Back to the prime of life

Chapter 178 A Successful Interview

The program will air on December 1st.

2008 has finally come to its last month.

Looking back on the past three months, they really flew by.

Many things happened so quickly that Lu Changge didn't have time to savor or reflect on them.

For example, Shen Mo in the United States actually found Taylor Swift and, after paying $36, got the opportunity to have her share her use of Chatter on her personal social media platform.

For example, Google not only launched Google Play, but also unveiled the world's first Android-based smartphone, the G1.

Even so, no one believed that Nokia would collapse. Even in hindsight, this is quite surprising. At the end of 08, it was simply unimaginable.

To put it dramatically, PulseGo is perhaps one of the few software developers who resolutely refuse to touch the Symbian system and so resolutely invest their main technical capabilities in software iterations for the Apple and Android systems.

While software development may not be as high-barrier as manufacturing industries like engines or chips, a good piece of software always requires continuous iteration and optimization to become user-friendly.

Even the later nationally popular app had a terrible 1.0 version.

From this perspective, PulseGo is certainly ahead. The iOS version of chatter has been launched, and the Android version is about to be launched. In China, the Android version of PulseGo has entered the testing phase under the leadership of Zhou Shuang.

Soon, perhaps even faster than Lu Changge imagined, these little software programs began to gradually gain users who liked them.

Even though smartphones were still in the popularization stage in 09, which meant there weren't many users, at least they already had a product and were iterating on it, so they were always one step ahead of others.

Even if you try to find a reason to boost your confidence by returning to the idea that hard work pays off, it's not difficult.

That is, while others were still groping their way up the ladder of the mobile internet in a state of confusion, Lu Changge was already holding various international conference calls day and night.

Meanwhile, his team was already working late into the night, typing out lines of optimized code.

However, the world often focuses on the more interesting aspects and overlooks the quiet efforts made.
Just like everyone else, including those who know him well, they wouldn't pay attention to Pulsego, but would be more interested in his television interviews. Even someone as close as Chen Xiaohe.

He completely ignored the 8th floor of the startup building, focusing all his attention on Lu Changge on the television screen.

The program "Brand" initially had many pre-recorded videos, including a segment where Lu Changge and the host interviewed Zhu Yong as they walked through Jiangzhou University of Science and Technology.

One scene shows a classmate passing by greeting Lu Changge.

The host, Zhu Yong, then asked with a smile, "You must be quite famous at your school, right?"

Lu Changge shamelessly nodded in agreement, "I guess so."

How does it feel to become famous at a young age? Has your mindset changed?

"If it's not a bad reputation, then being famous feels pretty good. As for my mindset... I can't pretend to be a saint and say that I'm not elated by external gains or saddened by personal losses. I haven't reached that level yet, so being in the spotlight actually makes me happy. But I know that my core goal isn't to be a celebrity."

Zhu Yong asked, "So what is your core objective?"

Lu Changge tilted his head, looking somewhat hesitant to answer, "Make the things we're doing done a success, like Lu Mang."

The scene then shifts to Zhu Yong, who is walking down a street in Jiangzhou City. The street is lined with garment factories. He visits several factories, asking employees and even security guards, all conveying the same message:
The chill of the financial crisis has arrived, with lost orders, workers being laid off, and even factories closing down...

This is the current social reality at the economic level.

The scene then showed Lu Mang's office environment in the Innovation Building, followed by appearances by Qin Jun and Ai Mai. The scene then cut back to the stage, where Lu Changge and the host sat facing each other at an acute angle.

"In that clip, we can see that you set a goal to help local businesses. When you and your classmates started this small shop, did you think about helping some local businesses overcome their difficulties?"

Lu Changge said, "When we were founded, there was no financial crisis. They were doing much better than us, and we went to them to ask for their help."

The audience below the stage burst into laughter.

Chen Xiaohe, sitting at home, said to her husband, "Stop wandering around and watch with me for a while. This is Lu Changge, whom I mentioned to you."

“Actually, we young people in our early twenties aren’t moral exemplars, and what we do isn’t exactly glamorous. Of course, we all abide by the law,” Lu Changge quickly added.

This time, Zhu Yong also laughed along.

The director was worried that Lu Changge wouldn't be able to relax, but he managed to create a great atmosphere for the interview with just a few words.

"Initially, we just wanted to make some money. But then we encountered the financial crisis, and Jiangzhou is an export-oriented economy. All of this made us think. For example, we wondered if the sudden sluggish sales of clothing in Jiangzhou were due to quality issues. No, it was due to the external environment. Then we thought, what if we could sell these high-quality goods domestically at a lower price through our own means?"
So actually, we've come this far step by step. Currently, our sales are growing very rapidly. It took us more than two months to go from 0 to 1000 daily sales, but from 1000 to 2000, it only took us fifteen days, and the next 1000 orders will definitely be within 15 days.

"According to you, do you think the main factor in your success was your own thinking or an opportunity?"

Lu Changge said, "First of all, we haven't succeeded yet. Lu Mang has been established for less than a year, so it's too early to talk about success. Given this, it's even more impossible to summarize our experience of success now."

"So humble? I've met many people who say you're very successful."

Lu Changge said, "There are many people, but not many. There are plenty of people on the internet who say I'm not successful. What I mean is, this is not something that can be defined by others."

"Okay. So, you must have encountered quite a few problems during this process, right? What was the biggest problem?"

Lu Changge stroked his chin. "Of course, there are many problems, and I feel that each one is incredibly big. If I had to pick one, I'd say one that's both embarrassing and funny. Lately, Jiangzhou has been experiencing continuous rain and a sharp drop in temperature; the nighttime temperature has already fallen below zero."

Because sales were growing so fast, we had to ship orders every night after work. We have a small warehouse, and I go there when I have time. However, that day, because it was so cold, the thermal paper for printing the shipping labels was frozen and wouldn't print.

We had no choice but to stick hand warmers on the printer, but unexpectedly, they triggered the smoke alarm, and then the fire truck arrived. When it got there, we were a bunch of us crouching in a pile of cardboard boxes, handwriting shipping labels. The scene looked like a group of burglars stealing some documents.

The story is simple.

But Zhu Yong summed it up well: "In fact, there will be a lot of hardships in the process of starting a business that even you did not expect at the time. It is never a time when you are surrounded by flowers and applause forever."

"of course."

"Do you feel tired? When you are tired, what do you do to encourage yourself, to rekindle your energy, and to keep going?"

Lu Changge said, "It's definitely tiring. As for how to unleash energy after being tired, I don't know. I usually just rest when I'm really tired. Sometimes I find some sayings strange. For example, there's a kind of inspirational quote that says when you feel tired, you can go to the vegetable market at four in the morning. When I first saw it, I was full of questions, because if you feel tired, you should rest, not compete to see who is more tired."

"Haha." Chen Xiaohe, who was usually serious, was perhaps relaxing at home when she burst out laughing and said, "This guy always says something surprising. But when you think about what he says, it seems to make some sense."

Her husband also found it interesting. "The interview was quite good; he certainly has the unconventional thinking that young people have. But it's just a TV program. Do you really think watching this will make you decide to change jobs?"

"Well, of course I'm a little worried, but... let's give it a try."

In one's life, one will encounter many choices and take many detours, but no path in life is wasted, and every step taken counts.

(End of this chapter)