INTRODUCTION TO GRIDSUM TECHNOLOGY

Standard SEO and SEM approaches from the US and Europe don’t work well in China. We understand the Chinese market, and have a strategic relationship with Baidu. In addition, we have years of experience learning what really works.

Our bi-lingual relationship managers understand that strict budgets, clear timelines, and constant communication are essential. We enjoy long-term relationships with clients, rather than quick, one-off assignments.

Effective SEO & SEM in China requires sophisticated understanding of search engine spiders and how they constantly change. In addition, managing large websites and huge numbers of keywords requires a sophisticated approach that is beyond the capabilities of most small SEO/SEM companies in China. We have invested in the necessary technologies and tools, and are recognized by Microsoft as a leading player in China.

Our clients share confidential information with us about their website traffic, their business plans and their budgets. We know that keeping this information confidential is critical. That’s (unfortunately) still somewhat unusual in China.

We are so confident of our SEO capabilities that we do not charge a monthly retainer, nor a start-up fee. Instead, we charge clients based on the results we deliver, as defined by key performance indicators that are important to clients’ business success. We pioneered this model in China, and have proven that it aligns our interests directly with our clients’ interests.

Dr. GAO has a world-class background: a Ph.D. degree from the MIT Sloan School of Management, a M.A. degree from China's Renmin University, and a B.E. degree from China's Harbin Institute of Technology. Dr. GAO is currently the Chairman of the academic committee of the Tsinghua University MBA program. He is widely known as one of China's thought leaders about technology innovation. He joined the Gridsum Board in 2006.

Tom is an Internet executive with blue-chip business experience and a deep background in China dating back to 1981. He is a graduate of the Harvard Business School and Yale University, has worked at McKinsey and IBM, and was a principal executive at five high-profile and successful Silicon Valley internet start-ups over 12 years. He moved back to China in 2004, and then co-founded a B2C internet media company. He sold that company after 2 years, worked for the acquirer for a year, and is now a private investor.

Mr. Qi started writing software as a teen, and entered Tsinghua University after winning several math and science competitions in his native Anhui province. At Tsinghua, he worked on the prestigious Tsinghua Tongfang project, interned at Microsoft Research Asia (MSRA), and founded the Tsinghua Software Industry Association. Mr. QI used money he earned from software consulting projects to bootstrap-fund Gridsum Technology.

Mr. Yu joined Neusoft (one of China’s leading systems integrators) in 1998 as a software developer, and was then promoted to be a project manager for Internet clients. In 2002 he joined the Founder Group (another leading systems integrator), where he led more than 10 large-scale projects. Before joining Gridsum Technology, Mr. Yu was the COO of a local IT company, in charge of R&D and Sales. Mr. Yu holds a PMP certification.

Aaron LI joined Gridsum Technology in Aug. 2009 as the vice president of products and sales. Mr. LI worked in Baidu from 2004 to 2009 as sales director and general manager of eastern China branch. As a senior professional in China’s online advertising industry, Mr. LI took in charge of in-depth cooperation between Baidu and world’s top brands, including Nike, Phillips, L’Oreal, and Adidas. Along with his team, Aaron created and incubated the department of major clients of Baidu online advertising. Before join Baidu in 2004, Mr. LI served ENET as sales director. Mr. LI holds the EMBA degree of CEIBS and MBA degree of University of International Business and Economics.

Tao Yang leads the consulting team at Gridsum Technology, which provides professional Internet marketing consulting services for over one hundred clients.

Prior to joining Gridsum Technology, Mr. Yang worked at Founder Group (one of China’s leading systems integrators). He was in charge of an RMB 80 million annual marketing budget. Prior to that role, he , 18 large scale IT projects with project fees in the hundreds of millions of Chinese yuan, progressing quickly from software developer to project manager and finally to project director.

Michael Xu joined Gridsum Technology in 2008 as the vice president of business operations.

Mr. Xu worked in the Sinochem investment department from 1994 to 1999, where he was deeply involved with major transactions, including China Unicom, Shanghai Grand Hyatt, Suzhou Industrial Park, WEPEC, and Zhejiang Aoshan National Petroleum Base. He then joined one of China’s leading real estate companies as their Financial Controller. Before joining Gridsum Technology, Mr. Xu was Vice President of one of world’s largest PVC production companies, in charge of North American sales and marketing.

Mr. Xu received his MBA and MS degrees from California State University in 2003, and his BA degree in Accounting from Renmin University of China in 1994.

Jackson Huang co-founded the Tsinghua Software Industry Association with Guosheng QI and other alumni in 2005, and was responsible for technology development and project monitoring. After Gridsum Technology was formed, Mr. Huang took charge of company’s technology roadmap, product structure, R&D, and project management.

Mr. Huang graduated from Tsinghua University in 2006 with a software engineering degree. He won the first “Shanda (NASDAQ: SNDA) Cup” China Adolescents gaming software competition.

Alwyn Wu co-founded the Tsinghua Software Industry Association with Guosheng Qi and other alumni in 2005,After Gridsum Technology was formed, Alwyn took charge of company’s marketing & PR, while also directing pre-sales consulting.

Prior to joining Gridsum Technology, Mr. WuU worked at Intel (China) as the coordinator of Internet marketing business between Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. He also worked at the Computer Associates Beijing R&D Centre as a software engineer.

Mr. Wu graduated from Tsinghua University in 2006 with a software engineering major. From 2005 to 2007, he was a researcher at GLORAD, the joint research centre of Tsinghua University and the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. While there he completed consulting projects for Microsoft, Oracle, Lenovo, Nestle, Pfizer, Roche, and Eli Lilly. He also interned consultant at McKinsey and A.T. Kearney.

Xiaoqun Wang co-founded the Tsinghua Software Industry Association with Guosheng Qi and other alumni in 2005, and participated in R&D projects, especially related to search engine optimization. After Gridsum Technology was formed, Mr. Wang took charge of SEO projects for large-scale clients.

Mr. Wang graduated from Tsinghua University in 2006 with a software engineering degree. His senior thesis was on search engine optimization. While at Tsinghua, we developed an innovative broadband TV service as assistant director of the student TV station.