二十三年创业路，不追风口，等风来
23 Years of Entrepreneurship — Chasing No Trend, Waiting for the Wind
他不在风口上。他等风来。
二十三年前，一个年轻人揣着五十万站在上海的街头。二十三年后，他的公司成为AI时代的先行者。这不是一个关于运气的故事——这是一个关于耐力的故事。
2002年的上海，互联网还是一个新鲜词。那时候没有云计算，没有大数据，更没有大模型。一个年轻人站在嘉定区的街头，口袋里装着50万——那是他的全部身家，也是尔虎信息的第一笔注册资本。他叫宋琢。别人问他为什么创业，他的回答很简单："技术能帮人解决问题，我想让更多人用它。"
他没有选择热门的互联网赛道，没有追逐资本的风口。他选了一条最笨的路：一家一家企业跑，一单一单项目做。系统集成、网络工程、软件开发——别人嫌脏嫌累的活，他全接。
"客户的需求永远排在第一位。"
这是他定下的第一条规矩，也是尔虎信息二十三年没有变过的基因。
创业的前十年，宋琢学会了一件事：活着，比什么都重要。他经历过客户跑单，也经历过项目做了一半甲方撤资。最难的时候，公司的账上只剩几万块，够发一个月的工资。有人劝他转型做风口上的生意，有人劝他把公司卖掉。他都拒绝了。
"做技术服务，拼的不是爆发力，是耐力。"
客户从十几家变成上百家，口碑一点一点攒了起来。
2018年，宋琢做了一个让很多同行不理解的决定——全面布局AI。那时候ChatGPT还要等五年才会诞生。他在技术圈子里待了十几年，看过太多技术浪潮。从PC到互联网，从互联网到移动互联网，每一次变革，最先倒下的不是没有技术的人，而是看不到变化的人。
"AI不是风口，是基础设施。就像电力一样，它最终会进入每一个行业。"
没有人投钱，没有人鼓掌，只有宋琢自己带着团队，摸着石头过河。
2023年，ChatGPT引爆全世界。而宋琢已经在AI领域深耕了五年。这五年里，他经历过模型训练失败、产品方向调整、技术选型反复。但他没有放弃，因为他相信——技术只有真正落地到业务场景中，才有价值。
当别人还在PPT上讲AI概念的时候，尔虎信息已经推出了RAG知识库、智能客服等可以直接落地的AI产品。
"我不追热点，我追需求。"
2025年，宋琢创业已经第二十三个年头。从单机到联网，从桌面到移动，从软件到服务，从传统IT到AI——每一次浪潮，他都没有缺席。有人问他，创业二十多年最大的感悟是什么？他想了想说：
"做技术的人，最怕的不是没有机会，而是看不到变化。只要还能看到变化，就永远有路走。"
他不追逐风口，他等风来。
—— 宋琢创业二十三年
He didn't chase the trend. He waited for it.
Twenty-three years ago, a young man stood on the streets of Shanghai with 500,000 RMB in his pocket. Twenty-three years later, his company became a pioneer of the AI era. This is not a story about luck — it's a story about endurance.
In 2002, "Internet" was still a new word in Shanghai. There was no cloud computing, no big data, and certainly no large language models. A young man stood on a street in Jiading District with 500,000 RMB — his entire life savings and the registered capital of what would become Erhu Information. His name was Song Zhuo. When people asked why he started a business, his answer was simple: "Technology can solve problems. I want more people to benefit from it."
He didn't choose the popular internet track. He didn't chase capital trends. He chose the hardest path: knocking on doors one enterprise at a time, completing projects one order at a time. System integration, network engineering, software development — the work others found too dirty or too tiring, he took it all.
"Customer needs always come first."
This was his first rule, and it became the DNA of Erhu Information — unchanged for twenty-three years.
In the first decade of entrepreneurship, Song Zhuo learned one thing: survival matters more than anything. He experienced clients who defaulted, and projects that were abandoned halfway by investors. At the worst of times, the company account held only a few tens of thousands of yuan — barely enough for one month's payroll. People urged him to pivot to trendier businesses. People urged him to sell the company. He refused every time.
"In tech services, what matters isn't explosive growth — it's endurance."
His client base grew from a dozen to over a hundred, built one word-of-mouth referral at a time.
In 2018, Song Zhuo made a decision that many peers didn't understand — a comprehensive pivot toward AI. ChatGPT was still five years away. Having spent over a decade in the tech world, he had watched too many technology waves. From PC to the Internet, from the Internet to mobile — in every revolution, the first to fall weren't those without technology, but those who failed to see the change.
"AI is not a trend. It's infrastructure. Like electricity, it will eventually enter every industry."
No investors funded the move. No one applauded. Only Song Zhuo, leading his team, crossing the river by feeling for stones.
When ChatGPT exploded onto the global stage in 2023, Song Zhuo had already been deep in AI for five years. During those years, he endured failed model training, pivoted product directions, and repeatedly iterated on technology choices. But he never gave up, because he believed — technology only has value when it truly lands in real business scenarios.
While others were still pitching AI concepts in PowerPoint presentations, Erhu Information had already launched practical AI products: RAG knowledge bases, intelligent customer service systems, and more.
"I don't chase hype. I chase real needs."
By 2025, Song Zhuo had been an entrepreneur for twenty-three years. From standalone to networked, from desktop to mobile, from software to service, from traditional IT to AI — he hadn't missed a single wave. When asked about his greatest lesson from two decades of entrepreneurship, he paused and said:
"The greatest fear for a technologist isn't having no opportunities — it's failing to see change. As long as you can still see change, there will always be a path forward."
He didn't chase the trend. He waited for it.
—— Song Zhuo, 23 Years of Entrepreneurship