Starting out as a… game boy!
He may now be the director and founder of a multi-national company, but Carl Pei’s first job for a company was when he was in just sixth grade at a (wait for it) game store. It was for just a week in Sweden because kids in Sweden are allowed to do different jobs from grade sixth to ninth for just a week. He mentions that he shrink-wrapped games, restocked shelves and ate hot dogs for a week there. Dreamy, isn’t it?
Oppo-sites attract?
While we are talking about jobs (not of the Steve type), OnePlus is not the only tech company that Carl Pei has worked for. Before starting OnePlus with Pete Lau, he was actually working under Lau at Oppo as the global marketing executive for around a year when Lau approached him for OnePlus. It was an easy decision to make for Carl as Lau had recruited him at Oppo.
Topper? Backbencher!
You would think that one has got to be a brilliant student to create something like OnePlus but Pei admits that he was just an above average student in school as he had a short attention span. He was interested in subjects like science, language, and philosophy but often ended up daydreaming in class or skipping it for sleeping in or playing Defence of the Ancients (DotA), a popular multiplayer game.
Initials CP, loves his PC!
When Carl was a student, he would spend a minimum amount of time in school and come back home and spend most of his time on the computer (like a true techie). This made his parents and family members feel worried, and they often nudged him to lead a “balanced and healthy” life. He seems to have managed pretty well, in spite of not really listening to them.
Emotional? Rational? Just switch!
While many of us struggle going from rational to emotional or vice versa, it really is not a problematic thing for Pei. In an interview with us, Pei called himself, “Bipolar” and mentioned that he could quickly switch between his rational and emotional self. Art we gotta learn.
Slogan maker extraordinaire…and not settling
Pei may be a tech wizard, but like many visionaries, he has got a great sense of words as well. He came up with the company’s famous tagline, “Never Settle” as well as the term “Flagship Killer” that are now synonymous with OnePlus and its devices.
“Idol”izing Steve…literally
Carl Pei loves his work. He often stays late at work because he does not like taking work home, which means he spends a lot of time on his work desk. As per Pei, his work desk generally very messy but it has a little figurine of Steve Jobs which definitely tells us about his love for Jobs. Permission to go “awww”?
Not always cutting edge tech
Of course, Pei uses a lot of new technology, but he ever so often ends up handing it out to others after using it for a short while. For instance, he used to wear Google Glass for a while but sold it off when saw no development. He also had a very difficult time finding a smartwatch for himself, and we still do not know whether he found one or not. And yes, he likes to read…on a Kindle Paperwhite.
Hot Swift and Cold Play
He also loves listening to music and listens ṭo a lot of Coldplay, John Mayer, and Taylor Swift. He often uses Spotify to listen to his music and also uses Pandora and Spotify radio to find music.
A Job(s) to listen
His favorite piece of advice is from Steve Jobs’ speech at Stanford where he said, “everything around you was created by someone at some point. If others can create and change things, so can you.” The quote has been with him ever since he heard it and had inspired him. No, we are so NOT going to talk about the design of the OnePlus 5 here!
…and one more thing
He loves ice cream!
