A Life of 'Nine Defeats, One Victory': What Can We Learn from Wang Xing and His Meituan?

Prologue: A "Survivor"

"So many businesses have failed, I am still standing."

In 2011, during the most brutal period of the "Thousand Groupon War," Wang Xing quoted this English sentence on his Fanfou. Translated, it means: "So many companies have fallen, yet I am still standing."

This sentence is perhaps the most authentic "footnote" to Wang Xing's 20-year entrepreneurial history.

He is not the "genius" who runs the fastest, nor the "king" with the most abundant resources. He is more like the most tenacious and resilient "survivor."

He has experienced almost every failure an entrepreneur might face: product failure, fundraising failure, being "kicked out" by capital, and being "shut down" by regulation.

However, every time everyone thought he was "down," he would always dust himself off, get back up, and choose a harder, but more correct path to continue moving forward.

In the end, this "survivor" became the "victor."

What has Wang Xing's "nine defeats, one victory" taught us?

Lesson 1: Learning from "Failure"

Wang Xing is a person who "never wastes a single failure."

He sees every failure as a precious "learning" opportunity.

The failure of founding "Duoduoyou" taught him that to do social networking in China, one must start with "acquaintances" and "high-density" communities. This led to the later "Xiaonei."

The failure of selling "Xiaonei" taught him the importance of "capital." Thus, after founding Meituan, he regarded "fundraising rhythm" and "cash flow management" as the company's "lifeline."

The failure of "Fanfou" being shut down taught him that to do business in China, one must respect the "rules." Thus, he led Meituan to turn to the "hard and tiring work" of local life services, which was further from "ideology" and closer to "daily necessities."

It is these cognitions, gained through "real money" and "painful lessons," that ultimately pieced together Wang Xing's unique "strategic map" to "victory."

Lesson 2: Making Decisions through "Thinking"

Wang Xing is a person who fights with his "brain," not his "gut."

He believes in the power of "deep thinking" and is accustomed to deducing the future of business from the most fundamental laws of "physics" and "economics."

He uses "first principles" to penetrate the "surface" of complex businesses like group buying, food delivery, and community group buying, to get to the "essence" of their "efficiency" and "cost."

He uses the theory of "finite and infinite games" to define the "boundaries" and "endgame" of Meituan, thereby making the most correct trade-offs between "long-term" and "short-term" interests.

This "depth of thinking" has always allowed Wang Xing to see farther and more accurately than his competitors.

While others were still using "binoculars" to see the road, Wang Xing was already using a "microscope" and a "telescope" to survey the entire battlefield.

Lesson 3: Evolving through "Practice"

Of course, Wang Xing is by no means a "paper general."

All his "thinking" ultimately points to one goal: to win.

He is an extremely pragmatic, and even somewhat "ruthless," "king of war."

He believes in "speed." Once he has identified a direction, he will assemble a team and verify the model with the fastest speed.

He emphasizes "execution." Once a strategy is determined, he will use the strongest "organizational capabilities" to ensure that the strategy is implemented without compromise on the "front lines." Meituan's formidable "ground promotion iron army" is a product of this culture.

He also possesses extraordinary "patience" and "resilience." He can lie low for ten years to win a war. He can continue to invest heavily in the future with a straight face, even under huge losses.

"Thinking" and "action," "theory" and "practice," form a perfect "closed loop" in Wang Xing.

He uses "deep thinking" to find the "right direction," and then uses the most resolute "action" to get the "final result."

Epilogue: A "Ruthless" "Seeker of Knowledge"

"Oh heavens, if you created Zhou Yu, why did you also create Zhuge Liang!"—This is said to be the lament of a competitor who was utterly defeated by Wang Xing, after a few drinks.

To his rivals, Wang Xing is undoubtedly "fearsome." He is rational, tenacious, never makes mistakes, and is never satisfied.

But for the entrepreneurs of this era, he is the most vivid and profound "textbook."

His life tells us:

There are never any "shortcuts" to business success. It is a long "marathon" of "cognition," "will," and "endurance."

And in this "marathon," the one who laughs last is often not the "genius" who runs the fastest, but the most tenacious "seeker of knowledge," who, like Wang Xing, can still stand up and continue running after falling time and time again.