Gao Yuqin
Country Notes Venture Partner
Head of the Research Course Department
2023 Hurun U30 China Entrepreneurship Pioneer
Gao Yuqi, an ordinary but shining rural worker, has written national, provincial, and county-level research courses. Engaged in "rural revitalization + cultural tourism + education", he worked with partners to create a professional rural scene education platform, led the research and development of many theme research courses such as local art, local character, and local scientific research, and planned and implemented local research projects for hundreds of well-known schools such as UWC and Shanghai Jiaotong University.
Hurun Report· Gao Yuqi
Hurun Report: Tell us a little about your company. Tell us about market changes or innovations in your industry in recent years?
Gao Yuqi: Rural Notes is a social enterprise committed to helping rural revitalization with "innovative and practical" methods and "people". We are committed to connecting urban and rural areas with education, hoping to let young people better understand the real China.
In the past seven years, we have devoted ourselves to all aspects of rural revitalization from the three dimensions of understanding the countryside, serving the countryside, and building the countryside.
In October last year, we officially proposed the sixth anniversary of Rural Notes: the "second solution" of rural revitalization, that is, in addition to the "solution 1" of rural revitalization that "allows rural areas to participate in the division of labor", we will explore the "second solution" - to create "non-common success" in rural areas.
"In terms of understanding the countryside", we have led tens of thousands of urban teenagers to carry out research and research in villages across the country, covering more than 200 villages, including mountain villages in Xiangxi, fishing villages in Fujian, pastures in western Sichuan, opera troupes in the Central Plains, and hunting tribes in Aoluguya. With the support of universities and scientific research institutions, we have hosted well-known national events and activities such as the Fudan School of Management Social Enterprise Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition and the Northeast Characteristic Rural Revitalization Cloud Forum, leading partners who do not know about rural areas to understand some rural areas.
"In terms of serving rural areas", we have sponsored thousands of rural children to come to the city to see all walks of life, and taught career development and life planning courses to tens of thousands of rural students. With the trust of more than 20 official or corporate foundations, such as the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Youth League Committee of Sichuan Province, Lenovo Group, and Grundfos Group, we have built a public welfare platform for rural education, provided quality education courses for rural children in a variety of ways, and helped the growth of rural children together with caring people.
"In terms of rural construction", we have implemented content rural construction projects in more than a dozen villages across the country, from the village history museum in Jiangshan in Quzhou, to the cultural tourism mini program in Lili, Suzhou, from the red party building script in Shengsi, Zhoushan, to the digital collection of rural digital marketing. At the invitation of the local government, we participated in the construction and operation of the countryside with innovative content and practical spirit, giving everyone a reason to go to the countryside and a direction to enter the city.
Hurun Report: After going through a difficult period, how did you survive the damage during the three-year special period of the epidemic?
Gao Yuqi: The most difficult moment was in the early stage of the epidemic, in the face of sudden changes, under the premise of complying with the epidemic prevention policy, we will take urban teenagers to rural areas across the country to carry out offline research courses such as literature collection and social research, and make online cloud research; In addition, we have also participated in the construction of villages and the operation of villages in various places. We have strengthened online communication and development with partners to jointly find new cooperation opportunities and solutions.
With the trust of more than 20 official or corporate foundations, such as the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Youth League Committee of Sichuan Province, Lenovo Group, and the Grundfos Group, we have built a public welfare platform for rural education, continued to provide quality education courses for rural children, and helped the growth of rural children together with caring people.
We won the Xiangguang Award of the 2020 Social Enterprise and Impact Investment Forum, the Gold Award of the 2021 Harvard China Education Forum Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, and were shortlisted for the first "National Rural Revitalization Youth Pioneer" jointly selected by the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
Through the pandemic, Village Notes has survived and learned how to find opportunities in the crisis and how to be more flexible in adjusting strategies to deal with the uncertainty of the future. All this is inseparable from the perseverance of the team, the support of partners, and the attention and help of all sectors of society. It is the abilities and resilience honed during these difficult times that will make Village Notes stronger and more confident on the road ahead.
Hurun Report: Choosing to start a business must be a process of getting out of your comfort zone, in the process of establishing a brand company, have you found yourself a different side?(What are your weaknesses in the process of starting a business, how to balance them, and even transform them into characteristics?)
Gao Yuqi: For me, entrepreneurship is indeed a journey out of my comfort zone, such as recognizing my unawares abilities and discovering my weaknesses. One of the biggest discoveries I have made during the creation and development of Village Notes is that I have far more resilience and adaptability than I expected. In the face of uncertainty and challenges, there will inevitably be fear or anxiety in the process of moving from the known to the unknown, but in fact, as long as I start to do it, I will find that it is just moving forward, and when I have restrictive information about myself, I will give myself more time and internal dialogue, which will be transformed into the power to drive myself and the company to grow.
Hurun Report: The difficulties encountered in entrepreneurship may be the beginning of growth, sometimes, failure is more layered than success and the need to tell the story, for you, what is the biggest "pit" you have stepped on?
Gao Yuqi: There will be more thinking in team management, to find how to meet their own satisfaction with the company, and at the same time more suitable for the team, on this road, management needs to be thoughtful, effective team management needs to be rigid and soft. In addition to keeping goals clear and efficient, it is also necessary to give the team enough support and understanding, and create a culture that encourages sharing and failure is tolerated. In the process, I began to listen more to the thoughts and feelings of my team members, encouraging open communication and raising different opinions. Partners will also be encouraged to use the Learning Fund to participate in forums and exhibitions, skills training, growth workshops, etc. When team members feel that they are growing and valued, their loyalty and commitment to the company also increases significantly.
Hurun Report: Based on your observation of the market, how has everyone's consumption logic/wealth logic changed in recent years (what are we consuming today?)
Gao Yuqi: Emotional consumption, sustainability, personalization, customization, digitalization, intelligence, focus on spiritual satisfaction and personal growth.
Hurun Report: In your opinion, where are the dividends hidden in the future, and how do you lead the team and individuals to do things that follow the trend?
Gao Yuqi: In 2024, we hope to deeply participate in rural revitalization, integrate the unique natural resources and cultural terroir of the countryside, and help the countryside participate in the division of labor with the help of new technologies, while uniting various communities and ways of playing, and creating "non-common success" in the countryside.
Under the policy of targeted poverty alleviation, compared with the past few years, the countryside has undergone earth-shaking changes from hardware to software compared with the past, but there is still a huge gap compared with the city. Therefore, the equalization of urban and rural public services is the key to achieving a well-off society in all respects. Therefore, in 2024, we will continue to aim to build a new type of rural community with "thriving industry, livable ecology, civilized rural customs, effective governance, and affluent life", and build the countryside itself into a popular content that attracts attention.
In terms of education, "it is difficult to find a noble child from a poor family" and "limited choice of vision" are often talked about social problems, which reflect the lack of understanding of future careers and urban scenes of rural children. We hope to supplement the vocational education of rural children with life planning courses and real urban career scenarios. We've been doing it, and in 2024, we're going to do it even better.
Hurun Report: How to judge opportunities, capture market demand, and get results again and again in a limited market environment?
Gao Yuqi: 1) Maintain the positive attitude and spirit of entrepreneurs: learn to reward results, reward yourself and the team, rely on strength when luck is gone, rely on ability when growth is slow, and return to basic skills. Clear goals, clear paths, adequate resources, strong day-to-day management, speaking with output and outstanding success, showing value.
2) Customer first, details achieve excellence: In user experience design, every subtlety contains profound meaning, it is worth stopping to feel and think, slow is fast, locate your target user group in a more accurate way, dig deep and understand the real needs of users. This is the only way to build successful products and services, and it is also the key to winning the market and the minds of users.
3) Continuous empowerment, the wisdom journey of AI: In this era of rapid development, AI is not only a trend, but also a powerful tool. Whether it is a business development or personal growth, we should constantly pay attention to and use AI technology to accelerate our thinking and optimize our products...... Open up new possibilities.
4) Open source and reduce expenditure, the province of the province, the flower. Save decisively when you are in the province, but don't skimp on those investments that can bring long-term benefits. Through smart cash management, we ensure that our business remains agile and resilient to meet every challenge and opportunity while growing steadily.
Hurun Report: From the perspective of the entrepreneurial spirit that Hurun Report has always admired, why did you choose to start a business?
Gao Yuqi: The current environment is full of uncertainties, the more turbulent the economy, the more uncertain the economy, and the challenges exist. The more you choose the best time to start a business, the more difficult problems require better new skills, and entrepreneurs are constantly learning.
In the process, we can see the current law with like-minded partners, understand the trends that may occur in the future, and find the certainty that we can grasp in the business world, do it, act on it, and go to the destination in our hearts.
For me, business competence is about finding and grasping certainty in the midst of many uncertainties.
This article is an exclusive interview with Hurun Report, and the material comes from the interviewee
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