Wang Ye deserved some credit for achieving such impressive sales.
During the stockpiling phase before the phone's launch, Steve Jobs had not been all that confident. His new phone was technologically advanced, but he had no idea how well it would actually sell.
After all, there had been far too many precedents of excellent products suffering disastrous sales...
So, his original plan had been to test the waters by selling the first-generation product only in the United States. If they could sell over a million units during its product cycle, that would already count as a huge success!
Then they would gather user feedback, improve supply chain integration, raise production capacity, and develop the second-generation product at the same time. When the second generation launched, they would expand into all of North America, taking it one step at a time.
But after Wang Ye reviewed his production and sales plan, he offered a different opinion.
First, Wang Ye suggested pouring in massive investment to integrate the supply chain in the first year and prepare sufficient production capacity. Sales could also be carried out in stages: upon launch, they would target the entire North American market. Then, depending on sales and user feedback, if everything went smoothly, they would directly open the European and Asian markets. That would basically mean a global launch!
Wang Ye's plan was naturally far more aggressive than Steve Jobs's, and the required investment would multiply accordingly. Fortunately, Wang Ye was a major shareholder and carried considerable weight on the board. Steve Jobs was also persuaded by him, which was why they had achieved their current sales figures.
And those sales figures proved Wang Ye's foresight. His vision truly had been long-term.
So, when phone sales surpassed one million units, Steve Jobs excitedly called Wang Ye.
"Mr.