As a mage, I just want to pursue the truth

Chapter 15 Venture Capital
"Another genius who wants to escape from Lumidhi."

Many outside media wanted to interview Zheng Li, but Zheng Li refused all of them, and the school helped him to reject them all.

After publishing in Nature, Zheng Li felt no different from before. His classmates used to call him Zheng Shen, and they still call him Zheng Shen now.

He got to know more people and would occasionally be pointed at when walking in school. The school’s senior leaders all knew him.

He didn't go to class before, and now no one cares if he doesn't go to class. After the ARMA was issued, the dean directly asked him to teach advanced algebra classes in mathematics and algebra to the newly recruited graduate students.

The college teacher asked him to take all the courses he could and try to graduate in two years, since he would only take exams anyway.

"Zheng Li, you have to participate in this year's Qiu competition. I hope you can win a gold medal for the school."

Liu Gui was very pleased that Zheng Li no longer had to go to the School of Life Sciences every day. He hoped that Zheng Li could help the School of Mathematics win a gold medal in the Qiu competition.

Over the years, the School of Mathematics at Jiangcheng University has only won a silver medal at most.

Zheng Li agreed verbally but actually he had no time to think about these things. He had been trying to find a way to contact Mr. Lei from Dami through the school's channels.

He went directly to the principal to get Lei Jun's phone number and told him that he was a loyal fan of Lei Jun.

Then he asked the principal to make an appointment with Lei Jun in advance, and the appointment was scheduled for a weekend night. Lei Jun heard that he had a fan who published in Nature as a freshman at Jiangcheng University, and he was willing to give the other party a chance to listen to what the other party wanted to say.

This kind of talent is definitely not as simple as just making a phone call to express admiration, and even calling him his fan is just an excuse.

As a top executive who has been in the entrepreneurial circle for many years, Lei Jun knows this very well.

However, since Zheng Li published his paper in Nature at the age of 18, he was willing to give it a chance.

On the weekend night, Lei Jun thought he was giving the other party a chance, but he didn't know that this was the biggest opportunity in his life.

"Hello, Mr. Lei? I'm Zheng Li from Jiangcheng University." Zheng Li thought that if what he wanted to do through Lei Jun could be accomplished, he would look for the next one.

Lei Jun laughed heartily after receiving the call: "Hello, classmate Zheng, I am Lei Jun. I heard from the principal that you are my fan. I want to chat with you. Do you need me to give you some life advice or experience and lessons from seniors?"

Zheng Li felt that he was thinking too much. "It's like this, Mr. Lei, do you know the content of my paper published in Nature?"

Lei Jun: "If I remember correctly, it is an artificially synthesized molecule."

Zheng Li nodded and continued, "This molecule is called endorphin. Endorphin can act as an analgesic. I have discovered how to produce endorphins on a large scale."

"I need venture capital to register a worldwide patent, and I also need to conduct clinical trials to prove that this analgesic is more effective than other analgesics and has fewer side effects."

Lei Jun became more excited after hearing this:

"How do you prove that endorphins work better than other pain relievers?"

Zheng Li: "Because it was previously impossible to artificially produce endorphins, there are limited experimental records on the analgesic effects of endorphins."

"But through limited experiments, we can see that endorphins are much less addictive than morphine, and their analgesic effects and aftereffects are also better than morphine."

"These effects have been demonstrated in small mammals, and there is currently no record of experimental results in humans."

"But my gut feeling is that endorphins would work better in humans than other pain relievers."

After listening to this, Lei Jun asked directly: "How much venture capital do you need to achieve the effect you want?"

"In addition, you need to prepare a PPT and a detailed plan. Give your identity information to my assistant and I will ask him to book a flight for you on Monday. Come over and we can discuss in detail."

It doesn't take much thought to know how valuable a new drug is, let alone a new drug with a very wide range of applications such as analgesics. If the effect of endorphins is really that good, he will definitely make money by investing in this business.

"Mr. Lei, please book a train ticket for me. I don't want to take a plane."

Before he mastered magic, Zheng Li wouldn't know how to take a plane.

After talking to Zheng Li, Lei Jun called his assistant and instructed:

"Xiao Li, give me an introduction document about endorphins tomorrow, as well as an analysis report on the domestic and global analgesic market situation."

"Give it to me before work on Monday."

Zheng Li and Lei Jun had a very pleasant conversation after meeting, and Lei Jun expressed a strong desire to invest in this project.

Lei Jun asked: "How much money do you need?"

Zheng Li: "At least 50 million per phase."

Lei Jun: "I want 30% of the shares."

Zheng Li refused: "For 50 million, I can only give you 10% of the shares at most."

Lei Jun: "You only have one Nature paper now. You just said that large-scale production of endorphins can be achieved, but you don't actually have any evidence to prove it."

"In addition, the actual effect of endorphins and whether they can really replace the effects of traditional analgesics such as morphine are still unknown."

"I am taking a big risk by investing in your project."

Zheng Li was unmoved: "Venture capital is all about taking risks. Mr. Lei, you are investing in people. If the problems you just mentioned are solved, I'm afraid this venture capital investment won't be for Da Mi."

"Fifty million and 10% of the shares is already a lot. This is just the first round of investment. If I give you 30% of the shares in the first round, my own share will be reduced to a very small amount later."

"And the 10 percent of shares given to you have voting rights."

Lei Jun said: "But 10% is still too little. 50 million is not 5 million."

Zheng Li said speechlessly: "Mr. Lei, please don't treat me as a student. I am talking to you about a new drug with broad market prospects."

"You know how much it costs to develop a new drug. Hundreds of millions of dollars may just go down the drain."

“Now it’s a mature new drug, and we need venture capital to register patents and conduct clinical trials.”

"Fifty million is not expensive at all. It's already very cheap."

"I believe that if I stay in Jiangcheng University for a few more years and then graduate, even if you want venture capital, you won't be able to get even 5% of the shares with 50 million."

Zheng Li refused to give in at all.

The essence of venture capital is to invest in people, not to mention that Lei Jun is very optimistic about both projects and people.

2019 is different from 2010. In 2010, venture capital focused on investing in people with wolf-like qualities.

Even in 2016, why didn't Zhu Xiaohu invest in Toutiao? It was because he felt that Zhang Yimin was not aggressive.

What is the focus in 2019? It is scientific research capabilities. A large amount of money is invested in the chip industry. Technology is the first competitive advantage, which is fully reflected at this time.

(End of this chapter)