"We talked about the future most of the time, since our newly-born company had never made any cell phone before." Liu added.
Lei told Sharp that they should not miss the coming decade, which will witness a booming Chinese market in mobile Internet with over one billion web users.
Lei is a super fan of Steve Jobs, inspired by whom, Lei has been dreaming since his young age to build leading companies to change the world through technology.
"I have done many things before the age of 40," said Lei in an interview, "but I haven't realized my dream from the age of 18 yet. Thus, I decided to give it a try and started Xiaomi, regardless of success or failure."
Wearing a black T-shirt and a pair of jeans in an interview at the Xiaomi phone launch, Lei reportedly resembles Steve more and more in his dress. But with his "rustic guy" look in a white shirt, suit trousers, and black leather shoes, he looked nothing like him in 2007.
However, different from Mr. Jobs, who aimed to create the most fashionable mobile phone leading the tide, Lei prefers simple designs.
"Users of the Xiaomi phone are not Zhang Ziyi (a famous actress)， but ordinary people," explained Liu De. "This is because China's middle class, the major consumers of high-end cellulars like the iPhone, is still not as big as that of the U.S." That is why Lei priced the Xiaomi phone at 1,999 yuan, which, hopefully, will be affordable for college students too.
Lei is less adventurous than Steve, according to an insider. "Lei is studious. He can learn from everybody around him very quickly. This can be seen with the Xiaomi phone, which assembles the essence of top smart phones. However, it is also his weakness, which restricts him from making breakthroughs."
"Mr. Jobs is the shaper, while Lei is the follower," he added.
However, speaking of the future of Xiaomi, Lei now tends to attach great importance to luck. "The success of entrepreneurs is eighty percent luck," said Lei in a meeting. "I was not quite successful before because I did not believe in anything. Now, I even believe in horoscopes and Fengshui."
"To achieve something big, diligence and hard-work is far from enough," he added.
