Post-90s Educator Gao Xinghui: The Startup Code Behind Going from Zero to 200 Million Yuan GMV in Three Years

From Small-Town Girl to 'Three Kings and One Queen': A Post-90s Educator's Rise

During three years of deep upheaval in China's education and training (edtech) industry, most practitioners chose to switch careers or wait on the sidelines. But one post-90s woman from Shanxi province surged against the tide — Gao Xinghui, founder of Xinghui Times, led her team from a standing start to a cumulative 200 million yuan in GMV. In a recent in-depth interview with workplace content brand "Zhichang Bonus," the entrepreneur affectionately nicknamed "Brother Hui" by her colleagues shared the story behind her success.

Three Interviews at New Oriental: Tenacity as Her Defining Trait

Gao Xinghui's career did not begin smoothly. Growing up in Datong, Shanxi, she didn't start learning English until middle school and once ranked near the bottom of her class. But her innate refusal to give up led her to forge a unique learning path — unable to afford youth center English classes, she spent her days camped out at Xinhua Bookstore, poring over bilingual editions of "Harry Potter" and "The Vampire Diaries" while painstakingly mimicking pronunciation from American TV shows playing in the store.

That same stubbornness carried into her professional life. She interviewed at New Oriental three times before finally being hired, then moved to Gaotu Education, where her outstanding performance earned her a place alongside three male colleagues in the company's celebrated "Three Kings and One Queen" quartet.

6 Million Yuan in Revenue by the Second Month of Business

Against the backdrop of China's "Double Reduction" policy reshaping the education and training industry, Gao Xinghui chose an even more challenging path — starting her own company. Remarkably, by just the second month of operations, her team had already generated 6 million yuan in revenue. Over the following three years, Xinghui Times continued to grow during what the industry described as its most "chaotic and uncertain" period, ultimately breaking through the 200 million yuan GMV milestone.

Step inside the Xinghui Times office and you'll hear colleagues warmly calling her "Brother Hui." The nickname stands in sharp contrast to her slim frame and the tiger tooth that shows when she smiles, yet it perfectly reflects the team's recognition of their young founder's leadership.

'Allow Yourself to Fall': An Entrepreneur's Mindset Philosophy

During the interview, Gao Xinghui shared a thought-provoking perspective: "You have to allow yourself to fall." Amid the dramatic transformation of the edtech industry, countless practitioners experienced identity crises and lost their professional bearings. Gao believes that accepting setbacks and embracing uncertainty is actually the prerequisite for starting over.

Her own journey bears this out — from a weak academic foundation to conquering language barriers, from three rejections to becoming a core member of a leading edtech company, and then to building a scaled business from scratch. Every "fall" became the launch pad for her next leap.

A Microcosm of Digital Transformation in Education

Gao Xinghui's entrepreneurial journey is also a microcosm of how China's education and training industry has actively embraced digital tools and explored new business models in the wake of policy adjustments. As AI technology accelerates its penetration into education — from intelligent question banks and adaptive learning systems to AI-powered speaking practice partners — technology is reshaping the fundamental logic of the edtech sector.

For emerging forces like Xinghui Times that rose during a period of industry transformation, the key challenge for the next phase of growth will be deeply integrating the founder's industry insights with digital capabilities.

As Gao Xinghui's own experience demonstrates: finding the right approach, maintaining passion, and adding a dose of stubborn refusal to accept defeat may well be the simplest yet most effective formula for surviving an industry cycle.