Trial and Error

Name: Trial and Error
ISBN: 9787536087880

枪泥Flower City Publishing House · ChinaJun 2024

3.0

Word count: 146K words
Chapters: 20
ISBN: 9787536087880

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Summary

Trial and Error is a work of nonfiction that faithfully captures the reality of internet entrepreneurship. It tells how the author, Qiang Ni, and his partner Su Mutang—a graduate of a prestigious university with a polished résumé—set out on their startup journey full of ambition after securing investment from Xu Xiaoping. Reality, however, is always crueler than ideals: the two diverged in strategic thinking and product philosophy and made many wrong decisions. Su Mutang, under pressure, grew manic and irritable, and eventually the two parted ways. After going independent, Qiang Ni likewise experienced startup failure and came to understand, to some extent, Su Mutang's behavior at the time.

With the experience of startup failure as its main thread, the book gives a full account of how a promising project initiated by a Google heavyweight and funded by ZhenFund went from securing investment and seeing hope to hitting a bottleneck and ending on a quiet note. The book offers hard-won lessons and practical takeaways, alongside inspirational sayings about venture capital and entrepreneurship; the startup process is cruel yet warm, and the two reinforce each other. It is no exaggeration to say that every entrepreneur can find a reflection of themselves in this novel.

Editor's review

Trial and Error is a hard-edged work that wraps an exploration of human nature and a meditation on the predicament of survival in the shell of a suspense thriller. Drawing on his distinctive background in mechanical engineering, author Qiang Ni injects the novel with a rare industrial texture and precise logic, weaving what appears to be an ordinary missing-person case into an intricate web entangled with technological ethics, capital maneuvering, and human choices. This is not a fast-paced thriller in the conventional sense; its core appeal lies in a deep deconstruction of the very idea of "error"—in technological iteration, business competition, and personal choice, a single act of trial and error may mean destruction or may give birth to something new. The narrative proceeds along multiple lines, with the timeline leaping deftly between present and past, requiring readers to stay focused as they piece together the fragments of truth. In characterization, none of the main figures is a flawless hero; each bears the double burden of professional and moral pressure, and their choices often hover in gray zones, which makes the story's moral questions all the more profound. Overall, this is a work that combines intellectual challenge with intellectual depth, suited to readers who like to ponder real-world issues within a suspenseful narrative.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers of suspense fiction who prefer hard-core technical detail and rigorous logical deduction
Readers interested in the tech industry, business competition, and engineering ethics
Literary readers who appreciate depictions of complex inner struggle and moral dilemmas
Patient readers who can accept nonlinear narrative and enjoy a puzzle-like reading process

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking light entertainment and a fast-paced, wish-fulfillment style of reading
Readers who find industrial technical details or descriptions of business operations tedious

Reading tips

While reading, pay some attention to the details about mechanics, engineering, and project management; they often drive the plot and reveal character traits
It helps to sort out the timeline and character relationships somewhat in the first half, which will make the overall narrative structure and twists easier to understand later
After finishing the ending, it is worth revisiting the multiple layers of meaning in the title "Trial and Error" throughout the story—technical, commercial, and personal

About the publisher

Flower City Publishing House China · Founded in 1981

Flower City Publishing House focuses on literary publishing, covering categories such as classic works, foreign literature, folk literature, Eastern philosophy, essays and miscellaneous writings, and social novels. Representative books in the library include Lu Xun's Call to Arms, Lao She's Camel Xiangzi and Four Generations Under One Roof, editions related to Confucius's The Analects, and Chinese translations of foreign classics such as Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities. Its author resources include classic writers such as Lu Xun, Lao She, and Confucius, as well as translators and scholars such as Li Gang, Chen Puqing, and Zhang Ling. The publisher's characteristic approach is to organize editions around literary classics and celebrated Chinese and foreign works, while also including folk literature and Eastern philosophy titles. Public information is limited, so this introduction emphasizes the publishing directions reflected in the books held in the library.

版权信息
序
引子
第一章真格基金：他不会是个骗子吧
第二章创业者：苏穆棠其人
第三章公司启动：赢在起跑线上
第四章团队基因：清华四小强
第五章 CEO心态：创业者的魅力
第六章公司战略：多线并进
第七章蓬勃发展：山穷水尽，柳暗花明
第八章进击的CEO：完美如梦幻泡影
第九章危机潜行：盈利不是目标？
第十章 A轮重构：幕后的大手
第十一章业务分拆：我家沉舟侧，别家千帆过
第十二章团队重组：人才是最重要的
第十三章死亡融资：惶恐皆零丁
第十四章掌控一切：三省吾身，谓予无愆
归零
一篇来自卉烟的番外曾经沧海，除却巫山
后记写《试错》之前，是我人生最低谷

FAQ

Is this book strongly suspenseful? What genre is it?

Suspense runs throughout, but it leans more toward social-problem and technical suspense. The core driving force is "why" and "how it happened," not simply "whodunit." It blends workplace, technological ethics, and crime elements.

Will a lack of science or engineering background affect my reading?

Basically no. The author explains necessary technical concepts in accessible terms, and the narrative focus remains on the characters' fates and the logic of events. Technical details mainly serve to create a sense of realism and move the plot forward.

Is the story's tone dark and oppressive?

The overall tone is rather cold and realistic, exploring professional crisis and moral choice under pressure, but it does not deliberately render despair. The story still portrays perseverance in professionalism and glimmers of humanity.

Comments

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About the author

枪泥 Author

Qiang Ni is an author about whom little public information is available. Only one work by this author is currently confirmed in our records, namely Trial and Error. According to the common subject classification, the work is placed in the war and military category, but the available information does not allow us to determine the author's nationality, dates of birth and death, educational background, or writing career. The introduction to Qiang Ni must therefore center on Trial and Error: the book is set against military life and belongs to war and military writing, while its specific plot, characters, and narrative techniques are not further described in our records, so readers should consult the original book. It should be noted that a single work is not enough to summarize the author's overall style or literary influence, and the full picture of Qiang Ni's writing awaits further material. This introduction is based on the facts in our records; it does not speculate about the author's life or add unconfirmed details.