Shen Fang walked into Pony Ma's office, but Pony Ma didn't notice Shen Fang. Instead, he was frantically typing code. Shen Fang couldn't understand what he was doing, but he looked very impressive.
Don't think of Pony Ma as just a successful businessman; he's also a rare expert in the programming world, with real skills. And don't think his success is accidental; he's a natural leader.
First pot of gold
In 1984, 13-year-old Ma Ge came to Shenzhen from Hainan with his parents. From then on, from studying to starting his business, he never left this window city of reform and opening up.
In 1993, after graduating from university, Xiao Ma joined Runxun Communication Development Co., Ltd., then the largest paging company in Shenzhen, as a software engineer.
This was on the eve of the internet pandemic. While working at Runxun, during a bull market, Ma Huateng seized the opportunity and, together with friends, developed the GuBa Card (Stock Master Card) for stock market investors. As a result, the GuBa Card quickly sold out at the Shenzhen SEG Electronics Market upon its release. During the development of this stock trading software, this astute young man from Shenzhen accumulated a wealth of stock market knowledge and began investing in the stock market. Ma Huateng earned a total of 500,000 yuan, which became Tencent's "first pot of gold."
Keep in mind that Pony Ma was only 22 years old at the time. Brothers, even if it's 2023, how many people do you think could earn their first pot of gold of 500,000 at the age of 22 on their own? And I haven't even factored in inflation.
In 1993, 500,000 yuan was a lot. Keep in mind that the average salary at that time was around 400 yuan. That means that Pony Ma earned at least 40 million yuan in one year when he was 22 years old. This is an underestimation.
Little Ma is truly exceptionally talented, incomparable to ordinary people.
In 1995, during Pony Ma's third year working there, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications officially opened internet access services to the public. This opened the door for private capital to enter the internet industry, granting it policy-based entry.
This gave Ma Huateng a glimpse of a business opportunity. Long before founding Tencent, Ma Huateng proactively contacted Huiduo.com and, with his four phone lines and eight computers at home, took on the role of the Shenzhen station manager for Huiduo.com. This marked the beginning of his entrepreneurial aspirations.
Here, the author will give a brief introduction to those born in the 90s, 2000s, and 2010s.
HuidoNet, born in the United States in 1984, is a BBS website building program that connects via telephone lines and forwards emails in a peer-to-peer manner. It is an alternative communication network built by technology enthusiasts.
Unlike the later internet, Huiduo.net did not support online communication, and each telephone line could only be used by one person. Users had to upload content and download it quickly, otherwise others would not be able to access it. Moreover, the cost was extremely high, around 2000+ RMB per month for internet access. Note that this was 2000+ RMB in 1993; unless you were wealthy, you simply couldn't afford it. You also needed a dedicated telephone line to use it.
After dialing up via modem, a human-computer interface will appear, with menus and discussion forums. There you can meet people from all over the world who are just like you. We may have never met in person, but we can show each other the latest software we've written, exchange encryption and decryption tips, and share our insights on the life of a programmer.
In 1995, Ponysoft, also known as Pony.com, was founded.
This marked the beginning of Pony Ma's internet career, and it was Huiduo.com that inspired him.
At the station, Pony Ma met many impressive figures: Wang Xiaobo, Chen Tianqiao, Lei Jun of Kingsoft, Ding Lei, and the later "Four Heavenly Kings." Here, Pony Ma built up his network, resources, and technical and talent pool. While serving as the station manager, Pony Ma also held a regular job, earning money while running his own company, continuing as the development manager at Pengrun.
In October 1998, Ma Huateng, who had been promoted to head of the development department, submitted his resignation and ended his five-year employment at Pengrun Company.
A month later, Shenzhen Tencent Computer Systems Co., Ltd. was approved for registration with a registered capital of 500,000 yuan. Ma Huateng held 47.5% of the shares, while his four other friends, Zhang Zhidong, Xu Chenye, Chen Yidan, and Zeng Liqing, who joined later, held 52.5%. However, due to the then-existing regulation that the legal representative must be unemployed or retired, Ma Huateng's mother became the company's legal representative.
This is the predecessor and beginning of Penguin. With favorable timing, location, and people, the biggest beneficiary of Shenzhen's reform and opening up was Pony Ma, and Penguin.
While it's true that circumstances create heroes, you also need genuine talent. When you're older and lament how many opportunities you had in your youth, it's because you lacked resources, connections, this, that—even if you had everything, you wouldn't become a legend. Because you are simply you; you are not someone who can create legends. Only those who dare to create and strive can forge them. Success is not accidental. Don't sigh and lament; do what you want to do. Even if you fail, it's still experience.
Of course, you need to calculate the cost of failure carefully; not leaving yourself a way out is just being reckless.
Shen Fang patted Xiao Ma on the shoulder, which startled Xiao Ma. But when he saw it was Shen Fang, he immediately smiled broadly.
"Little brother, you're back after you finished your work?"
"Yeah, it's already 7:50, Brother Ma, you haven't eaten yet, have you?"
Little Ma nodded and handed Chen Fang a cigarette. "Brother, after your enlightening speech, our company has been working overtime these past two days, except for the rooftop. When we're tired, we take a nap at the company, and when we're hungry, we eat some instant noodles. We want to finish a few projects as soon as possible."
Shen Fang smiled and said, "Brother Ma, health is the foundation of everything. You need to take care of yourself and get some rest. It's important to balance work and rest."
Little Ma stood up and cracked his neck.
"Great, my neck is stiff. Brother, I'll treat you to a meal now that you're here. I didn't treat you last time. Let's call Lao Zhang and the others and go out for a meal together."
Shen Fang waved his hand; "No need, I've asked my two grandsons to buy it, it'll be delivered in a bit, I've already ordered hot pot and everything else."
Brother Ma asked in confusion, "Two grandsons? I know Shen Kun, but who else?"
Shen Fang looked helpless: "He says he's a grandson, but he's actually a female ancestor, a great-aunt. She's female, has female hobbies, and likes to drive. She's a senior driver, and she's a troublemaker. She can't stay in our village anymore, so her dad begged me to take her to Beijing to cause trouble for others."
Little Ma immediately grasped the key point: "Gender: female, liking female, tsk tsk, lesbian, awesome. Brother, your Shenjia Village is full of talented people."
Shen Fang couldn't help but laugh at Xiao Ma's humor.
"You'll find out when we get here."
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