Lei Jun: Finding the Right Time

by+Xuan+Kang

In 1987， 18-year-old Lei Jun was admitted to Wuhan University as a computer science major. Years later， he still remembers reading a book titled Flame of Silicon Valley at the school library， which recounts the technological revolution brought about by young people such as Steve Jobs in Silicon Valley. “For the first time， my heart pumped aspiration，” recalls Lei.

Life can be magic at times. After graduating from college in 1991， Lei set off for Beijings Zhongguancun， which was dubbed Chinas Silicon Valley. There， Lei formed ties with the internet and got to know Qiu Bojun， founder of Kingsoft， a Chinese software company， and became its sixth employee. Lei worked for Kingsoft for 16 years until he resigned as the companys president and CEO in late 2007.

During Leis 16 years at Kingsoft， despite his tireless efforts， the company never became a top-tier enterprise. For a long time， the com- pany survived in cracks between Microsoft and pirates. Many considered Lei unlucky， and opined that he failed to realize the right things to do at the right times. When others turned to the internet， he remained stuck with software， as its influence dwindled. By the time he finally began tackling both internet and software， he had already missed the golden window for internet development.

After quitting Kingsoft， Lei focused on angel investments for a time. After a handful of successes， he felt the way others treated him changing – he was finding greater achievements outside the realm of software.

However， even after considerable successful investment in mobile internet enterprises， Lei still longed for a game-changing breakthrough in mobile internet. In April 2010， Lei returned to the spotlight by launching Miui Science and Technology Co. Ltd. and Mi Phones. Finally， he nailed the right thing at the right time – smartphones in the mobile internet era. At the time， Chinas smartphone market was embroiled in a three-way race between Apple， Android brands such as HTC， Samsung， and Motorola， and the alliance between Nokia and Microsoft. In light of Nokias former market dominance years earlier， Lei was sure he found an ideal time to jump into the market.

Lei seized the opportunity. The Mi Phone quickly became hot after its release in 2011. Due to impressive performance at a low price， Mi phones quickly attracted many diehard fans. The MIUI operating system， developed from Android by Miui， was designed specifically for Chinese users， which proved especially popular with consumers. By 2012， amidst doubt and praise， the company sold nearly 7.2 million smartphones， and then 18.7 million in 2013. During a short time， the company completed four rounds of financing， and built an estimated value exceeding $10 billion. Today， the company has developed many different products including Redmi Phones， Mi Phones， Mi TV， and Mi Box.

“In terms of starting a business， weve already achieved success in the initial stage，” Lei remarks. “One major reason is luck. We did the right thing at the right time.”

“Lei missed the previous wave， the internet era， but caught it this time – the mobile internet era，” commented one industry insider after the Mi Phone won such popularity. Lei insists that behind his success lies the internet mindset， and victory of internet productivity over traditional productivity. “It boils down to concentration， perfection， brand， and speed，” he adds.