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Think back to the first few years of Baidu.
回想百度最初的那几年
What were the three strategy decisions--or pick any number--that
哪些战略决策
you now recognize in hindsight were both pivot points of inflection
能够被视为拐点或者转折点
points that really changed the trajectory of the company?
起到了改变公司发展轨迹的作用
Robin Li: Sure. That's a very good question.
这是一个好问题
It's very critical for any startup, I think.
对于任何公司来说都至关重要
When I reflect on the first couple of years of Baidu's operation,
当我回想百度最初的那几年
I think there are three things that's very critical.
有三件事是非常重要的
First is, as you know, we started at the height of Internet bubble.
总所周知的是，公司于互联网泡沫破灭时起步
When we brought US$1.2 million
当我们成功融资120万美元回到中国
back to China, it was like peanuts comparing to a lot
相比其他新兴互联网公司
of other Internet startups in China.
这些钱简直就是九牛一毛
And our engineers constantly hear from other friends working for other
公司的工程师总是听到
Internet companies in Beijing--they living the most flashiest office
在其他公司工作的朋友说，他们拥有北京最豪华的办公室
spaces in Beijing and their salary is raised three times a year.
薪水一年涨三次
But our engineers work in a three-star hotel,
而我们的工程师在三星级酒店工作
not very flashy, not on the spotlight,
不豪华，更不引人关注
and I only promised them to raise their salaries twice a year.
我只承诺每年涨两次薪水
So they thought, "Alright, if the company is so great,
于是他们觉得:"如果百度真这么好
if we have such a bright future,
如果前景真的如此光明
why you don't do a better job for your employees
为什么不能在员工待遇方面
than the other Internet companies?" It was a tough call for me.
做得比其他公司更好呢?".那时我感觉左右为难
I really thought as an entrepreneur,
作为一个创业者
as a startup, you really cannot spend money
在创业初期
like hell without thinking about tomorrow.
不能随意烧钱而至公司未来于不顾
So the first critical decision I made
我做的第一个重要决定就是
is that when I raised the money, $1.2 million,
当拿到120万美元时
I told our investors that money
我曾对投资人说过
would last for about six months.
这笔钱能够维持公司运营6个月
But when I actually start to spend the money, I told my people,
当我开始使用这笔资金的时候，我告诉我的员工
"We need to spend this over the next 12 months.
这笔钱要维持公司运营12个月
We cannot just run out of money six months later."
决不能在六个月后就把钱花光
What happened was, six months later, Internet bubble burst.
恰恰在六个月之后，互联网泡沫破灭了
It was much, much harder to raise money.
融资难度大大增加
But I was not worried because I still have more
但我并不担心
than half of the cash in my bank account.
因为公司的银行账户上还有60多万美元
So I started to talk to the VCs and asking for $10 million at a very,
就在互联网历史上最艰难的时期，我开始跟风险投资商接洽
very difficult time in Internet history.
向他们要1000万美元
Many of the VCs passed on that opportunity.
多数投资商都放弃了这个机会
They thought we were too expensive.
认为这是狮子大开口
We only had about 20 people at that time.
那时公司只有20个员工
So if you divide by $10 million,
如果将1000万平分
that's a lot of money for each employee.
每个人都能拿到一大笔钱
Especially many of them haven't really graduated from college.
其中许多人甚至还没从大学毕业
It's quite really an achievement for them.
这对他们来说是一个极大的成就
So I think the first critical decision I made is don't
这就是我所做的第一个决策
spend money as you promised it to your investors.
不要像承诺的那样去花钱
