"There are a handful of companies where you need to dream," said Killian, a portfolio manager for an investment fund specializing in IPOs.
"You have to think, `If everything were to go right for this company, what could they achieve?' There are companies that could become the next Microsoft or Google," she said.
Li, who worked in Silicon Valley for a couple of years and received his master's degree in computer science from University of New York at Buffalo, formed the company with Eric Xu (徐勇). Although Xu no longer works at Baidu, he was alongside Li on Friday to watch the company's stock soar in its Wall Street debut.
Li, 36, ended the day with a personal stake worth US$920 million, but he said he won't let the sudden wealth affect him. He can't sell any of his stock for two years under restrictions imposed as part of the IPO.
"My passion is search and changing the lives of ordinary people with search," he said.
Baidu has awarded stock options to its 700 employees in China, giving them a slice of the wealth created by the IPO. Most of the workers can start holdings in six months.
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