startup playbook – Charles Yang, founder of Vibe, compares startup life in China and the US—arguing the US offers clearer “playbooks” while China runs more on relationships and shifting priorities.
Charles Yang, the founder and CEO of Vibe, grew his entrepreneurial instincts by building in two very different worlds—China first, then the US.
His story. told as an “as-told-to” conversation. begins in 2006 with a young decision and a small amount of seed money: after quitting college early. he and friends started a gaming company with roughly $5. 000 provided by his father.. It’s a beginning that sounds almost accidental from today’s perspective. but Yang describes it as a time when “risk” didn’t feel real yet—just momentum. curiosity. and the chance to try.
After roughly a decade, the gaming business found success.. But success changed the questions he was asking.. With a marriage and a daughter. the next step wasn’t only about returns—it was also about what his work meant for a future conversation at home.. Going public would have locked the company into years of obligations.. More importantly, he didn’t want to build another Chinese game.. He wanted something global and bigger.
In 2016, Yang moved to Seattle and began exploring the kind of company he wanted to run next.. He also stepped away from his China gaming business. choosing instead to build in the US—first with an immersive. spatial-computing collaboration platform that raised seed funding in 2016.. That phase of his career matters because it reflects an operational belief he carried forward: supply chains. distribution habits. and product knowledge can cross borders. but the “way you execute” can differ sharply depending on where you are.
Yang describes a perception many founders share when they expand internationally: the US startup environment can feel like a software kit with instructions.. You follow a playbook—whether that’s how to structure teams. talk to investors. ship products. or iterate fast—and even the “wildcards” arrive in a form that’s easier to reason about.. In China. he says the ecosystem can feel less like a guide and more like a system with bugs and holes—rules may exist. but they’re often blurred. and the path forward may depend on reading the room rather than checking a checklist.
A major part of that contrast, in Yang’s view, sits in how opportunities are accessed.. He points to a social reality where relationships are built through dinners and informal gatherings. and where being embedded in a community can matter as much as personal ambition.. The US. he suggests. tends to be more individualistic—an approach that can reward founders who want direct ownership of their plans and timelines.
Yang also places his comparison inside a time shift.. The pre-pandemic period was. for many Chinese tech founders. a “golden age”—a moment when new startups rose quickly and young talent had room to experiment.. Now, he argues, the allocation of resources can look less spontaneous.. Startups that align with government-led priorities can receive more support. while state-owned organizations may pull attention and funding toward agendas that are already mapped out.
For founders considering what to do next, he offers advice that’s both practical and psychologically grounded.. If you’re early and unsure. Yang suggests spending time at a successful company for at least two or three years—an experience he believes he may have missed at the beginning.. He also argues that building your own company isn’t automatically blocked by youth or a lack of experience.. Interest and commitment can substitute for some missing credentials, though outcomes will still depend on luck.
That “luck” word matters because it frames the business reality behind startup narratives.. Even a clear playbook can’t eliminate uncertainty; it can only reduce the guesswork around execution.. And while Yang’s comparisons lean on culture and process, the deeper implication is about risk management.. Startups survive when founders can convert ambiguity into decisions: which market to chase. how to structure product development. when to pivot. and how to fund growth without losing focus.
In Yang’s case, the pivot is the most visible signal.. In 2024, Vibe shifted toward an AI workspace, backed by HongShan (Sequoia Capital China).. The move illustrates a broader trend: founders are increasingly turning “platform thinking” toward AI. not just building tools. but building environments where work happens.. For investors and teams. that means diligence is now tied not only to market demand. but also to whether the product can ride fast-changing expectations around AI capabilities and enterprise adoption.
For readers watching the Chinese and US startup ecosystems evolve. Yang’s takeaway isn’t that one place is inherently better.. It’s that the mechanics of getting things done can feel radically different.. In one environment. the path may resemble a well-documented guide; in the other. it may resemble a system that requires more detective work.. Either way. the founder’s job is the same: find a way to ship. raise. and adapt—before the market. policy. or customer expectations move again.
If you’re building in tech, Yang’s experience offers a useful mental model: the advantage isn’t just capital or talent. It’s clarity about how the game is played, and how quickly you can learn it.