Page 144 - How China Is Winning the Tech Race

the office. Though he lives at home with his parents and his mother still takes
care of some chores for him, including packing his lunch, there’s no denying
his leadership skills—from young
political leader in his hometown to
university class president.
Investor partner Ju remembers
“I was impressed by his vision and his meeting Liu for the first time. “I
maturity for his young age.”
was impressed by his vision and his
Tina Ju, maturity for his young age. I
managing partner, listened to his background—it was
KPCB China and TDF Capital quite impressive and interesting,”
she says. “These were a lot of ac-
complishments for such a young
age. There was something special about him too to have these capabilities.
For someone to have such a strong grasp of politics as well as business—I felt
he almost has it all: people skills, business sense, and leadership,” says Ju,
who is a good judge of character. 9
Her words “almost has it all” have less to do with the person than with
his ability to implement and execute a bold strategy. Indeed, Oriental Wisdom
has a tall order to fill. “The business model he is building is extremely
ambitious. He is trying to change the way financial products will be dis-
tributed in the long run,” she observes.

Meeting Mr . Wisdom
The next time I’m in Beijing, I arrange to meet Liu at his office in Tower A in
a modern office complex across the freeway from Beijing’s rising Olympic
Village. The young company’s headquarters are plush with all-white walls,
glassed-in office suites, and leather couches. When I remark on the decor, Liu
explains that he needs the luxurious surroundings because he’s dealing with
clients in the financial business. “I don’t want an office so big,” he says, “but
our customers are financial advisers, so we must pay attention to image. It is
financial IT [information technology] work we are doing, not just IT work,”
he points out.
It becomes clear to me that Liu doesn’t care much about high-priced
trappings when I spot some framed calligraphy hanging on a wall in his office.

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