(Yicai Global) July 6 -- Former soldier Liang Changlin has made the most of the Covid-19 crisis to catapult his fresh food e-commerce business Dingdong Maicai to new heights.

While many other e-marketplaces are seeking to diversify into other goods, Liang doesn’t like shortcuts and want to focus on ‘selling vegetables,’ he said.

It is rare for a military man, used to following orders and observing the rules, to become a successful entrepreneur. Liang served in the army for over 10 years before moving to Shanghai to open his own business. He says that the army trains people to be strong, tenacious, steadfast and persevering, qualities that are more important in entrepreneurship than being clever and a risk-taker. Only ‘stubborn’ people can survive, he said.

On meeting Liang, it is clear from his buzzcut and the worlds ‘Iron Soldier’ emblazoned across his T-shirt, that he has not left the military far behind.

When he first arrived in Shanghai with just one suitcase of belongings, he passed the city’s Zhangjiang High Tech Park while sitting on the subway and decided then and there that that was where he wanted to start out.

He sold his first firm, a video editing software firm, for USD800,000 in 2002, quite a lot back then. While many people would have preferred to settle down and enjoy a comfortable life after such a windfall, Liang did not hesitate to reinvest all the money in starting a new business.

Credibility is important, Liang said.  In 2014, when Dingdong ran into difficulties and was in danger of losing all the money he had raised in financing, he sold another company that was operating at a profit in order to return all the money to his investors.

This story was reproduced from the Moduxiaoshaobing WeChat account with permission.

Editors: Chen Juan, Kim Taylor