Hengtu

Biodata

History

Founding and Early Profitability

Hengtu was established after the collapse of Zhao Pingchuan’s previous company, Pingchuan Technology. Chen Qi resigned from her job to join Zhao, Lin Zhou, and Chen Mo in founding the business in a makerspace. The team bought computers and printers and registered a domain name. Its name represented both a continuation of Pingchuan Technology and their determination to keep going. Zhao initially kept his involvement quiet to avoid attracting Gu Xingye’s attention 14.

Ji Ran supported the startup financially and contributed unpaid coding work on weekends. His four colleagues pooled 230,000 yuan to help fund it. Hengtu initially relied on outsourced business projects, becoming profitable after three months; Chen Qi then hired two programmers while Zhao pursued clients and partnerships 14.

The company’s first proprietary tool established a recurring source of revenue. Zhao subsequently expanded it into an industry-specific management system for small processing plants. The system sold strongly, with its highest-priced annual tier attracting the most purchases. Ji Ran’s colleagues converted their loans into shares and received dividends at the end of the year 15.

Investment Loss and SaaS Transition

Following Ji Ran’s suggestion, Hengtu unanimously approved an investment in the short-video sector using one-quarter of its available funds. The boom ended earlier than Ji Ran expected, while hostile competition and negative publicity worsened the downturn. Hengtu lost almost its entire investment, delaying its development for several months 16 17.

The underlying business remained sound, allowing the company to recover. Hengtu moved into a proper office building and expanded to twenty employees. Chen Qi established a small department handling logistics, contracts, finances, and administrative work. Zhao ended outsourced development to concentrate entirely on SaaS, supported by renewal income from existing customers 17.

Investor Liu Chengxi then offered five million yuan for a twenty-percent stake. After a shareholders’ meeting, Hengtu negotiated the stake down to eighteen percent and accepted. The investment diluted existing holdings but increased the company’s valuation, financing further research, development, and marketing 17.

Gu Group’s Attempt to Undercut Hengtu

After discovering that Zhao lived opposite Jiang Jinyue, Gu Xingye suspected him of involvement in Jiang’s disappearance. Gu retaliated against Hengtu by pressuring prospective investors to withdraw and launching a competing product priced at seventy percent of Hengtu’s rate—even though Hengtu had moved into a different field and was no longer a major competitor to the Gu Group 21 22 23.

Zhao refused to reduce prices. Customer surveys showed that departing users still praised Hengtu’s smooth operation and clear interface; they were switching because of cost rather than dissatisfaction. He chose to defend the product’s value instead of entering a price war 23.

Hengtu lost forty percent of its customers in one month but remained operationally stable. Within less than two months, many customers returned because of its superior user experience. Gu’s failed campaign ultimately gave Hengtu free publicity and strengthened its industry reputation 25.

Series A Financing and Counteroffensive

Prosperous Age Venture Capital approached Hengtu through Sheng Qingyun, seeking an ally against the Gu Group. Zhao accepted its investment after confirming that Hengtu would compete only against Gu’s businesses within its own sector. The funding enabled previously unaffordable expansion plans 28.

Three years after its founding, Hengtu had become a leading SaaS company in its niche, exceeded a valuation of 500 million yuan, and completed Series A financing. Zhao’s subsequent media interview brought both him and the company renewed public attention 28.

Hengtu later joined Prosperous Age and other partners in a coordinated campaign against the Gu Group. Zhao’s team released an upgraded SaaS system tailored to Gu’s core digital-business clients, winning accounts through lower prices and more attentive service. Hengtu’s technical staff also identified security vulnerabilities and data-compliance risks in Gu’s systems; joint reports to regulators forced a suspension of core operations for rectification 30.

The campaign severely damaged the Gu Group. Gu Xingye spent half a month stabilizing the business and subsequently instructed his secretary to leave Hengtu alone for the time being 31.

Public Listing and New Building

Hengtu went public a year later, marking Zhao’s return to the position he had lost with Pingchuan Technology. He transferred shares to Ji Ran, who accepted the share-transfer agreement. Despite Hengtu’s success, the Gu Group remained a formidable business rival 40.

By the completion of Hengtu’s new building, Ji Ran was its second-largest shareholder. The glass-fronted tower became a new Li City landmark, and its ribbon-cutting ceremony attracted reporters and prominent industry figures 41.

Products and Services

Development Priorities

• Manufacturing integration — Proposed Internet of Things support to help small factories manage equipment intelligently 28.
• Convenience-store membership systems — Planned improvements intended to increase repeat purchases 28.
• Depth before expansion — Zhao planned to refine the three existing sectors over the following year before entering additional markets 28.

Business Strategy

• Cash flow before scale — Hengtu prioritizes profitability and stable foundations rather than indiscriminate spending or inflated valuations 28.
• Affordable, targeted digitalization — Products are designed around smaller businesses’ actual needs rather than copying large, comprehensive enterprise systems 28.
• Practical engineering — Technical upgrades address customer problems instead of accumulating unnecessary features 28.
• Responsive support — Hengtu commits to responding to after-sales requests within twenty-four hours 28.
• Long-term customer relationships — Free technical consultations help newly established businesses plan their digitalization, building loyalty and word-of-mouth referrals 28.
• Quality-based retention — During Gu’s initial price attack, Hengtu maintained its prices and relied on its established product’s usability to win customers back 23 25.

Key Personnel and Shareholders

• Zhao Pingchuan — Cofounder and president responsible for strategy, client development, and technical leadership. Initially held an eighty-percent controlling stake 14 15 28.
• Chen Qi — Cofounder who handled recruitment, represented Zhao at events during his low-profile period, and organized administrative operations 14 17.
• Lin Zhou — Cofounder involved in product feedback and staff morale during the Gu Group’s campaign 14 23 25.
• Chen Mo — Cofounder and core team member. Chen Qi, Lin Zhou, and Chen Mo initially held a combined ten-percent stake 14 15.
• Ji Ran — Early financial supporter and unpaid technical contributor. His work included troubleshooting, architecture, high-concurrency problems, and attack defense. Initially declined shares, but later became Hengtu’s second-largest shareholder 14 15 19 41.
• Li Xuan, Zhou Jianghua, Lin Lin, and Li Chang — Ji Ran’s colleagues and early lenders. All four chose equity over repayment with interest; the offered conversion was roughly one percent for every 50,000 yuan 15 17.
• Liu Chengxi — Outside investor who learned of Zhao’s involvement through a nephew employed at Hengtu. Invested five million yuan for an eighteen-percent stake 17.
• Lu Zhaozhao — Employee who regularly interacts with Ji Ran during his visits and later discusses Zhao’s public interview with coworkers 19 30.

Facilities