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Text｜Deng Shuanglin, reporter of "Chinese Entrepreneurs"

Editor: Yao Yun

Image source: Interviewee

He Youjun, the "son of the gambling king", set two new records:The youngest founder of a Nasdaq-listed company in Asia and the founder of “China’s first e-sports stock”.

On July 26, Beijing time, Xingjing Weiwu Group was listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange with the stock code "NIPG". In this IPO, Xingjing Weiwu Group sold a total of 2.25 million ADS (American Depositary Shares) at an issue price of US$9/ADS, with a total fundraising scale of US$20.25 million. The successful listing of Xingjing Weiwu Group marks the official birth of "China's first e-sports stock".

"Since I embarked on the road of entrepreneurship, it has always been my dream to stand on the Nasdaq bell podium, because many legendary entrepreneurs I admire have also stood here. Today, for myself and Star Jingweiwu, the dream has come true." He Youjun said on the spot.

In early summer last year, we conducted an in-depth interview with He Youjun (see "He Youjun: The e-sports world of the son of the gambling king" for details). During the interview, he repeatedly emphasized that apart from his father, the people he admires most at this stage are those entrepreneurs who succeeded before the age of 30, such as Mark Zuckerberg and Evan Spiegel.

"This kind of life is very cool. I hope the depth and density of my life can transcend my age," he said.Now, 29-year-old He Youjun has rung the bell at Nasdaq as he wished.

People often call He Youjun a "genius", but only those who are close to him know that genius is also made through hard work. An executive of Star Power once told China Entrepreneur, "Mario (He Youjun) never sleeps, sleeps only about 4 hours a day, often replies to emails in the middle of the night, and goes to work earlier than everyone else the next day."

One month before the IPO, He Youjun was constantly on the roadshow. Under the continuous high pressure, he only slept for more than 9 hours a day, and the rest of the time he could only make up for his sleep in the fragmented time on the plane or in the car. "Pressure and achievement are relative. Although I am very tired, I am very happy now." He Youjun told China Entrepreneur.

Previously, the "seven-year bet" between He Youjun and his mother Liang Anqi circulated on the Internet. At the age of 21, in order to start his own business, He Youjun agreed with his mother to create a listed company before the age of 28 and not to invest a penny from the family, otherwise he would have to go home to help his mother manage the business.

"Looking back now, this agreement has not been fulfilled and is still a few months late."He Youjun felt a little regretful, he thought he could do it faster and on a bigger scale.

This young man has always been very strict with himself and is used to compressing time to the maximum. When he was studying at MIT, he often stayed up late in the library to do homework until three or four in the morning, and eventually became the youngest master of finance student in the history of MIT. During his time back in China to start a business, he also took advantage of his free time to accompany his wife Xi Mengyao to record several variety shows, creating IP to attract traffic to his career.

Recently, He Youjun once again accepted an exclusive interview with "China Entrepreneur", talking about the favorable changes in the e-sports industry, the next development plan after Star Esports Weiwu's listing, and his own next stage goals.

It is worth mentioning that today, a photo of Ho Yau-kwan and his father Stanley Ho was lit up on the Nasdaq big screen in Times Square, the United States."I have never thought about taking off the label of 'son of the gambling king'. My influence is inseparable from my father. I am his son, which is the luckiest and proudest thing in my life."He Youjun said.

The following is an interview with He Youjun, Chairman and Co-CEO of Xingjing Weiwu Group (edited):

Talking about the IPO: "If I have to give myself a score, I can only give myself a score of over 80 at this stage"

Chinese Entrepreneurs:Why choose to go public in the United States?

Ho Yau-kwan:This has always been my goal. Many of the great founders I admire have stepped onto the Nasdaq bell platform, and I also hope to walk this path and ring the bell they rang.The moment I decided to start my own business after graduating from college, I determined that I wanted to build a company that would be listed on NASDAQ.

Chinese Entrepreneurs:According to the prospectus, in recent years, Xingjing Weiwu Group's net income has increased, but its net losses have increased. How to deal with these profit pressures?

Ho Yau-kwan:Different accounting standards vary greatly, and sometimes the increase in losses is not caused by real cash flow. For example, we are going public, so we issued a lot of options. The US Generally Accepted Accounting Standards (GAAP) will directly write this part as a loss, but in fact we did not suffer any cash impact.If we put aside these non-cash impacts, Xingjing Weiwu's profit margin has been improving every year.

Chinese Entrepreneurs:IPO means that both you and StarJing Weiwu will be subject to more public scrutiny. Do you feel anxious about this?

He Youjun: These are all healthy pressures. Startups have to prove to investors whether they have achieved good growth and profitability, so I am happy to accept these challenges. This is part of the fun of entrepreneurship.

Chinese Entrepreneurs:You once made a "28-year-old agreement" with your mother - not to invest a penny from your family and to achieve staged success (build a listed company) before the age of 28. But this year you are already 29 years old, do you think this goal has been achieved?

Ho Yau-kwan:I don't think it's complete, because it's a few months late, and I have some regrets. But my mother is still very happy, and I feel that I am the only one who cares about this agreement the most. If I have to give myself a score, I can only give myself a score of over 80 at this stage, because if I follow the ideal plan in my mind, I can actually reach IPO faster and the scale can be larger.

But I also believe that when the moment comes for Nasdaq to ring the bell, all these dissatisfactions will disappear completely.

Chinese Entrepreneurs:During an interview last year, you said that when you reach the agreement with your mother, you will be asked about your next goal. Today you have achieved your goal, can you reveal your next goal?

Ho Yau-kwan:Of course. At the company level, I hope Xingjing Weiwu can become a true unicorn and achieve more breakthroughs in performance.My goal is to become a very successful legendary businessman, like my father.I admire him very much and hope to emulate his achievements in the future.

However, I will not set a rigid time requirement for myself this time. I set many time goals for myself before, which made me too nervous and stressed. The next goal may have a range, but it will not be a certain year or a certain day (laughs).

Talking about development plans: "We pay more attention to collecting seats"

Chinese Entrepreneurs:What changes have taken place in the e-sports industry this year compared to last year?

Ho Yau-kwan:Since last year, the e-sports industry has received a lot of good news. In the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, e-sports became an official competition event, the Chinese team won many gold medals, and the domestic market has gained more recognition for the e-sports industry.

The first Esports World Cup being held in Saudi Arabia this year is also a great boon. With a prize pool of over $60 million, it almost surpasses all traditional events. The esports industry finally has a sports event that can gather all the outstanding esports clubs once a year. Just in the past few days, the International Olympic Committee also approved the proposal to hold the first Esports Olympics in Saudi Arabia in 2025.

A series of news proves that e-sports has been highly recognized by many countries and international organizations this year. In particular, the decision of the International Olympic Committee has given a shot in the arm to all e-sports practitioners.

Chinese Entrepreneurs:The next area of ​​focus for StarJing Weiwu is the Middle East. Is it related to the Middle East events?

Ho Yau-kwan:First of all, we are very concerned about the E-sports World Cup and hope to go to the Middle East for competitions more often in the future. In addition, I am very concerned about the development of the UAE. We can clearly see the determination of the Abu Dhabi government to attract game companies to settle down and build an e-sports ecosystem, as well as their investment in the e-sports industry. Although it is still in its infancy, I believe that the Middle East will occupy an increasingly important position on the global e-sports map in the next few years.

I went to Abu Dhabi for the first time in July last year, but my partners had already started to make plans there in the first half of last year. At present, we have many plans to develop business in Abu Dhabi. We have had a lot of exchanges with local government funds and large enterprises, and will gradually connect the e-sports ecosystem around the world and outside the Middle East to Abu Dhabi.

Chinese Entrepreneurs:Has StarJing Weiwu's strategy changed compared to last year? What has been the focus of its business over the past year?

Ho Yau-kwan:Startups have to optimize their business models every year. Our online business, such as sports talent agency business, has been transformed into cooperating with some capable companies this year. At the same time, we share our traffic with more game companies to increase volume, including online live skin sales, etc., which has greatly improved the profit margin of this business. In addition, we have also entered more platforms, such asTiger TeethIf there is cooperation, we will also enter Douyin.

In terms of offline events, we have started to create our own branded events and expand our event types and activity types, such as anime exhibitions, etc. We are also looking at whether there are faster ways to monetize in the industry, such as game distribution business, e-sports hotels, etc. These are some new tracks that we will try next.

Chinese Entrepreneurs:Many people believe that it is difficult for e-sports companies to form real barriers because the barriers are strongly related to the players. Do you agree with this statement? How should Xingjing Weiwu build a more solid moat in the future?

Ho Yau-kwan:I don't quite agree. I think the barrier for e-sports clubs is more about having a seat in a large gaming league. The entry threshold to these leagues is very high, and having a seat is one of the proofs of strength. Just like NBA teams, the stars of the team may also transfer, but the team itself can be in the NBA league, which is the biggest barrier.

Therefore, we attach more importance to collecting seats. Star Competition Mighty is one of the e-sports organizations with the largest number of games participated in the world, and the number of game seats it owns is also extremely advantageous.

Of course, the ability to operate the team, manage the team, train players, and attract new players is one of the barriers of e-sports clubs. But if we think more broadly, the entire e-sports industry needs more business lines, so we can't just stay in the e-sports club. We are always looking for new business lines to enrich our revenue channels.Now, StarEsports is no longer a pure e-sports club company, but a diversified, global, integrated digital sports group.

Chinese Entrepreneurs:What kind of blessing does Wang Jiaer’s joining bring to Star Competition?

Ho Yau-kwan:Jiaer joined us very early and is one of our partners and beneficial shareholders. His support is not only reflected in the talent agency business, he is a very important partner in my career.

Chinese Entrepreneurs:Recently, many entrepreneurs have started to become internet celebrities, shoot videos, and create IPs. What are your next plans for building IPs?

Ho Yau-kwan:I have been doing this since 2017, building my personal IP. I think no matter what channel or platform I use, as long as it can bring attention to the company, it is meaningful. But I have not considered live streaming yet, and I have not opened a personal account yet.

Chinese Entrepreneurs:Does Xingjing Weiwu have any new M&A plans?

Ho Yau-kwan:We will not reject the possibility of more mergers and acquisitions. This depends on what capabilities the group needs to fill and whether there are good targets.

Talking about personal feelings: "My influence is inseparable from my father"

Chinese Entrepreneurs:In the last interview, you talked about a lot of interesting things between you and your father, and you also said that your father is the person you admire the most and you have always hoped to get his approval. Do you feel very sorry that your father cannot witness the bell ringing this time?

Ho Yau-kwan:I will definitely feel regretful if he can't see it. But there is a session on the day of the Nasdaq bell ringing where you can put a lot of photos on the screen.I chose a lot of photos of my father and me, and he would be with me in this way.It was also his first time to appear on the Nasdaq big screen (laughs).

Chinese Entrepreneurs:In the past year, you have gained a lot of fans on variety shows, and there are more and more discussions about you. People often refer to you as "He Youjun" instead of "son of the gambling king." Is this the change you want to see?

Ho Yau-kwan:I am very grateful to netizens for seeing a different side of me. But the number of people mentioning "son of the gambling king" has not decreased, right?My influence is inseparable from my father. I don’t say that I must break away from this label or anything.The "Son of the Gambling King" also reminds me all the time that this is the luckiest and proudest thing in my life, and I am very grateful.

Chinese Entrepreneurs:Do you still search for yourself online and care about bad reviews?

Ho Yau-kwan:I still do. But as I get older, I become more stable. I still care a little when I see bad comments, but I won’t refute them.

Chinese Entrepreneurs:What is your MBTI?

Ho Yau-kwan:I did two or three tests.Sometimes it was ESTP (entrepreneurial personality), sometimes it was ENTP (debater personality), and the one I remember most clearly was ESTP.

Chinese Entrepreneurs:You once said that you have tried many opportunities and you think e-sports has the greatest potential for success, so you went all in. In the past two years, new entrepreneurial opportunities have frequently emerged. Do you have the idea of ​​starting a business again?

Ho Yau-kwan:I will always have the idea of ​​starting a business again. I am very optimistic about AI, but I need to finish the things I have at hand before I start.

Chinese Entrepreneurs:The success of an organization and the sustainability of a century-old enterprise are inseparable from inheritable values. What do you think is the most important corporate value of Xingjing Weiwu?

Ho Yau-kwan:Our entire group is still goal-oriented. Our mission is to become the most popular and valuable global integrated digital sports group. In terms of talent training, I am still learning, after all, I am not yet 30 years old. But I think the gathering and attraction of talents is often because everyone recognizes each other, has a common goal, and can move forward spontaneously.

Chinese Entrepreneurs:Personally, what do you most want to leave to this world?

Ho Yau-kwan:Leave a contribution to the country. This contribution can be charity, business, creation or innovation that improves the lives of many people, or a company or institution that provides more employment and wealth opportunities.