2023: Raising a Glass to Vast Possibilities at the 5Y Capital Pub | Year in Review
New year, let's play together.
In early 2022, we launched 5Y Pub — an attempt to capture and record a different side of founders through a fresh lens. Over the past year, the series produced nine episodes, documenting moments with fifteen entrepreneurs and nine investors.
Measured against the richness and complexity of a founder's journey, what a single column can capture in a year is admittedly modest. But we can never predict the value of a moment captured, just as we can never truly predict how far an entrepreneur might go.
In 2022, we traveled between Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, drinking different kinds of alcohol (tea, occasionally, in part). We heard entrepreneurs discuss AI dialogue systems, world-building in the metaverse, and the imaginative possibilities of flying cars. We listened to three female entrepreneurs talk about their paths to building companies between bursts of laughter. We heard them share their confusions — how "every day, you're confronting your own ignorance" — and marveled at their unwavering effort and persistence.
That year, 5Y Pub also collaborated on an episode with Agora's podcast This Is Living, where several investors talked about how they entered the industry, their hobbies, and the pleasures of life.
Because of the pandemic, a few episodes happened online. We'd worried beforehand about the effect of a "cloud pub" — raising a glass through a screen lacks the vitality of face-to-face conversation. But during those sessions, hearing one entrepreneur remark that "the founders 5Y backs are all so interesting," or watching others make plans to meet after the pandemic, we realized something: 5Y Pub isn't constrained to these five characters. It isn't limited to a physical pub or a specific kind of drink, nor even to conversation itself. It provides a space — and that space can hold anything.
A year has passed, and with year-end comes reflection. We've organized the past year's content from 5Y Pub. Some pieces run long, or aren't the lightest read, but you'll see different facets of these founders. Language is impoverished compared to the complexity of the world, but we're all working at it, creating more possibilities. Perhaps something one of them said will resonate with you.
In 2023, come hang out.
1/ More Things Feel Real /
On the evening of April 19, 2022, several Shanghai-based entrepreneurs brought out "scarce supplies" from that unusual period — collected bottles of red wine, beer gifted by neighbors, and Coca-Cola, supposedly tradable for "anything" — and shared their atypical lives working from home.
"What truly makes you anxious is when the market is extremely hot and everyone feels certain they'll succeed. That arrogance and ignorance is far more dangerous. History has proven this again and again — the bleakest moments, when you have nothing, are often turning points, while false prosperity is what most deserves vigilance."
"I've always felt life is very short, so I work hard seriously every day. Whatever the state — good or bad — I try to make it better."
Optimism Is Written in Founders' DNA | 5Y Pub x Shanghai Entrepreneurs
2/ Wholehearted Commitment /
In this episode of 5Y Pub, Yao Xing, founder of XVERSE, and Cheng Yu, investment partner at 5Y Capital, talked a lot about the metaverse — but not only that. The conversation took place in Shenzhen's Nanshan Science and Technology Park, with the city lights visible through the window. Yao had worked in this area for over a decade, and his current company is based there too. For technical people, the obsession with technology never changes. But the mindset shift from "startup hobbyist" to actual founder is profound.
"If you look at things from a narrow angle and chase them frantically, you get huge bubbles. But bubbles also provide momentum. Many things go through cycles of bubble, settle, bubble again, and gradually something solid emerges. You have to look at the underlying logic and trends. Trends need technological push — that's a very long road — while bubbles often come from wanting quick results."
"Before starting a company, you worry about many things, like fundraising. But in the actual process, it's mostly fear — long periods of exploring alone in the dark. In a big company, there's no fear, only difficulties like leveling up in a game. You can overcome those with brute effort; it's just physical and mental exhaustion. In entrepreneurship, you face fear yourself. It's heart-exhausting, and when your heart is exhausted, you easily become muddled. It's torturous."
A Thousand Metaverses in a Thousand Minds | 5Y Pub x XVERSE's Yao Xing
3/ The Rules of Genius /
Before this episode, we'd heard various "labels" attached to Xingyuan — the archetypal AI scientist, the genius product manager. But Xingyuan mentioned his belief in a "fundamental law of genius": unwavering effort, a life without slack.
"I like doing research, and after making something, opening it up for everyone to use. Some software companies proposed acquiring us, but then it could only be used by that one piece of software. Commercially, that would definitely be correct, but from the perspective of human civilization, it's not altruistic enough."
*"I don't want to make a game that gets people addicted, where beyond dopamine secretion you don't gain much. Emotional companionship helps us understand ourselves better, have deeper emotional experiences, and also motivates us to do better in the real world. *Like films and novels — people only live one life, which is a pity, but movies and novels let us experience different lives. Now with AI technology, you can have more immersive experiences. It's also an extension of life, in an unprecedented form."
"Unwavering Effort, a Life Without Slack" | 5Y Pub x ColorfulClouds' Yuan Xingyuan
4/ Madness, Dreams, Imagination /
What does flight mean to humanity? In 1899, two young men who ran a bicycle repair shop — 32-year-old Wilbur Wright and 28-year-old Orville Wright — conducted over 1,000 glider tests between 1900 and 1902. In 1903, they built the first powered aircraft capable of carrying a person.
From 2016 to 2018, Zhao Deli also went through a long low point. His team was reduced to just himself and one engineer. But after more than 1,500 tests, in June 2018, his flying motorcycle successfully took flight.
In March 2022, we sat in Guangzhou listening to Zhao Deli tell his flying story. Compared to his earlier solitary courage, his company and team had now found clearer direction through systematic R&D and exploration — but you could still see that purest, most direct energy in him.
"Xpeng gave me a painting last time, paying tribute to the Wright brothers. He said, Deli, maybe there are one or two hundred people in China working on this, and I'm the only one he found who's still alive. That's how it is — in early testing, if you don't get on, no one will. Like the Wright brothers early on, there was no simulation then, people just flew, very likely to crash and die. But humans are truly great. In this kind of massive innovation, people have the guts to go all in."
Fly, Leave the Earth's Surface | 5Y Pub x Xpeng AeroHT's Zhao Deli
5/ They /
On a Saturday evening, three female entrepreneurs — Gongzhu of StartDT, Wan Min of BestSign, and Xiao Fangfang of UHOO-Lin — gathered at a pub on Shanghai's Yuyuan Road. Amid the bustle, the three broke into frequent laughter, discussing entrepreneurship and much beyond. Of course, what mattered wasn't the pub itself, but the energy sparking between them.
"You don't need to summon willpower for things you love. If you asked me to go running every morning, I probably couldn't last three days. But after eight years of entrepreneurship, I'm still thoroughly enjoying it."
"People need to detach from emotion to see problems clearly. I skip past all forms of expression to look at people's motivations. If the motivation is good, you can translate their way of expressing it. In our company, whenever something difficult comes up, they send me — they call it 'the tough jobs go to Fangfang.'"
"I started my company when my daughter was two; she's seven now. Entrepreneurship is pretty hard, and sometimes I hope my girl won't have to suffer so much in the future. One day I asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up. I was really hoping she'd say something artistic, athletic, or a university professor. But this kid said, 'I want to be a boss like Mommy.'"
Three Hours Drinking with Three Female Founders | 5Y Pub x Women's Day Special
6 / AI, Love /
The conversation took place at a small pub on Beijing's North Third Ring Road. It was already 10:30 p.m. Li Di, who had just wrapped another meeting, was still visibly excited talking about many of Xiaoice's design choices.
Before joining Microsoft, Li Di spent two years writing. We'd wondered how the identities of writer, product manager, and entrepreneur might intertwine in one person. Li Di said: if you want to express yourself, you can write, you can paint — and Xiaoice is a better medium of expression. Whether creators or entrepreneurs, what they obsess over is the joy of creation itself.
"You really can't treat it entirely as a robot. People used to say, if you're going to do something, treat it like raising pigs, not like raising a child — treating it like a child is problematic. But this kind of product can only be a child."
"I hope there will be AI beings, so people will never be lonely."
Humans Will Always Need More Sentient Beings | 5Y Pub x Xiaoice's Li Di
7 / The Power of Youth /
We constantly have discussions about young people — what twenty-somethings are chasing, craving, anxious about, caring about — and there are always predetermined words: exploration, curiosity, adventure, contradiction, seeking knowledge, confusion, breaking rules.
But youth cannot be defined. Every generation of young people has their own difficult path to walk. But don't underestimate any generation of young people.
"There's a place I want to go, and I haven't gotten there yet. I don't think I can just wait — wait ten years and it'll appear. Since I want it and no one's doing it, I'll do it myself. Doing it requires starting a company, so I started a company. Because the company needs to grow, it needs funding, so I raised funding. The success rate of entrepreneurship is indeed very low, and I've discussed this with team members — there's nothing to worry about, the worst case is we meet again at the next company."
"When you enjoy the process, you don't actually care about concepts — optimism or pessimism — because it's all process. I'd rather be optimistically wrong than pessimistically right."
Youth Can't Be Drunk Under | 5Y Pub x Youth Day Special
8 / The Next Stop Is Always Unknown /
Why name yourself Star-Lord? The founder of Zilliz answered this first: "Other Marvel heroes have a home planet, but Star-Lord and his Guardians of the Galaxy make exploring the vast universe their mission. After completing one task, the next destination is always the endless cosmos."
This mirrors his own experience. When building vector databases — an entirely new category — there was no precedent to follow, and the team itself was full of doubts. But uncertainty itself is also his source of motivation.
"You have to break existing cognition to reach higher dimensions. Existing cognition, past successes and honors — these can all become stumbling blocks to your next phase."
"Maintaining curiosity about the world is actually very difficult. Many great figures in human history may have fallen into mental stagnation and rigidity in their later years. I want to make this a lifelong requirement for myself."
Entrepreneurship Means Confronting Your Own Ignorance Every Day | 5Y Pub x Zilliz's Star-Lord
9 / Investing, People /
This episode was a special collaboration between 5Y Pub and Agora's podcast This Is Living, where three investors talked about how they stumbled into the industry, moments when founders stunned them, deals born from walking-and-talking, and life beyond investing.
"My vague impression of VC had a few tags. First, they all looked very handsome — the two people from the venture firm who came to our campus recruitment were both in suits. Second, they had very impressive degrees, one from Harvard and one from Stanford, it seemed.
But when I joined 5Y Capital [then Chenxing Capital], no one managed me. After onboarding, they gave me an IBM computer. I thought, I used a Mac at my previous job, why an IBM? Then I heard it was for making PPTs. I thought, oh, okay — the gap in my heart was quite large."
"I sometimes joke that talking to investors is a lot like dating — it's not that you're not good, just not the right fit. So my particular advice to founders is: be real. You are who you are. By showing yourself, you find the person most on your wavelength."
Investing, People, Life | 5Y Pub x This Is Living
Finally, thank you to all the entrepreneurs, investors, readers, and partners who supported 5Y Pub over the past year.
In the new year, come hang out.
Interactive Gift-Giving :)
In the new year, what would you like to see in 5Y Pub? Feel free to share your suggestions and ideas in the comments. We'll select three commenters to receive a "5Y New Year Book Blind Box + 5Y Coffee Mug" gift set.
Note: The deadline for this activity is 18:00 on February 29, 2023. Please reply with your shipping information within 24 hours of receiving notification.
5Y Capital seeks out, supports, and inspires solitary entrepreneurs, providing support from the spiritual to all operational aspects of running a business. We believe that if the you whom others see as crazy begins to be believed in, the world will become a different place.
BEIJING · SHANGHAI · SHENZHEN · HONG KONG
