我的第一份全职工作（也是唯一一份）是为亚洲的一个美元基金工作，是一个曾经相当辉煌（现在已经影响力不再）的Venture Fund。 这个基金投出了盛大游戏，完美世界，58同城等，并且大比例投资了印度的Paytm等很好的项目，也是亚洲最早做到单期基金10亿美金的一级市场基金。 并且基金合伙人从孙正义买走了GP share，成功从软银的子基金独立。 今天不是为了去分析这个基金的起落，而是我前两天偶然回顾这段工作经历的时候，发现我远远低估了这段经历对我的意义。 这里面最重要的原因就是我与一个非常好的老板共事。 这个前辈是一位看起来mean和严肃，但实际上非常大方和善良的人。 我从这位前辈学到了很多工作，生活以及对待人的原则（准确来讲是我理解了这些原则的重要性但还不一定已经成功贯彻）： 工作方面： 1. 做一个投资人，而不是风险投资人，不要把自己局限在所谓的风险投资的这个工作模式里面。 （这个对于刚进入职场的我的冲击是很大的，你可以理解为去一个Venture Capital上班的二天老板说风投这个工作模式不是最有效的，需要理解投资本身） 2. 投资不能从上到下，按照目录做投资。 我入职没多久就整理了很多当时在Web2火热的细分赛道，写了很多理由为什么我们需要去覆盖这些主题。 Web3的语境就类似于我拿了一些主题词，ZK硬件加速，L2的互操作性解决方案，RWA+Stablecoin等等一堆去给老板汇报。 当时反馈给我的印象最深的是一个观点：从上到下，按照类别投资很难找到好的公司。 应该专注于从下到上，从个人需求或者身边需求出发，研究单个好公司的个体。 3. 对投资标的高度的耐心，同时享受这个等待的过程。 前老板个人天使投资了知乎，从第一笔投资到知乎上市接近10年。 过程中更多的是关注业务基本面的变化，与创始人的互相学习效率。 以上工作相关的三个原则对我最多的帮助是两个角度： 1. 更加尊重事物或者工作的本质，而不会直接从一个范式或者框架出发。 初级的启发了我对第一性原理的理解。 2. 尝试在理解变富的本质，可能等于聪明的hold住了对的东西。 生活方面： 1. 对家庭与子女教育的重视。 我这位老板有两个女儿，都教育的极其优秀，大女儿刚从一个常春藤名校本科毕业。 老板为了小女儿的教育，自己担任作者和小女儿共创了一个儿童经济学绘本系列，目前已经在中国卖出了超过200万套，应该是细分领域的第一名。 2. 节俭、高品质消费与个人高风险投资是不冲突的。 几乎都地铁出行，外出吃饭没吃完的一定会打包，个人天使投资的单笔几百万人民币投资款都会尽量当天/第二天打款，低调高价格的穿着方式，对勃艮第的热爱。 这些看似有点冲突的生活方式会集合在一起。 待人方面： 1. 对年轻人的信任。 在当时的场景里面，这个年轻人就是我（大概23，24岁）。 我在这个基金工作的两年出了5个term，完成了2笔完全由我主导的投资。 这个在传统的Web2领域且相对保守的基金属于一个很不错的速度。 我的老板自然也成为了我开始创业的第一个投资人。 这段经历深深影响了我对信任和领导力的理解，也让我始终相信：一个组织是否真正有活力，关键在于是否愿意真正赋权给年轻人。 今天，我也在延续这份信任。 我们正式任命 Particle 的第一位 COO — Ethan Francis。 他只有19岁，但已经全职工作超过4年（其中2年在Particle） 他符合我想要一起工作和信任的对象的特质： 真诚，努力，专业又灵活。 Particle 已经成立3年，可能从Crypto创业角度已经是一个非常"老“的项目，按Web3领域标准，我的年龄也不再是年轻人founder，而只是一个相对年轻的人。 但Particle会持续进化，团队会永葆活力，因为我们会永远坚持我从前老板身上学到的一个原则：押注年轻人。 Good luck, Ethan! -- My first (and only) full-time job was at a USD fund based in Asia — a venture fund that was once remarkably influential, though its presence has faded in recent years. It backed companies like Shanda Games, Perfect World, and and made a significant investment in Paytm in India, among other great companies. It was also one of the earliest primary-market funds in Asia to raise a $1 billion single fund. Impressively, the fund’s partners bought out their GP stake from Masayoshi Son, successfully spinning out from SoftBank’s sub-fund. Today, I’m not here to analyze the rise and fall of this fund. Rather, I recently found myself reflecting on that experience — and realized I had long underestimated how much it meant to me. The most important reason: I had the privilege of working under an exceptional boss. This mentor appeared strict — even “mean” — at first glance, but in reality, he was incredibly generous, kind, and principled. From him, I learned a great deal — not just about work, but about life, and how to treat people. (More accurately, I came to understand the importance of these principles, though I’m still learning to fully embody them.) On Work: 1. Be an investor, not just a venture capitalist. Don’t confine yourself to the venture capital playbook. For someone just starting out, this was a major mental reset. Imagine joining a VC firm, only to have your boss tell you on day two that venture capital, as a model, is far from optimal — and that to succeed, you must understand investing itself. 2. Avoid top-down, theme-based investing. Soon after I joined, I put together a detailed overview of Web2 sub-sectors that were trending at the time, explaining why we should focus on them. To give a Web3 analogy: it was like I pulled together a list of hot narratives — ZK hardware acceleration, L2 interoperability, RWA + Stablecoin — and pitched them to my boss. His response left a lasting impression: “It’s hard to find great companies by categorizing themes from the top down. You need to go bottom-up — observe real, individual needs and study standout companies one by one.” 3. Have patience with your investments — and enjoy the wait. My former boss was one of the earliest angel investors in Zhihu. From his first check to its IPO, nearly 10 years passed. But his focus throughout was on understanding how the business was evolving — and learning together with the founder. These three principles shaped the way I work. Two takeaways stand out: 1. Respect the essence of the work, instead of starting from frameworks or mental models. This was my first introduction to first-principles thinking. 2. Try to understand the nature of wealth — it may just be about holding onto the right things, intelligently and patiently. On Life: 1. A deep commitment to family and children’s education. My boss had two daughters, both of whom were exceptionally well-educated — the older had just graduated from an Ivy League university. For the younger one, he co-authored a children’s book series on economics, which went on to sell over 2 million copies in China. It became a best-seller in its category. 2. Frugality, high-quality consumption, and high-risk personal investing are not mutually exclusive. He took the subway almost everywhere. He always packed leftovers when eating out. He often wired seven-figure USD-equivalent angel checks within a day. His wardrobe was understated but refined. He had a deep love for Burgundy wine. These seemingly contradictory habits came together in surprising harmony. On People: 1. Trust in young people. At that time, I was the young person — just 23 or 24 years old. Over two years, I issued five term sheets and completed two investments that I led end-to-end. In a relatively conservative, traditional Web2 fund, that was a strong pace. Naturally, my boss became the very first investor to back me when I started my own venture. That experience shaped how I view leadership and trust. It convinced me that whether an organization has real vitality comes down to one thing: are you willing to truly empower young people? Today, I’m proud to carry that belief forward. We’re officially appointing Ethan Francis as the first Chief Operating Officer of Particle. He’s only 19 years old, but already has over four years of full-time work experience — two of which have been with Particle. Ethan embodies the qualities I look for in someone I want to work with and trust: genuine, driven, professional, and flexible. Particle has been around for three years. By crypto startup standards, we’re already a relatively “old” project. And in Web3, I may no longer be a young founder — just someone who’s still relatively young. But Particle will continue to evolve. Our team will remain dynamic and alive — because we’ll always stick to a principle I learned from my first boss: Bet on young people. Good luck, Ethan!