For young people who have just graduated, recently started working, or are considering starting a business.
These days, we often see stories about “financial freedom,” “seizing the next big opportunity,” and “ordinary people making it big.” It’s easy to feel anxious: Has everyone else already gotten so far ahead? Is it too late for me to start now?
This article may offer you some answers...
Recently, at a closed-door sharing session in Hong Kong, an AMA about his new book (Binance Life), and several investment interviews, Changpeng Zhao (CZ) shared life advice for young people on entrepreneurship, skills, and investing. He didn’t offer grand theories—just straightforward, practical reflections drawn from his own experience.
Here are some of his most representative views, with the original meaning preserved as much as possible and no extra subjective interpretation added.
1. Hone one core strength and aim to reach the top 1%—or even 0.1%—globally
Competition is global today. CZ says you need to be very good in the field you specialize in, but realistically, it’s hard to be vastly better than professionals around the world.
Take programming, for example. There are tens of millions of programmers worldwide, so you’re almost certainly not going to be twice as good as everyone else. But if you’re just a little better than the next competitor and make it into the top 1% globally—or even the top 0.1%—the rewards could be several, dozens, or even hundreds of times greater than what others receive.
The gaps in ability may look small, but the opportunities and compensation that go to the top-ranked person versus the runner-up can be vastly different!
First, build a solid foundation in one core skill. If you plan to start a business in the future, you can gradually work on gaps in your network, communication, and credibility. If you don’t plan to start one, you can build those skills over time. Technology, marketing, and finance can all become your core strengths.
2. Don’t rush into entrepreneurship; consider working at a large company for 2–5 years first
These days, you often see posts on social media like:
“I succeeded at entrepreneurship in college.”
“Achieve financial freedom by 25.”
“I raised funding right after graduation.”
After seeing so many stories, you start thinking: I want to start a business too. I want to succeed too.
CZ’s advice to young people is actually: there’s no need to rush so much.
If you’ve just graduated, consider working at an established large company for a few years first.
He himself worked at Bloomberg for four years. Large companies may have “big-company syndrome” and make you feel like just another cog in the machine, but they also have complete management systems, processes, product systems, and organizational experience. You can first see how an established company operates.
Entrepreneurship is a completely different undertaking.
Startups don’t have that many ready-made templates, so you have to figure out a lot of things for yourself. How to build a product, find users, make money, hire a team, and solve problems—you often learn by making mistakes as you go.
So working for a few years before starting a business doesn’t mean you’ve fallen behind. Entrepreneurship is a long-term pursuit to begin with. Many founders work on their businesses for ten years or even longer. There’s no need to think you have to start right away just because you see other people starting businesses in their twenties. And CZ himself founded Binance at around age 40. So age isn’t the most important factor in entrepreneurship.
What really matters is whether you have enough ability, experience, and judgment.
3. Young people can take risks, but never push yourself to the point of having nothing left
Young people usually have fewer family responsibilities, so the risk-reward trade-off is different and they can afford to take a little more risk. As they get older, they have greater social and family responsibilities and are less able to take risks, but they also have more savings and connections. There’s a balance between the two.
There’s only one way to judge whether you can afford to take a risk: if it goes to zero, can you still carry on with your life? How much would your quality of life be affected, and how much of an impact could you accept? The reason he felt confident making a large Bitcoin investment early in his career was that even if it went to zero, he could return to Wall Street and find a six-figure job, without fundamentally affecting his family’s life.
He is firmly against young people making “getting rich overnight” their goal. “What comes quickly can disappear just as quickly.” The things that can make you rich overnight often have the power to wipe you out just as fast.
A better approach is to build up gradually. You’ll have a steadier mindset and be more likely to hold on to your investments. Break high-risk opportunities into many small decisions and small positions to test them, rather than going all in or borrowing money to make a large bet.
4. Young people’s greatest asset is time—don’t rush
This may be one of CZ’s most central points when he talks about young people.
Many young people feel they have no money, resources, or connections. But look at it from another angle: being young is itself a tremendous asset.
Because you still have plenty of time. If you make the wrong choice at 20, you have time to start over. Changing industries at 25 isn’t too late. Learning a new skill at 30 is still possible.
But if someone spends all their time worrying, “When will I earn my first million?” they can easily miss what really matters.
CZ has even said that if he could trade the wealth he has now for being 18 again, he would do it without hesitation.
Why?
Because wealth can be created again. But time never comes back.
So there’s no need to be in such a hurry when you’re young. You can keep your living costs under control and spend more time learning and building up your skills. Save some money each month, invest in yourself each month, and make yourself a little more capable each year. These things may all seem slow. But if you stick with them for ten years, the outcome could be completely different. Time itself compounds.
5. Manage your entertainment time and keep learning
CZ believes young people today actually have more opportunities than previous generations, because we have one advantage: access to information has become incredibly cheap. The internet, cloud computing, AI, and blockchain are all lowering the barriers to learning and starting a business.
Knowledge that once might have required joining a company to access can now be found online.
The question is: Are we truly putting our time into these opportunities?
Of course, games, short videos, and social media can be entertaining. But if you spend a lot of time every day chasing short-term thrills, you may have little real skill to show for it a few years later.
On the other hand, if you learn a little something new every day—even if it’s just one hour a day—the difference can become enormous over a few years.
This isn’t to say young people shouldn’t have fun. It’s about keeping things in proportion.
Entertainment can help you relax, but what truly changes your life is the ability you build up over the long term.
And learning doesn’t have to mean pushing yourself to the limit.
Reading, learning English, studying AI tools, understanding financial markets, improving your communication skills, and researching an industry are all ways to build yourself up.
The key is: don’t stop growing.
6. Balance investing in yourself with financial investing
Many young people start wondering what to do as soon as they begin earning money:
Should you spend this money, save it, or invest it?
There isn’t really one definitive answer. CZ’s view is closer to this: find a balance.
When you’re young, your earning potential usually hasn’t peaked yet, so there’s no need to make your life extremely austere just to save money.
At the same time, you shouldn’t spend all the money you earn.
More importantly, invest some of your resources in yourself.
For example: learn a genuinely valuable skill. Improve your English. Learn technology. Meet people who are better than you. Develop your professional skills. Even invest in your body and health.
Because young people’s greatest asset isn’t how much money they have in their accounts right now; it’s their ability to earn money over the decades ahead.
If you spend 10,000 yuan learning a skill that can genuinely increase your future income, it may be more valuable than using that same 10,000 yuan to chase short-term market fluctuations.
So investing isn’t just about buying stocks, funds, or crypto assets.
Investing in yourself is an investment in its own right.
7. In the early stages of a startup, focus on the two most important things: product and users
At the start of a business, there are only two core priorities: the product and the users.
A company has a reason to exist only if it can consistently provide value to users and attract them.
Things like building a team, legal matters, and marketing can wait. But in finance-related businesses, compliance needs to be a priority much earlier.
Proactiveness is a quality Binance values highly when hiring remotely. CZ says, “If you take the initiative and actively move something forward, you’re more likely to get it done. If you always wait for your boss to check in before doing anything, it’s hard to succeed.”
Often, choosing what not to do is more important than choosing what to do. Many people make a habit of replying to messages instantly, attending pointless social events, and following other people’s choices. You can cut all of that out.
After you succeed, the problems will only keep multiplying. You have to genuinely love what you do to stick with it over the long term. Don’t simply split equity equally; founders must retain decision-making power. Control the risk of failure, prioritize equity financing, and avoid taking on heavy debt. Try things and learn quickly, but make sure you manage the levels of risk.
8. A few fundamental principles that apply to everyone
• Don’t focus solely on making money; prioritize creating value. If you create 10 points’ worth of value and receive only 8 points in return, you may actually earn more over the long term.
• Time is the scarcest resource. The best way to manage it is to make a “not-to-do” list.
• When making decisions, consider their significance and reversibility: take your time with major, irreversible decisions; make small, reversible decisions quickly, and adjust as you go.
• Pursue long-term win-win outcomes, uphold fairness, and never cross ethical lines.
CZ’s own path in life included dropping out of college, working at Bloomberg for four years, and experiencing several failed startups before founding Binance at around age 40. But he repeatedly emphasizes that there is no single right path for everyone. The key is always to find the direction that suits you and keep creating value for others.
#CZ