An Alternative Legend in the Investment World: How Mai Gang Achieved Pop Mart and Crypto Assets Giant

Pop Mart's market value exceeds 340 billion HKD, making founder Wang Ning the richest person in Henan. The rise of this trendy toy giant has transformed its angel investor Mai Gang from being an "alternative investor" who was "kicked out of the group chat" by mainstream capital circles into a legendary figure in the investment world.

However, Mai Gang's legend is not limited to the trendy toy sector. What is less known is that Xu Mingxing, the founder of the global leading crypto assets trading platform OKX, is also an investor in Pop Mart, achieving thousands of times returns. All of this is inseparable from Mai Gang's recommendation.

Mai Gang is Xu Mingxing's mentor, having invested in his earliest entrepreneurial project Dou Ding Wang, and later co-founded a well-known Crypto Assets exchange. Moreover, Mai Gang is also the encryption guide for a co-founder of a leading global trading platform.

In 2014, at a private gathering organized by Mai Gang, he introduced a well-known figure, who was then still a host, to Xu Mingxing, facilitating her entry into a certain exchange. Subsequently, she recommended the founder of a now globally leading exchange to join the team, thus unveiling the beginning of the global Crypto Assets exchange rivalry.

Maigang's investment landscape spans two seemingly unrelated fields, yet has nurtured giant enterprises that have changed the industry pattern in their respective tracks. It can be said that Maigang has not only achieved Pop Mart but has also changed the pattern of the Bitcoin industry to a certain extent.

Early Bitcoin Evangelists

In 2013, when most people still did not understand or regarded Bitcoin as a financial bubble, Mai Gang had tirelessly promoted Bitcoin knowledge and his own understanding across the country.

He simply summarizes Bitcoin in two points: First, Bitcoin simulates perfect currency attributes using distributed algorithms; Second, these attributes are maintained by the powerful computing power of distributed computers.

Mike divides the forms of currency in human society into three types: a currency system represented by precious metals, credit currency supported by government credit, and the third currency era opened by Bitcoin. He believes that these three forms of currency will coexist for a long time.

Regarding Bitcoin, Mai Gang predicted in 2014 that Bitcoin would become a tool for major powers' games. He hopes that Chinese entrepreneurs, businesses, and ordinary citizens can gain a voice in the Bitcoin field to avoid repeating the pitfalls of the dollar hegemony.

It is based on this understanding that Mai Gang chose to invest in incubation at the beginning of a renowned Crypto Assets exchange in 2013.

In the Spring Festival of 2014, Mai Gang facilitated a meeting between a well-known individual and the founder of a certain exchange. This not only opened the door to the world of Bitcoin for her but also changed the history of the encryption world.

The first investor of Pop Mart

In August 2012, 25-year-old Wang Ning met Mai Gang for the first time. The young Wang Ning was wearing a pair of trendy shorts from a brand that had not yet been launched in China, a detail that made Mai Gang keenly aware of his unique sense of fashion. From the first meeting to signing the investment, the whole process took only five days.

Mai just became the first angel investor of Pop Mart, investing 2 million yuan. At that time, most investors and entrepreneurs were focused on e-commerce, believing that the offline retail industry was in a counter-trend environment. However, Mai and Wang Ning firmly believed that there were still huge opportunities in the offline retail market, especially for trendy products that are rich in design and can touch people's emotions.

However, apart from Mai Gang, there are not many people in the capital market who are really optimistic about Wang Ning and Pop Mart. Wang Ning has met almost all investors and FAs, but each time he returned disappointed. The continuous setbacks in financing have also led to Pop Mart being in a long-term tight funding situation.

Mai Gang believes that Wang Ning's repeated failures in financing may be a very important trial during the development process of Pop Mart. Without this trial, Pop Mart might not have come this far. Because of the lack of financing, the company is very cautious in spending every penny while continuously looking for breakthroughs.

Mai Gang Qi Ren

After graduating from Renmin University of China in 1996, Mai Gang entered the venture capital industry, becoming one of the earliest practitioners of venture investment in China. In 2001, he went to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to pursue an MBA, during which he won first place in the UC Entrepreneurship Competition and fifth place in the National Collegiate Entrepreneurship Competition. During his time in the United States, he formed a connection with Silicon Valley venture capital guru Tim Draper.

In 2005, he co-founded VenturesLab with Tim Draper, one of the earliest startup incubators in the country.

Unlike mainstream VCs, Mai Gang has chosen an "alternative" investment path. He has never raised funds externally and has always insisted on using his own capital for investments. He believes that the best operating model in the venture capital industry is a small team with a "workshop-style" approach.

Mai Gang has another identity - a serial entrepreneur. He has been involved in founding or investing in several successful companies later on, such as Yiyou, Chinese Online, Tongka, Dou Ding Wang, Tai Jie, and a well-known crypto assets exchange, among others.

Mai Gang's entrepreneurial and investment philosophy can be summarized as "treat others well and build good relationships." He believes that whether in entrepreneurship or investment, what ultimately returns to you is your character, or the amplifying effect of your character.

20 years ago, when Mai Gang founded the Entrepreneurship Factory, he wrote a passage on the company website: "Perhaps your lifelong goal is to start a successful business, but what ultimately remains on your tombstone is 'a compassionate father (mother)', 'the partner you loved most in life', 'a generous friend', rather than 'a great CEO'. You will find that what you cannot take with you are titles and wealth, but what remains are emotions and memories."

Today, this statement is still on the homepage, showcasing Mai Gang's unwavering life philosophy.