Xu Xiaoping
From New Oriental music teacher to China's most humanistic angel investor, the entrepreneurship mentor whose core philosophy is believing in young people
Xu Xiaoping was born in 1956 in Taixing, Jiangsu. After graduating from a music conservatory and studying in Canada, he returned to China and co-founded New Oriental Education Group with Yu Minhong and Wang Qiang, leading the study-abroad consulting and visa training business, helping build New Oriental into China's largest English training institution. After leaving New Oriental in 2006, Xu Xiaoping began systematically exploring angel investing, and in 2011 co-founded Zhen Fund with Wang Qiang, becoming one of China's earliest and most influential angel investment institutions. Zhen Fund's core strategy features very small checks (minimum $100K), very early stage (idea stage), and strong founder belief (believing in people more than projects), investing in hundreds of projects including Momo, Jiayuan, 51Talk, and Tianxia Yingxiong, with multiple achieving IPOs. Xu Xiaoping is known for his unique humanistic care — he views investment as empowering young people rather than profit-seeking, making Zhen Fund stand out in China's VC circle.
Methodologies
- Five-Dimension Founder Character Assessment Model - In the first hour of meeting a founder, focus on judging five dimensions: motivation authenticity, learning capability, stress handling, communication expression, and attitude toward failure — these five dimensions better predict entrepreneurial success than business logic.
- 48-Hour Fast Investment Decision Process - The information acquisition window in angel investing is extremely short; hesitating more than 48 hours often means losing the opportunity or not truly believing in the founder enough; fast decision-making is the greatest respect for founders.
Key decisions and timeline
- 1956 Born in Taixing, Jiangsu, Studied at Music Conservatory - Professional background does not limit career possibilities; humanistic cultivation often plays a role in unexpected fields
- 1987 Studied in Canada, Experienced Western Education and Society - First-hand experience surpasses textbook knowledge; a consultant's value comes from real experience, not theory
- 1993 Co-Founded New Oriental with Yu Minhong - Transforming personal experience into replicable training content is the most effective commercialization path for educational entrepreneurship
Beliefs and mental models
- Believe in Young People; Invest in People, Not Projects - Xu Xiaoping believes the essence of angel investing is identifying and believing in excellent people, not evaluating business plans. A good entrepreneur can find good projects; a bad entrepreneur will ruin good projects. Therefore, 80% of Zhen Fund's investment decisions are based on founder judgment, 20% on market logic.
- Investment Is Empowerment, Not Gaming; Helper and Helped Grow Together - Xu Xiaoping positions his investment role as an empowerer rather than a hunter. He spends extensive time in life counseling and strategic dialogue with investees rather than just focusing on financial returns. This positioning has built extremely strong reputation and trust for Zhen Fund in China's early-stage startup community.
- China's Young People Are Living Through the Best Entrepreneurial Era in History - Xu Xiaoping deeply believes that China's period of high-speed economic development is a golden era for young entrepreneurs, and the internet revolution provides equal opportunity for every young person with ideas. This conviction drives him to invest decisively when others hesitate, and to enter when others think a project is too early.
- Founder-First Investment Judgment Framework - When evaluating angel investment opportunities, spend all time first judging the founder as a person: why is this person doing this? What is their learning capacity? How do they handle pressure? The business plan is just a reference.
- Fast Belief Fast Decision Model - The cost of angel investing is time, not money; fast judgment, fast decisions, and fast clear answers to founders wins the best early entrepreneurs better than 'deep due diligence.'
- Mentor-Investor Model - The optimal relationship between investor and founder is not shareholder and investee, but mentor and student — the investor's value lies not in capital but in experience, connections, and psychological support.