Having spent eight years in the crypto world, I have seen too many people fail by "just a little short." They aren't lacking opportunities; they lose because of a misunderstanding of the essence of business.

I've gone through the darkest moments—taking on debt to enter the market, eating instant noodles in the warehouse, working nonstop for 900 days. These are not motivational stories but the prices the market has taught me. In the end, I summarized six rules, each validated by data from failures and successes.

**Rule 1: Traffic equals people's hearts**

Organic traffic reveals the true voice of the market, while paid traffic amplifies that voice. But many people confuse the two—spending money to buy traffic without knowing that the conversion rate is zero.

The key here is repurchase rate. One user visiting once versus ten times makes a completely different business ceiling. I once developed a product with a very low customer acquisition cost in the first month, but the repurchase rate was only 8%. Later, I adjusted the product logic, and the repurchase rate rose to 42%. That’s the real moat—not just high traffic, but returning visitors.

**Rule 2: Viral hits come from accumulation, not luck**

When seeing someone else's viral product, many people's first reaction is "I want to make one like that." But they don't see that behind this viral hit are data records of 300 ordinary products. Every failed version teaches you what the market wants.

My notebook is filled with customer feedback, conversion data, and reasons for churn. After five years and 27 notebooks, I finally understood why some features are used by users and others are uninstalled. It’s not luck; it’s certainty built through time and failure.

Don’t believe in stories of "overnight success." That’s just because you didn’t see the 900 nights beforehand.

**Rule 3: Cash flow is greater than profit**

This is the most common mistake in the crypto circle. The profit on paper looks great, but if cash flow is cut off once, the company is dead. I’ve seen companies with a 30% profit margin struggle to survive because of slow receivables.

So my principle is simple: always keep a six-month salary reserve in the bank. No matter how good the business or how full the orders, this bottom line must not be touched. Profit can be used for expansion, but cash flow is life. Some projects seem very profitable, but with long payment cycles, I’d rather give up. This isn’t conservatism; it’s the prerequisite for survival.

**Rule 4: Completion is always better than perfection**

The most common phrase among product teams is "Let’s optimize a bit more." But each optimization takes three months, and meanwhile, the market has already been taken by others.

My approach is: launch the first version if it’s usable. Let real market users help you iterate—this is a thousand times faster than imagining the market in an office. Many fear ridicule and keep polishing. But in crypto, timing is the most scarce resource. Waiting for perfection is waiting to be eliminated.

**Rule 5: Team management is an anti-human art**

When hiring, be rational—look at ability, background, thinking. But when retaining people, use emotion—recognition, trust, providing growth.

The difference between ordinary and extraordinary talent often isn’t IQ but whether they are seen. I’ve seen many talented people suppressed into mediocrity, and ordinary employees burst with unexpected abilities under trust. Top management means: enabling everyone to see their growth potential.

**Rule 6: The boss’s last dignity**

This is the rule I insist on most.

Be willing to fire your biggest client. Some money, once earned, can cost you your original intention. I once had a major client accounting for 40% of our revenue, but their demands became increasingly excessive—low prices, bullying terms, squeezing the team. In the end, I chose to give up.

It looked like a loss at the time, but later that position was filled by ten small clients, and no one was squeezing my team. Not all money is worth earning.

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In the past few years in the crypto world, I’ve learned one of the deepest truths: it’s never about being smart.

There are many smart people, but few who can ignite themselves in despair. Most people fail not because they can’t, but because they give up on "what could have been" rather than "what’s impossible." They have the ability but lack the fierce determination to keep moving forward in darkness.

Opportunities are always forming, and there are always people lost in the wind. If you’re still exploring, remember these six rules. It’s not about creativity but the simplest business logic—repeated validation, continuous iteration, and surviving until the end.

The water in crypto is deep, but as long as you understand the rules, it’s less likely you’ll drown.