From CEO to Street Flyer: Lessons from a Tech Leader’s Rise and Fall

In the fiercely competitive internet industry, many seize fleeting opportunities while many more fail. This reflective article by Chen Xiaofeng, CEO of Jiapa.com, looks back on his career, the talented engineers he once led at Baidu, and the missed chances that followed.

Personal Downfall

At 35, pressured by his boss and handing out flyers at Fuchengmen subway station, he wonders how his life fell to this low point.

After graduating from Tsinghua, he served as a senior manager at Baidu, led the Windmill travel project at Renren, and worked on 360 Search. His former subordinates have become senior leaders in major internet companies, contributing to a cumulative valuation of over $10 billion, yet he found himself distributing flyers on the street.

Former Protégés

DiDi CTO Zhang Bo : Recruited by Chen to Baidu, highly skilled and enthusiastic. Chen gave him a perfect interview score. After Baidu Japan dissolved, Zhang left Baidu, later joining DiDi and helping it reach a $4 billion valuation while Chen was handing out flyers.

CTO Ao Lu ("Road Brother") : Discovered by Chen during a Baidu hiring spree. A PHP and Dota expert, he built Baidu Japanese Library in a month without bugs and later led a Dota team to victory. He co‑founded Xueba Jun, secured a $5 million A‑round, while Chen returned to coding in a three‑person micro‑photo team.

PECL Developer Hui Xincheng : One of the pioneers of PHP at Baidu, Chen recruited him to form the Baidu PHP Committee. Later, Hui became the technical VP at Lianjia.

Meituan Architect Liu Pengcheng : Chen’s former high‑level engineer at Baidu, later promoted to T9 and became an architect at Meituan after Chen’s advice and mentorship.

Baibu Thailand Division GM Chen Guohao : Met Chen in Baidu Japan, struggled with entrepreneurship, eventually rose to become GM of Baidu’s Thailand division.

Reflections

Why did I end up handing out flyers? The author, a successful manager of over 200 employees, many of whom became CTOs, architects, CEOs, and high‑earning professionals, questions his own downfall.

Lesson 1: Entrepreneurs should avoid buying a house in Beijing early. Heavy mortgage pressure forced him to change jobs frequently and miss investment opportunities.

Lesson 2: Seize opportunities when they appear. He missed a chance to lead PeaPod because he felt unprepared, later regretting the lost potential.

Lesson 3: Not everyone is suited for entrepreneurship. Some, like Hui Xincheng, excel in deep technical work within large tech firms rather than founding startups.

He advises tech professionals to consider whether they can tolerate the consequences of failure before jumping into entrepreneurship.

Conclusion

In 2014, Chen joined a wedding‑photography platform as CTO, built a strong tech team, paid off a 3 million RMB mortgage within a year, and later secured Pre‑A financing for Jiapa, which became the largest online wedding‑photography platform.

He reflects that buying a house caused missed opportunities but also taught him to stay true to his dreams without being blinded by money.

He dedicates this article to all pre‑85 entrepreneurs.