For Charles, it is an attracting mystery how companies change the world by offering better products and services when he was 2 years old. His father might be the first entrepreneur he knows.

That curiosity drove him from a consulting firm to Baidu, one of China’s internet giants, finally landing in the venture capital industry. Charles joined Lightspeed China Partners in early 2018. He focuses on consumer investment and financial services.

“The most enjoyable thing at Lightspeed is working with great people. Meeting smart minds and being inspired by their diligence and integrity is truly an attraction. It’s so impressive that all Lightspeed global partners win deals in different time zone and Lightspeed has been doing so for decades,” Charles says. “Being global VC platform, Lightspeed has a key advantage in understanding globalization and capturing opportunities by the teamwork of different teams in each region.”

Charles previously worked with China Growth Capital for 4 years. Prior to China Growth Capital, he was Senior Product Manager of Baidu and Consultant of Bearingpoint Management Consulting.

Charles holds a B.A. in Engineering from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications.

He believes in the power of focus and teamwork, which are also the core values he insists on during the investment. Charles learned these from sports.

“Sports make me feel alive and teach me how to strain every nerve to push the limit, how to inspire myself and teammates, and how to build a champion mindset,” Charles says.

He cited his favorite sport surfing as an example. “Surfing is very much like investing. Except for the skills, what makes a veteran always catch great waves is patience. A great investor can embrace and enjoy the biggest wave while giving up those small easy-to-catch ones.”