What Drives a Serial Tech Founder? Lessons from Meituan CEO Wang Xing’s Journey

Wang Xing, born in 1979 in Longyan, Fujian, graduated from Tsinghua University’s chemistry department and briefly pursued a Ph.D. in computer science at the University of Delaware before returning to China to start his first internet venture.

He founded Xiaonei.com (later Renren.com), Fanfou.com, and eventually Meituan.com, becoming the CEO of the combined Meituan‑Dianping platform, often referred to as “New Meituan.”

Early Ventures

After returning to Beijing in late 2003, Wang gathered a small team and, with modest family funding, launched a series of experimental projects, including a social networking site called “Duodouyou,” which imitated Facebook’s campus model.

In 2005, his team launched “Xiaonei” (later renamed Renren) by copying Facebook’s interface, quickly gaining nationwide popularity despite criticism for plagiarism.

Renren’s cash‑flow problems led to its sale in 2006 for under $2 million; the new owners merged it with 5Q and secured $430 million from SoftBank, eventually listing on the NYSE in 2011 with a market value exceeding $70 billion.

Fanfou and HaiNei

Inspired by Twitter, Wang launched Fanfou in May 2007 and simultaneously created HaiNei, a professional networking site. By 2009, Fanfou amassed nearly a million users and played a significant role in disseminating information during the Sichuan earthquake, though it later faced server bans and intense competition.

Meituan

Seeing the success of Groupon, Wang created a Chinese copy called Meituan, launching it on March 4 2010. Within two months, a “hundred‑deal war” erupted as hundreds of group‑buying sites entered the market.

Meituan later merged with LaShou and Dianping, forming a leading O2O platform. Wang emphasized high quality, low price, low cost, high efficiency, and low margin as core principles, and he recruited experienced operations talent to complement his technical strengths.

Key Traits of Wang Xing’s Entrepreneurial Style

Rapid replication of successful models (“copy with a purpose”).

Relentless trial‑and‑error and willingness to iterate.

Deep learning from failures, attributing setbacks to internal factors.

Focus on building trustworthy, capable teams and leveraging technology to achieve high efficiency at low cost.

These experiences illustrate how repeated failures, systematic learning, and a technology‑driven product mindset can create a sustainable competitive advantage in the fast‑changing internet industry.