Made $30 Million—All Through One Fan!

Here’s advice for startups: If you want to develop a successful product, understanding your market is key. You need to find out where the real demand lies.

Today, we’re sharing a real-life example of how one entrepreneur turned a $2 million loss into a $30 million profit with just one product.

Zhao Xiping’s tough start

Zhao Xiping has been in the electric fan business in Guangzhou for 20 years. At first, he wanted to make multifunctional, high-quality fans for the premium market. However, due to high development costs and sale prices, the market didn’t respond well. This led to losses of $2 million, and his small factory nearly shut down.

A breakthrough insight

Zhao Xiping began researching global markets for a breakthrough. He was hit with an amazing realization: there’s a huge demand for fans in economically disadvantaged areas. That’s when he saw that premium market’s need was pretty limited.

Meanwhile, three students from Imperial College contacted him. They told Zhao about a small village in Africa where people didn’t have water or electricity and had to rely on fire for light. They saw a nearby village get destroyed in a fire because of the lack of resources. This inspired them to start a business making non-rechargeable lighting solutions for these power-deficient countries.

Innovating for real needs

Zhao Xiping was touched by their story. After receiving their order, he started thinking how to develop the fan for energy-deficient areas. It had to be affordable and practical!

So, he decided to add a USB port and a light, along with a solar panel. One day’s sunlight could fully charge it, also allowing breeze, light, and even charging a phone! He also put together a dedicated R&D team to optimize the components and cut costs. In Africa, a regular fan sales $30. It’s half a month’s salary for most people. But Zhao’s fan is half that price, at just $15!

Hitting the market sweet spot

By broadening the market and genuinely meeting the needs of users, Zhao’s product has become a success.

Now, this fan is a bestseller in over 30 regions in Africa, as well as in South America and Southeast Asia. he factory’s sales have consistently increased each year, now exceeding $30 million.

Zhao Xiping said, “For customers in underdeveloped areas, buying a fan isn’t cheap. We hope our affordable, quality fan will be usable for a long time.”

Réflexions finales

After his initial trial and error, Zhao Xiping tapped into the real demand market and took his business to the next level. In addition, Zhao has a steady supply of affordable, high-quality fans due to China supply chain advantages.