it must not be. They say that it is a thing, then it is true, but do you like it or not? That is your problem, this is your choice.

Host: Okay, due to time constraints, let's ask the last question.

Zhejiang University student: Hello, Senior Duan, I am a freshman in software engineering. Because I just entered university, sometimes I feel a little confused, that is, what should I do in the past few years of university? A few days ago, I read an article by Huang Zheng reflecting on middle school and college. He wrote that he wasted too much time in the pursuit of the first place and in trying to be a good student, and lost a lot of time to rebel, make trouble, and purely enjoy youth. 60 points is a good philosophy, which I slowly realized many years later. I also heard senior Duan say that you think the most important thing in college may not be to learn specific knowledge, but to learn how to learn. I think this is one aspect. But on the other hand, for my future development, if I want to join a company that I like and may be better, then it will definitely put forward some rigid requirements for me. How should I balance the two? Duan Yongping: It is normal for college students to be confused. I was probably in my junior year when I suddenly found that the process of preparing for the college entrance examination was very happy and fulfilling. After entering college, I was very confused, especially the major I studied was not what I wanted to do in the future. So in the second half of the junior year, I suddenly realized that my fun actually came from the process. At the same time, I also found that I had to do the right thing and do things right in my junior year. That is, you have to slowly... How to say it? It is normal to be confused. But you said that with the company you like, what does the other party require you to do? What does this mean? Can you repeat it again?

Zhejiang University student: For example, if a student of ours goes to apply for a job, will there be a standard for each aspect?

Duan Yongping: I don’t know about this, because the requirements of each company may be different. The company you like, you have to know what they like about you, how can I know? So you need to understand this. I have indeed seen many people looking for jobs and saying that I like your company. I asked what you like? He couldn’t tell, and he said that it’s just looking for a job. You like this company, there must be a reason for you to like it. Then what kind of job you go to is also related. If you are a software engineer, do you say you are a software engineer?

Zhejiang University student: I studied software engineering.

Duan Yongping: Then you should study AI, AI will replace your job in the future - scare you, just kidding. I don’t know, I think if you really want to be good at writing code in 5, 10, or 20 years, then you may really need to find something else. But if you are smart enough, you can definitely find it. I have seen many people change their careers and find nothing to do with their careers, but they can still be very successful. You see, Gong Jianping (sound) from our class went to Japan and did something that had nothing to do with what he learned before, but he became a world-class expert. It's the same. Is that enough?

Zhejiang University student: Thank you, Senior Duan.

Host: Thank you again, Senior Duan for your answer. Stick to doing the right thing and do it right. I believe that in the future, students of Qiushi will continue to follow your word "duty" and go further and further. Thank you, Senior Duan, for taking the time to meet and communicate with us today.