She remembers the blistering heat of the factory floor even today. As a teenager in Shenzhen, Zhou Qunfei worked from 8 am to midnight or sometimes till 2 am assembling tiny watch lenses, earning barely a dollar a day. Her story begins with hardship: her mother died when she was five, and her father lost a finger in an accident and was partially blind.
Yet, she never stopped learning. While working gruelling shifts, she attended night-classes in accounting at Shenzhen University. With her savings around HK$ 20,000 she rented a three-bedroom apartment, lived there with her cousins, and started a humble glass-printing workshop in 1993. They made watch glass by day, slept on the same floor by night.
From Factory Worker to Industrial Pioneer
A key turning point came in 2003. Motorola called her out of the blue, asking whether her team could develop a glass screen for their Razr V3, a bold request, because phones had largely used plastic. She said yes. That risk paid off. Soon, orders flowed in not just from Motorola, but also from HTC, Nokia, and Samsung.
Then, in 2007, Apple launched the first iPhone. It was a game-changer. Lens Technology, Zhou’s company, became a supplier. Today, Lens supplies cover glass for giants such as Apple, Samsung, Huawei and even high-end wearables like the Apple Watch.
Building the Business and the Grit
By 2015, Lens Technology was ready to scale. Zhou took the company public on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, marking one of the most successful tech IPOs in China that year. The stock surged 44 percent on day one.
Under her leadership, Lens grew into a manufacturing powerhouse with tens of thousands of employees and multiple factories. Even now, Zhou is known for her hands-on approach: she walks the factory floor, checks the machinery, occasionally dips her hands in water baths to test glass temperature.
Her grit comes from those early years. When she won that Motorola order, the finance was tight. She went to desperate lengths selling her house and personal belongings to fund the contract. At her lowest point, she says she stood at a Hong Kong station, thinking of ending it all until a call from her daughter pulled her back.
Leadership That Reflects Her Roots
Zhou leads like someone who’s been in the trenches. She rarely courts the limelight. Unlike more flamboyant billionaires, she shuns publicity, preferring to let her work speak for itself. Her team says she treats manufacturing like an art form, obsessing over polishing techniques, automation, even custom chemical baths that improve glass durability.
Perhaps that’s why Lens has delivered consistently and why her leadership has weathered criticisms. When the company faced concerns about labor practices in some factories, she remained measured, emphasising process, quality, and internal audits.
Personal Side: Humility, Faith and Family
Privately, Zhou is known for her modesty. Even after becoming a billionaire, she doesn’t live in ostentation. Her family remains central: she once worked out of the same apartment with her cousins when the business was newborn. Colleagues say she rarely misses family dinners, despite her busy schedule. And she gives credit outward: “I had a different drive from others … I didn’t come with money, I came with hunger,” she told local media.
Belonging to a Christian faith, she draws strength from her beliefs. Several interviews mention how she keeps calm under pressure, thanks to a disciplined, moral core. That steadiness shows in how she builds her company: not a startup flash in the pan, but a manufacturing juggernaut grounded in legacy.
Challenges and Turning Points
Zhou’s path wasn’t straight. After the Motorola deal, she realized she needed scale but lacked capital. She used her personal assets as collateral and made financial moves that few would dare. Later, getting Lens listed was not just a milestone but a validation of her vision: a girl who left school at 16, working in a factory, now leading a global tech supplier.
Even as she built her empire, she never lost that factory-floor instinct. Her direct involvement in R&D and operations allowed Lens to innovate and stay competitive.
Legacy in the Global Tech Landscape
Today, Lens Technology is more than just a Chinese supplier. It’s a core part of the global electronics ecosystem, providing cover glass to international giants and enabling devices that reach millions. Zhou’s journey is a lesson: that global tech-scale businesses can be built from the ground up, with grit, precision, patience and a refusal to forget your origins.
In a world that often highlights flashy founders, she is refreshingly low-key. But her impact is huge.
Zhou Qunfei didn’t just build a company; she changed how screens are made, and by extension, how we interact with technology. From a glass factory in Shenzhen to boardrooms and stock exchanges, she stands as a model of resilience and thoughtful leadership.
