Chen Pei, founder of Mingde Hospital: The blue sky is always above the white clouds

As an entrepreneur in the medical circle, his entrepreneurial story is a legend.

His subordinates used the following keywords to describe him: foreign, atmospheric, calculating, amiable, low-key, wise, confident, approachable, kind, innocent, tolerant, open-minded, passionate, creative...

Among them, the first employee after he started his business said the following paragraph:

There are not many people who can have dreams in a lifetime, fewer people who have dreams to chase, and even fewer people who have dreams to chase and succeed. He is in his fifties, and he still has passion, and dreams, and he chases dreams, which makes me admire and moves me.

Chen Pei, founder, president and executive director of Beijing Mingde Hospital, clinical master of Beijing Medical College, the first mba of China Europe Business School (open enrollment), has served as the deputy general manager of United Family Hospital, the chief economist of Tiantan Hospital, the general manager of Yingzhi Eye Hospital, the vice president of CNNC Company in the United States, the director of Baolong Foreign Firm in Denmark, and the gastroenterologist of the Third Hospital of Beijing Medical College. Standing Director of the Private Branch of the Chinese Hospital Association, Director of the Talent Exchange Center of the Ministry of Health, Director of the New Social Class Council of the United Front Work Department...

Walking into his office, a book "The Biography of Steve Jobs" was prominently displayed on the shelves. His colleagues said that at a staff meeting, he specifically recalled Jobs's life, during which he choked up several times. That was the first time he was so moved in front of his employees...

Beijing Mingde Hospital, a foreign-related high-end private general hospital. Although it has been in operation for less than three years, it has gained a reputation and is said to provide medical services in more than 10 languages. Walking into The Matilda Hall, the piano sounded slowly, the aroma of coffee wafted by, if it were not for the eight big words printed in the eyes " Pleasant experience, exclusive medical treatment "I thought I had walked into a five-star hotel.

I used to think that such a high-end private hospital with strong capital support and natural geographical advantages must have a gorgeous start. Unexpectedly, the story of the creation of Mingde Hospital is full of hardships and legends, and even as the founder, Chen Pei has signed an agreement that "can be deposed at any time".

When I asked how it felt to start a business, he said that he bought himself an iPadmini on his birthday two years ago, and there was a sentence engraved on it: "When you can't hold on, hold on for a while."

【Tranquility】Before you started your business, you were the vice president of United Family, as an executive of a private hospital, you have reached a certain professional height, why did you choose to give up and start your own business? What was your original purpose in starting a business?

[Chen Pei] Before answering this question, I would like to talk about what the core of medical treatment is and what I want to pursue.

Everyone has a Garden of Eden in their hearts, what is the Garden of Eden in my heart? It is a hotel-like hospital, an oasis in the desert. There, seeing a doctor is no longer painful, seeking medical treatment is no longer hurt, and medical treatment should be so simple! The hospital's name is Mingde, which is borrowed from the opening chapter of one of the four Confucian books, "The Way of the University, in Mingmingde", which means that the learning of adults lies in the understanding of what is light and morality, and our extension is "the way of medicine, in Mingmingde". The English name oasis of the hospital means desert oasis.

In Matilda, everything you see, the hotel-like lobby, the piano, the flowing water, the sun roof, is the sun, the sand, the waves, the cactus, and the old dean... This is entrepreneurship, because no one knows what the Garden of Eden in your heart looks like, unless you build it yourself.

I was the first bachelor's degree plus master of Beijing Medicine after resuming the college entrance examination, and in the process of being a clinician, I saw too many deaths and deaths. Later, when I did hospital management, I saw that too many things other than medical treatment were affecting medical treatment itself, including academic, commercial, official, and even the doctors themselves, and the patient experience as the core of medical treatment was often ignored or hurt. Why can't medical care be warm and pleasant?

UFH's medical model of focusing on patient experience was very good, but how to do a good job of domestic patient experience was a major challenge for UFH at that time. Furthermore, is it true that, as people think, the moon is a foreign circle? I don't believe in this evil!" Based on so many years of accumulation, perception and thinking, when I resigned, I believe that I have found the answer - to do a more pure medical treatment, it will definitely be welcomed by patients and will be recognized by the market.

International standards and one-stop services for general hospitals are the cornerstones of this model. Matilda Hospital is fully established in accordance with international medical standards. Our diagnostic criteria are icd-10, quality and safety standards are JCI-5, pricing criteria are cpdfeeforservice, more than 1/3 of physicians are from other countries, and the working language and medical paperwork are English. Currently, more than 70% of patients come from nearly 100 countries around the world.

[Tranquility] One of your subordinates said in an interview before The opening of Matilda, "The things that Matilda experienced in the process of founding Matilda are not what I want to brag about, and many people can't bear it at all... I just want to carry it to the opening day, I just want to see how Peter (Chen Pei's English name) carries it to the opening day", why did he say so? What kind of difficulties did it take to start Matilda?

[Chen Pei] The occurrence of Matilda is actually a very reckless result, like reckless love at first sight, and the inevitable uncontrollable behind. Because I had dreams of building a hospital, I looked at many locations until I saw where Matilda was now, and it felt like a bigowow! A two- or three-storey flat-floor factory building, a 15,000-square-meter frame structure, a pale yellow façade, a large and large garden in the front and back courtyards, and ample parking lots... Like a small hospital in the United States, it is located in the Lido business district, next to the airport highway, which is simply a heaven-made international hospital billet.

The establishment of the hospital was in a bit of a hurry because of the location that could not be missed. To this end, I quickly resigned, borrowed the name of a friend's company to pay 1 million yuan as a deposit, signed the lease agreement of this factory, and then I began to think about what to do next? And so it begins, the so-called ignorant are fearless.

Although it is only 4 years away from now, the environment in which private hospitals were founded at that time can be said to be very different from now. At that time, the medical institution was still a planning approval system, so our application was immediately returned by the health bureau, and I was given a hat of "cutting first and playing later". Isn't that a head-scratcher? The job has also resigned, the money has also been paid, if you do not use this location, 1 million deposit will be adrift, and my enthusiasm? I was also anxious, so I went to an acquaintance to try to unblock the relationship, and as a result, I was put under a hat called "forcing the government to obey", saying that I was "too reckless to do this, there is no possibility at all."

Although there is no way out of the sky, a few months later, with the strong east wind of the 2010 central government's No. 58 document encouraging social medical treatment, our application was approved, but it has been 4 months. The feeling of being trapped in a sad city, living like a year, and being nervous is definitely not something that can be expressed with such understatement as it is now. What's worse is that I can't do anything at that time, and I don't know what to do tomorrow. When I got the approval letter from the Health Bureau, it was Already January 17 of the following year, and a few days later it was the Spring Festival.

Before the Spring Festival, we must set up the construction unit, and during the Spring Festival, someone may discuss with me how to design and start construction. The most bone-chilling problem I had to face was the $35,000 rent per day, so I couldn't waste any day! And the construction unit had to be able to put my thinking into the drawings, because we simply didn't have the money to hire any level of design firm.

Chance, once again, helped me a lot. I drew the original layout plan of the hospital on a blank piece of paper, and then went to ask a friend introduced by a partner. After the exchange, I asked him how much he charged, and he said that his friend didn't want money to help. I said, then you can make me a consultant. The next day, he arranged a series of construction company options for me. The first company, known as Hospital Design No.1, showed me several of their newly built government hospital projects, marble walls, crystal chandeliers... The second company told me that there was no hospital in Beijing that they designed, and they had to take me to see the Microsoft Building they designed. After reading it, I told my friend that this was the company I needed, because I wasn't designing a "hospital."

After the offer we proceed to the final negotiations. I knew they would have a discount, and I had a hunch that it might be a price like x8.88 million, and it turned out to be exactly what I expected. But to their surprise, I said "Well, I will add 10,000 to you, the transaction price is x8.89 million", they were stunned, and then responded with warm applause, "Since Mr. Chen is so happy, then we extend the warranty period for one year as a return", and the one-year warranty period is at least 200,000 yuan. In this way, on the last day before the Spring Festival that year, we finalized the construction contract. Afterwards, they told me that there was always only bargaining, so we were willing to work for you.

Many people ask me, how can I complete the construction of a general hospital of this scale in 11 months? I said that when you open your eyes for 35,000 yuan a day, you have no choice; when you are forced to go to Liangshan, you will understand that people can be stimulated to unlimited potential. I've never designed anything, but the grass and trees of Matilda flow out of this stream of nature, converging into all that you see. In fact, 30 years of professional accumulation have all been sublimated at this moment.

Later, some people said that I was dictatorial, that many decisions at that time did not have meeting minutes, and some people accused that there was no tender for what we procured... At that time, even if I wanted to discuss it, who would I talk to? What we procure may not be the cheapest, but if the project can be completed a month in advance, it can save more than 1 million... It's that simple! In the face of criticism, when you are only confident and decisive, you can carry through any difficulties, but I will not think about carrying it a second time... It's really hard!

Serenity interlude

During the conversation, Chen Pei got up and moved out different versions of thick design drawings in the bookshelf behind him, and the drawings had sketches he had drawn by hand. He said that the designer of the construction unit was a young man in his early thirties, both dedicated and perceptive, and followed him day and night to turn the sketches he drew by hand and hundreds of photos he took in various hospitals abroad into professional design drawings that could be constructed.

When discussing interiors, Chen Pei asked them to go to lv, gucci, Chanel and other websites for inspiration, because those are the accumulation of high-end design. Today, if you walk into Matilda, you will find traces or flavors of these brands in patterns, tones and styles.

【Tranquility】At that time, facing a dilapidated factory building, the project began with only one-tenth of the budget, have you ever thought about the financial difficulties you may face?

[Chen Pei] In fact, since the signing of the lease agreement, my partners and I have been looking for funds, but the common feedback of all investors after reading it is: This is an initial project and cannot be invested. Such an initial project has two fatal weaknesses: one is that the business model has not been verified, how can investors believe that there can be a market? Second, I don't have a team, and the team is at the heart of all startup projects.

I used to think that with my background as a clinician who graduated from Beijing Medicine, the CEIBS MBA, the vice president of United Family, and the rich professional experience during this period, I would not be unable to find funds. But the reality was so cruel, no entrepreneurial experience, no team, investors had to consider the risk, I was almost desperate. So, I would like to thank my initial partner for selling two properties and raising funds to keep the project going.

External difficulties such as time and funds are nothing compared with the personnel difficulties experienced, so Ma Yun once said that "entrepreneurship is so difficult, the heart must be strong", I have an unforgettable understanding of this sentence. How many times have I put back the foot that wanted to kick down the table. In order not to abandon my previous achievements, I had to endure humiliation, and I even signed a document that could dismiss me at any time. These may still be inconceivable.

Or the invincible road, and finally find the current institutional capital. Tens of millions of dollars were spent on the second day of getting the funds, and at that time, they were already facing the situation of workers stopping work at any time. Later, someone asked me, "Why did I personally create Matilda but didn't have a penny to do it", at that time, in order to be able to do this, I was eager to kowtow to people, how could I discuss dry stocks, or if there was no dry stock, I would not do it? When the board first gave me a salary, I had not earned any income for 18 months, and perhaps this was one of the considerations for investors to invest in this project?

【Tranquility】You have experienced many obstacles and difficulties in the process of starting a business, what is the most difficult? How do you see gains and losses?

[Chen Pei] Objective difficulties are easy to overcome, otherwise what kind of industry would you create? The most difficult thing is the team. Corporate culture has not been established, the team has not been run-in, different values, different demands, will form a variety of constraints. I have never taken the difficulties seriously, but between people, it is enough to make your heart emaciated.

I told myself that to get empathy, I had to overcome all odds. As long as you can push the mission forward, you must do whatever you want. After experiencing countless misunderstandings, grievances, and experiences, you will find that you have changed and may become more proud, because you know what is patience and what is a soldier who surrenders without fighting. These are all afterwords, and maybe we will have the opportunity to talk about them later.

Looking back on the gains and losses, I can only say that I proved myself through this incident. Now Matilda's business model has been verified and the brand has been established, so the market and capital are very optimistic about Matilda. I paid a lot for it, even on an overdraft. A person can do what he wants to do in his lifetime, he must pay a price, and I do not regret it.

【Tranquility】Entrepreneurship is so difficult, what motivates you to keep moving forward?

[Chen Pei] In the process of implementing the goals, we will find that the road will become wider and wider, and we will continue to discover new pursuits and realize more ideas. I created Matilda's main focus on the patient experience, and later found that doctors also have the pursuit of experience, such as doctors need a more optimized medical facilities and a humanized management platform to achieve more optimized medical services. With the liberalization of doctors' multi-site practice, Matilda can provide such a platform for doctors.

In addition, if you want to be a latecomer, you must learn to take advantage of new technologies. Thanks to the tremendous development of Internet technology, it can provide a lot of imagination space. I believe that online medical care will be a force to change the medical industry, not only can shorten the distance between doctors and patients, use the fragmented time of medical experts, improve the efficiency of the use of various resources, but also expand the geographical boundaries of medical coverage, etc., which are also the spaces I want to continue to try. Theoretically, it is not difficult to understand, there are many people who are paying attention, the key is who can put these ideas to the ground. Ali's business model is not complicated, but only Ma Yun has done it, and I believe in my own execution.

【Tranquility】What height do you want to reach?

[Chen Pei] What I want to do is a relatively pure medical treatment, and I hope that Mingde can become the best private hospital in China. As for me personally, entrepreneurship is something that will inevitably happen to a certain extent of accumulation, and it is also a road of no return. It has been said that there are two kinds of entrepreneurs, one is to pursue and show off money, the other is for the career, and the economic benefits only come with the success of the career, but the latter can make history.

I have made a hotel-style hospital, below I want to be a hospital without doctors (hospital facility platform), but also want to be a hospital without patients (network medical platform), haha, I do not flicker, everyone wait and see.

Tranquility comments

As I walked out of Chen Pei's office, I found several instrument cases and a golf bag standing side by side at the door. He casually opened one, and inside was a golden saxophone. He admits that music and sports are his favorites, and he plays more than a dozen instruments, all of which are self-taught, but since starting his business, these pleasures have been rarely touched because there is no time.

I think of Samuel Ullman, who started writing in his 70s, who wrote a century-old "Youth" -

Youthful spirit runs through changhong, courage and sharpness overshadow weakness, and enterprising overwhelms Gou An. Such sharpness is born after twenty, and it is more common for men in sixties. Old age, not old age, ideal discarded, fang fall into twilight years. The years are long, the decay is only to the skin; the enthusiasm is abandoned, and the decadence will cause the soul...

Mingde carries Chen Pei's medical dream, and Chen Pei will also give Mingde a foreseeable future with his "pure medical" concept...

Putting away his business card, I suddenly found that the back said—

The blue sky is always above the white clouds.

(Original title: Chen Pei, founder of Mingde Hospital: The blue sky is always above the white clouds)