January 28, 2010. Shanghai campus -- Stone Bu is a legendary entrepreneur in the e-commerce industry. He launched an internet retail company when few people realized the value of the market; he invested less than RMB1 million into the start-up and now revenues exceed RMB300 million; he went head-to-head with deep-pocket competitors like Newegg.com.cn and 360buy.com and still his company kept growing.

Bu is the founder and CEO of ICSON.com, one of the Top 10 biggest online retailers in China. Today, he shared his experience and insight with CEIBS students and alumni during an event organized by the CEIBS E-business Club.

After providing a brief overview of ICSON.com, Bu opened the floor for questions. “I am not here for PR, but I’m really willing to communicate with you CEIBS students. I want to know what you are interested in, and I will gladly share my personal experiences and opinions with you,” he explained.

The audience raised one question after another for almost two hours. During his replies, Bu covered topics such as how he developed his company from scratch without burning money; and the importance of focusing on a niche market and finding ways to collaborate with partners. By staying focused, he said, he was able to concentrate his resources and collaborate with partners like online game platforms. This, he explained, enabled him to expose his company to a large number of target customers without having to provide a huge budget for marketing.

Audience members also asked about ICSON.com’s keys to a successful operation.  Bu said they pulled this off by bringing in lots of fresh ideas about inventory management and clearly defined tactics to leverage cash flow. He summarized his key points by introducing the concept of “a corporation’s gene”. He added: “Frankly speaking, all our competitors can do the same thing if they really want to, and are ready to invest in it. However it is easier said than done. Different companies have different “genes”, and that determines the priority and path they follow. It’s in our gene, in our culture, and that’s why we can make it happen while bigger players can’t.”

Even after the official proceedings came to a close, eager students still gathered around Bu to ask questions. As one MBA 2009 student said, “The event exceeded my expectations! His experience is very valuable for us and I really appreciate his openness!”