Disruptors
Those who traverse cycles understand the weight of time.
Richard Liu
“The responsibility of entrepreneurs is to make their employees live a good life and create value for society.”
Starting with 12,000 yuan, he built his own logistics, went public, and got into trouble. In 2025, JD.com will lose 46.6 billion in new business, and he is still carrying the load. Liu Qiangdong: Always choose the heaviest path. 1998, Zhongguancun, Beijing. With 12,000 yuan, Liu Qiangdong rented a 4-square-meter stall, specializing in burning optical discs and opto-magnetic products. At that time, fake goods were widely circulated in the Zhongguancun market, and practitioners mostly relied on information gaps to make quick profits. He insisted on clearly marking prices, refused to sell fake goods, and relied on long-term reputation to accumulate customers. From the early days of entrepreneurship, he was accustomed to choosing the path with greater resistance. In the follow-up layout, the self-built logistics was opposed by the entire industry, but he still pushed forward; the local life delivery track was laid out, and the company suffered tens of billions of losses, but he did not shrink or retreat. People who carry heavy weights move forward slowly, but they can walk steadily for a long time. 1. Starting with a load of 12,000 yuan and 4 square meters. In 1998, Liu Qiangdong started his business in Zhongguancun, Beijing, with a start-up capital of 12,000 yuan and a business area of only 4 square meters. The market environment is mixed, and counterfeit goods and premium sales have become profit methods for many merchants. He has set a bottom line for business operations, clearly marked prices throughout the process, put an end to the circulation of counterfeit goods, and accumulated the first batch of stable customers through solid operations. When the SARS epidemic hit in 2003, offline physical business channels were restricted, store customer flow almost stagnated, and offline business was unsustainable. Under the crisis, the team turned to online channel exploration. In 2004, JD.com's multimedia online platform was officially launched, and JD.com's e-commerce business began. The development span of more than 20 years has been huge. In 1998, there was only a start-up capital of 10,000 yuan. In 2025,
Richard Liu
Asian Cover Figure | Richard Liu: From Suqian Village to E-Commerce Summit
Asian Cover Figure Magazine · Vision | Issue No. 033 - ACF-GJ-2026
[Summary] From a Suqian restaurant to China's largest self-operated e-commerce empire. He built logistics himself when everyone said he was crazy. Richard Liu proved: the real moat is built one brick at a time.
I. The Village Youth Who Wanted to Be a Boss
Born 1974 in Suqian, Jiangsu, Liu Qiangdong grew up in poverty. In 1992, admitted to Renmin University, carrying 500 yuan from village relatives and 76 eggs. At university, he coded restaurant management software, selling it for 200,000+ yuan — his first entrepreneurship taste.
II. From Zhongguancun Counter to E-Commerce Giant
In 1998, with 12,000 yuan, he rented a 4-square-meter counter at Zhongguancun, founding JD.com. Selling magneto-optical products, he insisted on no counterfeits. In 2003, SARS hit. Business collapsed. On an internet forum, someone vouched: Never sold a fake disc. That post brought 21 orders — Liu saw the internet's power. In 2004, he went fully online.
III. Building Logistics: The Crazy Decision
In 2007, Liu made the craziest decision: build logistics himself. Every investor said he was insane. He took 10 million from financing and invested it all. JD built a nationwide self-operated logistics network: 1,600+ warehouses totaling over 100 million square meters, 211 delivery covering nearly all counties.
IV. Fresh Food and Downward Markets
In 2014, JD listed on NASDAQ. Liu pushed into fresh food and downward markets. By 2025, JD's annual active consumers exceeded 580 million, revenue surpassing 1 trillion yuan.
V. Stepping Back and Returning
In 2018, Liu gradually stepped back. In 2022, he returned to the frontline. I am still that kid from Suqian. I understand users, I understand supply chains. In 2025, JD revenue exceeded 1.15 trillion yuan. From a small restaurant to a trillion-yuan empire — Liu Qiangdong used 27 years to prove: the real moat is built one brick at a time.
Data Sources: 1998 founding at Zhongguancun: JD official history. 2003 SARS driving online: public reports. 2007 self-built logistics: JD announcements. 2014 NASDAQ listing: NYSE. 2025 revenue exceeding 1.15 trillion: JD 2025 annual report.
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