Second Entrepreneurial Failure: The Lack of Core Leadership
In 2005, Zhuge Feng kept his shares in his previous computer company and traveled alone to Xiamen to seek new opportunities. At that time, the vocational training industry was on the rise, and the 24-year-old Zhuge Feng worked as a salesperson in a training school, earning a monthly salary of 1,500 yuan.
The vast market potential excited Zhuge Feng and two other young salespeople, and the chaotic management style of their boss further fueled their entrepreneurial ambitions. Right as news arrived from Zhangpu County that the other two shareholders were withdrawing their capital, Zhuge Feng decided to try one more time.
The second venture left Zhuge Feng feeling very excited. He believed the most valuable aspect was the complementary skills among the three team members: "One female colleague is a natural sales talent with an indomitable spirit; one male colleague is highly organized, handling everything meticulously and even acting as a trainer; I have some management experience, focusing on preliminary analysis and negotiation for client acquisition." Zhuge Feng concluded that the primary reason for failure when partnering with friends is the lack of complementary skills.
However, the training school they founded lasted only ten months in the market, closing down after completing only two deals. "A team lacking a core leader and experiencing excessive internal disputes are fatal issues in entrepreneurship," Zhuge Feng reflected. He believes that small and medium-sized enterprises in their early stages must have a strong leader; otherwise, even with complementary skills, significant time and resources will be wasted due to internal friction.
The core competitiveness of the training market lies in the ability to integrate resources, yet Zhuge Feng's team failed to effectively integrate instructors and tap into client needs. Compared to their previous training school, the instructor quality was mediocre, and they failed to secure interested clients, ultimately resulting in failure. What Zhuge Feng found regrettable was that although the three members showed significant complementarity compared to the first venture, they still could not survive the difficult transition period.
