The idea of becoming friends with the users did not come out of the blue. We all know of companies that boast of being a ‘big, happy family’. Yet, Xiaomi officials have never compared their employees or their users with families. The logic behind this is perhaps simpler than it appears—you are born into a family, but you choose your friends. By striving to become friends with their employees and customers, Xiaomi sent out a deep message—it was going to build a business model where people willingly chose to be associated with their brand and not the other way around.