Colin Huang (Huang Zheng)
“Colin Huang is a rare person who consistently focuses on the essence of things — he has insight, is intelligent, and I wouldn’t be surprised by any future achievements” — Duan Yongping (2019-09-09)
👤 Basic Information
- Identity: Founder and former CEO of 拼多多
- Relationship with Duan Yongping: Student and friend of 段永平; known each other for over 10 years
- Duan Yongping’s evaluation: “Colin Huang and I have been friends for over 10 years; I know him and I trust him!”
💡 Duan Yongping’s Evaluation of Colin Huang
“Colin Huang is a rare person who consistently focuses on the essence of things — he has insight, is intelligent, and I wouldn’t be surprised by any future achievements.” — Duan Yongping (Source: Business Logic Volume, 2019-09-09)
“Colin Huang is one of the few people I know with great insight; he focuses on the essence of things.” — Duan Yongping (Source: Business Logic Volume, 2018-09-30)
“I haven’t used Pinduoduo myself but I have very high trust in Colin Huang! Give him 10 years and everyone will see how formidable they are.” — Duan Yongping (Source: Business Logic Volume, 2018-07-22)
“We’re kindred spirits with shared values (changing someone’s values is almost impossible). As long as you persist for decades in doing the right thing (or persist in not doing wrong things) while continuously striving to do things right, achieving a good result is highly probable.” — Duan Yongping (Source: Business Logic Volume, 2019-02-15)
“Colin Huang’s learning ability and ability to do things right are clearly stronger than mine. He also has a very clear understanding of what constitutes doing the right thing.” — Duan Yongping (Source: Business Logic Volume, 2019-04-27)
“In my heart, whether it’s Chen Mingyong, Shen Wei, or Colin Huang — whatever achievements they end up with wouldn’t surprise me. It’s only if they achieve nothing that would surprise me!” — Duan Yongping (Source: Business Logic Volume, 2018-09-15)
💡 Mentorship Relationship & Value Inheritance
Colin Huang is one of the most important cases of inheriting 段永平’s 本分 culture and 长期主义 philosophy. Duan Yongping said Huang “already had excellent understanding of business over ten years ago” and that he “asked similar questions over ten years ago — it seems he truly understood back then.”
Core philosophies inherited by Huang:
- Focus on essence of things: Not fooled by appearances; directly asking “what does this mean?” — Duan Yongping said “Colin has one particularly good quality: he constantly asks what does this mean, what does that mean, focusing on the essence of problems”
- Inheritance of 本分 culture: Duan Yongping said Huang “under Duan’s influence, gradually established a culture of doing the right thing, consumer orientation, differentiated competition”
- 长期主义: Duan Yongping said “give him 10 years and everyone will see how formidable they are”
- Values are ‘the Way’ not ‘technique’: Duan Yongping said “values are ‘the Way’ not ‘technique’ — very hard to learn. People who fake it can’t keep it up for long” — Colin Huang is someone who truly understands and practices this
When Huang was at Google, he had considered investing together with Duan Yongping, but ultimately chose to return to China to start his own business. Duan Yongping said: “When Colin was still at Google, there were plans to invest together with me. But later he always felt he hadn’t run an enterprise before, constantly felt he was lacking something somewhere, and finally resolutely went back.” (Source: Duan Yongping Investment Q&A Record (Investment Logic Volume), 2018-09-15)
💡 Why Duan Yongping Invested in Pinduoduo
Duan Yongping’s logic for investing in 拼多多 reflects 能力圈 applied to “recognizing people” — not because he understood Pinduoduo’s business model, but because he knew Colin Huang as a person:
“I did invest in Pinduoduo because I like Colin Huang, but looking at Pinduoduo this way suggests you’re probably someone who just follows the crowd without rationally examining issues.” — Duan Yongping (Source: Business Logic Volume, 2019-05-28)
“This is indeed my current view (from a venture capital perspective), so I’ve never recommended large-scale investment.” — Duan Yongping (Source: Business Logic Volume, 2018-11-15)
Duan Yongping characterized this as a “venture capital” investment: “With such a group of people, such a culture, such a business model, if they continue developing like this, isn’t it possible they could split the world equally with Taobao in 10 years? If they achieve that, shareholder returns will naturally be high.” (Source: Business Logic Volume, 2018-09-02)
❓ Selected Q&A
Q: Why invest in Pinduoduo?
A: I don’t do early-stage investments; only invest in public companies. I invested in 黄峥 for personal reasons — he’s my friend, I know him and trust him. Colin Huang is one of the few people I know with great insight; he focuses on the essence of things. (Source: Business Logic Volume, 2018-09-30)
Q: What qualities (advantages) made you invest in him?
A: 黄峥 and I have been friends for over 10 years; I know him and I trust him! One particularly good thing about Colin is he keeps asking what does this mean, what does that mean — focusing on the essence of problems. (Source: Business Logic Volume, 2018-09-30)
Q: Did Pinduoduo rise because of luck?
A: Colin Huang is a down-to-earth person. There definitely was some luck involved in Pinduoduo’s rise, but it’s absolutely not just luck, haha. (Source: Business Logic Volume, 2018-09)
Q: Is Colin Huang’s success a victory of values or intelligence?
A: We’re kindred spirits with shared values (changing someone’s values is almost impossible). As long as you persist for decades in doing the right thing while continuously striving to do things right, achieving a good result is highly probable. Values are ‘the Way’ not ‘technique’ — very hard to learn. People who fake it can’t keep it up for long. Colin’s company may seem luckier, becoming so formidable in just three years, but actually Colin already had excellent understanding of business over ten years ago, and his previous company also performed well. In fact, Colin asked similar questions over ten years ago — it seems he truly understood then. (Source: Business Logic Volume, 2019-02-15)
Q: Does Colin Huang have the ability to do things right and the capacity for learning?
A: Colin Huang’s learning ability and ability to do things right are clearly stronger than mine. He also has a very clear understanding of what constitutes doing the right thing. (Source: Business Logic Volume, 2019-04-27)
Q: If Pinduoduo can get through its difficulties, what happens next?
A: If Pinduoduo can get through its difficulties, then for this traffic volume of Pinduoduo in the future, earning 20-30 billion RMB profit per year shouldn’t be a problem, right? (Source: Business Logic Volume, 2018-07-31)
Q: What is Pinduoduo’s business model?
A: Costco + Disney — this definition is interesting, and it’s hard to find a better definition. (Source: Business Logic Volume, 2019-04-25)
Q: Why didn’t Colin Huang invest together with Duan Yongping?
A: When Colin was still at Google, there were plans to invest together with me. But later he always felt he hadn’t run an enterprise before, constantly felt he was lacking something somewhere, and finally resolutely went back. At the time he gave me an impeccable reason: American Chinese food doesn’t taste good. (Source: Duan Yongping Investment Q&A Record (Investment Logic Volume), 2018-09-15)
🔗 Related Notes
Related People 段永平 · 巴菲特 Related Companies 拼多多 Related Concepts 本分 · 长期主义 · 生意模式 · 能力圈 Related Topics 段永平的经典投资案例 · 好公司的标准
黄峥
“黄峥是特别难得一见的一直关注事物本质的人，有悟性，又聪明，未来有任何成就我都不意外” — 段永平（2019-09-09）
👤 基本信息
💡 段永平对黄峥的评价
“黄峥是特别难得一见的一直关注事物本质的人，有悟性，又聪明，未来有任何成就我都不意外。” — 段永平（来源：商业逻辑篇，2019-09-09）
“黄峥是我知道的少见的很有悟性的人，他关注事物本质。” — 段永平（来源：商业逻辑篇，2018-09-30）
“我还没用过拼多多但我对黄峥有很高的信任度！给他10年时间，大家会看到他们厉害的地方的。” — 段永平（来源：商业逻辑篇，2018-07-22）
“大家是同道中人，有着共同的价值观（改变人的价值观几乎不可能）。但凡几十年如一日坚持做对的事情（或者叫坚持不做不对的事情）同时一直努力把事情做对，有个不错的结果是大概率事件。” — 段永平（来源：商业逻辑篇，2019-02-15）
“黄峥的学习能力和把事情做对的能力显然是比我强的。黄峥对什么是对的事情也有很清醒的认识。” — 段永平（来源：商业逻辑篇，2019-04-27）
“在我心里，像陈明永，沈炜或黄峥他们最后有啥成就我都不会太意外的，啥都成不了我才会觉得意外！” — 段永平（来源：商业逻辑篇，2018-09-15）
💡 师承关系与价值观传承
黄峥是段永平本分文化和长期主义理念传承的最重要案例之一。段永平说黄峥”十几年前对企业理解也已经很好”，并且”十几年前问过类似的问题，看来当时他确实明白了”。
黄峥继承的核心理念：
- 关注事物本质：不被表象迷惑，直接问”这是什么意思”——段永平说”黄峥有一点特别好，会不停地问这个是什么意思，这个是什么意思，关注问题本质”
- 本分文化的传承：段永平说黄峥”在段总的影响下，逐渐建立的本分文化，消费者导向，差异化竞争”
- 长期主义：段永平说”给他10年时间，大家会看到他们厉害的地方的”
- 价值观是道不是术：段永平说”价值观是道不是术，很难学的。假装一下的人坚持不了很久”——黄峥是真正理解并践行的人
黄峥曾在 Google 工作期间，有过与段永平一起做投资的想法，但最终选择回国创业。段永平说：“最早黄峥还在 Google 时是有过打算想和我一起做投资的想法的。但后来他总是觉得自己没有经营过企业，老是觉得自己在某个地方差点啥，最后就坚决滴回去了。“（来源：段永平投资问答录(投资逻辑篇)，2018-09-15）
💡 段永平为什么投资拼多多
段永平投拼多多的逻辑，是能力圈在”识人”上的体现——不是因为看懂了拼多多的商业模式，而是因为了解黄峥这个人：
“我投拼多多确实是因为喜欢黄峥，但你这么看拼多多表示你大概是个人云亦云的人，没有理性看待问题的态度。” — 段永平（来源：商业逻辑篇，2019-05-28）
“这确实是我目前的观点（按风投的眼光看），所以一直不建议大比例投入。” — 段永平（来源：商业逻辑篇，2018-11-15）
段永平把这笔投资定性为”风投”：“这么一帮人，这样一种文化，这样一个生意模式，如果一直这么发展下去，10年后跟淘宝平分天下还是有可能的吧？如果他们做到了，股东回报自然高。“（来源：商业逻辑篇，2018-09-02）
❓ 精选问答
问：为什么投资拼多多？
答：我不投早期，只投上市企业。投黄峥是因为个人原因，他是我朋友，我了解他、相信他。黄峥是我知道的少见的很有悟性的人，他关注事物本质。（来源：商业逻辑篇，2018-09-30）
问：黄峥的什么（优势）让你投他？
答：我和黄峥10多年的朋友了，我了解他，我信任他！黄峥有一点特别好，会不停地问这个是什么意思，这个是什么意思，关注问题本质。（来源：商业逻辑篇，2018-09-30）
问：拼多多起来是因为运气吗？
答：黄峥是实在人，拼多多起来也确实有运气成分，但绝对不只是运气哈。（来源：商业逻辑篇，2018-09）
问：黄峥的成功是价值观的胜利还是聪明才智的胜利？
答：大家是同道中人，有着共同的价值观（改变人的价值观几乎不可能）。但凡几十年如一日坚持做对的事情同时一直努力把事情做对，有个不错的结果是大概率事件。价值观是道不是术，很难学的。假装一下的人坚持不了很久。黄峥的公司看起来似乎运气更好点，才三年就这么厉害，但实际上黄峥十几年前对企业理解也已经很好，且这个公司之前的公司就做得不错。其实黄峥十几年前问过类似的问题，看来当时他确实明白了。（来源：商业逻辑篇，2019-02-15）
问：黄峥是否具备把事情做对的能力和学习能力？
答：黄峥的学习能力和把事情做对的能力显然是比我强的。黄峥对什么是对的事情也有很清醒的认识。（来源：商业逻辑篇，2019-04-27）
问：如果拼多多能渡过难关，未来会怎样？
答：如果拼多多能渡过他的难关的话，未来拼多多这个流量，怎么着一年200-300亿（人民币）的利润似乎不应该是问题吧？（来源：商业逻辑篇，2018-07-31）
问：拼多多的商业模式是什么？
答：Costco+Disney，这个定义有点意思，也很难找到更好的定义了。（来源：商业逻辑篇，2019-04-25）
问：黄峥为什么没有和段永平一起做投资？
答：最早黄峥还在 Google 时是有过打算想和我一起做投资的想法的。但后来他总是觉得自己没有经营过企业，老是觉得自己在某个地方差点啥，最后就坚决滴回去了。当时给了我一个无懈可击的理由：美国的中餐不好吃。（来源：段永平投资问答录(投资逻辑篇), 2018-09-15）
🔗 相关笔记
相关人物 段永平 · 巴菲特 相关公司 拼多多 相关概念 本分 · 长期主义 · 生意模式 · 能力圈 相关主题 段永平的经典投资案例 · 好公司的标准