Good Teeth × Wei Qinghua | Always thinking about users

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Live streaming is just like your life.

No replays, no repetitions.

This episode's guest: Wei Qinghua, Founder & CEO of Jizhou Education

• Graduated from the Department of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, and obtained a Master of Pharmacy degree from Aston University in the UK and an MBA degree from Tsinghua University. Before 2015, worked at Reed Sinopharm Exhibitions, collaborating with the Chinese Stomatological Association and responsible for the operation of the association's annual meeting project.

In 2016, Lao Wei founded Jizhou Education, which focuses on oral medicine education. Through live education, online courses, product evaluation and community, it has accumulated 500,000 dental users.

This interview stems from an experimental live stream event held on the evening of May 7th at Jizhou Education. Due to audio issues, several segments were muted. Many friends left messages hoping we could technically "save" the original video. Unfortunately, we were ultimately unable to recover the missing chat segments and the audio track problems. However, we have extracted the main points from that evening and are sharing them with you.

below:

Yueyue: It was past 2 a.m. last night, and you still messaged me saying you were both excited and nervous, as if it was your first time doing a live stream. That's unusual. You've been hosting Jizhou's live stream classes for a long time. How many live streams have you done so far?

Lao Wei: We've done over 300 sessions, and I was involved in the vast majority of them. But we've never done this kind of format (live interview) before. Live broadcasts used to be more like chatting with people.

Moreover, it was you conducting the interview, and your questions were very insightful. During our casual conversations, we had quite in-depth exchanges, and you often led me to some rather fundamental questions. To be honest, I was still a little nervous.

Yueyue: Is it anxiety or vigilance?

Lao Wei: We're not wary, we've always been quite open. The appeal of live streaming is that it's real, unedited content. I've always preferred live streaming to pre-recorded content.

With a pre-recorded video, if I don't say something well, I have to "cut" and start over. But live streaming is different. Live streaming is like your life; there are no replays, no repetitions—if you don't do something well, you just turn it over and redo it; the same goes for live streaming. If you don't say something well, you just turn it over and say it again.

Yueyue: Last year, the number of users of the Jizhou live course increased by 130,000, and the cumulative number over the past 5 years has reached more than 500,000.

Looking at the numbers alone, it's safe to say that Jizhou is likely the leading education platform in the industry. In a sense, Jizhou is a builder, witness, and innovator of this industry. With such impressive growth, do you think Jizhou has become complacent this year?

Lao Wei: Hahaha, I don't think that's possible. Actually, you can imagine that when your user base grows, it doesn't become bloated in a sense.

Our user base and data have expanded, but so have our needs, making us seem even smaller. Only by growing as well can we keep pace with our users' growth.

I remember Zheng Min once said something like, "Always walk on thin ice, always be cautious." That's exactly how we are.

Yueyue: In this process, what do you think is the overall growth of Jizhou?

Lao Wei: Overall growth, do you think our growth is fast or slow? Because you study a lot of companies, what's your opinion?

Yueyue: From a media perspective, I'll talk about the mention rate. The biggest difference between this year and last year is that the number of times Jizhou was mentioned by upstream and downstream companies has increased several times.

Lao Wei: Actually, we feel this ourselves. Our user growth is very fast, and the growth rate of live streaming is also very fast. Last year, we did about 100 live streams, which is equivalent to the total of the previous few years. I think that if we do this in 2021, it will still be the same as the total of the previous years.

The data from the outside shows rapid growth, but from our internal perspective, the company's growth is not as fast as everyone imagines. We ourselves feel that (the company's growth) has not reached our expected pace, but fortunately, we are also quite accepting of this.

Why? I would say that the growth of a company or organization is like that of a child; it has its own natural developmental pattern, and you can't force it to grow faster. What we can do is simplify, focus more on the needs of our users, and serve them well.

There will be a core user base here. We may have some shortcomings, but they won't affect our main user base, so things should be okay. We need to allow the company to grow. Of course, we'll see many new things along the way.

Yueyue: Is this your understanding of "growth" as a CEO? Do you usually discuss these kinds of questions with your employees? How is your employees' individual growth?

Lao Wei: We pay special attention to individual growth; in a sense, we are most concerned about individual growth.

I often say that I hope all my colleagues are exceptionally talented. If all of Jizhou's colleagues are exceptionally talented, then it must be an exceptionally talented company. I'm not saying Wei Qinghua is particularly amazing—in fact, I'm not that amazing myself.

However, I believe that if everyone in a company is highly capable, then the company itself will be highly capable. Conversely, if the company's overall level is low, and each colleague's level is low, then what we present will also be low.

The company comprises all its employees and partners—the sum of all the resources we can mobilize. The same principle applies to clinics: the coordination of the entire medical technology and team, as well as the diverse resources the clinic can integrate.

Yueyue: So, all things considered, do you think 2020 was the year with the fastest change or growth since the establishment of Jizhou?

Lao Wei: From a growth perspective, I think it's pretty much the same—but I've changed a lot this year. My previous management style was more laid-back, without any performance appraisals; I hoped everyone would be self-motivated. That was how it was in the past, and it hasn't really changed now, but I'll give everyone more support. For example, when I communicate with colleagues, I now give more direct advice because I think it's more efficient and helps everyone grow.

Yueyue: Does this refer to a change in your personal management style? Can it be understood as a shift from "dove" to "hawk"?

Old Wei: My management style is definitely changing, and I'm improving myself. But whether I'm a "hawk" or not, I think... maybe not yet.

Yueyue: I can tell from your eyes that this year is very different from last year.

We met at the beginning of last year, and we've had several in-depth conversations this year, whether at family gatherings or on business matters. I can sense that you've become more goal-oriented about certain things. It's a completely different feeling from the slight "gentleness" in your eyes last year. Have your colleagues noticed this change?

Lao Wei: From my own perspective, I've actually become more confident this past year—not that I lacked confidence before, but rather that I'm more confident now. Because of the good user data and positive feedback from various sources, we've truly established a connection with our users.

So when you watch one of our live streams or a course, the question we talk about most is: why do users watch this live stream, and what help does it provide for them? We always look at it from this perspective.

Yueyue: Look, today's live stream title ("I've always been thinking, what will users get?") I think it's a typical Lao Wei-style live stream title. If it were me, I probably wouldn't use such a title. You must have brought this up with me at least twenty or thirty times this year. Why do you keep bringing it up?

Lao Wei: It's very simple. I believe the sole purpose of a company's existence is to create users and meet their needs; otherwise, the company would have no reason to exist. From the perspective of serving users, we will definitely always adhere to this principle. In a sense, Jizhou is created by users.

Let me tell you a true story: We started doing clinical research (CR) in 2016, initially following the American model. We worked on it for over a year, and the company was almost bankrupt. Just then, a user told us, "Stop making single-page spreadsheets; make bound volumes. We can put them on our bookshelves or lend them to other doctors; they won't get lost. For example, I read a great article, but then I can't find it online."

So we started making bound volumes, and from that time on, our financial situation improved as users recognized the value of the bound volume product.

We only started doing live streaming after that, which was actually quite accidental. Initially, it was to promote CR (Corporate Relationship Management), but we discovered there was huge user demand. So, if users liked it, we decided to continue. Next, we started a membership program... and then the company's financial situation improved further.

Therefore, I believe that Jizhou is essentially a user-centric company. Without user support, Jizhou wouldn't be where it is today. We are the beneficiaries, so we pay special attention to user needs.

Yueyue: But from what I know of you, you studied abroad at a young age and later took an important role in a large state-owned enterprise. You have a very good personality and abilities... With this background, we once talked about your "elite perspective," and you yourself admitted that you have some of it. Now, is there a contradiction between "elite perspective" and "serving users"?

Lao Wei: That's a relatively new perspective; I haven't thought about this issue much yet.

Let me put it this way: firstly, I don't consider myself an elite, because I'm far from it. To be honest, and I'm not being modest, it's true.

Let's look at what we understand as "elite". For example, in ancient China, if I remember correctly, during the Qin Dynasty, only those with sufficient ability could join the army, fight, and establish military merit.

Therefore, an elite must shoulder social responsibility. In today's society, what kind of person can become an elite? It is someone who can serve society: placed in a certain position, they can use their experience and the resources they can organize, including their thinking, to serve—that is what makes an elite.

I believe that "elites" are the direction we should strive for, but we are probably still in the process of achieving that. Therefore, I think that an "elite perspective" and "user service" should actually be integrated; they shouldn't be separate entities.

Yueyue: You've been providing user services for five years now. Have your users changed during this process?

Old Wei: Absolutely. Let me give you a simple example. Think back to when we were little: what did our parents care about? Back then, it was said, "Master math, physics, and chemistry, and you'll be able to go anywhere in the world without fear," right?

So let's look at what parents care about these days. It's not just about doing well in school, but also learning piano and sports. The demands for education itself are constantly changing. The dental education industry is also changing very rapidly, and we in the education field are very sensitive to this. For example, when we first started doing this, people were more concerned with resin and restorations. But in the last two years, what are people focusing on? Implants and orthodontics.

From my understanding, including Taiwan, after the planting craze in the United States and Japan, there may be a future trend of focusing on things like fixed restoration.

Yueyue: Let me interrupt here. What do you think is the core driving force behind this development trend or change?

Lao Wei: The driving force behind the changes is actually the changes in society, which is also the changes in the market.

Yueyue: When you say "market changes," can you understand it as a mutual interaction between consumer perception and dentist perception?

Lao Wei: I think it's interactive, but it probably stems more from consumption. Just like how I serve doctors, every doctor is actually serving patients; you have to look at it from that perspective.

We often chat with our teachers, and they've discussed this issue: for example, a patient's opinion on what constitutes good teeth may differ from the doctor's opinion.

For example, with facial veneers, the patient's perception of beauty may differ from the doctor's. So, should the doctor's opinion prevail, or should the patient's opinion? That depends on the specific situation, right?

When making a treatment plan, if the patient is a celebrity, they might want to quickly get a beautiful set of teeth, and they might believe that Hollywood white is the epitome of beauty. However, in everyday life, people might think that this kind of "beauty" is a bit excessive. But celebrities look beautiful on camera, don't they?

Therefore, I believe that doctors must pay more attention to the market, to the needs of users, and to the specific scenarios.

Yueyue: You mentioned before that you started trying to provide users with new courses and new knowledge structures a few years ago. Did you mean "taking users to see the market"? How did it go back then?

Lao Wei: Actually, we started trying this in 2018, but it wasn't as popular as we imagined at the time, but we always thought it was extremely important.

First, because every doctor needs it, or every clinic needs it; second, we found that many doctors were still quite focused on technical issues.

I'm not wrong in saying this, it's just that everyone was at a different stage at the time, because they didn't need it then. But we still hope to plant a seed in everyone's mind, so that everyone knows this is important, and that when they need it, they know where to find it.

Yueyue: Was the situation at the time a failure of Jizhou's attempt in some sense?

Lao Wei: I don't think it's a failure. In fact, this matter itself is still in the process of development.

What many people may not know is that we try nearly ten things every year. In the past five years, we've tried more than 30 things. Does that mean none of our past attempts were successful? Actually, live-streaming courses was one of our attempts, as was compiling bound volumes... So we can only find what resonates with users by constantly innovating and trying new things—because we have to keep testing.

There's another angle to this. For example, which movie becomes a hit? Take "Hi, Mom," for instance. Nobody knew it would be so popular. There are many movies that have the best directors, screenwriters, and actors, but they still don't become hits... So I think it's related to many other factors, such as timing.

Yueyue: So when we started talking about the "Good Teeth Mind Palace" project last year, did you have a momentary feeling or perception at the time: Is this the right time?

Old Wei: As for the "timing" thing... let's go back to education first. Jizhou is actually called continuing education.

What is continuing education? It is relative to formal education. For example, whether you study for a junior college degree, undergraduate degree, postgraduate degree, or doctoral degree, it is all part of formal education; after you enter clinical practice, you leave formal education, and this part is all part of continuing education.

What are the characteristics of continuing education?

First, it must be practical and able to help people solve clinical problems;

Secondly, we must teach everyone;

Third, we need to broaden everyone's horizons and help them make better decisions.

In my opinion, the "Mind Palace" project is more like a general education program. It provides people with comprehensive qualities related to the industry and also aims to broaden their horizons and open up more possibilities.

Therefore, we have always focused on education itself, at what stage and in what form.

Yueyue: But the [Mind Palace] project may also be a long-term process. These courses, unlike technical ones, are about thinking and perspective, and they can't be learned immediately. This raises a significant contradiction, which seems to contradict what you just mentioned about "you being more efficiency-conscious this year"?

Lao Wei: Actually, I don't think it's contradictory.

Jizhou's courses are a necessity; what about the "Mind Palace"? It's a necessity for some people, for example, Han Liang's management courses. Some users say they don't understand them, but we've also found a group of users who highly value them. So we need to find those right users.

But for example, if I talk about resin extraction techniques or tooth extraction techniques, it might be helpful to all doctors. Some doctors want to be doctors for life and don't want to be involved in management. But what I want to say is, "If you have management skills, it will definitely be better."

Ouyang Yuxian, instructor of the Mind Palace Legal Course, and Wei Qinghua, CEO of Jizhou Education

Yueyue: From your perspective, should both "Mind Palace" and "Jizhou Education" be categorized as paid knowledge services in terms of their business models?

Lao Wei: We thought about this issue quite early, probably around 2017 or 2018, when "knowledge payment" was quite popular.

Later, we came to this understanding: we believe we don't belong to the category of paid knowledge services, but rather to the category of education. To be more specific, we belong to the category of online education.

Our understanding of paid knowledge services is actually a delivery process, just like buying anything, except that what you're delivering is knowledge. However, education is different from paid knowledge services. Paid knowledge services are completed once the delivery is finished, with no follow-up. Education aims to teach users, and teaching itself is definitely not a one-time event.

Therefore, we have a curriculum system design and also provide follow-up services, such as training camps and teacher Q&A sessions. These are all done with a lot of services, which actually adds a lot of costs for us compared to pure knowledge payment.

Yueyue: If we look at it from the perspective of education, what do you think the ultimate outcome will be for online dental education? Where might its ceiling be?

Lao Wei: To be honest, we're also hitting a ceiling. At the end of 2019, we had 350,000 cumulative users, an increase of 90,000 that year. That year, we also wondered if 350,000 was the limit.

As a result, in 2020, possibly due to the impact of the pandemic, (user numbers) still increased. I believe that this year's figures, based on the current trend, will not be lower than last year's.

So where exactly is its ceiling? In terms of user numbers, I think it still needs some time to explore. "Are there that many doctors in China?" many people ask. Actually, this includes many groups, including students, assistants, nurses, technicians...

As for the ultimate fate of Jizhou, in my mind, "Jizhou's ultimate fate will definitely be found in the field of education."

Perhaps in the future, we hope that Jizhou will become an institution similar to a school or academy, because the ultimate goal of any educational institution is to become a school. I believe that Jizhou's future lies in transforming from a company into a non-profit organization.

Yueyue: The schools and non-profit organizations you just mentioned might actually be somewhat "de-corporatized" in nature, leaning more towards social organizations. Let me confirm: Is this really the kind of situation you want?

Lao Wei: In my mind, there is no essential difference between these two types of organizations (companies and NGOs); they are both units of society.

For example, some people might cite work-life balance as an example. I believe that work is a part of life, an essential part, and one that I enjoy very much. I actually derive tremendous satisfaction and joy from my work.

Different stages of life require different focuses. Once you've thought it through and made your choice, just go for it.

#Extra:

Old Wei jokingly describes himself as an "old cadre" in the industry back then. Five years after Jizhou's founding, Old Wei now seems to have "rejuvenated." So what exactly is "entrepreneurship"? It's completely different from "business"; it's not a transaction. Often, in the entrepreneurial process, you don't even know which path you're testing the waters on.

Therefore, entrepreneurship itself is about constantly exploring one's own boundaries and ways of understanding the world—what we call a "self-selected" lifestyle. Five years later, Lao Wei remains as composed as an "old cadre," but beyond this composure, a glint of curiosity occasionally shines through his graying hair. Did he have this curiosity before? I believe he did, but now, with five years of entrepreneurial experience, Lao Wei has gained more confidence.

With confidence comes renewed courage.

The text version has been slightly adjusted based on the content before and after the chat.

The edited version of the video has been uploaded, but the audio track in the first half has obvious problems.

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