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作为中国快速崛起的年轻的企业家之一的东林电子公司的创始人贾强先生，在1991年到达厦门时，只随身携带着一个皮箱。哪知第一周皮箱就被偷走了。贾强说：“这个小偷不知道皮箱里只有一件我母亲织给我的毛衣！”

贾强1991年毕业于西安交通大学国际贸易专业。他来到厦门是因为他的女朋友在福建，并且他深信：在这个经济特区里他一定会有一个更好的将来。在为一家地毯公司的台湾老板从事翻译和助理工作的两年之后，他的老板说：“贾强，我要告诉你一个真实的故事。当我的父亲跟你一样年龄的时候非常穷。他每天得拉车达50公里才能够赚取足够的午饭钱。现在他已经有了上亿美元的资产。你将会有一个比他更美好的将来。因为你有知识，且中国今天的机遇比20年前台湾的要好。”Back to Top Amoy Mag. Guide to Xiamen and Fujian

贾强想：“如果我现在不做出点事业，那么20年后我的儿子会问我原因。”他努力的在为一家德国纺织公司做贸易代理，但是一年后他破产了，连一张车票都买不起，最后不得不靠他女朋友救济过活。但是贾强也从中学到了许多经验教训：
1. 根据自己的背景选择正确的方向。
2. 建立起一个朋友兼伙伴的团队。
3. 在选择团队成员时，强调个人的能力和才干

贾强的姐姐在比利时学习时碰到一个人，他说厦门有一家贾强所需要的生产节能灯的工厂。同在厦门的贾强的一个以前的同学知道这个工厂。他们就去参观了。刚好贾强懂得贸易，他的同学了解技术，他们就联手起来一起从事这行业。

在1995年2月，他们成立了厦门市东林电子有限公司---面积100平方米，员工仅有6人。他们销售的产品无法满足客户高质量的要求，因此在反复试验之后，他们发展了自己产品的质量。由于同菲利浦的专利冲突而使他们在比利时的客户放弃灯的销售。

他们投资了大笔的钱来开发质量产品，而没有足够的钱来付话费。贾强说：“那是我最黑暗的一年。我的妻子工资提高了而我却破产了。”

1996年，贾强此时住在城市的一个贫困地方，当他走在回家的路上时，一栋漂亮的办公室出现在那个区域，里面的人着装很时尚。看到这，他说道：这房子完全与周围格格不入。原来这个公司是进行品牌和形象设计的公司。这个公司的所有者崔先生后来成为了贾强最好的朋友。贾强还将他的狗取名为崔。

贾强无法支付起这个费用，但是崔先生和他签定了一个合同，他为贾强设计产品的品牌和标志，随后贾强每卖一个灯就付给他一毛钱。

贾强到酒吧边喝酒边想。他的灯比普通的灯节省了20%的能源，因此可以把名字取为“1/5”。但是崔先生说：“这个名字一点感情都没有。”最后贾强想到了“萤火虫”。

“就是这个了。”崔先生说到。在那个晚上他们最终定下了产品的名字和标志和口号：用心照亮全世界。贾强说：“萤火虫是用心照亮全世界，我们东林人是用我们的心照亮全世界。”

一周后，贾强的一个德国朋友告诉他，许多德国酒吧都用萤火虫来命名，因为它很温柔很浪漫。
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要么全部拥有要么一无所有！
崔先生接下去的建议是萤火虫要么飞起来，要么被淘汰掉。他告诉贾强，要他在广交会上买一个一万美金的展位。贾强的合伙人表示反对，因为这将花光他们所有的钱。

但是贾强说：“我们每天都在亏本，因此再过三个月我们就将破产。这种方式会给我们带来一线生机。”在和崔先生进行了彻夜的协商和深层次的交流后，他们决定买下这个摊位。

重要的是形象
贾强说大部分的展位看起来就像个超级市场，展示着公司生产的所有产品。但是萤火虫的展位却差不多是空的。贾强说：“我只展示了5个灯。我们的展位实在是太空了，以致于被人认为我是在卖笔记本电脑的。”

贾强保持他的展位如此简单，因为他的侧重点不是放在产品上，而是放在形象和情感上，希望通过蓝天、大地、萤火虫标志来突出环境的主题。直到展会结束回家，贾强一笔订单都没接到。

两周之后，银行通知贾强他收到了英国的20万订单的信用证。“这不可能！”贾强说到，“没有公司和我联系啊，是不是搞错了！”但是这不是个失误。贾强打通了英国马克的电话说：“我甚至不认识您！”
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马克说：“但是我记得你！在广交会上你的三件事使我印象深刻。第一，是你说着一口流利的英语并且你还是公司的总经理；你个人就代表了你的产品。第二，你的公司是唯一一家具有明确清晰的形象的公司。第三，你们只生产节能灯。我相信你，我确信你将会有一个很好的前景。”

现在萤火虫拥有大的订单量，为了适应这个需求，他们从银行贷款了10万美金承诺三个月后付清，希望建立一个足够大的工厂来保证订单的按时交货。“那时灯的成本比现在的高四倍。大部分节能灯的质量仍然不太好。一个朋友问我，我们的灯其寿命是否能够超过一个星期。随后我就想出了这么一句话：灯的寿命决定公司的寿命！”

生存还是灭亡
1997到1998年，萤火虫可以说是相当成功的，但是同其他大部分的公司一样，为了能够从一个凭本能操作的企业转型到一个管理专业化的公司，他们一直在奋斗着。他们投资巨大，发展很迅速，但是当另一个合伙人挪用了资金时，整个公司的资金周转出现了问题，且相当复杂。1999年，供应商停止了供货，要求付款。贾强将所有的供应商请到办公室，写了两张借条给他们，一张是公司的名义，一张以他自己的名义。他说：“如果再过三个月我还是还不了贷款的话，我个人承担所有责任！”在1999年底，萤火虫终于飞了起来，而且飞得很高。
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与欧盟的决斗
2000年当他在德国黑森林度假时，他接到了一个从中国打来的电话。欧盟控告中国公司倾销产品。贾强马上取消了度假，飞往布鲁塞尔。在那欧盟官员告诉他：“中国公司都是不专业的，不是真正的私营企业。他们都是国家经营、国家提供补助的，并不关心利润，只是为了获取外汇。”

贾强愤怒了。萤火虫从来没有从政府那里拿到任何的资助。因此他成为了中国企业家中第一个站出来反对欧盟的人。他从布鲁塞尔请来了一位律师，但是他犯了一个错误。他请来的是一个缺乏经验的律师，在反倾销案件方面更是没有经验。欧盟最终判决是萤火虫公司的财政不符合国际财政惯例，征收66%的税收，这使得他们失去了在欧盟70%的市场。

贾强无法入睡了。他说：“萤火虫走到尽头了。”但是通过在卡拉奇经济特区建立工厂，他恢复了往日的信心。他说：“巴基斯坦人说英语，并且鼓励外商投资。”从厦门的元器件被送到卡拉奇组装，之后运往欧盟。尽管成本很高，但是他们还是获利了，直到欧司朗抢注了萤火虫的品牌。

欧司朗一直在提防着那些小型的但是积极肯干的公司，因此欧司朗在欧洲注册了“萤火虫”品牌。贾强往来于德国的商标和知识产权局及欧盟的北京办事处进行抗议。在2005年的6月1号，欧司朗宣布妥协。萤火虫保住了他在节能灯上的品牌，但是欧司朗可以在LED灯上使用该名字。
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今天东林公司拥有1000多名员工每年的销售额达1500万美金。贾强说：“我们公司还太小。但是我们有一个好的团队，有专利产品，我们在中国和全球市场上是优秀的。我们成为家乐福、沃尔玛、麦德龙等所有大卖场的节能灯供应商。从8月20号的今天，我们的订单已经安排到了十二月。

厦门新的工厂将是现在的5倍大，并且就在菲利浦旁边。贾强说：“我当时跟政府说，我想成为一个全球性的工厂，想同世界该行业的人进行较量。他们同意了。”

贾强相信东林公司将成为全球的领先者。他将他的成功归功于厦门这座城市以及厦门的人民。“我只身提着一个皮箱来到厦门，一周后皮箱就丢了。今天我有百万美元的资产，这是因为萤火虫的精神、厦门的政府制度和厦门人的开放。外来人口、外国人在这里都是很受欢迎的。厦门人很老实，不会欺骗我们，虽然我有时候比较滑头！”

“我们有一个良好的港口，便利的交通，美丽的生活环境。每天我驱车往返于美丽的环岛路去工作，再没有比这样生活更好的了！”

“我选择对了正确的地方，遇见了善良的人，拥有舒适的生活，我还能有什么要求呢？上天对我很好！”
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Visit Firefly Lighting at: www.fireflylighting.com.cn

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Last revised: Sept. 16, 2006

Mr. David Chia, founder of Firefly Lighting and one of China’s fastest rising young entrepreneurs, had nothing but a suitcase when he showed up in Xiàmén in 1991—and that was stolen the first week. “The thieves didn’t know all I had in it was a sweater from my mother,” David said.

David graduated from Xi’an Jiaotong University in 1991 with a degree in international trade and moved to Xiàmén because his girl friend was from Fújiàn and he thought he’d have a better future in a Special Economic Zone. After 2 years as interpreter and assistant to the Taiwanese president of a carpet factory, the president said, “David, I want to tell you a true story. When my dad was your age he was very poor. He had to transport materials 50km. just to get enough money for lunch. Now he has USD 100 million. You have an even brighter future than he did. You have an education, and the opportunity in China today is as good as it was in Táiwan 20 years ago.”

David thought, “If I don’t do something with my own life, in 20 years my son will ask why!” He tried working as a trading agent for a German textile company but after one year was so broke he could not afford a bus ticket, and had to get lunch money from his girl friend. But he had learned several lessons:
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1. Choose the right business for my background.
2. Build a team of friends and partners.
3. Stress relationships over ability when choosing team members.

David’s sister, who was studying in Belgium, met a man who said Xiàmén had a factory producing the energy-saving lighting products he needed. A former classmate of David’s who was in Xiàmén knew about that factory, which they visited. And since David knew trade and his classmate knew technology, they went into business together.

In February, 1995, they opened Donglin Electronics—a 100m2 operation with 6 people. The Xiàmén firm they sold for could not provide the high quality their client demanded so with trial and error they developed quality lamps of their own—only to have their client in Belgium give up the lamp business because of a patent conflict with Phillips.

They had invested big money to develop a quality product, but now didn’t have enough money to pay the phone bill. David said, “This was my year of darkness. My wife was making big money but I was broke.”

While walking to his home in a poor area of town in 1996, David saw a nice office with fashionably dressed people. “It was totally out of place,” he said. It turned how to be a company that created corporate branding and images. The owner, Mr. Chui, was to become David’s best friend (David even named his dog after him).
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David he had no money to pay the company, but Mr. Chui signed a contract to create a brand and a logo in return for a penny a box on lamps sold.

David went to a bar to drink and think. He suggested the name “1/5” because their lamps used 20% of the energy of normal lamps, but Mr. Chui said, “No emotion in that name.” And then David thought of “firefly.”

“That’s the name!” Mr. Chui said. And they finalized the name and logo that night, and created the motto, “Light the world with heart.” David said, “Fireflies light the world from their heart; firefly people light the world from our heart.”

A week later a German friend told David that many German bars were named “Firefly” because it was soft, romantic.

All or nothing. Mr. Chui’s next suggestion was to make Firefly either fly or fry. He told David to buy a $10,000 booth at the Canton fair. David’s partners objected this would use every penny they had, but David said, “We’re losing every day anyway, so in three months we’ll be bankrupt. This way we have a chance.” After an all night consultation and further talks with Mr. Chiu, they bought the booth.
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Image Only. David said that most booths were like supermarkets, displaying everything the companies made. But the Firefly booth was almost empty. “I only had 5 lamps displayed,” David said. “Our booth was so empty that people thought I was selling my notebook computer!”

David kept the booth simple because his focus was not on product but image and emotions, with an environmental theme of blue sky, earth, firefly logo. And David returned home after the fair without a single order.

Two weeks later, the bank told David they’d received a Letter of Credit from the U.K. for a USD 200,000 order. “Impossible!” he said. “No company has contacted me. It must be a mistake.” But it was no mistake. David phoned Mark Luce in the UK and told him, “I don’t even know you.”

Mark said, “But I remember you. Three things impressed me about you at the Canton Fair. One, you spoke the best English and you were the president of the company; you personally represented your products. Two, you were the only company with a clear image. Three, you make only energy-saving lamps. I trust you, and I’m sure you have a good future.
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Now that Firefly had a big order, they obtained a USD $100,000 3-month loan from the bank to build a factory big enough to deliver the order. “The lamps cost four times as much to make then as now,” David said, “and most energy-saving lamps were still poor quality. After a friend asked me if ours would last longer than a week, we developed a slogan, “The lifetime of our factory depends upon the quality of our lamps.”

Do or Die—Literally. Firefly was very successful from 1997-1998, but like most companies they struggled with the transition from an entrepreneurial seat-of-the-pants operation to a professionally managed company. They invested big, and grew fast, but had cash flow problems that were complicated when a third partner embezzled funds. In 1999, suppliers halted shipments and demanded payment. David called all suppliers to his office and wrote out two debit notes, one from the company and one from himself. He said, “If I can’t pay this debt in 3 months, I will jump from this 5/F window.” Firefly was flying high by the end of 1999.

Dueling with the EU While on vacation in the Black Forest in 2000, David received a phone call from China. The EU had accused Chinese firms of dumping. David canceled his holiday and flew to Brussels, where EU officials told him, “Chinese companies are unprofessional, and aren’t really private companies at all. They are all State-run and subsidized, and have no concern for profit, just for getting foreign currency.”
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David was angry. Firefly had never received government funding, and so he became the first Chinese businessman to fight the EU. He obtained a lawyer from Brussels, but made a mistake in hiring an inexpensive lawyer who was also inexperienced in anti-dumping cases. The EU said Firefly was not following international accounting practices and levied a 66% duty, which cut out 70% of their European business.

David could not sleep. “It was the end of Firefly,” he said. But he bounced back by building a factory in the Karachi Special Economic Zone. “Pakistanis speak English and encourage foreign investment,” he said. Components from Xiàmén were assembled in Karachi and sent to the EU. In spite of the higher cost they were able to make a profit—until Siemens registered Firefly’s name.

Osram (Siemens) was wary of this small but up and coming company, so Osram registered the name “Firefly” in all European countries. David protested at the patent and intellectual property bureau in Germany, and with the EU office in Beijing. On 1 June, 2005, Osram compromised. Firefly could keep its name on lamps, but Osram would use it for LEDs.
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Today, Firefly has 1000 workers and does USD 15 million annually in business. “We’re still small,” David said, “but we have a good team, patented products, and we’re good in Chinese and global markets. We supply Wal-Mart, Carrefour, Metro—all the large chains. And as of today, August 20th, we have orders all the way through to December.”

The new Xiamen factory will be 5x larger than the present one and right next door to Philips. “I asked the government first,” David said. “I told them I want to be a global factory and be compared with Philips, and they agreed.”

David believes Firefly will become a global leader, and he said he owes his success to Xiàmén—both the city and the people. “I came with only a suitcase and didn’t even have that after a week. Today I have millions of dollars. This is because of Firefly’s spirit, Xiamen’s system of government, and the openness of Xiamen people. Outsiders, foreigners—all are welcome. “Xiamen people are honest and don’t trick us—though I’m sometimes tricky!”

“We have a great port, convenient transportation, and a wonderful living environment. Every day I drive the beautiful Island Ring Road to work and back. There is nowhere else like this on earth!

“I came to the right place, met the right people, and have the right life. What more could I want? God is good to me!