How Long Does It Take a Company to Reach the Global 500?

Originally published 2023-10-19Robin’s commentary (figures as stated in the post; as of October 2023; not independently verified)

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Collected in Robin Shen’s Field Notes · Content type and attribution are shown above

English translation of the Chinese post originally published 2023-10-19. Translated 2026-10-30 with AI assistance. Historical figures and claims have not been updated or independently verified. 中文原文

Reading guide

Robin lists the time from founding to reaching the Global 500 as stated in the post: 18 years for JD.com, 18 for Alibaba, 14 for Tencent, and 23 for Huawei. Xiaomi took only nine years. He says Lei Jun deserves credit for that, and that Xiaomi’s recent move into cars is worth watching. He adds a reminder: if you have spent ten years or more building a business without clear progress, examine where something has gone wrong.

Key points

JD.com: 18 years; Alibaba: 18; Tencent: 14; Huawei: 23, according to the post.
Xiaomi took just nine years from founding to the Global 500.
After more than ten years without clear startup progress, examine what has gone wrong.

One clear path continues into the distance among several branching routes, suggesting choice and focus. — Entrepreneurship & strategyThematic illustration · AI generated

Full text — English translation

Time from a company’s founding to entering the Global 500 JD.com: 18 years Alibaba: 18 years Tencent: 14 years Huawei: 23 years Xiaomi took only nine years from founding to entering the Global 500. Lei Jun deserves some credit for that. Xiaomi’s recent move into car manufacturing is also worth watching. One other point: if you have spent ten years or more starting a business without much clear progress, make sure you examine where something has gone wrong.

These articles are personal notes, book excerpts, and collected reprints. Figures and events reflect the time of the original publication, are not current information, and do not constitute investment advice.

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