The story of Xiaomi’s founder: From a forum moderator to one of the richest people in China

Lei Jun is the CEO of the Chinese company Xiaomi. In the past, however, he began as a forum moderator or a programmer, and in today’s article we’ll walk you through his motivational story. He also presented it during his annual speech at the August press conference, where the Xiaomi MIX Fold 2 smartphone was unveiled.

Lei Jun: He started out as a forum moderator

Today, Xiaomi is one of the most valuable brands in the world. It’s the third-largest smartphone manufacturer in Europe—and in the world—behind giants like Samsung and Apple. But these achievements don’t happen overnight, and Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun knows that very well.

To get that, at the time still ambitious, young Chinese man to his current position, he had to overcome major challenges. Along the way, he saw both victories and setbacks—and learned from his mistakes. He presented all of this in his annual speech, right before the introduction of new products.

Beginnings in the 70.s: the rise and fall of Pangu

Lei Jun started his speech as a kind of story of technology and life. He talked about his hometown Xiantao, which is located very close to the big city of Wu-chan. And it was in connection with his hometown that he recalled how simple the small tech products were that were sold at local train stations in the 1970s—back when he was still a kid.

As a teenage teenager, Lei Jun had an extraordinary interest in technology. He eventually studied electronic engineering at Wuhan University. It was around then that he started programming as part of the Chinese company Kingsoft. It developed software, including Pangu, which was a Chinese equivalent to Microsoft’s Office products (today it offers, for example, WPS Office).

After more than three years of hard work developing software Pangu, only about 6000 copies were sold. Lei Jun talks about Pangu as a failure, but also as a lesson—though he doesn’t regret being part of this project. The experience he gathered, after all, he used in his next projects.

Forum moderator for the platform that formed the basis for the Mi Community forum

Besides working for Kingsoft, Lei Jun also stood out with his incredibly fast typing. That great touch-typing helped him become a forum moderator. The forum then went on to become the third most active in China, with roughly a hundred posts per day.

Lei Jun kept working—yes—but when he came back from work, he would sit at his computer and continue writing for the forum. He says that the current user community that Xiaomi has reminds him of that time, and he’s proud that he created something like this.

The connection with Microsoft and the early days of JOYO

In 1996, Kingsoft was so strong in China that Microsoft had no choice but to offer a partnership deal and compatibility with the WPS Office, suite from Kingsoft. And just two years later, when Lei Jun was only 29, he became president of Kingsoft. It was a pretty demanding period, with software piracy also playing a role.

Despite its best efforts to stay afloat, in 2002 Microsoft ended its partnership agreement. Kingsoft then had to start from scratch, and in 2005 it released a free version that helped the company find its solid place in the market.

However, Lei Jun, who during his speech confidently highlighted his entrepreneurial character, had already kept a close watch on his next opportunity for several years. In fact, in 1999, Jun created JOYO, a web platform for online shopping where books were sold as well as tech items like computer software, delivered to your home across all of China.

This is how the executive director of Xiaomi gained experience in the e-commerce industry. First-hand, he learned how online sales work—an essential foundation he could later apply to one of the best-selling mobile phone brands in the world.

A new era for Kingsoft and the birth of the Xiaomi brand

Just four years after creating the JOYO platform, this service reaches the United States as well, where it draws Amazon’s attention. The tech—especially, sales—giant offered Lei Jun $75 million. After the sale of JOYO, Lei Jun mostly acted as an investor, trying to keep Kingsoft on the market. In other words, a company that couldn’t catch up with Microsoft worldwide.

Kingsoft started with bold moves. Alongside helping many companies, this Chinese company also invested in the mobile market. At this point, it even jumped ahead of Microsoft, becoming the first to integrate its WPS Office product into Android smartphones. Microsoft brought a similar alternative only in 2015.

In the end, with more than 15 years of business experience under his belt, Lei Jun decided to go all-in in the smartphone category. Judging by his anniversary speech, it wasn’t easy to move from the PC platform with Kingsoft to smartphones with Xiaomi. However, he emphasized that “you have to accept frustration to reach the top”.

On and on, and still further

After founding Xiaomi in 2010 and linking it to Lei Jun’s business model and experience, the company was catapulted into major success. The brand was born in the same year that the competing Apple launched the iPhone 4 to the market.

Thanks to persistence, patience, vision, and determination, Xiaomi is now one of the biggest companies in the world. And its products also go head-to-head with giants like Samsung and Apple.

Lei Jun’s huge successes and ambitions placed him among the 30 richest people in China, and he’s also part of a select group of billionaires on Forbes magazine’s ranking. Given the many motivational catchphrases and plans to expand the portfolio, it doesn’t look like any retirement break is coming for the company.

Xiaomi plans to keep investing even in completely new categories. For example, an electric vehicle with fully autonomous driving on real roads, but also advanced robotics.

What do you think of the founder of Xiaomi’s motivational story? If you have any more questions, feel free to write them below in the discussion under the article. Also follow our group on Facebook: Xiaomi Planet – A place for true Xiaomi fans and also check out our Xiaomi Planet portal to learn more.