Back in 1996, I Became the Next Big Thing

This book, like your last one, is too arrogant! In 1997, your internet company hadn't even made money yet, and you were already challenging Lenovo? Lenovo had billions in revenue and powerful backing from the Chinese court. What could you possibly compete with? Lenovo was right to focus on making money first and becoming a top-tier company.

Since you've decided to make computers, why offend Lenovo? If you challenge leading companies before you've even entered the industry, they can easily manipulate you, making your start several times harder. It's better to become number two first, then do these things. Moreover, public opinion was different back then than it is now.

The author's black-and-white approach is too extreme; Liu is portrayed as worthless, while Ni is depicted as a saint. Liu's mistake was becoming complacent after becoming a giant, while Ni only knew about R&D but didn't know what to develop first to generate profits and create a virtuous cycle. And your computer company—you only mention focusing on quality, and everyone just goes by being busy?

It's highly unlikely that Lei Jun would leave Lajin Mountain; it's a bit of a poison.

The book itself isn't bad, and the writing is good, but it's just too "righteous." Reading it feels like watching a war film; the protagonist is portrayed as idealized. I've opened it a few times, but I can only get through three or four chapters before feeling nauseous and wanting to vomit.

A company insists on taking on government responsibility, while the government just watches the show.

Big and bloated; doing everything; acting like the world is yours. You're used to being a savior; even Huawei doesn't spend money this extravagantly.

The author is being too simplistic. In 1998, a company offering free internet, incredibly cheap computers, free internet cafes, and public libraries was simply unsustainable! If you want to run a business, let your products speak for themselves, and then use the profits for philanthropy, or establish a separate charitable organization. Otherwise, if your charitable work goes wrong, the entire company's products will face a crisis of trust.

If you think about it carefully, you'll realize that the authorities won't allow a private monopoly to emerge. This is also a big problem for businesses. Can you expect all employees and managers to be saints? Monopolies ultimately exploit the people; there are many examples. For instance, community group buying, grocery delivery services, and the recent fragmentation of major internet giants.

The more I write, the less interesting it becomes. Internet entrepreneurship has been written about to death. We live in a hardware-driven world; why bother with the internet? Even if we were to get involved, it could be glossed over. Too much writing is devoted to e-commerce. I used to think Alibaba was a fantastic company, but now that kind of entrepreneurship seems ridiculous. The Apple and Huawei models of entrepreneurship are the true path to success.