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CEO's death stirs debate as China's

techies face 9-to-9 workday
Post a Comment

By Bloomberg | Updated: Oct 18, 2016, 01.16 PM IST

READ MORE ON WeChat | mobile health app startup | Chunyu Doctor | China | Alibaba Group

The premature death of the 44-year-old

founder of a prominent mobile health app
startup has spurred a bout of soul
searching in the Chinese tech community,
where working long hours in the hope of
making a quick fortune has become a way
of life.
Zhang Rui, founder and chief executive
officer of the startup Chunyu Doctor, died
from a heart attack on Oct. 5. Heart attacks
can have many causes and Chunyu

Heart attacks can have many causes and Chunyu spokesman

Tan Wanneng said theres no evidence that Zhangs death was
due to overwork.

spokesman Tan Wanneng said theres no

evidence that Zhangs death was due to

SPOTLIGHT
Telecom Tangle

overwork. Yet as tech executives mourn his passing, that hasnt stopped some from
wondering about the deeply competitive nature of their industry and the potential health

Corporate Corridors

burdens they face.

"The stress and loneliness that startup founders feel cant be comprehended by normal
people," Leon Li, founder of Huobi, one of Chinas largest bitcoin exchanges, wrote on his
WeChat account in response to Zhangs death. "Especially in the internet sector, where
entry barriers are low and competition is fierce, its like stepping on thin ice."
Inspired by the rise of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, which raised $25 billion in a 2014 initial

Deal with Jio will help RCom

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Jio is being ragged by rivals, but we can
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public offering, Chinas new generation of entrepreneurs have been engaged in a fierce
battle for capital and talent. The country saw the startup of 1.2 new internet companies

Travel buddies!
every day in the second
quarter. While Silicon Valley is also renowned for its competitive
'MakeMyTrip-Ibibo
de
step'culture and lengthy hours, Chinas entrepreneurs face a unique set of challenges because
"We have
very intere
the aindustry
is more nascent, and regulations and funding are in constant flux.
multiple brands that ca
we will see a lot of ope
The China startup community is under a lot of pressure, if not as much but even more
Kalra says.

than in the Valley or in the states, said Dave McClure, the founding partner of Mountain
View, California-based venture firm 500 Startups. Unfortunately, I think people dont think
about health issues that much. McClure said that among the more than 3,000 founders
that he has invested in globally, at least six have passed away, with even one committing
suicide.

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to go public, according to Tan. Startups with a valuation exceeding that mark are known
as "Unicorns."
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For a few months when Chunyu was first founded the company sometimes required a

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battle with rival Pakistan

so-called "996 schedule" -- Chinese slang for working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. six days a
week -- Tan said, adding that the company is long past that stage. Zhang started out as a
journalist at a Beijing newspaper, and worked as deputy editor-in-chief at NetEase, a
Chinese internet portal. In 2011, he founded Chunyu, which allows patients to have online
consultations with doctors, skipping the wait at overcrowded public hospitals.

Deal with Jio will help RCom gain technological

edge: Anil Ambani

Chinese executives have for years talked about the difficulties in balancing work and life.

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of stealth and destruction in its hands

saying that he saw the disease as a sign of protest from his body after decades of

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Not to be Missed
Vishal Sikka plays down
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on good terms with Narayana
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CEO's death stirs debate as

China's techies face 9-to-9
workday

After fighting cancer, Kai-Fu Lee, a long-time tech executive, published a book last year
15-hour workdays during a high-flying career.
Lee is currently running his own company called Sinovation Ventures that invests in
startups and he previously held jobs at Apple Inc and Microsoft Corp, and served as
Google Inc.s Greater China vice president from 2005 to 2009. Jean Liu, president of
taxi-hailing app Didi Chuxing, has encouraged her staff at Didi to exercise more and take
care of their health.
People who work for more than 55 hours a week face an increased risk of stroke and
coronary heart disease compared to those working the standard hours of 35 to 40 a
week, according to a study based on data from more than 600,000 individuals, published
last October in the medical journal The Lancet.

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The unexpected death of a founder can also highlight the importance of succession plans,
according to Paul Asel, Palo Alto, California-based managing partner at Nokia Growth
Partners. Chunyu in an Oct. 6 statement said its businesses are operating as normal with

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Zhangs duties taken up by co-founder Li Guanghui.

Startup executives face long hours, conflicts with partners and family, and worries about
fundraising, Wang Lifen, founder of Youmi, a provider of training courses for
entrepreneurs, said in an article mourning Zhangs death in her Weibo microblog.
"This is a group of people who are surrounded by envious looks from outsiders, who
appear at forums and under the spotlight bearing the fine title of entrepreneurs, but do not
have a moment of peace in their hearts," said Wang.
Stay on top of business news with The Economic Times App. Download it Now!

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READ MORE ON WeChat | mobile health app startup | Chunyu Doctor | China | Alibaba Group

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CEO's death stirs debate as

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