The days when I couldn't make money were spent reading books

I spent some time finishing an interview with the founder of Boss Zhipin; this book has actually gathered dust on my bookshelf for over a year. Finishing it today, I still gained something
First, I haven't used Boss Zhipin, so I'll assume that the descriptions of Boss Zhipin in this book are accurate
This interview gave me a strong sense of the era; back in 2013, downloading an app on your phone was as novel as using AI now. For our generation, who constantly have more than 20 apps on their phones, that's still hard to imagine
At that time, Zhao Peng was still debating whether to develop an app because recruitment was a low-frequency activity. If it weren't for investors insisting on "mobile first," and he had prioritized resources to build an app, Boss Zhipin wouldn't have been China's first mobile recruitment tool
What surprised me even more was that Boss Zhipin took 7 months to grow from 200 DAU to 1000 DAU. My first reaction was that this growth was too little and too slow. I also admire Zhao Peng for sticking with it
Putting myself in his shoes, if I only achieved such growth in over half a year, I would have doubted whether what I was doing really worked countless times
Of course, this reaction might also reflect my shallow understanding of business and entrepreneurship, underestimating the difficulty of taking a venture from 0 to 1
I believe Zhao Peng can truly be called an excellent entrepreneur, not just a businessman
He has a deep understanding of the recruitment industry, has explored effective business models within it, and is also sincere about people and matters
In the early days, the business model of recruitment was selling ads and resumes, acting as the most disrespected third party between the primary and secondary parties. But Boss Zhipin's direct charging for recruitment changed the traditional business model, and according to Zhao Peng, it was "standing and making money"
This mode also stems from Zhao Peng's consistent belief that he is doing something meaningful—helping users find jobs and helping companies recruit suitable talent. For the companies that benefit the most, why wouldn't they be willing to spend money?
This might also be the reason Zhao Peng persisted despite having nearly a year with few users and no clear business model
While making money from the right opportunity is great, believing that you're doing something valuable for users and society, and receiving positive feedback in life, can be much more rewarding than just earning money