Reinventing the Millennium

Mr. Fang published an article on Zhihu, using the school network as a case to talk about the development of social networks.

He stated that he was very optimistic about the rapid development of social networks in the next few years, and also talked about the development logic of portals, search, blogs, QQ Space, Xiaonei.com, etc., as netizens transform from passive to active access to information.

There are new developments about the big boss, and there are many onlookers.

Many people were pleasantly surprised to find that their comments had been replied to, including Wang Xing, the founder of Xiaonei.com, who came after hearing the news.

Originally out of curiosity, Wang Xing also tried to register a Zhihu account due to a widely reported scolding battle, but it was difficult to find a code, so he could only browse silently as a visitor.

Unexpectedly, a business tycoon would personally comment on the website he created, which immediately made him excited.

It was hard to get a registration code, but it was already two days later. Wang Xing expressed his gratitude in the comment area anxiously, thinking that Mr. Fang would not reply the next time.

Unexpectedly, Mr. Fang not only replied, but also replied quite beyond his expectation.

——"The website is good. If you need investment, you can come to Yike to chat."

As soon as this reply came out, the comment area became popular again.

Guess, Zhihu can not only shorten the distance between you and the big boss, but also win the favor of the big boss with real money?

Can such a good thing happen to me?

The dream index in the comment area has grown rapidly.

Wang Xing, who was regarded as the lucky one, boarded the flight to Shanghai after some hesitation.

The Xiaonei network was established in December last year and has only been in development for less than four months. However, it has spread out based on universities in the capital and has gained a large number of campus users. The development speed is quite fast.

Wang Xing's family background is very good, but the money borrowed from his father alone cannot support the development of the project.

Before flying to Shanghai, he had actively and passively contacted several investors, including Chen Yizhou from the competing Thousand Oaks Group, who offered a purchase price of 10 million Chinese coins.

If you invest hundreds of thousands at the beginning of starting a business, you can get a return of tens of millions in less than half a year.

This is undoubtedly a great affirmation, and it also makes the entrepreneurial team headed by Wang Xing remain very optimistic about the future.

Therefore, Wang Xing rejected Chen Yizhou's acquisition.

Then came the recognition from the top domestic bosses on Zhihu.

This recognition is even more inspiring to the entrepreneurial team of Xiaonei.com than the multi-million acquisition. Even Mr. Fang is so optimistic about the development of social networks. Becoming the Facebook of China seems to be more than just a dream.

On April 1, at ten o'clock in the morning, Wang Xing arrived on the 23rd floor of Shanghai Hang Lung Tower.

Because there was no phone, no intermediary, and no advance reservation, Wang Xing could only show the Zhihu comment section on his laptop, then watch the front desk dial the intercom number, and then wait for half an hour in the reception room.

Wang Xing was a little nervous, but he quickly focused on the introduction of Yike Company on the table.

Compared with the single impression of Yike products in China, the frequent photos of products and world-renowned singers in company introductions have awakened Wang Xing's memory of when he studied abroad. It seems that Yike's panda logo was not uncommon at that time.

However, Wang Xing is not interested in this type of music products, so he has never purchased or understood them.

The one who really knows Yi Ke is the all-powerful Mr. Fang.

Wang Xing has never met Mr. Fang, but he has heard about him on various occasions. He even outrageously talked about the richest man in the Mainland during a phone call with his father last week.

His father is in the cement business. Although he is considered to be one of the richest people in Fujian Province and has a large-scale cement factory, he actually talked enthusiastically about the rumors that Mr. Fang will come to Xiangjiang later in the year. This really made Wang Xing a little bit dumbfounded.

When the door of the reception room was knocked and the secretary came to remind Mr. Fang that the meeting was over, Wang Xing stood up and walked to the president's office. An idea suddenly came to his mind. When he left here, he would call his father and tell him that he had seen someone who was said to be in the office. Mr. Fang who forced people to donate money in Xiangjiang.

Wang Xing went to the office first, got the tea poured for him by his secretary, and then waited for about ten minutes before seeing Mr. Fang who hurried in.

However, Mr. Fang was not alone. There was a middle-aged man in a suit and leather shoes behind him.

"Mr. Wang Xing and Wang, right? He is truly a talented person."

Wang Xing stood up and shook hands with Mr. Fang. When he heard the other party's compliment, he said "Where is that?", but he couldn't help but reply in his heart, "You are also a talented person."

It has to be said that in this first scene, there is no trace of the legendary "fierce reputation", "ruthless behavior" or "adding insult to injury" in the legend. We can only see that he is indeed as handsome as the photos on TV and newspapers.

"Mr. Wang, this is Mr. Zhang Xuebin from Changhong." After shaking hands, Fang Zhuo politely introduced Mr. Zhang to Wang Xing, "Mr. Zhang, this is Mr. Wang Xing from the school network."

Because Wang Xing was going to visit Mr. Fang, he made up some stories about this big boss in advance. Knowing that Changhong had something to say about the matter, he felt "ruthless" in his heart and hurriedly shook hands with Zhang Xuebin, the new head of Changhong.

Zhang Xuebin shook hands politely and smiled without saying much.

Wang Xing listened to the two men briefly chatting about the cooperation between Changhong and Tesco, and then saw Mr. Zhang leaving the office.

"Mr. Wang came here in a bit of a hurry. There are a lot of things in the company today, so I can only squeeze in twenty minutes. I'm sorry." Fang Zhuo saw off Zhang Xuebin who came to visit. After sitting down, he said to Wang Xing with a smile.

"I saw Mr. Fang's recognition of our website. I was so happy that it came so quickly." Wang Xing said this first, and then said a little cautiously, "Next time I have a chance, I will definitely call Yike to make an appointment."

Fang Zhuo smiled and exchanged numbers with the founder of Xiaonei.com.

Then, he got straight to the point and talked about the other party's project: "The school network is developing very well. In less than half a year, it has hundreds of thousands of users, right?"

Wang Xing endured the pride in his heart, nodded, and said seriously: "Nearly 800,000 users."

Fang Zhuo was not shocked by the number of users. He just smiled and said: "Social networks have huge prospects. This is a good start. However, your page is a bit similar to Facebook."

In fact, this is a very euphemistic statement, not just like.

Xiaonei.com can be said to be the Chinese version of Facebook. Not to mention the mode, the pages and colors are the same, and even the logo is very similar.

Wang Xing replied with some embarrassment: "We are designing a new page and it will be online soon."

Out of embarrassment, he raised his cup and took a sip of tea. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Mr. Fang's thoughtful expression, and he suddenly felt alarmed unconsciously. Was this person about to start putting pressure on the school network?

"The Internet in foreign countries is developing faster. This is nothing. The important thing is to be more in line with our local habits." Fang Zhuo suddenly remembered his previous contact with Facebook and said directly, "My fund actually had contact with Facebook, but it was Koberg chose a more well-known institution, so I stopped paying attention to it. When I saw it in China this time, I thought it was quite interesting."

"Quite interesting".

Wang Xing remained silent, feeling more and more that Fang was always putting pressure on him.

Fang Zhuo didn't think much about it when he saw Wang Xing's silence. He knew that the school network was later sold, probably because of financial problems. This time, he was so excited that he thought about giving it a try, maybe it could become a A different school network.

He said more directly: "I am very optimistic about Xiaonei.com. Has Mr. Wang contacted investors before? How much capital is needed for current development?"

Wang Xing turned his thoughts and replied: "We have contacted Sequoia and Thousand Oaks. Thousand Oaks wanted to acquire them directly, but we rejected them. Sequoia wanted to invest, and the talks were okay."

He didn't answer whether he was short of money.

Fang Zhuo asked with interest: "Thousand Oaks is also building a similar website now. How much valuation did they give?"

Wang Xing hesitated for a second and replied: "Ten million."

Fang Zhuo nodded slightly. With its current development and prospects, the school network is indeed worth this amount or more.

He waited for a while, but when Wang Xing didn't speak, he asked directly: "I think the school network is good. How much do you think 20% of the shares are worth?"

Wang Xing did not expect to talk about price so soon.

He calmed down and reported a number: "4 million."

Fang Zhuo frowned slightly. This is a doubled valuation of 20 million. According to the current market conditions, it should be considered quite high. Judging from the current number of users of the school network, there is almost room for 12-15 million.

However, it is not impossible to talk about it. Zhihu is the cause and investment is the result. This is a good anecdote for a new website.

What’s so good about being famous on the Internet just for quarrels? It’s better to put something positive out there.

Fang Zhuo picked up the phone and prepared to ask someone from Yike's investment department to come over and discuss it in detail. He would be able to accept it if he lowered the price according to market conditions.

However, Wang Xing added: "This is 10% of the price."

Fang Zhuo was startled, took back his hand on the phone, and asked with a smile: "Mr. Wang, do you mean 4 million 10%?"

Wang Xing nodded.

Fang Zhuo asked again: "Is this price a bit high? If I remember correctly, the purchase price of Thousand Oaks Group you just mentioned was 10 million."

Wang Xing said calmly: "So, Thousand Oaks Group was rejected by us."

In turn, he persuaded with great confidence: "We are confident in the development of the school network. If we have the opportunity to meet next time, the price will become higher."

Fang Zhuo is not disgusted with sky-high asking prices. It is very common in business negotiations, and Wang Xing's confidence is not surprising. Any entrepreneur will feel a sense of confidence when he sees the number of users of his website growing rapidly.

However, he feels that asking for sky-high prices on this occasion is not a particularly good strategy. Investors are not only about money, but also about resources.

Does the richest man in the Mainland only have money?

Is 20% of shares considered too much?

I've never met him before, and I posted a praise post. Considering my influence, it can be considered a little help, right?

Fang Zhuo was not angry. He pondered for a moment and asked, "Mr. Wang, 3 million 20%. I think this price is more appropriate."

Wang Xing raised his eyes and looked at Mr. Fang. The price was not bad, but couldn't he get more? Sequoia Capital has not responded yet, and the price negotiated before was close to this price.

Thinking about the reputation of the person in front of him, he asked: "Mr. Fang, with all due respect, I would like to know if you come to invest, will you interfere in our decision-making?"

Fang Zhuo smiled and said: "I also started my own business. Of course I will respect the judgment and decision-making of entrepreneurs. You can rest assured about this. However, if there is a very obvious misjudgment, I think my little reminder will be beneficial to the development of the project. Of course I will say it, and I will respect you whether you adopt it or not."

Mr. Fang's deeds flashed through Wang Xing's mind, and he basically ignored the first half of the sentence and looked for the key points on his own.

--"remind".

He knew that Dangdang once received investment from Mr. Fang, and then Mr. Fang made Tesco. Now, Dangdang's situation is not so good.

Wang Xing was silent for a while, and then asked boldly: "Mr. Fang, if we don't accept your investment, will you build a website similar to ours?"

Fang Zhuo laughed loudly and replied affirmatively: "No, Mr. Wang, you are worrying too much."

Wang Xing thought about it, but he still preferred to talk to Sequoia Capital. Meeting Mr. Fang today really strengthened his belief.

He said: "Mr. Fang, I still think this price is a bit low. I also need to discuss it with the team before making a decision."

Fang Zhuo saw what this person meant and nodded: "That's natural. We need everyone to work together to make the website a success. It is very prudent to introduce investors."

He paused and then said: "Many times, where a good idea will go may depend on what kind of investors it comes into contact with. A good investor can help an immature team solve various problems." An unexpected problem."

Fang Zhuo spoke from the bottom of his heart. The king in front of him was just a "young star". He was completely unaware that a team needs to pay a lot of money to mature.

However, to Wang Xing's ears, he felt that this seemed to contain a faint warning - wouldn't it be prudent not to contact investors like you, Mr. Fang? Aren’t other investors good enough? Will you always bring us unexpected problems?

He replied politely and succinctly: "Thank you, Mr. Fang, for your guidance. I am confident that I can complete the project well and live up to Mr. Fang's optimism for our campus network."

Fang Zhuo smiled and chatted with Youxing about the operation of the website.

Wang Xing was mostly thinking about valuation and price, so the exchange was relatively simple.

After Wang Xing left, Fang Zhuo sat in the office and looked back at the words "Be kind to others" on the wall. He couldn't help but shake his head. This thing is actually quite difficult to do?

He thought for a moment and called Sequoia Capital.

The domestic investment circles are very familiar with it. Sequoia Capital came to China to invest from the United States. Shen Nanpeng’s Sequoia China was co-founded by him and Sequoia last year.

Sequoia Capital did not hide anything from Mr. Fang's inquiry. They did have some contact with Xiaonei.com, but now they have decided to invest in another similar website "Zhanzuo.com" - this was established by Zhang Fan and his wife who returned from Yale MBA. website.

"Mr. Fang, the price of the school network is relatively high, and we are considering that it is not acceptable."

"Moreover, their team is thin, their technical capabilities are mediocre, their products are imitations, and their operations, promotion and team management are even more lacking."

"Zhanzuo.com is different. We plan to invest US$5 million here."

"Mr. Fang, are you interested in taking a shot?"

Sequoia Capital talked so much just to bring Mr. Fang in.

"Hahaha, I'm just curious. If Zhanzuo.com develops well in the future, I'll see if there are any investment opportunities." Fang Zhuo declined Sequoia Capital's invitation.

Sequoia Capital doesn’t force it, and there is still a lot of room for cooperation.

…

At almost the same time, Penguin in Pengcheng held a meeting to discuss the development of social networks.

Ma Huateng personally hosted the discussion, and the topic was whether the combination of his own traffic and social networks could play a role of 1+1 greater than 2.

The final conclusion is that QQ has huge traffic and social networks have great prospects.

The two together can defeat countless people in the world.