More than 300,000 netizens are using his accounting software; three years after graduation, he reveals the secrets of entrepreneurship.
Zhejiang Online News, May 6th - When Chinese people meet and exchange pleasantries, they often ask: "Have you eaten?" However, urban trendsetters today prefer to ask: "Have you kept track of your expenses?"
This phrase originates from a recent episode of CCTV's "Wealth Storytelling," featuring a protagonist named Mu Mingxing. Having graduated just three years ago from Zhejiang University's Software Institute, Mu is now the technical director of Shanghai Caaike Information Technology Co., Ltd. The "Caaike Online" (www.caakee.com) platform he founded is a free online financial management software. Over the past three years, he has developed this software from being used solely by himself to boasting 370,000 users, making it one of China's largest online financial management platforms.
Mu Mingxing (center) and his team.
What force has allowed such a small idea to swell like a hot air balloon? Yesterday, the reporter caught up with Mu Mingxing to find out. It turns out that he had already embarked on various entrepreneurial attempts long before.
Finding Business Opportunities in Eating Pancakes
His hometown is in Shandong Province. In 2004, when he came to Hangzhou for school, Tujia pancakes were all the rage. While most people indulged in trying them, others jumped on the bandwagon to sell these pancakes. During his pancake-eating experience, Mu noticed something unique about the bags used by shopkeepers to hold the pancakes. "They easily leak oil, the bags are too deep, and they can burn your hands." From a different perspective, he found a business opportunity and quickly invented a bag with a lining inside, a slanted opening, and ridges on the body. Unfortunately, Tujia pancakes' popularity was short-lived, and Mu's optimized packaging bags never went into mass production, leading to their premature demise.
However, this incident did not discourage Mu at all. He had long been accustomed to finding faults in daily life, constantly generating new ideas in his mind. He revealed that he had even invented a tool for lighting mosquito coils, which had already gone into production. Recently, he has been researching a spoon with new functions.
Entrepreneurial Passion Must Be Sustained
But his first entrepreneurial attempt failed. He participated in a campus entrepreneurship competition where he and two classmates proposed the project "Yishu Network." This platform aimed to retail and wholesale books online while inviting second-hand bookstores to join offline, creating an online transaction platform for second-hand books—a rather trendy idea at the time. Unfortunately, after the project was developed, it was never operational. Mu expressed regret: "There was a lack of entrepreneurial passion within the team, and they couldn't persist."
The painful experience with "Yishu Network" made Mu especially cautious when later seeking team partners. "It's like looking for a partner; having enthusiasm from just one side isn't enough."
In May 2005, after completing his first year at the software institute, Mu interned at a software company in Shanghai. This company specialized in online CRM (Customer Relationship Management) products, primarily targeting small and medium-sized enterprises. While learning technology, Mu also gained insights into the business. After three months, having mastered the common technologies, he identified another issue: Why was the company's good product not selling?
Through research, he explained: "There is a lack of a sound credit mechanism. More importantly, China’s informatization construction started late, and the management level of small and medium-sized enterprises is relatively low. Many business owners still manage their operations as workshops. When they don’t even want to use desktop management software, how can we expect them to leap directly into online management?"
Reverse Thinking Works
"At that time, I remembered a story about ballpoint pen refills. When the ballpoint pen was first invented, it was discovered that the steel ball at the tip wasn't wear-resistant. Often, the ink would be used up before the ball wore out. Manufacturers tried every possible way but couldn’t solve the problem. Then someone came up with a very simple solution: shorten the length of the refill by half so that the ink runs out before the ball wears out."
Mu applied the same reverse thinking: "Lowering the level of my customers, shifting from 'small and medium' enterprises to 'micro-small' enterprises or even individuals. These users have low requirements for data security and do not need high management skills." Solving this problem led to the birth of "Caaike Online," tailored for individual users.
This time, Mu presented an exceptionally impressive performance.
http://ptnews.zjol.com.cn/putuo/system/2009/05/06/011089020.shtml