Eric Yuan‐s Leap into Zoom

Ian Lee Technology

" Eric Yuan emigrated from China after nine visa rejections, landing in Silicon Valley in 1997 with little English and fewer connections. He helped build WebEx at Cisco, ultimately managing 800 engineers but felt increasingly disillusioned as customers remained unhappy with the product. At age 41, he faced a life?up?setting decision: stay in a cushy corporate role or strike out on his own in a crowded video-conferencing space. "
Yuan realized that running lean, staying agile, and obsessing over customer experience were his competitive advantages. He left Cisco in April 2011 with $3?million raised from friends and family then focused intently on building a frictionless product. He banned lavish offices, prioritized freemium distribution to win over enterprise incumbents, and committed to delivering happiness through service and care cultureZoom‐s simplicity won its fight against giants like WebEx and Microsoft. Its freemium model got grassroots adoption usage exploded during COVID, with traffic spiking 3,000?% in May 2020. By 2019, Zoom IPO‐d, raising its founder to billionaire status. Yuan‐s discipline paid off: Zoom became a verb and a lifeline for millions

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Eric Yuan‐s Leap into Zoom
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