????在美國(guó)商界，亞力克?奧克森福德并不為人熟知，但在南美洲，他可是首席執(zhí)行官中的明星。至少我是這么認(rèn)為的——前不久，我有幸與他在紐約一起喝咖啡，親身體會(huì)了一番他的影響力。

????在我們談話(huà)的時(shí)候，一名身穿帽衫的學(xué)生來(lái)到我們的桌前，激動(dòng)地問(wèn)道：“冒昧打擾了，您就是亞力克?奧克森福德吧？”

????這位來(lái)自巴西的學(xué)生表達(dá)了他對(duì)奧克森福德的仰慕之情。他就讀于哥倫比亞大學(xué)（Columbia University），本身也有可能成為一名企業(yè)家。他說(shuō)自己從Instagram賬號(hào)上認(rèn)出了奧克森福德。奧克森福德有些尷尬——他發(fā)誓這絕不是為了讓我印象深刻而特意安排的。他的公關(guān)人員表示，在奧克森福德的祖國(guó)阿根廷，這類(lèi)事情經(jīng)常發(fā)生。

????我只能選擇相信他。在新興市場(chǎng)，奧克森福德的分類(lèi)廣告公司OLX已經(jīng)迅速成為一個(gè)家喻戶(hù)曉的名字。今年秋天，OLX抵達(dá)一項(xiàng)里程碑：月活躍用戶(hù)達(dá)到2億，這讓該公司的影響力足以同Instagram、Facebook Messenger和Snapchat相提并論。

????OLX成立于2006年，如今擁有1,200名員工，業(yè)務(wù)范圍拓展到了40個(gè)國(guó)家。公司每月?lián)碛?10億次頁(yè)面訪(fǎng)問(wèn)量、2,500萬(wàn)條廣告，并產(chǎn)生850萬(wàn)筆交易，是印度和波蘭的最大市場(chǎng)，從去年開(kāi)始也成為巴西的最大市場(chǎng)。OLX獲得了美國(guó)風(fēng)投公司Bessemer Ventures和General Catalyst Partners等的資助，并在2010年將大部分股權(quán)賣(mài)給了非洲納斯帕斯集團(tuán)(Naspers)。OLX可免費(fèi)使用，并通過(guò)向用戶(hù)出售促銷(xiāo)廣告獲取收入。（支付則通過(guò)線(xiàn)下進(jìn)行。如此一來(lái)，OLX就不必在進(jìn)入每個(gè)市場(chǎng)時(shí)都要考慮當(dāng)?shù)氐闹Ц断到y(tǒng)問(wèn)題。）

????但OLX的成功并非奧克森福德在南美企業(yè)家中獲得顯赫地位的原因。（盡管該公司的共同創(chuàng)始人兼聯(lián)席首席執(zhí)行官，后來(lái)在2012年離職的法布里斯?格林達(dá)同樣以天使投資人的身份聞名于美國(guó)科技創(chuàng)投界。）實(shí)際上，讓奧克森福德出名的是他的統(tǒng)治欲——他會(huì)主導(dǎo)和別人的談話(huà)——以及他不走尋常路的行事風(fēng)格。就特立獨(dú)行這一點(diǎn)而言，他與彼得?泰爾可謂惺惺相惜，泰爾的風(fēng)投公司Founders Fund便投資了OLX。

????比如說(shuō)，OLX采用了“火星式方法”進(jìn)行國(guó)際擴(kuò)張。大部分公司由于更熟悉自己的國(guó)家，都會(huì)選擇本土擴(kuò)張，但OLX卻從最大的現(xiàn)成市場(chǎng)印度開(kāi)始發(fā)展。公司在最早的四年半中，沒(méi)有在祖國(guó)阿根廷開(kāi)展任何項(xiàng)目。奧克森福德表示，美國(guó)的公司創(chuàng)始人往往“以自我為中心”，只關(guān)注美國(guó)本土和發(fā)達(dá)國(guó)家的市場(chǎng)。

????Alec Oxenford isn’t a recognizable name in American business circles, but in South America, he’s a CEO rock star of sorts. At least, that’s what I’m inclined to believe, after experiencing the Alec Oxenford effect firsthand during a recent coffee meeting in New York.

????Partway through our meeting, a student in a hoodie approached our table and excitedly said, “Sorry to interrupt, but are you Alec Oxenford?”

????The student, who was Brazilian, professed his admiration for Oxenford. He was a hopeful entrepreneur himself, studying at Columbia University. He said he recognized Oxenford from his Instagram account. Oxenford was embarrassed—he swore up and down that it wasn’t a set-up to impress me. His public relations person said that sort of thing happens fairly frequently in Argentina, where Oxenford is based.

????I had little choice but to believe him. Oxenford’s classifieds company, OLX, has quickly become a household name in emerging markets. This fall, OLX reached a milestone that puts it in the same category of Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and Snapchat: 200 million monthly active users.

????Founded in 2006, the company has grown to 1,200 employees and operates in 40 countries. With 11 billion page views, 25 million listings, and 8.5 million transactions per month, it is the largest marketplace in India, Poland, and, as of last year, Brazil. Funded by U.S. venture firms including Bessemer Ventures and General Catalyst Partners, OLX sold a majority stake to the African conglomerate Naspers in 2010. OLX is free to use and makes money selling promoted listings to users. (Payments are conducted offline, which has allowed OLX to avoid dealing with legacy payment infrastructure in each market it enters.)

????But OLX’s success is not the reason for Oxenford’s status among South American entrepreneurs. (Though his co-founder and co-CEO, FabriceGrinda, who left in 2012, is also well known in American tech startup circles as an angel investor.) Rather, Oxenford’s notoriety comes from his commanding personality—he will dominate a conversation—and staunch contrarianism, a point of view he shares with Peter Thiel, who has invested in OLX through his venture firm, Founders Fund.

????For example, OLX has taken the “Martian approach” to international expansion. Where most companies launch in their home countries because that’s what they understand best, OLX started with the biggest available market: India. The company didn’t launch anything in its home country, Argentina, until four and a half years later. American founders are “self-centered” for only focusing on the U.S. and developer markets, Oxenford says.