Reinventing the Millennium

Li Yongjin is a very smart person.

In November last year, Bumblebee had already had the experience of jumping left and right among competitors to raise prices, which indirectly made it difficult for the current attempt to succeed.

The size of the opponents is different, the industry environment is different, and the resources behind them are also different.

Not even Didi is interested. Bumblebee had offended Kuaidi even more severely before, and Alibaba even warned people not to invest in Bumblebee, so there is no need to try in vain.

Since we can no longer borrow the name of Yike from our opponents to find buyers, is it possible to use it directly and honestly instead of "borrowing" it?

As an online ride-hailing brand that lasted from last year to this year, it’s not that Bumblebee has no execution ability or combat effectiveness, it’s just that its competitors are too strong.

Li Yongjin increasingly feels that the online ride-hailing market is a whirlpool, and this whirlpool is destined to blow away the weak ones.

In a word, just follow Du Ji, there is no future!

Since Didi, Kuaidi, and Dada are difficult to take over or take over at normal prices, it is better to sell the company to Duji. After all, Duji has invested a lot of money, and the sunk costs are here, and it The desired mobile payment has not yet been successful.

If you want Duji to spend money and push the funder to make decisions, you may really need some cooperation from the giant's rivals.

Otherwise, given Bumblebee's current situation, Du Ji wouldn't be willing to pay much money.

As for whether Yike is willing to cooperate...

Why don’t the four giants personally end the competition in the online ride-hailing market?

Isn’t it just that we only focus on payment disputes and don’t want to be burdened with bloated baggage?

If we can find ways to drag down Duji and add a layer of burden to the transformation of Duji, will Yike, a giant that has already taken action on Duji's core search business, be happy to see such a situation?

Li Yongjin wants to sell Bumblebee, but he also wants to get a good price.

However, looking around, it seemed that such an opportunity could only be obtained from Du Ji.

Li Yongjin's phone call with Qi He was short, but he felt relieved because the president of YMS agreed to meet, and his burning anxiety was relieved by three points.

At the very least, Yike's Qi is always interested.

Two days later, Li Yongjin, who returned to Shanghai, had no time to express too many emotions and considered each other's positions for the last time. He arrived at the Yike headquarters and met Qi He, the president of YMS.

In the international market, Yike wants to compete with Samsung, Qualcomm and the like. In China, it is generally believed that Qi He of Yike's YMS business group is the leader in promoting competition with Duji.

Some people use this to ridicule Duji, claiming that Duji is slow in everything he does. If he had transformed a few years earlier, he might have been able to compete with Mr. Fang. Now he can only compete with Mr. Fang's Qi He.

But Li Yongjin has never looked down upon Qi at all. Needless to say, Yike's current size, based on his work experience in the United States, Europe, and China, he is also a man of real ability.

Mr. Fang is too tall and his aura is too dazzling.

When the two met, Li Yongjin heard some offensive words before they could even exchange greetings.

"Mr. Li wants to sell Duji at a good price this time, but he doesn't care about his personal reputation." Qi He said with a half-smile.

This time, Li Yongjin came not to discuss the sale of Bumblebee, but to drag the money owner into the game. He wanted to use the competition between Yike and Duji to cooperate, which was inevitably disgusting.

You know, the one that has supported the development of Bumblebee the most in the past six months is Duji. It not only personally contributed money, but also took the lead in attracting investment institutions and cooperated with traffic resources.

Now, this backhand is about to conspire with competitors to sell off the financial owner.

"Bumblebee is a group of brothers and sisters who came out of Tudou and followed me to start a business. To this day, I really..." Li Yongjin's voice was a little low, and he sighed, "I can't bear it."

He is not alone, he brings a group of people to work on the project. He is not the one who settles the losses, but a group of people are affected.

In this case, for the sake of brothers and sisters, then... let's be a giant.

What's more, if Du Ji doesn't want it, no one can force it.

Li Yongjin has made mental preparations and is ready to face Mr. Qi's cross-examination.

However, Mr. Qi on the opposite side only applauded after hearing this sentence, and then stopped asking about the motivation in this regard, and directly asked how to drag Du Ji down together.

Li Yongjin instantly understood that his motives were not important to Yike at all. What was important was to add some chips to the competition with Duji.

He readjusted his mood and briefly talked about the need for Yike's cooperation.

In fact, it is not complicated. As long as Yike expresses interest, it will naturally increase the price of Duji. In fact, not only Duji, Kuaidi and Didi may not join in.

In this battle for online ride-hailing, Bumblebee is gradually falling behind. The three companies in front are still fierce. No one wants to see Dada, supported by Yike, becoming stronger.

The current problem is that Duji’s traffic, brand and resources cannot match the competitiveness, and the investment it can drive is also limited. Investment institutions are more optimistic about the other three supported Kuaidi, Didi and Dada.

There is another important reason for this. Duji’s search is still facing severe challenges from the Yike Department.

In the final analysis, everyone is not optimistic about Duji, which is competing with Yike.

Li Yongjin's few words made Qi He nod slightly.

"There are people sent by Du Ji in the company. I contacted Yike secretly, and then he accidentally discovered it. When the time comes, we will make the contact between the two parties public. There will be great hope for this matter."

"If Bumblebee really wants to sell itself, Du Ji cannot stop it procedurally. We have already agreed with it not to interfere in operations, but it will definitely change our decision. Otherwise, it will burn out so much money." users have become wedding dresses for Yike, wouldn’t they be ridiculed?”

"If I were the senior executive of Duji, if I were Ma Dongmin and Li Yanhong, I cannot tolerate such a thing happening."

Li Yongjin calmly discussed the relevant situation.

Qi He couldn't help but laugh and said: "Mr. Li, you are cruel to Du Ji."

Li Yongjin pondered over and over again and said solemnly: "From the company's perspective, this is your wish. From a personal perspective... I do not recognize the values ​​​​presented by Duji in search advertising."

Qi He understood that if you don't stand on the moral high ground, others will. Du Ji is a family that is always easy to be criticized by others from the high ground. This person's cruelty is just something that everyone can punish.

"I have always admired Mr. Fang, and I particularly recognize Yike's company values." Li Yongjin said, "I often learn from Mr. Fang's handling of many things. I hope that one day I can stand in front of Mr. Fang with confidence. .”

Um……

An entrepreneur who resold his financial backer...

Qi He didn't need to think too much before, but he thought about it seriously now, and then commented succinctly: "You learned well."

He stood up from his seat, shook hands and wished, "I hope Mr. Li can get what he wants this time."

Li Yongjin nodded vigorously, hoping that Yike would get what he wanted.

When he returned to Jiangcheng, where Bumblebee's new headquarters was located, he immediately began to make arrangements.

It was not appropriate for too many people to know what was to be done this time, so Li Yongjin only used the most trustworthy people to handle the situation.

On the one hand, he once again called Ma Dongmin, who was in charge of Duji’s strategic investment, and asked Duji to provide funds again. This request was quickly declined because it had not been long since Bumblebee’s last financing.

On the other hand, there are rumors in the company that they are in contact with Yike.

As the senior director who led the team to assist Bumblebee, Cui Jifeng naturally paid special attention to relevant trends and news after hearing the news. Within a short time, he got the news that Mr. Li had led a secret meeting with Yike.

This situation made Cui Jifeng extremely stunned. Secret contact? What do you want?

He did not seek confirmation from the parties concerned, but first reported the situation to the headquarters.

When Li Yongjin received an inquiry call from Ma Dongmin, he euphemistically stated the possible situation. In view of the fierce competition in the online car-hailing market and the long-term end time, Yike is trying to promote the cooperation between "Dada" and "Dada". The possibility of a "Bumblebee" merger.

If it really comes to pass, the condition promised by Yike is that Li Yongjin can still serve as co-CEO.

"Mr. Li, what do you mean?" Ma Dongmin suppressed his anger and asked about the situation of the person involved.

"This matter..." Li Yongjin hesitated, "Mr. Ma, we burned 2.4 billion in February, and we are burning like this again in March. This... this market is so crazy!"

The second half of his sentence is true emotion.

Since the end of the Spring Festival, competition in the online ride-hailing market has heated up rapidly. The scale of money burning in February has reached a new high. Unfortunately, the trend has not stopped at all in March.

2.4 billion is close to 400 million US dollars, and the funds in Bumblebee's account were burned out in one month.

From the second half of last year to March this year, Li Yongjin suddenly looked back and realized that he had been anxious about lack of money and worried about the funds in his account all the time.

Now, Duji is hesitant about financing.

The competition intensity in this market is beyond imagination.

What’s even more disappointing is that foreign “Uber” has also reported that it wants to enter the Chinese market.

Li Yongjin really has no confidence in winning this competition, and the competition using "subsidy" as an important means has greatly reduced user stickiness, making it almost difficult to form a moat.

A market without a moat is constantly burning money...

Listening to the tone on the other end of the phone, Ma Dongmin couldn't hold back her anger and repeated again: "Mr. Li, what do you mean!"

"Mr. Ma, I didn't agree. I was just thinking about it." Li Yongjin sighed, "It's too difficult."

"You don't have to think about it, Duji will not agree." Ma Dongmin said directly, "As a major shareholder, as a major shareholder holding 41% of the shares, Duji will not agree to such a merger."

Because it is difficult to drive too much institutional investment willingness, Duji's shareholding in Bumblebee has continued to increase with financing. This kind of share is not common today.

There was silence on the phone.

After a long time, Li Yongjin reminded: "Mr. Ma, Duji's voting rights are halved. I may not necessarily agree to Yike's conditions, but what I need to say is that Bumblebee is operated and made by us. of."

When Ma Dongmin heard such a tough attitude, he felt furious and wished he could fly to Jiangcheng immediately to question Li Yongjin face to face.

Where was that groveling tone when he called me last week to ask for money?

Are you now responsible for operations and decision-making?

"Duji will not sell shares, Mr. Li, you have to think carefully. Yike's so-called co-CEO is just a temporary measure. Dada was founded by Wei Zhe, and the team there also comes from Yike and Mi Tuan. They rely on Why are you invited to serve as a proxy?" Ma Dongmin quickly controlled his emotions, "The career you want to do will only die silently!"

"Mr. Ma, I'll think about it again." Li Yongjin ended the call.

Ma Dongmin on the other side immediately summoned people to study the relevant situation and market changes.

Since the end of the Spring Festival, Bumblebee's market has been deteriorating. Didi is okay. Alipay's built-in "Kuaidi" and Yixin's mini-program "Dada" are the craziest among the crazy, and they quickly occupy 55% of the market. market.

Of the remaining 45%, Didi can account for 25%, Bumblebee can only account for 15%, and the remaining 5% are other small brands that have not yet died.

How come Bumblebee has fallen so far behind after investing so much money?

According to Duji's research, the other three companies have better fund conversion effects, and the popularity of "Duji Wallet" is indeed much weaker. In addition, there are also problems such as the combat effectiveness and management level of the Bumblebee team.

Speaking of team combat effectiveness, latecomer Dada is first, followed by Kuaishou, then Didi, and Bumblebee is still at the bottom.

Various factors and the crazy money-burning market also made Duji hesitate to invest.

However, on March 16, Wei Zhe, the founder of Dada, faced a media interview and publicly praised the rapid development of the online ride-hailing market. He also said that Dada will take a two-pronged approach, not only increasing market promotion, but also hoping to use capital to Ways to expand the size.

As soon as these words came out, Duji knew what was going on. Kuaidi and Didi were both surprised. There were some rumors in the industry, but... is it necessary for Dada to acquire Bumblebee?

Especially Cheng Wei, who had received a call from Li Yongjin, was even more surprised. Does Yike, who has Yixin traffic, need to be like this?

Now is not a time for staking claims. Now is a market where drivers and passengers know that online taxi-hailing is subsidized, and where everyone has downloaded several apps on their mobile phones. The data owned by Bumblebee has a lot of overlap.

Is Yi Ke so anxious?

Cheng Wei considered that it was Yike who was the leader of the four giants, and modified his judgment. Is Yike so courageous?

There must be a reason for Yike to do this.

Perhaps, they are already preparing for integration to compete with U-China?

Cheng Wei thought of foreign competing brands, whose strength should not be underestimated.

He researched it with his colleagues in the company, and then called Penguin to ask for relevant opinions. Penguin also noticed the situation and was also waiting for opinions from the frontline battlefield.

Cheng Wei thought about it, why did Li Yongjin win Yike's favor so quickly after he called him before? How could the Du Ji behind it be willing to do so?

He was a little puzzled, but on the other side, "Kuaidi" supported by Ali had already taken action. The dispute between Alipay and Yipay was fierce. Compared with Bumblebee's previous breach of contract, Alipay paid more attention to Yipay's trends.

Kuaide CEO Lu Chuanwei flew to Jiangcheng in person to discuss the acquisition with Bumblebee.

This time, Li Yongjin conveyed the message to the sponsor more clearly.

"Mr. Ma, I don't sell to Yike, I sell to Ali. Is that okay?"

Ma Dongmin is in a dilemma, who to sell to, Duji is just trying to fetch water from a bamboo basket. Now, what supports the development of "Duji Wallet" is precisely the crazy money-burning online car-hailing market... (End of this chapter)