Reinventing the Millennium

April 30, the last day of the month.

Wang Xing stood downstairs in Hang Lung Tower, feeling excited and having mixed feelings.

The past month has been the most devastating month of my life.

I flew to Shanghai on the 1st and met Mr. Fang. At that time, Zhizhihu’s praise suddenly made many people participate in the discussion of the school network. Coupled with Sequoia’s favor, it can be said that the school network project is the most popular one. When you are in high spirits.

Due to various considerations, Wang Xing declined the investment from Mr. Fang. After returning to the capital, he replaced the school network with a glamorous office and formulated an ambitious promotion plan.

However, by mid-month, Sequoia Capital switched to Zhanzuo.com.

Even so, this was only regarded as a small change, and soon they found the American venture capital ES, and the talks were very pleasant.

However, as Penguin announced the launch of QQ Alumni, the entire school network faced setbacks. The most direct and critical one was the withdrawal of ES, and other venture capital investors that had previously been contacted also all turned to wait-and-see.

On the one hand, giants are entering the market, and on the other hand, there is a shortage of funds.

Wang Xing could sense the change in the management's mentality, so he gritted his teeth and borrowed one million yuan from his father who was in the cement business...

However, compared with the "Thousand Gardens Plan", this fund appears to be very scarce.

Wang Xing tried his best to boost the morale of the management and tried his best to find investment institutions, but with little success.

On April 20, the morale of the school management team suffered a new blow.

Originally, Chen Yizhou from Thousand Oaks Group came to negotiate the acquisition, and the price was 10 million. This time, he took the initiative to come to negotiate the acquisition again, and the price was raised to 12 million.

Wang Xing didn't think the extra two million was a big bargaining chip, but the management was tempted.

Several people had a big fight in the brand new and empty conference room, and in the end Wang Xing made the decision to reject the acquisition from Thousand Oaks Group.

Chen Yizhou was not disappointed or angry at the result. He just said: "Mr. Wang, as far as I know, Penguin's team has already begun to contact universities. They are extremely determined to build a social network."

"You are not the only one who can imitate Facebook. There are people in Penguin who have money and traffic. As long as they are determined, they will definitely do better than you."

"It doesn't take a month or two, maybe even a week or two. Maybe in a few days, the website and users in your hands will become worthless."

"When you regret it, the price won't be 12 million when you sell it."

Wang Xing did not respond to these words, but just sent Chen Yizhou away in silence.

The person who acquired it left, but cracks appeared in the team.

The school network was initially launched with a capital of 300,000 yuan. Wang Xing contributed more than 100,000 yuan, and Wang Huiwen, Lai Binqiang and some other students contributed the rest. Money was needed during the development process. Wang Xing had already borrowed it from home once, and Wang Huiwen I also borrowed 200,000 from outside.

Nowadays, the development situation of Xiaonei Network is deteriorating rapidly, which has to make the co-founders consider the follow-up situation.

At the very least, for Wang Huiwen, he can't make no money and be in debt, right?

Wang Xing could understand his friend's mood, but he felt that the school network would not be reduced to that level. Even if it was the worst, it could still be sold to make some money.

However, the mentality of the entire management is completely different from half a month ago.

At the beginning of the month it was still Facebook, but by the middle of the month it was a website that could still be sold for money.

On April 22, Wang Xing personally took the team to campus for promotion after contacting investment institutions again to no avail. However, he happened to meet Penguin’s new team in Beijing.

In front of his competitors, Wang Xing heard a sentence - "Students, you don't want to waste time on a website that can go bankrupt at any time, right?"

The four people on the school network all looked ugly.

When Wang Xing was about to go on stage to refute, he suddenly discovered that the other three people in the team were all worried, and the scholarly anger in his heart suddenly disappeared.

That night, Wang Xing tossed and turned, deeply feeling the internal and external troubles, and the irreparable collapse of people's hearts.

He asked himself, can such a team really create a career?

Three days later, Wang Xing arrived at the company after visiting two investors and found that several founders and shareholders were waiting for him.

"Chen Yizhou called again, this time the bid is 15 million." Co-founder Wang Huiwen said the latest news.

When Wang Xing heard this, he did not panic, but said slightly calmly: "Then let's discuss it together."

This meeting was different from the original big fight. Everyone expressed their thoughts.

There are Penguin and Thousand Oaks outside. Such competitors are both huge in size, especially the former, which combines various elements.

There is a financial dilemma within the company. More than a week of contact has failed to bring about further progress in financing, and the company no longer has much money in its account.

In the past two days, even the website has been stuck from time to time due to server installation problems. Many users have complained, and the company's money and technology may not be able to solve it in a short time.

In just twenty minutes, the management made a decision to sell the school network to Chen Yizhou of Thousand Oaks Group.

Compared with the investment of more than two million yuan in a few months, the sales price of 15 million yuan can already satisfy everyone.

At the end of the meeting, Wang Xing discussed and said: "Actually, I have an appointment with an investor tomorrow. Can you let me finish talking to him and see what happens? Tomorrow night, let's have supper together, and I'll talk to you again report."

Wang Huiwen and other shareholders looked at Wang Xing's pleading look and silently agreed to this last attempt.

Unfortunately, there are no miracles.

Late the next night, the management of Xiaonei.com had a supper together and drank while eating.

Wang Xing joked loudly about these blind investors, while Wang Huiwen talked about the dreamlike few months of starting a business.

Drink and chat, chat and laugh.

By the time the supper stall was closed, a group of young people were already in tears.

The bitterness of entrepreneurship is more unforgettable than the sweetness.

Wang Xing was very drunk.

When he woke up in a daze, lying in bed with a splitting headache, Mr. Fang's smile suddenly flashed through his mind, and the meeting at the beginning of the month came back to his mind.

——Many times, where a good idea will go may depend on what kind of investors it contacts. A good investor can help an immature team solve various unexpected problems.

These are Mr. Fang’s original words.

Wang Xing only felt it was Mr. Fang's faint warning before.

Now, after unexpected setbacks and unforgettable disappointments, he thought of these words again and found that "immature team" seemed to be the most suitable description for himself and others.

Why didn't you think of looking for Mr. Fang again when you were looking for new investors?

Maybe it’s the fear of the other person’s rejection, maybe it’s the fear of the other person’s ridicule, or maybe it’s the arrogance in the young man’s heart.

Wang Xing lay quietly on the bed, thinking repeatedly about the entrepreneurial process and opponents of Xiaonei Network.

Penguin, a giant with money, people and traffic.

He murmured to himself: "Only giants can fight against giants..."

Wang Xing sat up and punched the edge of the bed: "Only a giant can fight against a giant!"

Eat in a hurry, take a shower, book a flight.

When Wang Xing went out, he received a call from Wang Huiwen.

"Wang Xing, when will you come to the company? Let's set a time to meet Chen Yizhou." Wang Huiwen mentioned the acquisition.

"Hui Wen, Hui Wen, I'll try again, don't worry, I'll find the money, and I'll try one last time!" Wang Xing said hurriedly.

Wang Huiwen was speechless. The investor he mentioned before was the last time. He even had dinner yesterday.

Wang Xing said categorically: "I'll go to Shanghai, and I'll find Mr. Fang. If it doesn't work, I'll come back and sell the company!"

"This..." Wang Huiwen heard Mr. Fang's name and thought about the recent friction between the Yike Department and Penguin, "Okay, I'll wait for your good news."

However, after a not-so-long flight and a car arrival at Hang Lung Tower, Wang Xing's heart was still full of doubts, apprehensions, and timidity when he looked up at the tall building.

He got through the phone and thought it was just a courtesy from the richest man.

If it were you, why would you invest in an immature team at this time?

Especially if the Penguins enter the market, even if they want to invest, wouldn't they be investing in Thousand Oaks Group's 5Q network? Isn't it Zhang Fan who returned to China after studying MBA with Sequoia?

Wang Xing put his cell phone into his pocket, shook off the thoughts in his mind, and walked into Hang Lung Tower.

He pressed the elevator button and saw the elevator going all the way down.

When the elevator door opened, Wang Xing suddenly saw Mr. Fang's smiling face revealed.

"Hi, Mr. Wang, we meet again." Fang Zhuo took the initiative to extend his right hand and said with a smile, "It's a beautiful scenery in Shanghai. We meet you again in the season of falling flowers. Come on, let's go up and chat."

Wang Xing never expected that Mr. Fang would come down in person to welcome him.

He was stunned for two seconds, then subconsciously shook hands before walking into the elevator.

When he walked into Hang Lung 23, Wang Xing said something: "Mr. Fang, I, I came here because I had no other choice."

Fang Zhuo glanced at Wang Xing in surprise and said with a smile: "Mr. Wang, you are a little too candid this time."

Wang Xing is embarrassed.

"Of course I know what it will be like. It's nothing more than investment withdrawals, low morale, and blocked business. It's normal to start a business." Fang Zhuo said, "The problems I encountered in my first project were more serious than this. Many, especially investors, are very arrogant. The domestic investment industry has developed rapidly in recent years, and everyone has become much more polite."

Wang Xing had heard about Mr. Fang's entrepreneurial story, but now that he heard the person involved's description, his past impression was almost overturned. It turned out that Mr. Fang had gone through the same hardships as himself.

"You don't have to go to the office, let's go to the conference room." Fang Zhuo took a slight turn and led Wang Xing to Yike's conference room.

"Sit down." Fang Zhuo motioned to the secretary to serve tea, and then said, "Let the two directors of the investment department come over, even Mr. Wang from Sina, and ask Mr. Wang from Shenxin if he can come over. Oh yes, ask Mr. Xiong. No time even.”

Wang Xing held the teacup silently and soon saw executives from Yike Investment Department coming to the conference room.

But what surprised him was that notebooks were placed in several places.

"We have used foreign video conferencing systems for a long time. They are not that easy to use, but they can be used temporarily." Fang Zhuo explained when he saw Wang Xing's confusion.

Wang Xing nodded and soon saw several big guys coming online.

At 6:30 in the evening, everything was ready in the conference room of Hang Lung 23.

"This is Mr. Wang Xing from the school network. He will introduce you to the situation of the school network." Fang Zhuo said this, and then said to Wang Xing seriously, "Mr. Wang, although I still have a deep understanding of the school network." Interested, but the next time is important to you.”

He continued with good intentions: "We are not interested in the past difficulties of the school network. Now we just want to know your views and understanding of this project. Don't be lyrical, just be objective."

Faced with Mr. Fang's straightforward words this time, Wang Xing didn't have any "mild warning" in his heart. Instead, he felt that this was how things should be done.

He nodded seriously, discarding the complicated emotions brought about by his experiences in the past month.

"Mr. Wang, please tell me." Fang Zhuo stretched out his hand.

Wang Xing finally took a sip of tea and introduced the current situation of the school network.

The entire company team currently has only 26 people, but from December last year to April this year, the number of users of Xiaonei Network has reached 800,000.

Wang Xing talked with a clear mind about his views on the current domestic social network. The mainstream instant messaging software is undoubtedly QQ, but its relationship chain expansion model is relatively closed. When it comes to university groups, neither QQ nor BBS models can fully satisfy Everyone’s social needs.

BBS divides content based on universities. Users do not have personalized characteristics and are not conducive to making friends. Real-name SNS can be personalized and have group tags, which meets the online social needs of this group.

Wang Xing spoke eloquently and very fluently described the prospects of the school network and its vigorous development after meeting the current needs.

When he finished speaking, the voice of IDG President Xiong Xiaoge came from the screen: "There is a ceiling for the college student group. It is foreseeable that as investment increases, the development of this group will soon slow down the growth rate. , how do you solve this problem?"

Wang Xing replied: "First of all, even if the growth rate slows down, the number of users among college students is already quite large. Secondly, we are paying attention to the development of Facebook abroad..."

At this time, he did not shy away from mentioning Facebook, the object of study: "FB has been a group of college students this year and then turned to high school students. However, our domestic situation is different, and it is not realistic to study Facebook rigidly."

"Fb is down, we can't go down, we can only go up."

"I have noticed that the domestic office white-collar group is getting larger and larger. This is a goal that can be considered."

“College students and office white-collar workers are the two groups that are relatively easy to increase.”

“If the integration of these two groups in website use can be completed, the final step will be universal expansion.”

Xiong Xiaoge asked again: "The ecology of your school network is the campus content ecology. If you introduce office white-collar workers, can it still maintain its appeal? The national population is even more complex and diverse. Can a fragmented website retain users?"

"This is a huge challenge for the website, but different groups are not only fragmented, but also attractive. How to make the attraction greater than the sense of fragmentation is the key to ultimate success." Wang Xing said solemnly.

Xiong Xiaoge smiled and said: "Mr. Wang, are you and your team confident in meeting such a challenge?"

Wang Xing's flow was stuck.

He has confidence in himself, but his team... He really can't boast unconscionably at this time, and Mr. Fang's words of "immature team" are still ringing in his mind.

At this time, Fang Zhuo interjected: "So, they need the guidance of excellent investors. I am not convinced by any domestic investors, so I am convinced by Mr. Xiong."

"Don't bullshit..." Xiong Xiaoge's voice echoed in the conference room.

Fang Zhuo turned around and said, "Disconnect it. It's stuck. The conference system has an old problem."

At this moment, Wang Fengyi of Shenxin Science and Technology Co., Ltd. arrived belatedly.

He walked into the conference room skillfully, sat next to Mr. Fang, and asked, "How was it? Where were we talking about?"

"Talking about how to deal with Penguin as a competitor." Fang Zhuo glanced at Wang Xing.

Wang Xing was silent again.

If he could handle it he wouldn't be here.

Is that what humans can handle?

Wang Xing suddenly had an idea: "Penguin is a very threatening competitor. In order to deal with it, the school network found Mr. Fang. This is the most feasible method after our discussion. The number of other users and the campus ecology are secondary. "

Mr. Fang is not a human being today, Jiutian Xuannan has descended into the mortal world.

I signed up for our school network and wanted to have a fight with Penguin.

Fang Zhuo laughed.

Wang Fengyi nodded repeatedly: "Okay, let's work for Penguin, right? Count me as the Penguin shareholder."

Fang Zhuo stopped laughing and suddenly said: "Oh yes, you Shenxin Technology is still a shareholder of Penguin, can you do it? Brother Wang, can you do it?"

Only then did Wang Xing realize that there was such a relationship.

"There's nothing wrong with it. I, Wang Fengyi, have never missed it with my investment vision." Wang Fengyi said resolutely, "The school network has a future, I said so."

Fang Zhuo nodded and said to Wang Xing: "This is the confidence that excellent investors can bring to our entrepreneurs. It is extremely valuable confidence."

Wang Xing felt the same way. Seeing Mr. Wang Fengyi's determination, his heart was suddenly filled with fighting spirit and the gloom was swept away.