Rare Public Interview with Duan Yongping: A Big Reason We Became Who We Are Is What We Chose Not to Do | [Jingwei Low-Key Share]

2025-11-12 — Beijing Conversation Highlights

> “People care about what we’ve done, but in fact, a big reason we’ve become who we are is because of the things we decided not to do.”

In the latest episode of Snowball’s “Strategy”, founder and chairman Fang Sanwen held a rare two-hour conversation with Duan Yongping — more than twenty years after Duan’s “retirement.”

Duan referenced “mistakes” 10 times, stressed “understanding” 12 times, and sighed “it’s difficult” 29 times. He revisited BBK’s transition from feature phones to smartphones, discussed investments in Apple and Tencent, and explained his preference for user-focused culture, high-margin “few but fine” investments, and clear opportunity cost awareness.

He drew lessons from Nokia and Panasonic, offered AI and EV market predictions, and distilled a consistent approach to business wisdom and life choices.

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Key Investment Principles

Core Philosophy

• > “Buying a stock is buying the company.”
• > “Investing is simple, but not easy.”
• Understand the company, business, and future cash flows.
• Most companies are hard to understand.
• Buffett’s margin of safety is about understanding, not price.
• Cheap alone is not enough; cheap stocks can go cheaper.

Understanding vs. Not Understanding

• > “The line between understanding and not understanding is a gray area.”
• Rare: only ~1% of investors truly grasp “buying a stock = buying the company.”

Evaluating Companies

• Business comprehension is essential.
• Industry background helps but doesn’t cover all cases.
• Examples of confidence: Apple, Tencent, Kweichow Moutai.

Corporate Culture

• Good culture serves as a guiding star.
• Not mistake-free, but improves realignment probability.

Wisdom of “Not Doing”

• Filtering projects avoids unnecessary failure.
• Long-term success often comes from restraint.

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1 — Business Operations Discussion

BBK’s Shift to Smartphones

• Initial resistance due to strong incumbents (Sony, Panasonic, Motorola).
• CEO-driven decision; Duan provided support, not vetoes.
• Product personalization was key to differentiating from global giants.
• Delegation culture meant CEOs bore full responsibility for outcomes.

Surviving the Feature Phone Collapse

• Forced shift; feature phone sales fell abruptly with smartphone adoption.
• Large inventories created cash burn; BBK nearly collapsed before recovery.
• 2012–2013 losses significant; never used “reserve force” investments.
• Lessons: underestimating speed of disruption is costly.

Cultural Observations on Competitors

• Nokia’s poor UI in early smartphone attempts signaled cultural decline.
• Refusal to adopt Android reinforced demise.
• Management skill ≠ cultural endurance.
• Panasonic: bureaucratic burden, focus on past leaders over user needs.

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2 — Investment Philosophy in Practice

First Steps in Investing

• Post-retirement curiosity; self-learning from books.
• Buffett’s “Buying a stock is buying a company” as pivotal insight.
• Operational background made some businesses easier to assess.

The “20 Punch Card” Concept

• Heavy investments count as “punches”; Duan has <10 so far.
• Examples:
• NetEase (gaming + undervaluation)
• Apple (industry insider’s view)
• Kweichow Moutai
• Tencent
• Short-lived positions in Yahoo (for Alibaba), GE

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Case Study — NetEase

• Gaming background offered operational insight.
• Valuation below net cash = confidence + timing.
• 20x return in 6 months from bold, concentrated investment.

Case Study — Apple

• Clear visibility (2011) of shift to software/platform margins.
• Strong user-oriented culture.
• Product decisions guided by real user value, not market hype.

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Corporate Culture & Product Choices

• Example: Apple’s delay in large-screen iPhones seen as a mistake.
• Cancellation of iTV and Apple Car: culture values meaningful differentiation.
• “Stop list” thinking: avoid ventures misaligned with strengths.

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General Electric Exit

• Lost cultural touchstone “integrity” on homepage.
• Business model complexity/misalignment led to sale.
• Switched capital to Apple — massive long-term upside.

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Copying Homework: Not Sustainable

• Unless holdings are transparent (e.g., Buffett), copycat investing risks poor timing.
• Index (S&P 500) often safer for those without deep understanding.

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3 — Technology & Innovation Investments

NVIDIA and AI

• Shifted from skepticism to admiration of strong ecosystem dominance.
• Jensen Huang’s consistency in vision shows long-term conviction.
• AI acceleration makes NVIDIA strategically interesting.

Innovation vs. Stability

• Tech industries demand adaptation.
• Prefer businesses where profit predictability aligns with opportunity costs.
• Google: now better understood but wary of AI disrupting search.

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Tesla & EV Industry View

• Respect for Musk’s achievements (SpaceX, Starlink).
• EVs: low differentiation; expect industry consolidation.
• Humanoid robots: potential but must be tied to real utility.
• Competitive nature of auto industry remains unchanged.

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4 — Long-Term Holdings: Berkshire Hathaway & S&P 500

• Berkshire’s culture and portfolio continuity expected to remain strong post-Buffett.
• For heirs/uninterested investors: S&P 500 or Berkshire as low-maintenance options.
• Value investing ≠ never selling; opportunity cost is key.

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Related Reading

• Jingwei Zhang Ying Internal Speech: 2024, Four Key Decisions
• Jingwei Xu Chuansheng: After So Many Years in VC, People Always Ask Me the Same Question
• Jingwei Zhang Ying: 2025, Four Important Judgements
• Jingwei Ventures Xu Chuansheng: The Next “China” Is Still China

Read the Original | Open in WeChat

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Editor’s Note — Platform Insight

In Duan Yongping’s reports, understanding emerges as the recurring theme for both leadership and investment. For modern creators and analysts, AiToEarn官网 embodies this philosophy in the digital economy:

• Open-source global AI content monetization
• Multi-platform simultaneous publishing: Douyin, Kwai, WeChat, Bilibili, Rednote, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest, X/Twitter
• Integrated tools: AI content generation, analytics, AI模型排名
• The platform streamlines workflows so you can focus on meaningful projects — echoing Duan’s emphasis on doing fewer but more impactful things.

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Would you like me to also produce a visual one-page summary of Duan's key business and investment lessons? That could make the content even more digestible for presentations or quick reference.