He only started his business at the age of 56 and married his secretary at the age of 70. Now the company's market value exceeds one trillion

Text: Chang'an

Nowadays, many people use age as an excuse to think that they are in their 30s and are no longer suitable for starting a business. However, in China's technology and Internet industries, there are also many late-blooming entrepreneurs who have only embarked on the road of entrepreneurship at the age of 40 or 50. Although it was late to start a business, it did a good job.

For example, Liu Chuanzhi founded Legend Holdings Co., Ltd. at the age of 40, and Ren Zhengfei founded Huawei at the age of 44. And one man started his own business when he was 55, and still runs a trillion-dollar empire when he was 86. He is the father of TSMC and founder of TSMC Zhang Zhongmou. Zhang Zhongmou was born in 1931 and his family is not wealthy. For a while, he was even in a state of displacement.

When he was young, Zhang Zhongmou came to the United States to study and successfully entered Harvard University. The 24-year-old Zhang Zhongmou started his first job as a semiconductor engineer in the United States. At the age of 27, he joined Texas Instruments and worked for more than 20 years. 54-year-old Zhang Zhongmou returned to Taiwan and founded an electromechanical circuit manufacturing company in Taiwan when he was 56 years old.

In 2001, TSMC’s 70-year-old chairman Zhang Zhongmou and Zhang Shufen, 13 years younger than him, married in a low-key marriage in California. The wedding was quite low-key, and only a few relatives and friends were invited to attend. This was their remarriage and it was a sensation. The reason is that Zhang Shufen works under Zhang Zhongmou, Zhang Zhongmou's former subordinate and the ex-wife of Wu Dingkai, Director of the Chemical Industry of the Taiwan Industrial Research Institute.

Due to work relations, Zhang Zhongmou returned to China from the United States in 1985 and became the director of the industry and research institute, and Zhang Shufen was the secretary to the director. Zhang Shufen is lively, cheerful and good at thinking, and is one of the few candidates who can calm Zhang Zhongmou down. The news of their marriage has been mentioned by many people, and Zhang Zhongmou actually has a good impression of his subordinate's wife. The implication is that he suspects that he has moral problems, and some even directly say that he has taken away his wife.

From the information disclosed by the media later, they came together because of love, but they also brought each other's pain. It turned out that Zhang Shufen's relationship with her ex-husband had long been severed, and the divorce was only postponed for more than ten years, as did Zhang Zhongmou. When he remarried, he had been separated from his ex-wife for more than 30 years. You can imagine how much courage Zhang Zhongmou and Zhang Shufen need, and how many imperfections they overcome to get together. But their courage and overcoming are worthwhile in exchange for their consummation since then.

Under the impact of the 2009 financial crisis, TSMC is on the verge of loss. Zhang Zhongmou returned to TSMC as CEO. In 2010, TSMC’s operating income reached 90 billion yuan. It is the most profitable company among the 1,300 listed companies in Taiwan. The 56-year-old Zhang Zhongmou started his own business and achieved such high results that people have to admire him. However, this also stems from Zhang Zhongmou's accumulated experience in world-class technology companies. It laid a solid foundation for the establishment of TSMC in the future. This is not only a technical accumulation, but also provides valuable experience for company management.

Zhang Zhongmou, 88, often says that he still has a long time. Under his leadership, TSMC is not only the most profitable company in Taiwan, but also the company with the largest annual R&D and investment amount in Taiwan. TSMC’s customers include a large number of leading global technology companies, including Apple, Qualcomm and Huawei. These companies have a market value of more than one trillion and even surpassed IBM.

Zhang Zhongmou only started his business at the age of 56 and married his secretary at the age of 70. Now the market value of the company he founded exceeds one trillion. Although Zhang Zhongmou was born late, his achievements are beyond imagination. What do you think for this?

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