At 10:30 on February 25, 2024, Zong Qinghou, the founder and chairman of Wahaha Group, died in Hangzhou at the age of 79 due to ineffective treatment. Many entrepreneurs paid tribute to him.Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, sent an elegiac couplet: "It is never too late to fight forty in life, a pioneering spirit; it is the true nature of an entrepreneur to seek innovation day and night despite all the difficulties in starting a business."These two sentences by Jack Ma sum up Zong Qinghou’s life very well.

Public information shows that in 1987, Zong Qinghou borrowed 140,000 yuan to take over the distribution department of a school-run enterprise in Shangcheng District, Hangzhou, which had been losing money for years. He started making money by selling soda, popsicles, and toys on a consignment basis.

As soon as he receives a call from the school, no matter it is windy, rainy or scorching hot, 42-year-old Zong Qinghou immediately gets on his tricycle and delivers the products to the school.

In July of the same year, Zong Qinghou prepared to build Hangzhou Baoling Children's Nutritional Food Factory (later renamed "Hangzhou Wahaha Nutritional Food Factory").

In 1988, "Wahaha" developed the first nutritional product specifically for children.

Over the past 30 years, under the leadership of Zong Qinghou, "Wahaha" has gradually grown into a leading food and beverage enterprise integrating pure water, beverages, medicine and health food.

earlier,Lei Jun, the founder of Xiaomi Group, also issued a message to commemorate Zong Qinghou, calling him a legend of a generation.

"I never drank Wahaha AD calcium milk when I was a child, and I didn't know him. In 1987, he led two retired teachers from a school-run enterprise and borrowed 140,000 yuan to create the 'Wahaha' brand. I have read a book written by him more than 20 years ago. I was deeply impressed and admired him very much. A legend of a generation, going well all the way." I just found on my bookshelf: "Extraordinary Marketing Wahaha: China's Most Successful Practical Lesson Plan", published in 2002, Lei Jun said.

Zhou Hongyi said: "When I mentioned Mr. Zong, what impressed me most was that when I first started my business, I tried to build an agency system for Internet products across the country. It was very hard to go from agent to agent, saying repetitive words, and I was very irritated.Lei Jun recommended me to read a book about Wahaha called "Extraordinary Marketing", which enlightened me. Mr. Zong, such a successful entrepreneur, took the trouble to repeat it many times when building a marketing network. As a young man and an entrepreneur, why should I feel tired?.

Later, when I talked about my philosophy over and over again on many occasions, I would always think of the scene when Mr. Zong promoted Wahaha. Mr. Zong has left Hexi. I hope his spirit can continue to encourage more entrepreneurs in China to work together. "