Shanghai is a city of entrepreneurship. In our series, 'Shanghai Entrepreneurs,' we talk to entrepreneurs from different backgrounds and businesses about their motivations, experiences and what they have learned along the way.
Born in Shanxi, Rui Chang is a Shanghai-based entrepreneur who’s the owner and creator of Kakebanchi Tech Co. Ltd, a company that works on projects related to commercial vehicles. He has big dreams for his company and is trying to grow his Shanghai operations nationally. Here he tells us a bit about his experience and expertise...
Why did you move to Shanghai?
I was born in Liuxian county, Shanxi province, but always dreamed
of studying at leading universities in Shanghai. In the end, I chose
Zhengzhou University instead. Although I found myself to be competitive
in my home province after graduating, I decided to come to
Shanghai because I love the city. Later on I received my MBA from
Antai College of SJTU.
What are the biggest challenges for setting up a business here?
The biggest challenge for me was to leave a high-paying job to start my
own business during a slump in the logistics industry and commercial
vehicle tire sector, which is capital-intensive and asset-oriented. Since
2014, the industry’s gross margin level has been falling constantly and
the vast majority of traders are losing money. It was definitely a challenge
to survive the slump, but I did it.
What is the greatest lesson you have learned as an entrepreneur?
You need to make a good financial budget. It is critical to make objective
and sufficient research on projects you’re about to carry out, such
as the average daily cost, operating revenue and profit levels. It is also
important to understand the fundamental profit model of the project.
For instance, the upper limit of the daily cost and the minimum average
daily revenue.
What makes your team unique?
With the exception of our CTO, all members of our team are from outside
of Shanghai. They come from Liaoning, Xinjiang, Qinghai, Shanxi,
Guangdong and so on. They left their hometowns and now work here
in Shanghai with me, all with a common goal and passion for our
company. I feel so honored to have their trust and I cherish them very
much.
Who is your personal business idol?
I would have to say Ren Zhengfei, the founder and president of
Huawei. He started his own business when he was 43 years old and
managed to turn a local company into one of the world’s innovators in
science and technology. He also came up with a management solution
for Chinese enterprises that’s based on traditional Chinese culture for
the first time in history. In this sense, Ren is truly a great entrepreneur.
Do you have plans to expand your business outside of China?
I would prefer to further enlarge and strengthen our business here in
China first. China not only has a considerable logistics capacity, but
it also has an enormous market for commercial vehicles. In the near
future, we hope to gain the attention of foreign enterprises when we
become the best overall solution to the commercial vehicle market.
Which Chinese company do you admire the most and why?
Alibaba, because it is the world's best and fastest growing e-commerce
enterprise. It created a new business model and changed our consumption
habits.
Where do you see your company in five years?
I hope to see my company in over 70 percent of the logistics distribution
centers in China.
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