Boundaries are often pushed in extreme environments | 5Y Adventure x Wilderness Survival
Facing fear head-on, entrepreneurs are far more resilient and formidable than we imagine.
5Y Adventure is a special initiative 5Y Capital designed and launched this year. We will embark on an adventure with founders, pushing boundaries in unknown and extreme environments.
The first edition was initiated by 5Y Capital partner Zhang Fei, with nine founders joining — Yongshuang Liu of Chaocanshu, Junlin Yu of Jinri Watermark Camera, Hua Su of Kuaishou, Luyu Yang of Musical.ly, Min Wan of Shangshangqian, Bin Zhao of Agora, Zixiong Luo of Sisu Tech, Fangfang Xiao of Uvichain, and Qianfei Liu of Zhuben. Together they ventured deep into an uninhabited island, taking on an extreme challenge of body and spirit.
Why would founders go survival camping on a deserted island?
Facing food scarcity, fierce winds and scorching sun, swarms of mosquitoes. No attentive service, no meticulously planned itinerary, not even tents — sleeping in the open and braving the elements. What could this possibly mean for them?
The original intention behind 5Y Adventure is our belief that without truly reaching your physical and mental limits, you'll never know what you might discover — things you never found despite staring in the mirror all day or debating for hours in conference rooms.
Boundaries are expanded in extreme environments. What we think we're pushing are physical limits, but the impact runs far deeper.
Before the trip, we had worried — founders are so busy, do they even have time to exercise? Having lived in cities for so long, could they really accept a "savage" lifestyle? In reality, these nine founders proved far stronger in both stamina and willpower than we imagined.
There is no good timing, no good weather, and no need for perfect preparation. If survival has a secret, it may simply be some of the most fundamental, unadorned human qualities — though they're not always obvious in city life: physical and mental strength; trust in your team, leadership; reverence for nature; and the resolve to always take one more step.
This is what we took away from this journey, and what we witnessed in each of these founders.
Pain is unavoidable, but hardship is a choice.
A journey woven together with despair and surprise, frustration and warmth. Though the process was utterly grueling, I believe I'll still remember it for a long time to come. — Yongshuang Liu, Chaocanshu
Founders are more resilient and powerful than we imagined.
The journey began with an endless scramble over reefs. Fisher (Zhang Fei), the initiator of 5Y Adventure, wrote his notes from day one:
"Fear began with leaping into the churning sea. After that came nearly six or seven hours of reef climbing, covered in cuts and bruises, physical strength completely drained, finally reaching the destination beach before dark. Digging a well for fresh water, starting a fire, scavenging the beach for food. The women caught some sand crabs. I failed at that and could only grill a dead pomfret someone else found (body stiff, not rotting). That evening the fish was shared among everyone (actually tasted quite good).
Just as I fell asleep, a downpour suddenly struck, drenching everyone completely. Cold rain mixed with strong wind. In the chaos we quickly threw on plastic rain ponchos. The instructor urgently delivered a tarp, and in the wind and rain everyone rapidly set up a half-meter-high shelter. More than ten of us squeezed in, lying shoulder to shoulder beneath the wind-leaking tarp. I was so cold I reignited the dying fire and sat quietly warming myself. The full moon had long vanished, dark clouds with sparse stars above, wind howling, not knowing when dawn would come. Sitting alone by the fire, gazing at the sea, beside me were my friends I'd dragged along, shivering as they slept under the tarp. Thinking of life's ups and downs, for a moment my emotions were indescribably complex, and in the next moment became extraordinarily calm. I didn't sleep a wink that first night."
— Zhang Fei, 5Y Capital Partner
The sudden midnight downpour threw everyone into momentary panic. Hearing "it's raining," almost everyone's first reaction was to pull their sleeping bag over their head (though the fleece bags weren't waterproof, and there was nowhere to shelter on the open beach). But the rain grew heavier and heavier, cold water pouring down their bodies — already beyond what the organizing team had expected, "they're really doing this for real."
However, several founders said after the trip that their emotional high point came during the storm (perhaps entrepreneurship does require a certain "masochistic" trait:)
I think deserted island survival should have no tent, no sleeping bag. In the middle of the first night, someone started saying it was raining. I thought, fantastic, it's finally here, we've entered the deserted island phase.
— Luyu Yang, Musical.ly
My emotional high point was during the rain on the first day. I thought, bring it on, I'm ready. Didn't expect the rain to come down quite so hard, with the tarp leaking wind and rain from all sides. Didn't sleep much that night.
— Zixiong Luo, Sisu Tech
I probably prefer more dramatic environments. Like the sudden rain on the first night, everyone was a bit anxious, but I felt very happy — finally raining. On the last day I kept waiting for rain too, wanting to see if my shelter could withstand it. Only heard wind picking up, never got the rain.
— Fangfang Xiao, Uvichain
Rediscovering your own physical strength, confronting flaws and fears — like necessary homework for the brave. And all these founders proved far stronger in both fitness and willpower than we had imagined.
"This time I directly faced my childhood trauma of being terrified of toads, and the focus-training of four days without a phone. Impromptu jumping into the sea to swim, sleeping in a tree hammock, learning to fish, pick wood ear mushrooms, filter water on the beach... very rewarding for wilderness survival and self-challenge.
Most unforgettable was the second day. The previous night I'd been rained on, hadn't eaten in a long time, probably a bit hypoglycemic too, and there was no food. Fisher was actively fishing, told me to carry this net and swim ahead to the reeds. I gritted my teeth and said okay, swam forward for a long time. But it was ultimately very rewarding."
— Junlin Yu, Jinri Watermark Camera
I agonized for a long time before joining because I'm really not good at outdoor sports, worried I'd hold the team back. The moment I got hurt, it hurt and I was scared, thought I might have fractured something. Actually I came here wanting to face my inner fears directly, to draw more strength.
— Min Wan, Shangshangqian
The first kilometer, I thought the instructor was making it sound dramatic, but the path was actually better than the mountain roads back home. The latter half, the trail grew steeper, more and more places requiring jumps and climbs. Started a bit excited, but couldn't keep up physically. At first my calves were trembling, out of strength, then my thighs started trembling too.
By the time I reached the beach I was exhausted and sleepy, lay down on the ground and fell asleep. Half-asleep, it was very comfortable, the sand was warm. Hadn't gone a whole day without my phone in so long, lying under the moon beside the fire. My mental strength was ample, only my physical strength was struggling — seized every chance to lie down and sleep on the ground, recover what I could, the earth was my power bank.
— Hua Su, Kuaishou
Reaching the new camp on the second evening, the sun had just set, the sunset was especially beautiful. Thinking that tonight I wouldn't get rained on, felt very secure, especially delighted.
— Yongshuang Liu, Chaocanshu
The new camp that delighted Kakar
All observations and insights will enrich and internalize as part of one's character.
Fisher (Zhang Fei) said this island trip "exposed his flaws and weaknesses completely." This was an "unexpected delight," yet also somehow expected — the so-called boundaries each participant had were precisely what expanded in extreme environments.
Physical breakthroughs connect to psychology. The process of rediscovering physical strength is also reshaping certain parts of the spirit. Muscles are like animals with excellent memory — as load gradually increases, they naturally adapt and endure. Human psychology and spirit work the same way.
In extreme environments, we also realized that we still possess that power within us — the ability to actively confront risk, and overcome it.
I just wanted to know, when is it really not going to work anymore. When your physical ability fails, the situation you face is that after you step down it could be very dangerous, but then adrenaline kicks in and you feel like you can do it. I wanted to know where exactly that limit point between rationality and emotion lies.
— Zixiong Luo, Sisu Tech
Later my legs kept shaking, but I gradually entered a state of dialogue with myself. I had to make the jump, don't do small quick steps, I too would stride with big steps like the two guys ahead. After that it was like discovering a new continent — I found I was actually a bit stronger than I imagined, could also step very steadily. This feeling is quite addictive, and similar to the process of solving certain problems during entrepreneurship.
— Qianfei Liu, Zhuben
Survival challenges have many parallels for individuals and for companies.
There was one place where I nearly slipped, between two rocks. I thought about the relationship between recklessness, boldness, and courage. Perhaps courage and recklessness both relate to boldness. Courage is more about having confidence; recklessness is gambling without confidence.
— Bin Zhao, Agora
For every step you take, the most important thing is being aware of whether this is an adventure. When physical ability reaches its limit, whether this step is an adventure — you need clear assessment.
— Luyu Yang, Musical.ly
A person's mental state and behavior don't actually depend entirely on existing physical strength and current circumstances. To a large extent they depend on expectations of the future. So how to give yourself a good mental massage is actually quite important.
— Fangfang Xiao, Uvichain
Built on trust, deepened through默契
In a natural environment, we can face ourselves without reservation, and the distance between people grows closer. As Min Wan mentioned during the trip, "it's like returning to childhood."
Returning to one's purest self, it's easier to discover many things obscured by city life — your own and others' traits, and the默契 between you.
Teammates climbing with all their might showed me strength of will amid hardship; teammates who could sleep peacefully without getting up even in the night rain showed me the composure to stay calm in the face of great events; teammates who kept helping everyone set up tarps and grill fish showed me responsibility and accountability. Also, the fish everyone caught and the sweet potatoes grilled tasted especially good.
— Min Wan, Shangshangqian
Louis (Luyu Yang) is very dependable. Unless he was busy at that moment, no matter what new situation arose, he would be the first to respond and step forward, pulling us together to do it. Often when everyone was hungry or already quite exhausted, maybe wanting to step forward but physically unable, seeing Louis stand up and say let's do this would easily inspire you too.
— Yongshuang Liu, Chaocanshu
Karka (Yongshuang Liu) is especially reliable. Whenever you need anything, Karka steps up without a word.
— Luyu Yang, Musical.ly
At first I thought Huage was the zen type, but later discovered his energy is remarkably stable, outputting bit by bit — finding wood ear mushrooms, leading at the front, and when grilling sweet potatoes. He could maintain this balance between average and high level the whole time, which really surprised me.
— Junlin Yu, Jinri Watermark Camera
Only by facing fear can you be fearless
In the final day's interview video, Qianfei shared many of her reflections:
"These years of entrepreneurship I've been wound incredibly tight, almost all my time constantly working. This deserted island survival trip made me realize many things. People need a sense of rhythm. There may be some 'useless usefulness' — seemingly purposeless, you don't know what you're spending time and physical energy for, but truly throwing yourself in, you'll have your own gains.
Perhaps work, life are like this, entrepreneurship too — finding paths through pathless jungle, hacking through brambles. We always think following in others' footsteps is safe, but actually it's not, just like walking in mountain forests and getting hit by branches from those ahead. Being the pathfinder is actually the safest. Turns out you too can create wind, create momentum, create paths — turns out this path can be walked out.
I'll also remember every step I truly took with sweat, overcoming fear and anxiety, releasing my bolder self. My limits are far higher than I imagined. I also wonder if I have more potential, if I can be even stronger. The strength I pursue isn't stronger, isn't bigger, isn't richer — it's freedom. When you become stronger, fearless, you become free inside.
This is my greatest pursuit in entrepreneurship, and the greatest joy this place brought me. You'll find a state of freedom in life, transcending age, transcending space, transcending wealth, transcending the limitations of the human body. You'll feel free." (Qianfei Liu, Zhuben)
We too were fortunate to walk this path together with these nine founders. We believe that those who pursue excellence are constantly expanding their boundaries, always taking one more step. Because of you, this is 5Y Adventure.
Interactive Gift
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5Y Capital seeks out, supports, and inspires lonely founders, providing support from spirit to all operational matters. We believe that if the you whom others see as crazy begins to be believed in, the world will become a different place.
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