What Li Zhiqi, Chairman of CBCT Zhiqu Future Marketing Consulting Group, www.lizhiqi.com Stories related to entrepreneurship always make people feel excited. Perhaps the saying that a life without entrepreneurship is an imperfect one has a lot of truth to it. Recently, Forbes Chinese edition first released the list of "30 Under 30 Entrepreneurs in China and the US". Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, and Drew Houston, founder of Dropbox, made it to the American list, while Guo Jingming, chief editor of The Fiction Magazine, and Huang Kai, creator of the game "Sanguosha", among other young Chinese entrepreneurs, were on the Chinese list.
This list caused heated discussions in the industry as soon as it was released. Interestingly, more people focused on the comparison between the entrepreneurial forces of China and the US, including QQ six diamonds. Of course, without too much scrutiny, we can all see the obvious differences between the entrepreneurs of these two countries on this list. One is very internationalized, whether it's products or services, they are all quite globalized; while the other mostly operates within its own country with a strong sense of local identity. One has a lot of technological content, while the other is almost entirely manufacturing, services, games, and e-commerce projects. Therefore, industry observers believe that such a comparison shows that China's entrepreneurial force is quite worrying when compared to the US.
Of course, it's normal to have such concerns, which are not without reason. However, I think such worries might be useless or even unnecessary. Here, let me say something that might sound like boosting others' morale while undermining our own - do we really have to take Chinese young entrepreneurs and compare them directly with American ones? Isn't this just asking for trouble?! Everyone knows that their big environment and various awareness started earlier than ours.
And this kind of comparison seems to imply unintentionally such a standard and orientation, that is, our Chinese entrepreneurs must align with American entrepreneurs, even if it means pulling up seedlings to help them grow. This is obviously unrealistic and unreliable. If we insist on doing so, there is only one word - imitation! Now looking back, various imitations are all around us, probably due to such social value orientations? This imitation, however, is precisely what American culture does not recognize. Americans do not approve of plagiarism, but we are too fond of imitation.
Why do we have to compare? It seems more like taking an egg to hit a stone. Why can't we start from reality and focus on cultivating the internal strength of this "egg"? Why don't we reflect on what we truly lack, besides the obvious differences between us and American young entrepreneurs that anyone can see?
We lack innovation, so imitation prevails? This is certainly not the reason. Do we lack funds? Mentors? Social tolerance? However, what we seem to lack more is self-reflection under the current situation. If you're a parent, would you agree for your child studying at Harvard to drop out and start a website? If you're a young person with entrepreneurial dreams, do you have the courage to break the status quo? Remember, innovation means breaking the status quo, even if it looks perfect and ideal now!
Li Zhiqi, Chairman of the well-known marketing consulting firm - Beijing Zhiqu Future Marketing Consulting Group, initiator of Zhiqu Future Business School, EMBA advisor at the University of International Business and Economics, winner of the 2009 China Marketing Meritorious Award, one of the top ten experts in Brand China in 2008, one of the best marketing elites in China according to Kotler in 2007, a representative figure in the planning of China over the past 30 years of reform and opening-up, one of the ten people who profoundly influenced Chinese marketing, Chairman of the China Innovative Marketing Forum, advisor to the marketing association of CEIBS, expert consultant for more than ten famous financial media outlets. He has served as a brand marketing advisor for more than 200 Chinese enterprises. His theories proposed in the Chinese marketing field, such as "Brand Space Theory", "Communication 3.0", "Growth Pyramid" model, and "Red Wisdom", have had a wide influence.
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