Qiming Venture Partners Celebrates 10th Anniversary in Shanghai

SHANGHAI, Nov. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On November 4, Qiming Venture Partners held the 2016 Annual Limited Partners Meeting, the 8th CEO Summit and the 10th Anniversary Celebration simultaneously at the Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong, a landmark building anchoring the Lujiazui Financial and Trading Zone, an area that runs along the edge of the Huangpu River in the Pudong section of Shanghai. Over 500 guests, including CEOs of Qiming investment portfolios, venture investors and other professionals joined this memorable event.

During the Gala Dinner, Qiming Venture Partners' five managing partners, Gary Rieschel, Duane Kuang (Kuang Ziping), JP Gan (Gan Jianping), Nisa Leung (Liang Yingyu) and William Hu (Hu Xubo) shared a toast on stage with all the guests in celebration of the 10^th anniversary.

(From left to right): Qiming Managing Partner William Hu, Duane Kuang, Gary Rieschel, JP Gan and Nisa Leung held a toast on stage

Qiming Managing partner Gary Rieschel and Duane Kuang talked to Michael Phelps and Lang Ping

At the elaborately prepared and festive Gala Dinner, a short movie incorporating the products from many Qiming portfolio companies to show how they have contributed to better our daily life attracted the attention of the audience. This self created and produced short movie is a tribute to the CEOs. The touching story and the visual effects have garnered uninterrupted applause from the audience, who called it "the first movie trailer for the VC world" and "the best piece of advertising for the VC industry in history".

Another momentous event of the Gala Dinner took place when Chinese National Women's Volleyball Team Chief Coach Lang Ping, who led the team winning the Olympic gold medalist in 2016 Summer Olympic Games and the most successful Olympian of all time Michael Phelps were invited to the stage, where they bantered with Qiming managing partners and the guests. The excitement was palpable, as the event came to a climax with strobe lights that had been set up bathing the guests as they broke out in cheers of jubilation.

At the CEO Summit in the afternoon, Lang Ping and Michael Phelps took turns in exchanging opinions with Qiming's managing partners on topics ranging from the Olympic spirit to team building and entrepreneurship.

Asked what she had learned from the experience of leading the China's Olympic Women's Volleyball team after coaching the U.S. Olympic Women's Volleyball Team, Lang Ping said: "To blend in with the team culture, I embraced American ideas, including a different way of thinking and I had to train myself on how to communicate better.

"When I encounter different ideas, I try not to fight against them, but to understand them and balance them with my own. My goal is to solve the problem that is in front of us while also looking at how to deal with it better the next time. As the head coach, I must have an open mind. It doesn't matter whether somebody says or does something that is not in line with my opinion, as long as I try to deal with it without passing judgment. If I can do that, then everyone is willing to accept how I have handled it.

"At this point, I have learned a lot from the time I have spent overseas. I have learned about other cultures, about how they have grown up in a society that is different from my own as well as how to be receptive. As a result, I feel that I have grown into a more successful coach."

Lang Ping's mastery of the art of leadership proved to be highly enlightening to the audience, made up of CEOs and managers who seek to communicate effectively with their employees and to have their teams understand their viewpoints and be willing to support them in reaching concrete goals.

Michael Phelps shared something he felt was very important -- seeking help from others. In the past, Michael had thought that asking for help was a sign of weakness, so to avoid showing any weakness, he struggled more than necessary when he faced difficulties alone. It was not until later that he realized that asking for help did no harm to himself but rather made him feel better about himself.

"I often ask myself, why couldn't I have done this ten years ago? It would have made my life much easier," Phelps laughed as he explained.

Qiming concurred with Phelps's view in the context of portfolio management.  Gary once told a reporter during an interview, "More or less, every firm has some problems. We hope the CEOs can be frank with us and not push the information under the carpet when they encounter difficulties. We are pleased and relieved when we hear a CEO say 'This is too hard for us and we need your help!'"

The individual efforts and achievements of both Lang and Phelps is highly enlightening to the venture capitalists and CEOs who attended the event, while their life stories are a great inspiration to all the entrepreneurs, investors and Qiming employees who were present.

In addition to the presence of Lang and Phelps at the CEO Summit, the founder of China's Internet Knowledge Society and popular talk show host Luo Zhenyu delivered a heartening speech and garnered applause from the audience. Cheng Binghao, founder and CEO of kaixin001.com, reflected on moments of success and failure throughout his Kaixin journey with the guests.  

Qiming Venture Partners managing partners Duane Kuang and Nisa Leung each hosted a panel where the CEOs of a group of reputable Qiming portfolio companies shared the latest news as well as the development trends of and insights into IT and healthcare section respectively.  Many guests commented that they found the panel discussions to be very insightful.

Shanghai's renowned Rainbow Chamber Singers, provided an aural and visual feast for the audience as they led the celebration to a momentous and joyful ending with their performance of the songs "So Far, the Sofa Is So Far" and "the Sky".

In the course of such a meaningful day for Qiming Venture Partners, the two founders, Duane Kuang and Gary Rieschel, shared their feelings about the past decade with deep affection.   

"This is Qiming Venture Partners' 10th year, yet the road that lies ahead of us is still long. My hope is that we will continue to treat our colleagues with respect and face new challenges with renewed vigor. We shall also treat our investors, entrepreneurs, partners and other members of our profession with humility, sincerity and good will. May the next ten years at Qiming Venture Partners be even more inspiring and rewarding!" commented Duane Kuang.

"We launched Qiming over ten years ago as an independent venture capital firm. It was our dream to build Qiming into a top ten venture capital firm in China, and we feel we have achieved that. It is a tribute to our team, investors, and friends that we have been succeeded thus far.  Much work lies ahead, but Qiming has even more opportunity today than at its founding.  All our hopes that Qiming continues to grow and prosper," said Gary Rieschel.  

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