Interview with Fan Deng at the University of Washington
Introduction
This article presents a rewritten and structured version of an interview with Fan Deng, conducted at the University of Washington. Fan Deng is recognized for his work with Fan Deng Reading Club (帆书), aiming to promote reading habits among a large audience, potentially up to 300 million people. The interview explores Fan Deng's journey, the challenges of building a successful platform, and his perspectives on knowledge sharing and personal growth.
The Genesis of Fan Deng Reading Club
Fan Deng's motivation stemmed from observing a lack of reading habits among adults, particularly business executives in EMBA programs. He initially provided summarized book content via PPTs to EMBA students who requested reading lists. This evolved into a paid service where he would summarize books and share them. Initially, this was shared as PPTs via email. Later this grew into a Wechat group and eventually the Fan Deng Reading app.
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Early Days: PPT summaries of books were sent via email.
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Monetization: A subscription model was introduced, charging 300 RMB per year for access to summaries of 50 books.
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Unexpected Success: The concept proved surprisingly popular, with significant revenue generated from EMBA classes.
The Challenge of Scaling and Maintaining Quality
Fan Deng acknowledged the difficulty in achieving significant growth (10x improvement) by simply optimizing existing methods. A radical shift in approach is often required to reach such ambitious goals. He highlighted the importance of identifying the target audience and offering content or services to them.
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Initial Doubts: There was widespread skepticism about the willingness of people to pay for online knowledge.
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Building Confidence: Fan Deng drew confidence from the positive feedback and high value users placed on his lectures and book summaries.
The Power of Agents/Distributors
Fan Deng emphasized the crucial role of agents in promoting and selling the Fan Deng Reading Club subscription. Because there was low willingness to pay for online knowledge, it required an agent to promote the offering to people. Agents believe in the product and have strong incentives (commissions) to promote it.
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Agent Sourcing: Early users were encouraged to become agents, incentivized by the potential for earning commissions.
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Leveraging Existing Networks: Agents were able to tap into their existing networks to promote the reading club to potential members.
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Authenticity and Transparency: Fan Deng stressed the importance of honesty with potential agents, emphasizing the inherent risks and uncertainties involved in the business.
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Embracing Failure: He allowed agents to make their own decision about if they wanted to be an agent. If it failed, the failure was on them.
The Evolution of Content Delivery and Platform
The platform evolved significantly over time, adapting to changing technologies and user preferences. This included moving away from static PPTs to more engaging audio and video formats. A move to the Fan Deng Reading app was made to achieve features the team wanted.
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Early Iterations: PPTs proved ineffective as people didn't read them.
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Audio Delivery: WeChat groups were used to deliver audio summaries, proving far more engaging.
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Platform Development: The move to a dedicated app enabled richer features and functionalities, including video delivery.
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Seizing Opportunities: The emergence of Douyin (TikTok) provided a new avenue for content distribution, leveraging video summaries created for the app.
Avoiding the Pitfalls of "Anxiety Selling"
Fan Deng is adamant about avoiding "anxiety selling," a common tactic in the knowledge-sharing industry. This involves creating a sense of fear or urgency to push products or services.
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Focus on Empowerment: Fan Deng's approach is focused on empowering individuals and providing them with tools for self-improvement and relaxation.
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Providing Value and Insight: The focus is on delivering high-quality content and genuine insights rather than exploiting anxieties or insecurities.
Personal Transformation and Self-Acceptance
Fan Deng discussed the importance of self-acceptance and finding meaning beyond material success. He emphasized the value of living a purposeful life and contributing to society.
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Influences of Key Works: Fan Deng cited the Analects of Confucius and works on critical thinking and complexity as significant influences on his thinking.
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Accepting Reality: The need to embrace life's challenges and appreciate the present moment was highlighted.
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Complexity Systems: To understand which problems can be divided and which ones cannot. Iteration is the most important thing.
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Life's Purpose: Money is not the primary end goal; it is a measure of the value provided to society. Finding meaning and joy in one's work is essential.
Dealing with Challenges and Misconceptions
Fan Deng acknowledges the challenges of dealing with online impersonation and the spread of misinformation. He recognizes the need for a legal framework to address these issues.
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AI Deepfakes: The use of AI to create fake videos featuring Fan Deng promoting harmful or misleading content is a growing concern.
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Legal Action: He acknowledges the need for stronger legal protections to combat the spread of deepfakes and online impersonation.
Conclusion
Fan Deng's journey highlights the importance of adapting to changing circumstances, staying true to one's values, and focusing on providing genuine value to the audience. His commitment to promoting reading habits and empowering individuals sets him apart in the knowledge-sharing space. He says he lives his life being of good heart and always giving people advice. He emphasizes living in the present moment and doing things that make oneself happy.
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