Lei Jun
Entrepreneur who reshaped Chinese consumer electronics with the internet seven-word formula and value-for-money philosophy
Lei Jun is the founder and CEO of Xiaomi Corporation and one of China's most influential tech entrepreneurs. His 'internet seven-word formula' (focus, perfection, word-of-mouth, speed) and 'wind-current theory' (even a pig can fly if standing at the right wind current) became iconic symbols of China's internet startup philosophy. Xiaomi disrupted the smartphone market with extreme value-for-money pricing and built a vast ecosystem through its ecosystem chain strategy, investing in and incubating over 400 companies spanning smart hardware, IoT, and internet services. After 2020, he personally embraced livestream commerce to reinvent Xiaomi's brand image and announced an expansion into electric vehicles, continuously extending the company's commercial boundaries.
Methodologies
- Internet Seven-Word Formula Execution Framework - Evaluate every product and business decision across four dimensions — Focus, Perfection, Word-of-Mouth, Speed — none can be missing.
- Wind-Current Identification and Entry Timing Judgment - Before major strategic decisions, judge whether this is an era-defining trend forming, and choose to enter 3 years before the wind current fully forms.
Key decisions and timeline
- 1992 Joined Kingsoft Software, Beginning a 16-Year Entrepreneurial Journey - Long-term deep focus on a single domain accumulates irreplaceable industry experience and technical depth, even when facing powerful competitors.
- 2007 Kingsoft Software Listed in Hong Kong; Lei Jun Stepped Back - Knowing when to exit one phase and enter the next requires more wisdom than simply persisting. Observing and investing is the fastest way to learn new business models.
- 2010-04 Founded Xiaomi Technology; Entered the Smartphone Market with MIUI - Building community before selling products, turning users into co-creators, is the lowest-cost market validation method in the internet era.
Beliefs and mental models
- Focus, Perfection, Word-of-Mouth, and Speed Are the Core Laws of Internet Products - Lei Jun distilled the essence of internet success into seven words: focus on one thing, make the product perfect, replace advertising with word-of-mouth, and win the market through speed. This seven-word formula was the methodological foundation of Xiaomi's early rapid growth.
- Stand at the Wind Current and Ride the Trend - Lei Jun believes the key to entrepreneurial success is not just individual effort but catching the trend of the times. Even a pig can fly if it stands at the right wind current — riding the trend is more efficient than fighting against it, and identifying and entering a trend early is an entrepreneur's most important capability.
- Extreme Value for Money Is the Most Powerful Product Competitiveness - Lei Jun firmly believes that in mass consumer markets, delivering top-tier product quality at the lowest possible price is the most difficult competitive moat to replicate. Xiaomi's pricing strategy is built on extremely low margins and scale effects, trading them for market share and user loyalty.
- Wind-Current Timing Model - Before any major strategic decision, first judge whether this is an emerging trend of the era, not just the current market size.
- Extreme Value-for-Money Pricing Method - Make product costs transparent, sell at near-cost prices, and compensate for hardware margins through scale effects and ecosystem service revenue.
- Ecosystem Chain Invest-and-Incubate Model - Don't build every category yourself; find the best startup teams, provide Xiaomi's brand, supply chain, and channel resources in exchange for equity and ecosystem synergy.
Sources
- 《雷军传》范海涛著，2023
- 《参与感：小米口碑营销内部手册》黎万强著，2014
- 《小米生态链战地笔记》小米生态链发展部著，2017
- 小米集团年报 2018-2023
- 雷军年度演讲系列 2013-2024
- 《详谈：雷军》李翔著，2021