Chapter 239 Let’s be an angel investor too
Although Wang Xing’s figure is not tall, his big forehead like a longevity star is so conspicuous in the crowd, Zhang Wei recognized it at a glance he.
Zhang Wei knew that this boss was a genuine graduate of the Department of Electronic Engineering of Tsinghua University and a genuine senior.
In 1997, Wang Xing was recommended to the Department of Electronic Engineering of Tsinghua University. Being recommended to Tsinghua University was a popular major, and he was at least the number one scholar in a prefecture-level city.
After graduating from college, Wang Xing received a scholarship to study for a master's degree at the University of Delaware in the United States. This school is not very famous in China, and its ranking in the United States is almost 100, so it is not considered top. colleges and universities.
But the University of Delaware is an Ivy League university, which is a plus.
While studying as a graduate student in the United States, Wang Xing tried to start a business. At that time, SNS websites, that is, social networking websites, were emerging in the United States, so Wang Xing founded several SNS websites in China. Several projects did not make waves, but they allowed Wang Xing to accumulate a wealth of experience.
In 2005, with the rise of Facebook in the United States, Wang Xing also decided to focus on the market segment of university campus social networking sites, so he founded Xiaonei.com.
Unfortunately, Xiaonei.com failed to raise funds, so Wang Xing sold Xiaonei.com to Thousand Oaks Group for a missed price of US$2 million. Later, Thousand Oaks Group renamed Xiaonei.com to Renmin University of Finance and Economics. Renren was successfully listed on the market. At its peak, the market value of Renren was as high as 8 billion US dollars.
Wang Xing took the funds from selling the school network and founded Fanfou. Fanfou was also the first website in mainland China to provide Weibo services. However, due to various reasons, Fanfou was eventually shut down.
Sina Weibo was born a month after Fanfou was shut down. If Fanfeng can continue to operate, maybe there will be no problem with Sina Weibo now.
Next, Wang Xing founded Hainei.com, which was also a social networking site. However, this site had no characteristics and was highly homogeneous. It was shut down after two years.
After the failure of Hainei.com, Wang Xing did not stop entrepreneurship. His next project is Meituan.
The following story should be familiar to everyone. Meituan started by simply doing group purchases for offline stores, and gradually branched into movie tickets, hotels, travel tickets and other industries. Later, it entered the food delivery industry and became A vampire that eats all three sides: merchants, riders, and users.
In fact, Meituan calls itself a vampire. You really can’t blame Meituan. It is the nature of capital to pursue profits. The purpose of running a business is to make money. As long as it does not break the law, it is natural for companies to find ways to make more money.
If we insist on rising to the level of morality, isn't it a kind of moral kidnapping in itself to harm the interests of others in the name of morality?
One has no morals, the other has kidnapped morals, they are half-assed, don’t criticize anyone.
The main reason why people think Meituan is evil is because Chinese people are generally not used to paying for services.
Foreign food delivery platforms also charge service fees. They also charge all three parties. The commission ratio of some platforms is higher than that of domestic food delivery platforms. If you are in a tipping country like the United States, consumers You also have to tip the delivery boy extra.
Foreigners are used to paying for services. In foreigners’ thinking, if the food delivery platform provides services, then paying is only natural.
In the thinking of most Chinese people, services that are intangible are not worth paying for. Only things that are tangible and tangible are worth paying for.
So I ordered takeout and paid for the meal and delivery fee, so the platform should serve me for free.
It’s like many people go to the hospital to see a doctor and spend more than ten or twenty yuan in registration fees. They really feel that they have spent money in vain!
I have been to your hospital for treatment. Your doctor prescribed me several hundred yuan for a checkup and several hundred yuan for medicine. I spent thousands of yuan on my visit to the hospital. Why do you still accept me? Registration fee?
To put it bluntly, I feel that the doctor’s services are not valuable because they are invisible and intangible.
There are hospitals in Putian that waive registration fees. Do we dare to go? What you earn is the registration fee of 20 yuan, and what others earn is your bank card deposit of tens of thousands of yuan!
It is said that the platform’s commission is too harsh, but that’s the way business rules are. People have the power to make rules, but you don’t have the ability to overturn the rules, so you can only survive under the rules. If you don't want to beg for food under this rule, there are many people who are willing.
Our life is like walking under an apple tree. Some people can pick ripe red apples; some can only pick sour green apples; some are willing to take the risk of being hit on the head by an apple. Standing under the tree and waiting for the apples to fall; while some people can only lie on the ground and pick up the rotten and rotten apples, just to have enough to eat for one day.
Getting back to the subject, when Zhang Wei saw the big boss Wang Xing, he approached him without hesitation. How could he not make friends at this time?
"Hello, senior brother!" Zhang Wei walked over and greeted Wang Xing.
Wang Xing visually checked Zhang Wei's age and estimated that he was a student in the Department of Electronic Engineering, his junior brother, so he asked: "Junior brother, do you have something to do with me?"
"Excuse me, are you Wang? Brother Xing?" Zhang Wei asked with a smile.
"Junior brother knows me?" Wang Xing was a little surprised. He thought that he was not well-known in the Department of Electronic Engineering, and it had been five years since graduation, so no young junior brother should know him!
"My name is Zhang Wei, from the Department of Electronic Engineering, grade 03. I have been using the school network." Zhang Wei answered.
When it came to the school network, Wang Xing nodded in realization.
When the campus network was first established, Wang Xing promoted it in various universities in the capital. As his goal, Wang Xing had been to Tsinghua University, so it was reasonable for his students to remember him.
When he met the user, who was a junior in the same school and department, Wang Xing lowered his guard and the two started chatting.
"Brother, I think the school network has great development prospects. Have you ever thought about raising funds and continuing to expand its scale?" Zhang Wei asked.
Speaking of financing, Wang Xing let out a long sigh: "Of course financing is required. We have negotiated with several companies recently, but none of them have been successful."
"Brother, I I can introduce someone to you. You must have heard of Zhou Hongyi, the former CEO of Yahoo China. He is in the VIP lounge at the back. How about I take you there? I heard that he represents Sequoia Capital this time. Come on, if you can be favored by Sequoia Capital, you will definitely be able to obtain a large amount of financing." Zhang Wei continued.
Wang Xing sighed again: "I have met Mr. Zhou at Sequoia Capital. As for Sequoia Capital, it's a pity that the negotiation has not been completed. They are unwilling to invest in me."
What Wang Xing said reminded Zhang Wei of an interesting story that was posted on the Internet in later generations.
It is said that at the end of 2005, Wang Xing went to Sequoia Capital to raise funds for Xiaonei.com, but Sequoia Capital didn’t know much about social networking sites, so he approached Zhou Hongyi and asked Zhou Hongyi to go there. Help check.
As a result, Wang Xing showed no enthusiasm after meeting Zhou Hongyi. Zhou Hongyi felt that even though I, the former CEO of Yahoo China, did not greet me with a smile, you were too arrogant and arrogant and would definitely not be able to achieve anything, so he did not invest in the school intranet.
After the news that Sequoia Capital did not invest in the school network, it also made many investors shy away from the school network. Everyone felt that Sequoia Capital would not be mistaken. Since Sequoia Capital is not optimistic about it, then This school network will definitely not work.
If Wang Xing can get investment from Sequoia Capital, perhaps the school network will not be short of operating funds in the future and eventually sold to Thousand Oaks Group at a low price.
At this time, Zhang Wei was overjoyed when he learned that the financing of the school network had been blocked. So he immediately asked: "Brother, how much money do you plan to raise for your school network?"
"If we can raise 8 million yuan, we can survive!" Wang Xing said.
Zhang Wei nodded suddenly, thought about his troubles in the American account, and then asked: "Brother, do you think I can invest in the school network?"
"Hehehe, junior brother, do you have eight million?" Wang Xing only thought Zhang Wei was joking.
"I don't have eight million yuan this month, but I still have one million US dollars." Zhang Wei replied seriously.
Last year Zhang Wei bought two sea-view villas in Qinhai, and invested 8 million yuan in Weiguang Technology. Zhang Wei really can't afford it now.
Although the money earned in the first month of the Three Kingdoms web game has been credited to Weiguang Technology, it is not yet time to distribute dividends, not to mention the subsequent development of the DOTA2 game engine by Weiguang Technology. It is also a large investment, so Zhang Wei does not plan to use the money in Weiguang Technology's accounts.
Then Zhang Wei has no choice but to use his account in the United States. "The Thirst Game" is the number one bestseller on Amazon, and the royalties are quite large. Zhang Wei can afford one million US dollars.
Wang Xing still felt that Zhang Wei was joking. He smiled and said: "Junior brother Zhang Wei, we are talking about one million US dollars, not one hundred US dollars!"
"Senior brother, can't you trust me? But that's normal. Senior brother doesn't understand me!" Zhang Wei chuckled, took out his business card, and handed it to Wang Xing.
"Vice President of Weiguang Technology?" Wang Xing looked at the business card, then at Zhang Wei, and asked with a surprised look on his face: "Is this you?" "Isn't it just me! I'm opening a business with a friend I started a company that makes online games," Zhang Wei replied.
"Junior brother, you are so secretive! You just said that you are from grade 03, right? You are only a junior in college and you have already started a business? You are our China's Bill Guy Ah!”
“Actually, I’m a freshman.”
"Aren't you from the 03 grade?"
"I was from the electronic engineering department in 2003, and was expelled. Then I came back in 2004 and studied bioengineering."
"That should be my sophomore year!"
"I dropped out again, came back in 2005 and went to the School of Economics and Management, so I am now a freshman." Zhang Wei replied.
Wang Xing was startled, wondering what is going on? Is there such a person? What a true love this pair has for Tsinghua University. You have to take the exam for Tsinghua University for three consecutive years.
Then I thought again, genius and madman are often just a matter of thought. A place like Tsinghua University gathers the smartest minds in the country, and also has the largest number of weirdos in the country. Maybe it is better than a mental hospital. Better than that.
If judged by the standards of neurosis, Zhang Wei can be considered a normal person.
Zhang Wei continued with a serious face: "Brother, I am not kidding you. I can really afford 1 million US dollars. Although my game company has just started, it is still very profitable. Not bad."
Seeing Zhang Wei's serious expression, it didn't look like he was joking. Wang Xing finally felt that Zhang Wei was here to discuss business, so he asked: "Junior brother Zhang Wei, you are a game company. , what games have you developed? "
"Currently, we have only developed one online game, called "The Legend of the Three Kingdoms". It is a web game, no need to download, just click to play." Zhang Wei replied.
Wang Xing did not react when mentioning "The Legend of Three Kingdoms", but when the sentence "No need to download, click and play" was uttered, Wang Xing thought, why does this sentence sound so familiar? I seem to have seen it somewhere.
I think about it, when I go online these days, I always see this sentence when I open the hao123 homepage, juxtaposed with many website navigations.
I even clicked in and quit when I found out it was a web game. However, the image of the female character on the game page is so beautiful! That waist to waist ratio is amazing!
“Do you think it’s the web game that was given to Diao Chan?” Wang Xing asked.
“Yes, now I’m not only giving you Diao Chan, but also Xiao Qiao. Senior brother, have you played with them too?”
"I haven't played it, but I know this game."
Wang Xing didn't show much importance. He obviously didn't know the power of this kind of krypton gold web game. If he knew the daily price of the Three Kingdoms web game, Liu Shui will definitely worship Zhang Wei directly as the father of the sponsor.
Zhang Weize then said: "Brother, if you still can't trust me, otherwise I'll call Dean Shen Jiahai over and ask him to vouch for me."
"I can trust you, for sure. Believe it or not!" What Wang Xing said was like "Yes, yes, everything you said is right." Multiple affirmations meant no.
Zhang Wei sighed helplessly. It seemed that after a while, Wang Xing would really have to pull Shen Jiahai over before Wang Xing would believe him.
"It's not that I can't trust you, junior brother. I just feel it's a bit sudden. I've talked about so many financings before, but none of them were successful. Today someone suddenly came and wanted to invest in me. This is really unexpected. I haven't recovered yet. Here we go!
Wang Xing made up for himself, and then asked: "Junior brother, why do you want to invest in the school network, one million US dollars, this is not a small amount! Do you want to discuss it with your family? "
Wang Xing feels that even if Zhang Wei can really come up with one million US dollars, it must be given by his family. Then Zhang Wei should be a top rich second generation.
But even if he is a top The second generation of rich people should discuss it with their parents and explain how much it will cost if they spend one million US dollars.
"I invested in Xiaonei.com because I think it has potential and I am optimistic about the development of social networking sites, which is not the case in the United States. Is there a Facebook? I think Xiaonei.com can also become China’s Facebook. ”
Zhang Wei paused and then said: "But I also have conditions. I hope that the school network can be fully open for registration within this year."
"Fully open for registration? Even members of the public can register. What?" Wang Xing's brows flashed.
“As far as I know, Facebook is also planning to open to non-student groups, probably this year.
“Where did you get the news? Wang Xing asked immediately.
“Amazon! "Zhang Wei made some nonsense, then leaned into Wang Xing's ear and continued; "Actually, I'm still a consultant for Amazon. ”
"Amazon consultant?" Wang Xing stared at Zhang Wei in surprise, wondering who this young man was from!
......
Zhang Wei was really interested in Xiaonei.com, which later became Renren.com.
To say that the most unfortunate brand in the history of China’s Internet development is none other than Renren.
At its peak, Renren had 170 million active users, and more than 70% of domestic college students were using Renren.
It’s really a pity that a website of this size, and it’s also social, has not been launched.
The slogan "Go to classmates, find everyone" is a memory of many people born in the 1980s and 1990s.
Now there is QQ, WeChat, Weibo, Douyin, and various social software. Even primary school students have little genius watches. They can add friends by touching each other and contact each other at any time. .
But in the 1990s, or even the first few years of the 21st century, these things did not exist, and even QQ was not popular. After graduation, contact between classmates was almost lost, and only a classmate directory was left, which briefly recorded each other's contact information.
Renren.com has become a great tool for retrieving old classmates.
Think about the girl you had a crush on when you were in love. You no longer have contact information. At this time, you searched on Renren.com and found the other person’s homepage. You can contact her. Are you happy?
Then I clicked on her homepage and saw that they were all photos of her and her boyfriend having sex while traveling. Isn’t that bad?
The key point is that your boyfriend is not as tall as you, not as handsome as you, and not as rich as you, so he asks you if you hate him?
Renren could have become China’s Facebook. Unfortunately, such an awesome social networking site quickly went out of business due to mistakes in its business strategy.
In fact, Renren only needs to copy Facebook. Renren will do whatever Facebook does. Facebook cannot enter the mainland anyway and will not compete with Renren.
If you don’t want to copy Facebook, you can develop a good social media. You can also live a very nourishing life through a sharing social media like Twitter, Instagram, or even Xiaohongshu.
However, Renren just doesn’t copy it well, and it doesn’t do social media well. It can’t come up with any useful information at all. It makes a bunch of stuff here and there, and messes up its core content.
Several strategic mistakes caused the company to miss the opportunity for Internet development. Users were lost rapidly and it became completely cold in just a few years.
The reason is that Thousand Oaks, which is responsible for operating Renren.com, is not actually a traditional Internet company, but more like an investment company disguised as the Internet.
Thousand Oaks is better at capital operation than making products and content. Give them an excellent product, and they can use this product to quickly raise funds and even get listed on Nasdaq. As for the operation and development of this product, then haha.
This kind of business philosophy can make money for investors in the short term, but it is difficult to operate a product in a down-to-earth manner.
If Xiaonei.com had not been sold to Thousand Oaks, but continued to be operated by Wang Xing, perhaps the outcome of Xiaonei.com would have been completely different.
So Zhang Wei decided to take a gamble and bet on Wang Xing’s ability to turn the school network into China’s Facebook!
(End of this chapter)