"Peking University entrepreneurs prefer subversive entrepreneurial projects and are more willing to do influential things."

"Tsinghua's entrepreneurial gangs are relatively low-key. There are not so many companies that are well known to women and children in Peking University, but almost all the top companies in each sub-sector have Tsinghua gangs."

Although their entrepreneurial paths are completely different, the two roads lead to the same goal.

It is said that girls in Beijing universities can tell whether the opposite boy is from Tsinghua or Peking University within two minutes.

The difference between them is so obvious: if this boy is talking about Kan Kan and the content is related to the national system, then he must be from Peking University; If they often appear in groups but remain silent, just listen to you silently, say a few words when they really disagree, and even blush when they talk to girls, then they must be from Tsinghua.

When they step into the school gate, they have already obtained the first proof of IQ, ability and other talents. However, just like two different factories, even the same high-quality materials, after four years or more of processing, the products will be very different.

These are probably the two universities with the highest success rate in China, and many exciting entrepreneurial stories feature them. An interesting question is, are the entrepreneurs of these two universities as obvious as the students of these two universities? If so, will entrepreneurs in the same school have similar entrepreneurial trajectories?

Different entrepreneurial personalities

Peking University people are unruly, more willing to do influential things, and more "cross-border people"; Tsinghua entrepreneurs are low-key and pragmatic, and are more likely to become market leaders.

When reporters began to think about this issue, Zhang Xiangdong was the first to think of 3G portal. He comes from Peking University. 3G portal is the most influential portal in the wireless field, and it is a typical "Beidabang" company. The entrepreneurial team Deng Yuqiang, Zhang Xiangdong and Chang Yingming are college classmates.

Zhang Xiangdong hasn't changed much from a few years ago. He still looks like a college student, with long romantic hair and cotton T-shirts and slacks. He has a strong brand of Peking University and likes to publicize his views and likes and dislikes: his favorite red and five stars are everywhere in the office, and there is one on his notebook. Two bicycles with the same eye-catching appearance make the office look narrow, and people who talk to him can't help glancing at it.

He just organized a gathering of entrepreneurs in Peking University, not only entrepreneurs, but also his hardcore in the school. As you can imagine, wine played an important role in the party that day. Nine conference rooms in the new site of 3G portal headquarters are named after nine famous wines. Zhang Xiangdong said, "We have a secret tacit understanding with wine."

This is a habit inherited from the university. Zhang Xiangdong wrote in his blog: "In college, Yu Qiang often went out at 23 o'clock when the lights were turned off, took a group of our friends to the lawn to drink beer, talk nonsense, laugh and curse, and called the wine gang." This is also the origin of the name "Wine Gang (Wine Gang) Digital" of 3G portal company. When they registered an offshore company, Zhang Xiangdong transliterated a more romantic name-Dream Bund.

"What do Peking University entrepreneurs have in common?"

"This is a false question? The three of us have completely different personalities. " Zhang Xiangdong retorted and said poetically, "Independent and free character is the mysterious password of Peking University. We remember Peking University because we remember these two words. "

Unexpectedly, the entrepreneur who best represents the characteristics of Peking University in his mind is not Yu, but the publisher of 2 1 newspaper. Obviously, his criterion is not his net worth or company turnover, but how much influence he can have on others. Even under the contradiction between wealth and free dreams (even distant dreams), wealth can be sacrificed temporarily.

3G portals did this several years ago. When they have millions of users, they can easily earn tens of millions a month as SP. However, they didn't do it. They were willing to squeeze into a small office and waste their breath buying a server, because it would be 50 yuan cheaper.

"Peking University entrepreneurs prefer subversive entrepreneurial projects and are more willing to do influential things." Zhang Xiangdong concluded. On the contrary, "Flower green gang" is more low-key. There are not so many companies known to women and children in Peking University, but the top companies in almost every sub-sector have "Flower green gang".

Although Zhang Xiangdong's free breath can easily infect others, it is not easy to talk with him. He is so keen to refute your point of view at any time that you are speechless. On the contrary, it is much easier to meet Hua Qing and his party, but they are too low-key to make an appointment.

Entrepreneurs in Tsinghua are more like a group image. Although everyone has a distinct personality, most of their characteristics are hidden under some similarities and are difficult to be found. Only a few "brothers in the upper bunk" know all about this. Most of them are thoughtful, considerate and considerate; They will explain every relevant detail to you at the beginning of the conversation.

Ni Zhengdong, founder and president of Zero2IPO Group, just finished a meeting. As soon as he saw me, he apologized to me as an unexpected guest: "There will be a meeting later. How long do you need? " First he reminded me that I forgot to exchange business cards with him, and then there was a slight noise in the room. He immediately stared at my tape recorder and asked, "Will it be affected?"

From 65438 to 0996, he studied for a master's degree in Tsinghua, and Ni Zhengdong stayed in the garden for six or seven years. By the time he left school, he had a typical "Tsinghua style"-it was difficult to leave a clear first impression. He was ordinary-looking, casually dressed, with a high voice and was polite to everyone.

In Ni Zhengdong's impression, there were not many early domestic Tsinghua students who started their own businesses, and they were scattered. Later, the Internet entrepreneurial wind blew all over Zhongguancun, and the technology was inevitably linked to Tsinghua, and Tsinghua gradually developed entrepreneurial soil. 1998, Ni Zhengdong imitated MIT and held the first college students' business plan competition in Tsinghua. The signing of hundreds of projects has set off an upsurge of student entrepreneurship in Tsinghua. "70% of the projects are websites."

Low-key, the characteristics of "Flower green gang" are undoubtedly obvious in the Qing Dynasty. Ni Zhengdong said, "Many people think that Zero2IPO is just a research institution and a company that holds meetings. In fact, we also invest, but not much to say. " In the company conference room, the projects invested by Zero2IPO have been covered with a whole wall.

Ni Zhengdong said with a smile: "Tsinghua people is still very practical and will not be too empty; The idea is simple, but the goal is clear; Than the group. " A few words made a summary like a paper abstract.

He also thought about this interesting question. Why does the same person enter Tsinghua or Peking University, and his personality is completely different after graduation? "It may be because there is an unnamed lake in Peking University, and everyone walks around it; There are main roads in Tsinghua, and everyone runs straight by bike. "

In Ni Zhengdong's mind, Tsinghua's entrepreneurial representatives are Xu Hang, chairman of Mindray Medical, and Deng Feng, partner of Northern Lights. For the public, Xu Hang is not a familiar name, and few people know Deng Feng's entrepreneurial experience before becoming an investor. Mindray is a native of China, but it has fought its way out in the field of high-end medical equipment monopolized by overseas companies, which has aroused infinite excitement and expectation in overseas capital markets. Deng Feng was once hailed as one of the five most successful Chinese entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley. Netscreen, which he founded with two friends, created a $4 billion M&A myth in the United States. However, even if this experience occasionally appears in the media, it is mostly unclear.

Deng Feng's investment philosophy is very characteristic of Tsinghua. "I want to be a farmer, not a hunter." . Every time a hunter shoots, he gains something. It takes a long time for venture capital to see the results. What's wrong with being a farmer all your life? "

The most obvious difference between Tsinghua's entrepreneurship and Peking University's entrepreneurship is the choice of entrepreneurial field. Hu Caihe, a graduate of Peking University and president of Good Investment Network, commented: "The starting point of Tsinghua's entrepreneurship is more focused on technology, while Peking University is more focused on market opportunities. First consider what resources we have, and then consider how to grasp these resources. " Both Zhou Yunfan, who founded ChinaRen and Kong Zhong, and Deng Zhonghan, who founded Zhongxingwei, started with new technologies and belonged to the typical "technical school" in Tsinghua. At Peking University, AsiaInfo was founded because of the market demand for technical exchange, and started a business because of the emergence of the examination market. I once said to Bai Yang of Douban.com (Tsinghua Department of Physics 1985), "You are unmoved by the Internet craze of 1998, so I will join in the fun."

This also makes it easier for Peking University to "cross the border". Ding was born in the chemical industry. Although Yu became a teacher in New Oriental, the establishment of New Oriental was cross-border. Because "starting your own business" is still a difficult choice, I am contradictory, confused and even crying.

In fact, these differences are reflected in their campus life of playing guitar and singing. The summer night on the lawn of Peking University Library is the most unforgettable, but it is often the guitarist from Tsinghua who finally sits in the middle of the lawn because of his superior skills. Peking University students play the piano for entertainment and expression, while Tsinghua people cares more about skills and works hard on this kind of pain.

Different campus cultures

Tsinghua is more United than Peking University and often responds with one voice; The entrepreneur of Peking University is more like a chivalrous man.

Who is TOP 1 of China University? This struggle has been going on between Tsinghua and Peking University for several years, and there is also a debate about who is more United.

This is not a simple school temperament problem. Harvard has an entrepreneur club, Yale has a mysterious "skull and bones", Princeton has a "gourmet club", and Harvard Business School 1949 class is a "class built with dollars".

Every school's alumni network is a treasure. Regardless of Harvard, Yale, Oxford and Cambridge, alumni resources are the most accessible entrepreneurial resources.

When entrepreneurs try to attract talents, the first thing they encounter is trust. "Why should I come to your company?" Although some of them are attached with stocks and options, it is still unknown whether they can be converted into future income. The cost of students' trust is the lowest, and this kind of trust is difficult to obtain from other channels.

In the eyes of ordinary people, Tsinghua is more United than Peking University, always ready to deal with it. Ni Zhengdong said, brainstorming we can't compare with Peking University, but Tsinghua is definitely better on the battlefield. Their campus life style continues after starting a business: students in Tsinghua always do experiments in groups of three and five and discuss with each other; Students in Peking University prefer to wander around the campus alone and occasionally sigh about their lives.

1998, Li Fang's article "Peking University is spring, Tsinghua is magma" predicted for the entrepreneurs of the later two schools: "Peking University people are so arrogant that they disdain to ask friends to introduce others for some purpose in the secular world. Tsinghua people is not like this. They seem to be born with the spirit of group cooperation. "

"Flower green gang" always appears in groups, just like on campus. Liu, who is preparing to start a business, asked, "Can I invite two students to interview together?" The next day, he appeared with his classmates Liu Yubin and Sun Bo. They all have entrepreneurial experience before, although they are in the same class, but the fields are far apart; Liu is engaged in the field of consumption, book publishing, and Liu Yubin is engaged in real estate agency.

"Last year's Entrepreneurship Competition, Tsinghua's sewage treatment project entered the finals, and only one member of the six teams came from the same school." They are proud that "it is still the most tacit understanding with alumni entrepreneurship."

Tsinghua also has such a system in schools. In the School of Economics and Management, they also have an entrepreneurial tutor, who is an alumnus with entrepreneurial experience. One of the patterns they are used to is to look for technologies that meet the market from other departments and then operate the market.

According to Hu Caihe, this is a remarkable feature of Tsinghua School. Starting a company, from entrepreneurs to investors to engineers, Tsinghua alumni can solve it.

This cooperation has been running through Tsinghua alumni. Tsinghua Entrepreneur Club (TEEC) is the most organized alumni association in China. TEEC is more like a joint code, a secret organization, a sense of identity and belonging.

TEEC was born in Silicon Valley and later moved to China. In Silicon Valley, the most entrepreneurs are Tsinghua alumni. They discussed technology, business model and how to promote it, which made many schools envious. Yang Lei, a senior consultant of Northern Lights and a well-informed former CEO, said, "Tsinghua alumni rarely go out to do business alone, and I don't know why." When he started his business in Silicon Valley, all three business partners met at the Tsinghua Alumni Association.

Some people say that Tsinghua people is modest on the surface, but there is a kind of pride in his bones, which seems indifferent, because "you and I are not alike". TEEC's membership rules also feel this way. Although Yang Lei said that TEEC is not an elite club and not all its members are successful, he also said, "It is very demanding to join this organization. In addition to being an alumnus of Tsinghua, you have to start a business, be a CEO, have a certain scale, have venture capital, and what is important is people who have not yet got up but will succeed in the future. "

Tsinghua alumni are inextricably linked in the entrepreneurial circle. Zhang Fan's four projects in Sequoia are all related to Tsinghua. Ni Zhengdong said, "Many entrepreneurs in the projects I invested in are from Tsinghua." He thought for a moment and said, "There are really no entrepreneurs from Peking University. Investment is a two-way choice, and Tsinghua alumni are more likely to reach an understanding. "

This unity ensures the high success rate of Tsinghua's entrepreneurship, and "Flower green gang" can often spend the most immature period of entrepreneurship with the help of various forces. Although there are business leaders in Peking University, there are not many medium-sized companies. Although there are a large number of top three companies in all walks of life in Tsinghua, there are not many "spiritual leaders", and even if they have a net worth similar to that of Li Yanhong, they do not have such high exposure.

However, just like hedgehogs hugging each other, it is easy to hurt each other if they get too close. Hu Caihe said that when the company develops to a certain scale, the management team of "Flower green gang" is more likely to split; In addition, the "Flower green gang" company is more "exclusive", and it is difficult for Peking University people to reach the top.

This may be mixed with a long-standing family opinion. Surprisingly, there is no gap between schools in "Beidabang" company. There are a large number of Tsinghua alumni in New Oriental and Baidu, and more than 50 masters and doctors in Tsinghua, Peking University. Wang pu said, "The other way around is unlikely".

Peking University alumni are not without feelings. Different from the group image of "Flower green gang", Peking University alumni are more like a group of Jianghu chivalrous people, because they are linked by feelings that need no words.

Zhang Xiangdong said, "We are brothers! Brothers don't mean the friendship between girls, they need to stick together all day to share secrets; It's just that brother, if you need anything, just ask. I won't ask why, I will simply say, ok. "

He is very different from Deng Yuqiang and Chang Yingming. He is willing to share his ideas with others, but he will not do detailed work such as management. Chang Yingming is particularly rigorous and principled; Deng Yuqiang is indifferent and seldom talks. "If Deng Yujiang let me do something, I will do it. If I can't do it, I will treat them like this. " Zhang Xiangdong said, "I can make such a request because I know them and they can do it."

There are also alumni entrepreneurship organizations in Peking University, which are either official organizations or more like societies. Tiger Color and Peking University Alumni Venture Capital Association have more than 160 members, which is equivalent to the size of TEEC. Half of their activities have nothing to do with business, and outdoor activities twice a month are often difficult mountaineering or real CS. There are more than 300 people in the MSN group, but most of them discuss Obama or the global situation, and few people discuss micro-topics.

In the entrepreneurial circle, Zhang Xiangdong has his own "Peking University Brothers", Li Guoqing of Dangdang and Zhuang Chengchao of Qunar. It is said that a group of early entrepreneurs, such as,, and so on, had a good relationship. However, the "Peking University Gang" seldom get together, nor do they sit so close to each other in various forums like Tsinghua alumni, or even just nod to each other.

Different entrepreneurial weaknesses

Strong technology and good products are just too far away from customers, which is the weakness of Tsinghua Gang. Inattention is a common mistake made by entrepreneurs in Peking University.

Even though Tsinghua and Peking University have the success rate of entrepreneurship envied or even envied by other domestic universities. Entrepreneurs still have to experience setbacks or even failures to understand the true meaning of entrepreneurship.

"Leftover" is king. Whether you come from Peking University or Tsinghua, this is an irrefutable truth to measure success. So, on the road of starting a business, what kind of mistakes are green gang and Peking University Gang prone to make?

Technology is a universal Tsinghua complex. Liu and Liu Yubin from the School of Economics and Management who are not "technical" have always affirmed: "Technology, technology is very important!"

However, Ni Zhengdong reflected, "Tsinghua entrepreneurs often make many mistakes, one of which is that they like technology too much and are too proud of products."

"It's like a chef telling a guest that my cooking is good, so just eat it." Ni Zhengdong, for example, many websites have strong technology and good products, but they are too far away from customers.

Hu Caihe believes that management is another problem that entrepreneurs in Tsinghua are prone to encounter, and the most concentrated embodiment is cash flow. Luo Jianbei, a former director of Tsinghua Pioneer Park, witnessed the ups and downs of many entrepreneurs in Tsinghua. When talking about the reasons why most companies are in trouble, she simply said: "Many typical. Com company burns money very badly. "

After several ups and downs, Tong, a Tsinghua graduate and chairman of Chinese Online, returned to the Jianghu, and really understood the basic principles in textbooks in the reality of starting a business. "Enterprises first create income, and enterprises aim at profit! An enterprise's own business should always be enough to maintain the normal operation of its own company. Capital is just a lever, which can make you jump a step, and it can also support ten times the strength. It will always be just icing on the cake, not a gift in the snow. "

In order to become a company again, Tong kept the fixed cost of the company as low as possible. It turned out that he even wanted to rent an office building of several thousand square meters. Later, he shrunk, and the office was only six or seven square meters. However, Chinese Online is already one of the best companies in the field of digital publishing in China.

"Peking University Gang" is more likely to make some idealized mistakes. They have dreams, but in practice they find that the real path is not like this. Zhang Xiangdong once failed to start a business. He said his idea was good, but it wasn't. So now he is more willing to start a business with Deng Yuqiang and Chang Yingming, because "everyone's ability is different, so everyone can do what they are good at."

"inattention" is a common mistake made by entrepreneurs in Peking University. Hu Caihe gave an extreme example. He once promoted an investment, but entrepreneurs do this today and that tomorrow, and don't work hard to develop their main business. "They even had a few girlfriends." Perhaps because of some kind of heroic complex, some people will feel omnipotent and can't help but be tempted. "The most difficult thing on the road to success is to resist temptation."

However, it is a bit biased to summarize the entrepreneurial confusion of Qingbei Entrepreneurship Group. Entrepreneurship, after all, is an all-round test of personal ability. Moreover, the ability of entrepreneurs varies widely, and no one can assert success or failure, or even dare to classify them with a cold framework. An interesting fact is that, at a certain scale, the brand of Tsinghua and Peking University on entrepreneurs will gradually fade. Search engines are called "very technical", but the founder of Baidu, Li Yanhong, is from Peking University. The important reason why Baidu can compete with Google is the China culture behind the technology. Bai Yang, the founder of Douban, which is famous for its humanistic flavor, is Tsinghua people. The website rated as "the best content" is very fond of algorithms, and all kinds of content are presented on the network after strict combination of logical algorithms.

Zhang Xiangdong concluded that entrepreneurs from Tsinghua, Peking University and other backgrounds all have some similar characteristics, such as yearning for freedom and resilience. But whenever a company develops to a certain scale, there is a similar business philosophy behind it. If you succeed in starting a business, you may have to meet 10 thousand conditions, and the final winners are almost the same.

;