There Are No Successful Companies, Only Companies of Their Time

Originally published 2022-04-15Compiled by Robin (quotations attributed as stated in the post; original wording and sources not yet confirmed)

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Collected in Robin Shen’s Field Notes · Content type and attribution are shown above

English translation of the Chinese post originally published 2022-04-15. Translated 2026-10-30 with AI assistance. Historical figures and claims have not been updated or independently verified. 中文原文

Reading guide

Robin suggests reading this alongside the fifteenth post in the series on Lei Jun’s approach to entrepreneurship, “Go Big Market.” He quotes two remarks: Haier’s Zhang Ruimin says, “There are no successful companies, only companies of their time”; RT-Mart’s Huang Ming-Tuan says, “We defeated every competitor, but lost to the times.” The post contains only these two quotations, without further explanation.

Key points

“There are no successful companies, only companies of their time” (Zhang Ruimin, as attributed in the post).
“We defeated every competitor, but lost to the times” (Huang Ming-Tuan, as attributed in the post).
Read alongside the post on large markets in the series on Lei Jun’s approach to entrepreneurship.

One clear path continues into the distance among several branching routes, suggesting choice and focus. — Entrepreneurship & strategyThematic illustration · AI generated

Full text — English translation

You can read this alongside post 15, “GO Big Market,” in the series on Lei Jun’s approach to entrepreneurship. Go back and find post 15 XD Haier’s Zhang Ruimin: “There are no successful companies, only companies of their time.” RT-Mart’s Huang Ming-Tuan: “We defeated every competitor, but lost to the times.”

These articles are personal notes, book excerpts, and collected reprints. Figures and events reflect the time of the original publication, are not current information, and do not constitute investment advice.

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