Let money come to you

Author: Xu Chaolong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-11-01
Features: E-commerce on the Internet has been humorously referred to as the "invisible front line," or mockingly called "using empty electrical waves to make money." In any case, a decade ago, it certainly gave people a sense of a detached and unrealistic industry. However, human creativity cannot be ignored. Through an almost imaginary exploration and the resolution of some key technical issues, real-world commercial activities could be implemented more conveniently in this seemingly ethereal Internet world. In Japan, an idea from eight years ago materialized on this "invisible front line," establishing a massive circulation market—Rakuten—on the "detached" Internet with a total annual circulation amount exceeding $4 billion. It continues to expand rapidly, and it is estimated to surpass $10 billion in 2 to 3 years. The company that created such a miracle has experienced meteoric growth, with its stock market value once exceeding 1.3 trillion yen (120,) at the beginning of the year. In the blink of an eye, 8 years later, it has grown into a billion-yen enterprise. Faced with such a myth-like miracle, most of us can only marvel. This is a business myth that represents the spirit of our time: Hirofumi Mimoguchi, a 32-year-old Harvard MBA, quit a prestigious bank job to start a small company, which went public just three years later. In just 8 years, he swiftly rose to become a major company in the IT industry. As the favorite child of the Internet digital age, the Rakuten market, this innovative system, ruthlessly challenged the cumbersome circulation systems and retail structures of the analog era,，. Such success inevitably raises a series of questions: What kind of entrepreneurial plan could be so powerful? What propelled its explosion and expansion? Why could it succeed so smoothly in an era when everyone complains about the difficulty of business? What aspects of this company have made it so attractive to the capital markets? Faced with this real yet incredible story, people can't help but be curious and want to uncover the truth. However, once you fully understand the origins of this miracle, you will realize the profound impact of questioning common sense and rebuilding your mindset. Seasoned business veterans, who have spent their lives navigating the commercial world, might sigh at the endless possibilities of the sea of business; those who rely on their small successes to look down on others, so-called "successful elites," will discover their own shallow understanding and ignorance. At its core, it is just about doing business, yet it is astonishing that business can be done this way! In the specific context of the Internet era, whether from the perspective of the business model or the group strategy, the development of Rakuten Group can be considered a miracle. This is a highly creative case. The author, deeply captivated by the tremendous success of the company's creation, which can be called "Mechanism Business," was inspired to explore it. However, it must be emphasized that from the perspective of examining the success of the business model: this massive development absolutely did not come from stumbling upon accidental opportunities through, but rather from meticulous research into the business model design and a powerful operational system. In other words, this model was created after scientific, precise thinking and dialectical logical deduction. It emerged from a masterful and insightful analysis of the market transformation trends in the face of dramatic changes in the era, representing an original system design that goes beyond theory. A Harvard MBA prodigy, through accurate market positioning and leveraging the advanced structure of new productive forces, sought strategic breakthroughs from the business mechanism, planning a remarkable rise in business through a new model. In other words, this is an example of treating business as a science. Therefore, due to the strict and thorough calculations from science, such a model and system are extremely scientific in terms of mechanism and ingeniously designed. Once put into operation, they can immediately mobilize the tide of sales and consumer desires in the market, gathering them in a centripetal manner to generate powerful interactive energy, continuously accelerating expansion, and forming a sustainable force that drives the market to grow steadily. This is the functional advantage of the Rakuten business model. It can even be asserted: as long as there are sales and consumer desires in the world, Rakuten will continue to develop and grow. The author, who has lived in Japan for a long time and witnessed Rakuten's rise from its early days to becoming a leader of the era, was deeply moved. Therefore, he decided to set aside his limited knowledge and writing skills to outline this ongoing myth and present the characters and business to the readers as authentically as possible. Through the content of this book, readers can see that the Rakuten business is a concrete embodiment of a myth, its operation and development full of compelling narratives; the highly commercialized Japanese market's acceptance of this mechanism suggests the future direction of consumer life in the Internet era; and Rakuten's rapid growth provides a model for the new era's economy. The significance of the Rakuten example is undoubtedly profound. At the same time, for those who hope to learn practical business experience from super successful examples, the author believes that the Rakuten story has more to tell: business also requires a scientific mindset; business requires a deep understanding of the mechanism of the subject; business requires forward-thinking; business requires accurate self-positioning; and indeed, business can also create something from nothing. It may sound like a far-fetched myth, and the success may seem difficult to achieve, but if you have a good idea, it is actually not that hard.
Lastly, it should be noted that in China, we are also aware of many successful IT business elites who are active at the forefront of the Internet development trend. Many returnees from the highly developed United States have brought back successful examples, allowing them to take root and flourish in this country with immense potential. The entrepreneurial achievements of these elites are undeniable. Due to different national conditions, comparing Rakuten with successful Chinese IT companies may not be entirely comparable. However, just like others, Hirofumi Mimoguchi, who studied in the United States and was deeply influenced by American IT culture, was able to persevere and insist on developing a unique Japanese business model after returning to Japan, and he actually succeeded. This is very thought-provoking. It can be said that he turned the stereotype of the "skillful imitators" into the "skillful creators" of the Japanese, making the world take notice. Of course, Japan also has figures like of SoftBank Group, who rely purely on imitating American success models to achieve business success. In the sense of realizing life dreams and promoting economic progress, they are equally worthy of high praise. However, after mastering the Internet, this new era's productive force, and carrying out creative transformations in their own countries to lead a success model that surpasses the original, they reveal the infinite possibilities of business in the depth of the Internet era. In terms of imagination and creativity, the success of Rakuten stands out among countless imitative success examples, holding a unique significance. If the younger generation in the IT entrepreneurial trend can take note of the infinite possibilities demonstrated by Hirofumi Mimoguchi's great achievements and break free from the limitations of simply imitating American business, while exploring in line with China's national conditions, then the world's largest and most promising Chinese Internet industry will surely usher in a blooming spring. This is a business myth that represents the spirit of our time: Hirofumi Mimoguchi, a 32-year-old Harvard MBA, quit a prestigious bank job to start a small company, which went public just three years later. In just 8 years, he swiftly rose to become a major company in the IT industry. Being an office worker is not as good as being a boss; choosing a failed career will not turn impossibility into possibility. This book tells the story of Harvard MBA Hirofumi Mimoguchi, who built the "Rakuten Market," a billion-yen online store, in just eight years.