Chinese Who Couldn't Speak a Word of English Achieves Silicon Valley Success Through 'Zoom'

[Hidden Business Story] 'Video Conferencing' as the Biggest Beneficiary of COVID-19 with a Corporate Value of 56 Trillion Won
Generation Z Uses 'Zoom' for Birthday Parties, Concerts, and Blind Dates... Coining the New Term 'Jumer'
Treating 'Employees' Like Family... Becoming a Company with a Glassdoor Rating of 4.8 and the Best CEO

[Source - Zoom Homepage]

[Asia Economy Reporter Shinwon Yoon] Around the world, to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), non-face-to-face work and classes using 'online' methods instead of offline have become the norm. As more companies adopt remote work, the field that has received particular attention is 'video conferencing.' Among them, 'Zoom' is considered the biggest beneficiary of COVID-19.

Recently, with over 300 million daily users?an increase of 100 million compared to before the COVID-19 outbreak?Zoom video conferencing has faced some controversies regarding security. However, these concerns have subsided following the release of Zoom version 5.0, which added encryption features and other security enhancements.

Zoom, hailed as a Silicon Valley legend, is a video conferencing platform company founded in 2011 by a Chinese entrepreneur. Last year's revenue reached $662 million (approximately 810 billion KRW), and due to COVID-19, its corporate value recently soared to $46 billion (about 56 trillion KRW). Its performance this year is expected to be even better, making it a company with a promising future.

The founder, Eric Yuan, was a foreigner who could not speak a word of English when he first came to Silicon Valley from China. He was rejected for a visa eight times due to his lack of English skills and finally obtained approval on his ninth attempt in 1997, allowing him to come to the United States. He started working at WebEx, a video conferencing solution company, where he worked as a software engineer building video conferencing systems because he "could not speak English." In 2007, when WebEx was acquired by Cisco, Eric became a Cisco vice president in his late 30s.

However, a few years later, he gave up his position as a vice president at a large corporation and decided to start his own company. In 2011, based on decades of experience, he launched Zoom. At that time, experts were skeptical about Zoom. The video conferencing industry was already a red ocean dominated by global IT giants like Microsoft (MS) and Google.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

'Zoom' Shining in a Red Ocean

As a latecomer, Zoom needed something new that broke the existing mold, and Eric proposed a new type of video conferencing solution. Most video conferencing solutions were merely conveniences or additional services provided by large corporations, but Zoom added professionalism. It offered a system that could host video conferences with up to 100 participants, provided video recording, and even automatically transcribed meeting content. Through screen sharing, users could share their smartphone or PC screens, and during meetings, a whiteboard function allowed text-based interaction.

Another major advantage is that it works on any operating system. Apple's FaceTime, for example, only works on certain devices, but Zoom operates well on PCs, laptops, iPhones, and Android phones. This is why companies with employees using different devices chose Zoom. Even without COVID-19, global companies with branches worldwide communicate through Zoom. For instance, Uber reportedly holds about 1,500 Zoom meetings daily.

Generation Z (young people born from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s) are also enthusiastic about Zoom. Those who share their daily lives via Zoom are called 'Zoomers.' A kind of 'Zoom culture' has now formed, where people hold birthday parties or performances using Zoom. This is because social features were added. Users can apply Instagram-like filters to their screens or edit backgrounds like on TikTok. A bedroom can transform into outer space, or a bathroom can appear in front of the Eiffel Tower.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

"Executives take care of employees, and employees take care of their colleagues and themselves"

Another reason Zoom has attracted attention is its founder, Eric Yuan. When Zoom was founded, about 40 fellow engineers followed him, showing the respect he commands. Last year, Eric Yuan was named 'Best CEO' by the recruitment site Glassdoor. Ninety-nine percent of employees and executives who participated in the evaluation selected him as the best CEO.

Zoom has implemented a 'care culture.' It is based on the idea that the workplace is where employees spend the most time after home. The philosophy is that executives take care of employees, employees take care of their colleagues and themselves, and the company also cares for customers and the local community.

Therefore, Zoom has a department called the 'Happiness Crew.' This department helps employees enjoy coming to work and is responsible for all company welfare and environment. The welfare benefits are beyond imagination. For example, when an employee takes sick leave, they receive a rolling paper with supportive messages and coupons for their favorite restaurant. On the anniversary of a grandmother's passing, an employee might receive a pie that the grandmother used to enjoy. Moreover, parents are invited to the company to tour the office and watch their children at work.

Because of these reasons, positive evaluations of Eric are accompanied by high regard for Zoom itself. According to Glassdoor, Zoom has a company rating of 4.8 out of 5. Google, which is also listed annually as a 'great place to work,' scores in the 4.5 range.

Zoom, which successfully debuted on the NASDAQ market last year, is regarded as a company expected to thrive even in the 'post-COVID' era. Zoom went public in April 2019, and its stock price rose 72% on the first day of trading, attracting significant attention. Recently, its corporate value is comparable to that of ride-sharing company Uber.