Duan Yongping has invested in Apple for 14 years. He stated that his ability to hold on for a long time stems from a deep understanding of Apple's business, culture, and business model. Apple has continuously innovated over the years, with hardware innovations like the iPhone's camera and chip technology, and software innovations through the iOS system that has created a closed and high-quality application environment, attracting a massive number of users and developers. Duan Yongping recognized its core competitiveness and potential for growth, holding onto his investment for the long term and sharing in the growth dividends. In contrast, investors who wait and watch, focusing on hot stocks, often miss out on gains due to their inability to accurately grasp the timing of buying and selling, underscoring the value of long-term investment.

(2) Rigid judgment, not blindly seeking quick returns. Investment masters like Buffett and Munger take a very slow pace in determining whether a company is worth investing in. Duan Yongping stated that in the past decade, the companies he focused on were very few, stemming from years of in-depth understanding of enterprises, businesses, and products. He has never seen anyone make accurate long-term investment judgments about a company in a rush.

Investment is not something achieved overnight; it requires a long time to understand all aspects of a business. Only after sufficient accumulation can relatively reliable decisions be made; otherwise, being overly eager for success often leads to violations.

(3) Not afraid of mistakes, avoiding risks. One key aspect of Buffett and Munger's investment strategy is not fearing the loss of opportunities. Duan Yongping strongly agrees with this point, emphasizing that in the world of investing, opportunities abound. If one misses an opportunity, there will be more in the future. However, if one steps on a 'landmine,' the consequences could be dire. Take the case of Enron, for example, where financial fraud led to bankruptcy, resulting in total loss for investors; or the P2P industry a few years ago, where mainstream platforms collapsed, causing significant losses for public investors. Therefore, investors should not blindly follow trends out of fear of loss; risk control must take precedence, and decisions must be adhered to. (4) Stopping losses is illustrated by the example of LeEco stocks, where Duan Yongping illustrated the wisdom of decisive loss-cutting. LeEco initially rose due to its video business but blindly expanded into cars, phones, and other fields, leading to a broken capital chain and deteriorating fundamentals. When the stock price of LeEco fell from a high to the 30s, some investors, having bought at a high price, held on with the hope that the price would rebound. However, Duan Yongping pointed out that at this point, LeEco was close to zero, and selling at any price to stop losses was a rational move. If one stubbornly waits, the subsequent delisting of LeEco would lead to even greater losses. This serves as a warning to investors: in the face of investment mistakes, one must not sink into despair but stay calm and timely correct errors.

(5) Investment taboos. Do not use money you need to gamble with money you do not need. Earning 10% or 20% a year is reasonable, but pursuing a 500% return could lead to total loss. Why embark on that?

Entrepreneurship Opinions (1) Arise from passion, declare goals.
Duan Yongping warns entrepreneurs not to follow trends or start a business just for the sake of it. One must resonate with their genuine thoughts and have a tremendous passion for what they are doing. He gives his experience as an example: he plunged into the gaming field because he had a strong interest in games and was willing to fully invest himself. Just like the learning machine he created, which incorporates entertaining educational elements, the love for students comes from this passion. Only by genuinely finding one's interests can one have the motivation to persist through difficulties on the entrepreneurial path and not give up easily, viewing entrepreneurship as a long-lasting journey of passion.

(2) Low success rates require perseverance.
Duan Yongping frankly states that although the conditions for entrepreneurship today are much better than in the past, with various venture capital (VC) and startup funding support available, the entrepreneurship rate remains very low. Entrepreneurship is fraught with difficulties, such as in the early days of e-commerce when there were significant challenges in logistics, product trust systems, and user habits, causing many e-commerce platforms to fail just before dawn. Entrepreneurs must be prepared for long-term hardship, facing challenges like funding shortages, market competition, and technological peaks, while maintaining their original aspirations; otherwise, they may miss the dawn.

3. Understanding Innovation (1) Meeting needs is the core.
Duan Yongping emphasizes that improving efficiency and innovation is not merely about pursuing differentiation; its core meaning is accurately meeting user needs. Take Apple as an example: after Steve Jobs returned to Apple, he keenly sensed the public's latent desire for convenient, intelligent, and aesthetically pleasing mobile communication and entertainment devices, leading to the launch of the iPhone, which integrated touchscreen controls, a rich application ecosystem, and exquisite industrial design, transforming traditional mobile phone concepts and ushering in a new era of smartphones, attracting global users. Google is similar; in the search engine domain, it deeply researches users' needs for precise, fast, and diversified information searches, continuously optimizing algorithms and expanding functionalities like knowledge graphs and intelligent associations, becoming the most widely used search engine globally. This shows that enterprises must focus on user pain points and provide practical and effective solutions to achieve stable and sustainable innovation.

(2) Editing is the prelude to innovation.
In Duan Yongping's view, editing and innovation are not mutually exclusive but rather complementary. Most innovations often begin with editing. Looking back at the history of business development, the successful imitation of existing industry patents has led to today's norms. Microsoft, for example, summarized the concept of Apple's graphical user interface operating system, encapsulated its own technological advantages, and created the Windows system, leveraging compatibility and software ecosystem construction to widely evaluate personal computers and promote computer popularity. Tencent originated from the functionality framework of the foreign instant messaging software ICQ, and later deeply optimized it for Chinese users' social and aesthetic preferences, adding features like personalized avatars, QQ show, and group chats, becoming a national-level social application. In the early stages of entrepreneurship, when funds, technology, and experience are lacking, reasonably exploring successful models from predecessors can help quickly familiarize oneself with market rules and reduce trial-and-error costs, allowing for optimization and upgrading based on prototypes while incorporating one's own unique features to achieve breakthrough innovation.

4. Learning and Growth (1) Cultivating learning abilities.
Duan Yongping emphasizes that the core of schools lies in cultivating learning methods. In today's era of rapid development of artificial intelligence, although AI can assist in improving learning efficiency, such as quickly organizing knowledge and aiding memory with intelligent learning software, one must not overly rely on it when writing papers, as academic integrity must be upheld. He cites his personal experience, where he initially mastered typing techniques and, through cultivating self-learning abilities, actively sought tutorials and practiced repeatedly, achieving blind typing in just three days. This inspires students to view emerging technologies as effective tools while not losing the ability to explore knowledge independently, actively digging into their own areas of interest and discerning vast amounts of information for selective learning, thus continuously growing.

(2) Decision-making must be long-term.
Discussing decision-making, Duan Yongping points out that one cannot only look at the immediate future. Just like with a learning diary, if one gives up on finger exercises simply because they are tedious and slow to improve, one will not enjoy the convenience brought by typing in the future.

The same applies to life in learning and entrepreneurship. When facing challenges, one should not be deceived by immediate difficulties or short-term benefits; instead, consider the long-term implications of current decisions for the next five, ten years, or even longer. Take career choices as an example: one should not only look at salary levels but also consider industry prospects and personal growth opportunities. Those who chose to enter the new energy sector a few years ago, for instance, have gained significant development opportunities as the industry has risen. Conversely, if one seeks comfort by entering a sunset industry, future development is likely to stagnate.

5. Philosophical Life.








(1) Do the right thing, stick to the right path.
Duan Yongping flips the phrase 'do the right thing, do things right,' which appears simple but carries profound meaning. In real life, most people are quite clear about what is right and what is wrong—behaviors like smoking, drinking, academic dishonesty, and plagiarism are well understood to be incorrect. However, many often fall prey to temporary temptations and conveniences. In the investment realm, some investors are misled by short-term high returns of speculative stocks, ignoring the real operational conditions and financial risks of the companies, blindly following trends and ending up suffering substantial losses. In entrepreneurship, if one only seeks immediate benefits, copies others' ideas, and ignores product quality and user experience, one may achieve short-term gains but will struggle to sustain them. Life is long, and once one realizes they are on the wrong path, they should correct it and return to the right path, as only then can they proceed steadily and far.

(2) Integrity and honesty matter.
Duan Yongping repeatedly emphasizes that integrity and honesty are the foundation of being a person and conducting business; they are the cornerstone of success in life. In the business world, if a company wants to develop long-term, operating with integrity is not an option but a necessity. Take the melamine scandal as an example: some dairy brands, in an effort to reduce costs, falsely inflated protein content by illegally adding melamine to milk powder, seriously harming the health of infants and young children. After the incident, these companies collapsed, their credibility and market share plummeting, and it was difficult to regain consumer trust even after significant efforts. In contrast, companies that adhere to integrity, like Huawei, have maintained a philosophy of self-research in technology, quality first, and honest service to customers for many years. Despite facing challenges like foreign technology blockades, they have still established a solid foothold in the global communications market thanks to their strong reputation. When being sincere with others and keeping promises, one can win genuine friendships and earn respect and trust, creating a positive interpersonal environment and opening the door to success in life.

6. Insights of the Times (1) Maintain rationality in viewing AI.
Regarding the currently popular AI, Duan Yongping expressed that while he finds AI impressive, he does not fully understand it. He pointed out that times and tools are constantly changing; from the past industrial revolution to today’s information age, technological iterations never cease. However, the logical perception of how humans learn, work, and live has changed. Artificial intelligence is essentially a new tool for enhancing efficiency. In academic research scenarios, while AI can assist in data organization and analysis, overly relying on it when writing papers can lead to academic misconduct, undermining the rigor and innovation of academic research. The self-thinking and in-depth research methods cultivated by schools remain the foundation of academic progress. This reminds everyone that when facing emerging technologies, it is essential to leverage their advantages while not abandoning the essence of traditional learning and research methods.

(2) Act in accordance with globalization trends.
Duan Yongping mentioned that globalization is a naturally occurring process and not a goal that companies can deliberately pursue. When companies lack sufficient strength and have not fully tapped into domestic demand, blindly going abroad often leads to challenges. For example, some early internet companies that ventured abroad failed to establish themselves due to insufficient understanding of cultural differences, policies, and user habits in overseas markets after investing significant resources. When companies have accumulated enough strength in their home market, their products or services can accurately meet overseas market needs. Furthermore, they should further refine market demands and localize operations, popularizing local culture. For instance, the international version of Douyin, TikTok, adjusts its content recommendation strategy based on user preferences in different regions, enabling it to gradually penetrate and open up the global market.

(3) Dialectics of Sino-American relations.
When asked about the impact of Sino-American relations on entrepreneurship at Zhejiang University, Duan Yongping dialectically pointed out that there are indeed some conflicts in the short term, such as trade frictions and technology blockades, which hinder communication between the two sides, especially in the tech field. Chinese companies like Huawei face U.S. sanctions and uncertainties in chip supply. However, from a long-term perspective, achieving economic structural complementarity shows that the U.S. high-tech research and development and financial services are interdependent with China's vast consumer market and established manufacturing industry. This presents enormous potential for cooperation. Entrepreneurs should not let short-term opposition emotions dictate their actions; they should assess and avoid risks in conflict areas while exploring cooperative opportunities in sectors like new energy and cross-border e-commerce, leveraging resources from both sides to enhance the success rate of their ventures and create room for their own development.

7. Wisdom of Life (1) Value health and cultivate habits.
Duan Yongping shared his emphasis on health during discussions, particularly stressing the importance of exercise and stretching. He mentioned that neglecting these habits in youth could lead to common issues as one ages, such as the risks of back and neck strain from prolonged sitting. He advises students to develop exercise habits from a young age, whether it’s morning runs, evening jogs, or daily fitness routines like yoga and stretching, all of which can effectively enhance physical fitness. Only by maintaining good physical condition can one work energetically.


Duan Yongping delved into the impact of information asymmetry in investment, stating that the role of information asymmetry in stock trading is not as significant as people imagine. In today's era of rapid information dissemination, the vast amount of information in the stock market makes trying to capture information asymmetry for trading not only extremely difficult but also mentally exhausting. He emphasized that investment is not a zero-sum game; it is not simply about winning or losing. One should broaden their perspective and focus on finding genuinely valuable companies to hold long-term. Attempting to invest solely for the sake of exploiting information asymmetry is, in essence, an unethical behavior that is unlikely to yield long-term stable returns. Investors should concentrate their efforts on thoroughly researching the value, business models, financial status, and fundamental information of companies.


to judge companies.

He cautioned with some examples, noting that some investors, in pursuit of high returns, invested in high-risk virtual currencies or dubious 'high-risk' technology projects concerning home loans or children's education funds, ultimately losing everything.

Investment should be based on a thorough understanding of the investment objects. One must resolutely avoid fields they do not understand and also refrain from using leverage, as leverage can amplify both gains and risks. Reasonable financial planning, diversification, and credit appreciation are the principles that ordinary investors should follow.