From the lecture podium to the stock exchange, Guo Zhenyu took a full 18 years to make the journey.

In 2021, the company "Baitaini," which specializes in domestic pharmaceutical cosmetics, rang the bell at the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Within just a month, its market value broke through the hundred billion mark.

China's pharmaceutical cosmetics industry has always been weak, and this dazzling achievement naturally attracted the attention of the capital market. Guo Zhenyu, who built this dark horse business empire, once again appeared in front of everyone.

Compared to the brand, this founder is obviously more concerned by the outside world.

Advertisement

Student, teacher, overseas student, professor, corporate leader...

He handles every identity with ease and confidence, and every choice is correct and straightforward. To achieve this level, Guo Zhenyu's ability and personal charm are self-evident.

But at such a successful moment, he did not overly boast about his own achievements, but said:

"I do not pursue the hero of the individual, I pursue an excellent team."

Perhaps, this is the true meaning of his success in every field he enters.The first half of Guo Zhenyu's life is not complicated; the term "genius" can easily describe it in just two words.

At the age of 15, he was admitted to the Radio Engineering major at Yunnan University, and at 19, he earned his Bachelor of Science degree. By the age of 23, he successfully obtained his Master of Science degree.

With outstanding abilities and an impressive resume, Guo Zhenyu smoothly stayed on at the university for employment and began his teaching career the second month after graduation.

At 23, a university teacher, at an age when many people's lives have just begun, Guo Zhenyu already had an enviable job and a bright future ahead.

If life had continued in this way, his life could be considered a different form of "success."

But isn't life a journey full of uncertainties?

In 1988, a "government-sponsored study abroad" document was delivered to Guo Zhenyu.

A study opportunity at McGill University in Canada, along with more advanced theoretical and practical knowledge, gave Guo Zhenyu no reason to refuse this precious opportunity.

A year later, armed with $10,000 supported by the Yunnan Province Foreign Exchange Study Fund, Guo Zhenyu resolutely packed his bags and set off across the ocean.

Although he was eager for the learning opportunities on the other side of the ocean, he remained deeply grateful to Yunnan University, which had given him this opportunity.At that time, the exchange rate of the US dollar to the Chinese yuan was around 1:3.77.

More than 30,000 yuan was undoubtedly an astronomical figure for Guo Zhenyu, who was earning only a monthly salary of over 60 yuan at that time.

Reflecting on the past, Guo Zhenyu said with a myriad of emotions:

"I was thinking, with my salary of over 60 yuan, it would take me 50 years without eating or drinking to have so much money."

His hometown of Yunnan has since taken deep root in Guo Zhenyu's heart and has also become the object he must repay after returning from his studies.

To achieve this goal, Guo Zhenyu exerted a more diligent study spirit than when he was at Yunnan University.

In the strict and challenging study abroad life, in just six short years, he not only obtained a doctoral degree but also pursued two years of postdoctoral courses and held a position at one of Canada's best research institutes—the Montreal Medical Research Institute, where he made a name for himself in his industry.

In 1996, due to his significant contributions to stroke and cardiovascular technology, Guo Zhenyu was awarded the "Canadian Outstanding Young Scientist Research Award" and also received a substantial scholarship from the Canadian government.

Despite such high achievements, Guo Zhenyu did not stop his pursuit.

In the same year, he was employed by George Washington University as the head of the Biomedical Department and established the first biomedical engineering research laboratory within the university.During his five-year tenure at the University of Washington, Zhenyu Guo published over 60 papers and secured 11 research grants. The portable Doppler detectors, maternal/fetal monitors, and geometric parameter imaging devices commonly used in medicine today are all outcomes of Guo's research. In the University of Washington's recruitment advertisements spanning over 180 years, only two individuals appeared on the billboards: the first American President George Washington and Zhenyu Guo. On the large billboard, next to Guo's portrait, the English letters read: "Here, you can collaborate with world authorities to pursue your degree." As an "American tenured professor" and a "candidate for the American Presidential Award," Guo's contributions have truly "topped out" in his industry.

However, at this moment of great attention, Guo made a decision that surprised everyone. In 2002, Guo returned to his hometown—Kunming, Yunnan. Originally, it was a simple vacation trip, but when news of Guo resurfaced, he had already transitioned from a tenured professor at the University of Washington to the actual leader of Yunnan Dianhong Pharmaceutical. Resigning from the University of Washington to take the helm at Dianhong Pharmaceutical was the result of Guo's careful consideration.

From a personal standpoint, he was deeply indebted to his hometown of Yunnan during his youth. When he first went abroad, he made a vow that upon achieving academic success, he would give back to his hometown.Time flies swiftly, and although this reward has been delayed, fortunately, he is still young, in the prime of his life, strong and robust, with a far-reaching reputation and exceptional capabilities; he can still make a significant impact.

From an industry perspective, unlike the mature pharmaceutical industry abroad, the domestic industry is still in its infancy.

Apart from the large pharmaceutical companies that have gone public and are doing well, most pharmaceutical companies are at the bottom of the supply chain, which represents a vast blue ocean market.

Moreover, "Yunyan" has already made a name for itself in the market. Yunnan, with its rich natural resources and excellent growing conditions, has a unique advantage in medicinal materials, and "Yunyao" is a major strategic move that the country is about to make.

Of course, such significant advantages naturally come with considerable risks. Guo Zhenyu, who took on the role of general manager right out of the gate, carries a weight of pressure that is far from ordinary.

Not only are many peers in the industry waiting to see him fail, but even the veterans within Dihong Pharmaceutical have lamented that they "misjudged him."

Accustomed to striving for the best in everything, he made a bold statement upon taking office:

"Di Hong will achieve sales of 260 million in 2003, or I will pack up and leave."

It should be noted that it took Di Hong a full five years to increase its sales from 100 million to 190 million.

To increase sales by 70 million in just one year is not just a turnaround; it's like pulling a radish out of dry ground!In order to fulfill his pledge, Guo Zhenyu carried out a radical reform within the company. The first step was to eliminate the excessive and miscellaneous distribution channels and establish a secondary distribution system. The number of distributors for Dianhong has been increasing year by year, yet the company's sales collections have always maintained an abnormally stable posture. In terms of distribution channels, "not breaking, not establishing" became the direction of Guo Zhenyu's reform.

After taking office, he quickly streamlined the once more than 10,000 distributors to over 460, but the sales collections that year increased from 270 million to 340 million. Secondly, "Kangwang Shampoo" stood out in sales among the many products of Dianhong. Guo Zhenyu realized the unique market charm and broad mass base of "Kangwang." It might as well focus efforts on one product, and the final effect would not be bad.

Lastly, "marketing" is the essence of sales. Large-scale advertising and inviting well-known artists to endorse can maximize the product's visibility. As a result, in those years, an advertising slogan became popular throughout the country: "For dandruff that can't be washed away, use Kangwang, go to the pharmacy, buy Kangwang!" In 2003, Dianhong Pharmaceutical's annual sales collections reached 273 million, with the Kangwang product alone surpassing 100 million. Subsequently, Dianhong introduced many products with distinct corporate characteristics, which were well received by consumers, and the production of Kangwang and Pikanping even temporarily could not keep up with the sales pace.At the same time, Guo Zhenyu integrated European and American management experience into the corporate management of Dianhong, rapidly forming a more professional team within the company with more advanced and mature methods.

Dianhong Pharmaceutical leaped forward and ranked among the top three pharmaceutical companies in Yunnan.

However, being in the top three was far from Guo Zhenyu's goal!

To climb to a higher level, he set his sights on another direction for the development of pharmaceutical companies—"cosmeceuticals."

In 2010, Beitaini was established in Kunming, Yunnan. The sales volume of its products plummeted, simply because Dianhong Pharmaceutical was going public at the time and had to cut some unprofitable product lines.

For example, the well-known "Winona."

Winona's product line was established quite early, but it was not eye-catching in the beginning. Compared to Dianhong's popular products, its radiance was much smaller than that of a firefly, but Guo Zhenyu saw the future of Winona, after all, it was a field that domestic manufacturers had never ventured into.

The beauty and skincare industry in China can be traced back thousands of years, but it must be admitted that the mature industry experience abroad is a model for the modern cosmetics industry.

Guo Zhenyu, who specialized in biomedicine overseas for 13 years, may still be somewhat unfamiliar with business management, but when it comes to professional knowledge and the future direction of the cosmetics industry, he is quite experienced.

Nowadays, the beauty market is changing rapidly, and the traditional products of whitening, moisturizing, and concealing can no longer satisfy consumers.What they desired were beauty products with enhanced functionality, especially overseas pharmaceutical cosmetics brands, which were quite renowned at the time. The future of Winona, however, was set to compete with these popular pharmaceutical cosmetics.

"Eastern philosophy, Western standards" was the overarching direction he set for the products, and it was destined for success. As Guo Zhenyu had anticipated, after incurring high costs in research and development, promotion, and sales, Winona achieved success. At its peak, Winona occupied half of the pharmaceutical cosmetics market in Yunnan, and for a time, consumers' complaints about the lack of stock in their live broadcast rooms became a hot topic.

In 2021, the company that Winona belongs to, "Baitaini," went public. At the beginning of Baitaini's listing, the stock market increase exceeded 260%, and the peak price of 280 per share even allowed it to enter the ranks of hundred-billion-yuan enterprises for a time. Guo Zhenyu and his son, who held 57.28% of the shares, had a net worth of nearly 51 billion yuan.

At that time, the confident Guo Zhenyu finally realized his initial wish. In the same year, he donated 5 million yuan to Yunnan University and set up the "Hansheng Scholarship" with an annual contribution of 1 million yuan. At the donation ceremony, he said:

"Without my alma mater, there would be no achievement of mine today. Therefore, when I have the strength to give back to my alma mater for nurturing me, I must do my utmost to support my alma mater..."From an impoverished student to a billionaire tycoon, this self-made man in the business world reached the pinnacle of his life near his sixtieth year. Unfortunately, after the peak, there was a slow descent.

Baitaini, hailed as the "number one brand in efficacy skincare," has not suffered a major blow in recent years, but it has faced a series of minor setbacks that have greatly impacted the company's operations. After the success of its product "Winona," Baitaini has not seen another blockbuster product, and the lack of follow-up momentum has made the company's progress slow and difficult. In 2023, it became the stock with the "largest annual decline" in the A-share skincare industry.

In 2024, the co-founder of Baitaini was embroiled in a legal crisis, which significantly affected the company's reputation. Guo Zhenyu, now in his sixties, faced with such a crisis, can he still make a stir?

The answer is affirmative.

Guo Zhenyu once made a famous statement:

"All greatness and success are forged through perseverance; once you set a goal, you must work hard with determination."

People do not know what kind of impact and change he will bring to which industry, just as it is hard to imagine that Guo Zhenyu, who is now commanding in the business world, would appear elegant and generous on the podium.Looking back at his history, we have reason to believe that his domain is far from limited to this extent, and his ambition is not something that can be satisfied with just a few listed companies.

His life seems to exist for the purpose of creating miracles.

Since the last miracle hasn't been long gone, can the next one be far behind?