Rebirth of the Internet Overlord

{Time: August 15, 2002}

In 2000, the U.S. Nasdaq Composite Index, which was dominated by technology stocks, suffered a severe setback. The stock index continued to decline, and the Internet economic crisis broke out.

By September 21, 2000, the Nasdaq stock index fell to 1,088 points, setting a three-year low. The emerging Internet industry, which relied on venture capital for a living, suffered a disaster. The entire Internet industry was filled with worries and a chill.

This is the crisis of the Internet era. A large number of Internet and IT companies have been liquidated and exited. This is the first real Internet winter.

The most representative one is excite, which was founded by several Stanford University students in 1994. It was acquired by E Company in 1999 for US$6.7 billion. At its peak, its market value was as high as US$35 billion.

But when the company went bankrupt in 2001, the total assets auctioned were only $350 million, just 1% of what it was two years ago.

Hoffmann, Sachs, and Levchin had witnessed this splendid fact at close range. As the earliest Beibao people, they had personally experienced the dangers of this period.

What particularly impressed them was the last financing before X and Confinity merged into Beiba. At that time, it was Hoffman who went to discuss this matter with Peter Thiel.

The process is difficult and the results are dangerous.

To this day, Hoffman still has lingering fears every time he thinks about this incident.

Because just three days after they raised more than 100 million US dollars, the Nasdaq stock index began to fall across the board. If they had been slower at that time, this amount of funds would have been affected by the market and would not have been invested in Beibao.

Beibao will also be affected by this and disappear from the public.

Whether it was Excite or what Beibao experienced, in the early days of the Internet, Hoffman and the others saw and experienced a lot.

Hoffman once concluded that there are reasons for the decline of the Internet bubble.

For example, the bankrupt Excite was once rated as one of the most valuable brands on the Internet at the end of the last century.

But Excite's financial statements in 1998 showed that they lost $30 million that year.

But even so, their acquisition price was as high as US$6.7 billion, and this financial report did not affect the company's rising stock price.

not profitable,

The stock price can keep rising.

Originally, in the early days of Beiba's merger, Hoffman had the same dream.

But it wasn't until Excite collapsed and Ning entered the company that all the imaginative ideas and remarkable results of this young man finally gave Hoffman a new perspective on the development of Internet companies.

Ning took a new approach and opened up [Transaction Assistant] and [Beibao Payment International Station]. At the beginning, these projects were not profitable during the development and promotion stages.

But Ning's direction was correct. They walked slowly along this direction and naturally embarked on a profitable track.

Then there was the listing, and then there was the acquisition at a premium of 100 million times to US$1.8 billion!

After this battle, Hoffman felt he saw a new pattern.

Internet companies can indeed be unprofitable for a certain period of time, but they must have the right direction, not just products, business models and profit models, but also the most clear and clear future positioning of the company.

This is what Ning did at Beibao, and Hoffman believes that Ning can still do this in new projects in the future.

Before coming to plant flowers, Hoffman felt that he had already figured out Ning's thinking.

He also imagined what a grand plan the professional social platform Ning once mentioned would turn into after he polished it.

But when Ning revealed his interlocking and shocking real plan in front of him.

Hoffman was shocked!

The independent projects in their minds are no longer just about turning into several Internet companies.

Instead, an alliance will be formed, or even a large network formed by multiple companies or alliances!

This plan once again subverted Hoffman's understanding of the Internet industry!

It also made him look forward to Ning Zimo's detailed plans.

***+***

This day started at 8 o'clock in the morning, and Ning Zimo has been busy for 12 hours without stopping.

Finally, after handing over several plans that had been polished for more than two months to everyone at Beibao, Ning Zimo deliberately left "Xiaobai's home" for them to digest. He took Tang Ruiwen's detailed meeting minutes,

Went to the rooftop with Han Qinghua, Lu Qi and Zhang Xiaolong.

On the one hand, it gives Li Ying, who has been running around with him all day, a private resting space.

On the one hand, it gives old smokers like Zhang Xiaolong and Han Qinghua a chance to smoke to relieve their fatigue.

Especially Zhang Xiaolong, Ning Zimo, who was a regular smoker at his home court of Chu Ting, learned the hard work of two packs of cigarettes a day.

I just dragged them to "Xiao Bai's home" for 5 hours, so I still need to take special care of the old smoker.

As expected, Zhang Xiaolong couldn't wait to take out his kent box and smoke outside as soon as he stepped out of the rooftop.

Han Qinghua couldn't wait to take it, but Lu Qi smiled and stepped aside. But when the cigarette was handed to Ning Zimo, Zhang Xiaolong realized and was about to stop and go back, but he didn't want Ning Zimo to take it right away.

come over.

After grabbing the lighter, Ning Zimo lit up his cigarette leisurely while several people looked at each other.

Then he walked to the railing on the south side and rested his elbows on the railing, looking at Hong Kong Province on the other side of the river bank.

By using the action of smoking with his back turned, Ning Zimo was finally able to conceal the excitement that made his body tremble slightly.

571 days,

From January 21, 2001 to today,

Ning Zimo has been reborn and 571 days have passed.

From the first day when he returned to 17 years old, Ning Zimo has been preparing for everything today.

Although the final results have not been presented so far, today can be regarded as a real beginning.

Han Qinghua kept staring at Ning Zimo's back from the moment he lit the cigarette until he leaned on the railing in silence. He always felt that the "brother-in-law" in front of him who kept surprising him seemed to be in a complicated mood today.

.He couldn't express his feelings, so he could only walk over and support him on the railing.

After taking a puff of cigarette and exhaling the turbid air in his chest, Han Qinghua turned around and smiled, "I thought your single plan was enough to shock people, but I didn't expect you to come up with this plan."

Ecosystem] plan is a completely disruptive set of ideas."

"The answer to the mystery is revealed. Now I finally know what our [gmail] is going to do. I always feel that by telling you this, the seemingly useless email address has become extremely valuable." Zhang Xiaolong also leaned over.

The three people were leaning on the railing like salted fish.

Lu Qi didn't smoke, but he also came over and leaned on the railing.

Looking at the stars in the sky, Lu Qi murmured, "I thought that things like search engines would not find a reasonable profit model soon. But you ignored this question and directly used the [bing ecosystem]

The method binds our projects together and easily points us to a clear path.”

Shaking his head helplessly, Lu Qi said with a smile, "While all of our eyes are looking at the project, you are staring at a place further than us. So now we realize that we all regard you as

The understanding of the Internet is too one-dimensional.”

"Yeah," Zhang Xiaolong's voice changed a little because he was holding a cigarette in his mouth. "When Zhou Hongyi came to Chuting to find me in 1998, he told me that Foxmail had no business model and I had to add ads.

profit.

At that time, I asked him why it had to be like this. But when I was so poor that I only had 3 yuan in my pocket, my feelings really didn't help me survive. In the end, I had no choice but to sell Foxmail.

Until you went to Chuting to find me, taught me a lesson, and even spent 2 million US dollars to buy foxmail and pointed me in the right direction. I actually didn’t understand the plan behind your so-called [gmail] clearly.

I don’t fully understand what [gmail] should look like.”

After a pause, Zhang Xiaolong took the cigarette out of his mouth, turned to Ning Zimo and continued, "It wasn't until today, when I heard about the complete [Bing Ecosystem], that I realized that I have no interest in the Internet.

, the understanding of software is not at the same level as yours.

Profit and business models, and even future development directions, which are very difficult in our view, are not problems for you. You seem to have always had very clear goals. It was not until today's announcement that we saw

The grandeur of your goal.

It can be said that after you throw out the detailed plan of [Lingying], [acs], and [myspace], and then supplement it with the cross-use of [skrpe] and [gmail], the [bing ecosystem] is a complete set of things.

Officially surfaced.”

Lu Qi nodded and continued, "In the past two months, I have started the basic coding work of [bing search]. Originally I was hesitant about this process, but after today, I feel that I just need to focus on

The technology of [Bing Search] is enough. Because your ecosystem will become the development guarantee of [Bing Search].”

Zhang Xiaolong also smiled after hearing this, "Yes, the same is true for our [gmail] project. As long as the technology is in place and the account system role of [bing ecosystem] is fulfilled, we seem to have unlimited possibilities going forward."

"Hey, you two were still in a state of difficulty integrating before the meeting. After these few hours, I have become the most confused one?" Han Qinghua didn't look back and curled his lips in the direction of Hong Kong Province.

Several people were talking to each other, but Ning Zimo didn't say anything for a while.

But after hearing their expressions, Ning Zimo could already hear their current feelings from several people's mouths.

Ning Zimo breathed a sigh of relief, turned to Han Qinghua and said, "Brother-in-law, Emperor Penguin is our Whampoa Military Academy. Whether it's [Lingying], [acs], [myspace], or [skrpe], [bing],

【gmail】. All our related projects must be followed up and responsible by team members at Emperor Penguin.

[Bing Ecosystem] Although it sounds grand, in my concept it is not just the parts mentioned today, but a very huge thing.

Therefore, whether it is projects, personnel reserves, or funds, we actually still have a lot of shortcomings. But since I have planned such a huge ecosystem, then I must have a way to make this ecosystem

A strategy for continuous development.

Next, I will first go to the United States with my partners in the United States, sell the Beibao shares in my hands to Mr. Yang, and we will launch all projects at once.

Then, as we go along, I'll reveal my long-term plans."

Han Qinghua's eyes widened a bit when he heard this, and even his pulse became more lively.

After a pause, Ning Zimo continued, "From the beginning of the Internet winter in March 2000 to October 2002, Internet companies were expected to lose approximately US$5 trillion in market value during this catastrophe.

This is a major reshuffle in the Internet and IT industries, and after every major reshuffle in the industry, there will inevitably be an opportunity to redistribute rights. Whether we can seize this opportunity depends on whether the alliance we formed this time can be quickly

become stronger.

With the advent of the new Internet era in the 21st century, the significance of the alliance is to allow projects like [bing] and [gmail] that seem to have no profit model to find nutrients within the ecosystem formed by the alliance."

Turning around, Ning Zimo had a cigarette in his mouth. For a moment, he felt like he was playing the role of He Baorong's brother.

But he is self-aware and understands that he does not have the melancholy temperament of his brother.

San smiled, and Ning Zimo said, "I am responsible for strategy, connection and making money, and you are responsible for tactical execution. As long as we work together to speed up the pace, our alliance will appear sooner. And each other promotes each other's development.

Only then can we move towards a stronger alliance.

Therefore, today we are just carrying our bags, and when our alliance is truly launched, the curtain will officially be opened."

In the darkness, Ning Zimo's words were like flint, igniting the eyes of the three people beside him.

Only the sound of wind and the subtle sound of burning tobacco leaves floated in the air, but there was always something like a lighthouse pointing the way forward in everyone's hearts.

Although the pilot is only 19 years old, everyone will bravely sail wherever the future course of the ship is pointed.

Because after today, everyone around the pilot understands that he can see far, far away.

The sound of footsteps came from far and near in the T-shaped corridor, and then a thin figure appeared in front of everyone.

Tang Ruiwen's voice floated over the next moment, "Dean, your sister and the others are coming to visit the class."

Ning Zimo smiled, walked over and put out the cigarette butt in the ashtray.

Holding the cigarette butt and waving his hand, Ning Zimo turned around and smiled at the three of them.

"Let's go, let's do some good deduction tonight, we will officially start work tomorrow!"

"Walk!"

"Walk!"

"Walk!"

/*The company and project alignment has been updated, you can check it out*/