Carl Pei co-founded OnePlus, a Shenzhen, China-based smartphone manufacturer in 2013.

Mr. Pei was born in Beijing, and grew up in Sweden. He worked for Chinese electronics manufacturing firms Meizu and Oppo before starting OnePlus with Oppo’s former vice president Pete Lau.

OnePlus aims to manufacture high-end quality phones at a low price and positions itself between low-cost smartphone companies like Xiaomi and high-end makers Apple and Samsung .

OnePlus has sold more than 1.5 million smartphones across 35 countries and has grown to more than 900 employees. The company released its first smartphone handset, the OnePlus One, on an invite-only basis. Nearly one million units were sold within six months of its launch.

The company will introduce its second smartphone model, the OnePlus 2, on July 27. Mr. Pei spoke recently about how he started the company, and the challenges of being a young entrepreneur in the already crowded smartphone market.