Reborn, back to a small county town to become a wealthy family

Chapter 762 Making up stories to scam money
To date, Kunpeng Technology has only reached a comprehensive cooperation agreement with Shanghai University of Engineering Science and Technology, and some talent introduction agreements with Nanjing University of Science and Technology. The rest of its R&D personnel are recruited from the public.

However, DJI has many more universities that have R&D cooperation and talent training agreements with it.

As far as Luo Yang knows, they first had a joint research and development agreement with Harbin Institute of Technology, and later established cooperation mechanisms with well-known universities such as the University of New South Wales, Capital University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Tsinghua University, Nanjing University, and Sun Yat-sen University.

Because of these factors, DJI has been able to continuously develop new products and maintain a deep technological reserve.

If Kunpeng Technology doesn't catch up in time, its weakness in lacking staying power will eventually be exposed, and it will eventually be left behind by its competitors.

“We are already in talks with universities such as Shanghai Jiao Tong University and China Southern Airlines about cooperation.”

Chu Jianming immediately reported, "We haven't reached a consensus yet. We originally planned to report the progress to you after the Berlin Air Show, but your reminder makes us realize we were being a bit presumptuous."

"It's not that we took it for granted, it's that we were blinded by the achievements we had made before."

As long as the discussion doesn't involve technical matters, Luo Yang's thinking is still very sharp; "Because we have surpassed DJI in market share in China, and are catching up rapidly in overseas markets, and we launched our new generation of multi-rotor drones a few months earlier than DJI, a sense of pride has begun to spread within the company, I guess that's the case."

"Looking back now, I realize that the chairman's criticism was absolutely right. There was a growing sense of pride and complacency within the company."

Chu Jianming wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a wry smile, "Even before the test flight of this improved Kunpeng 2.2 generation UAV, the technical department shouted the slogan that we would produce a new Kunpeng 3.0 model within six months. In fact, judging from the failure of the test flight, if we continue like this, let alone produce a new Kunpeng 3.0 model within six months, we don't even know if we can achieve a complete breakthrough within a year."

"Old Chu, you need to take this matter seriously."

Luo Yang solemnly instructed, "Our drone systems are right there, and the rankings of relevant majors at domestic universities are also right there. If we don't take over this area, our competitors will. Even if they're aiming to hold us back, we must secure cooperation agreements with those universities."

"I'll arrange this when I get back."

Chu Jianming nodded seriously; "We will set up a special department to handle negotiations with well-known domestic universities, and strive to get most of them done before DJI."

Are you facing any financial difficulties?

Although Chu Jianming expressed his opinion in person, Luo Yang knew about Kunpeng Technology's current financial situation not long after the second quarter financial report meeting.

Data shows that sales in both the domestic and overseas markets achieved remarkable results in the second quarter. However, the North American market requires continued investment, and as a newly developed market, Europe will require no less investment in the third quarter than the US market in the first half of the year.

In addition to its continuous R&D investment, Kunpeng Technology needs to overdraw some of its third-quarter profits to fill these gaps.

If Kunpeng Technology is to discuss cooperation with well-known domestic universities in the second half of the year, the funding for jointly establishing a research and development laboratory alone will be a considerable sum. Therefore, Luo Yang took the initiative to reveal Kunpeng Technology's financial predicament.

"You can talk freely and confidently. I'll take care of the funding."

Luo Yang said directly to Chu Jianming, "You just need to come up with the relevant plan, including which universities you will cooperate with and how much funding you will need. List them all out, and I will arrange the necessary funds for the company before October."

According to his estimate, Kunpeng Technology's desire to reach cooperation agreements with many well-known universities in China and establish new R&D laboratories will require far more than just tens of millions or hundreds of millions of yuan; it will need at least two or three hundred million yuan.

Ideally, this money should be obtained through a bank loan; only as a second option is for Luo Yang to inject capital.

As for raising funds for Kunpeng Technology, don't even think about it now.

Thanks to the gains in the US crude oil futures market, there is no shortage of funds at this stage.

"Chairman, I'm just worried about one thing."

After receiving Luo Yang's promise, Chu Jianming thought for a moment before saying, "If DJI knows about our actions and, in a desperate situation, starts seeking external financing, the capital that has been eyeing the civilian drone industry will definitely flock in, and they will then have plenty of ammunition."

What he said makes sense.

Although Luo Yang's fragmented memories indicate that DJI only received a few investments in its early stages and did not subsequently accept any external funding, DJI would find its market share shrinking under intense competition from Kunpeng Technology.
When a company's survival becomes a problem, accepting financing becomes a necessity.

"It's nothing more than a matter of a few hundred million."

Luo Yang smiled faintly: "Now it's a race against time and determination to see who can take the lead in technology first, regardless of the cost. DJI is still hesitating, but we've taken the lead, and our advantage will only grow bigger in the future."

"Dominating the market?"

Chu Jianming uttered this phrase: "In certain sectors, the leading companies often occupy more than 80% of the market, while other companies share the remaining 20%. Now we are competing with DJI for the top spot in this sector."

"It would be best if you could understand this."

Luo Yang patted Chu Jianming on the shoulder again: "Remember one thing, the competition between Kunpeng Technology and DJI is ultimately a competition of technology. Whoever can maintain the technological lead will win the final victory."

After saying that, he stubbed out his cigarette, opened the back door, got in, and drove away.

"Back to the group headquarters."

It was not yet 11 a.m., and Luo Yang told the driver to return to the company. He planned to organize his thoughts in the afternoon, especially regarding the upcoming discussion with IDG executives about a bike-sharing partnership, which required him to craft a compelling narrative.

Yes, weaving stories.

Omega Capital loves this approach.

Of course, in addition to being beautiful and moving, a story also needs to have a self-consistent logic that can withstand scrutiny and appear to be workable on the surface.

Another point is the concept of the sharing economy; it's time to organize it now.

When Luo Yang founded the bike-sharing project, he simply steered the project towards being green, environmentally friendly, energy-saving, and convenient, without explaining the concept of the sharing economy.

Although the concept of the sharing economy was first proposed in an academic paper in 1978 by Marcos Felson, a sociology professor at the University of Texas, and Joan Spence, a sociology professor at the University of Illinois, at that time it was not based on technology, but rather a more sociological concept.

In the two professors' discussion, the sharing economy, also known as collaborative consumption, is an economic model that connects resource owners and consumers through a technology platform, promoting resource sharing and exchange, thereby improving resource utilization, reducing costs, and creating economic value.

They believe this model typically involves a third-party-created, information technology-based marketplace platform where individuals can exchange unwanted goods, share knowledge and experience, or raise funds for businesses or innovative projects. As time progresses and technology advances, the concept of the sharing economy, along with the rise of the internet, has been given more and newer connotations.

In today's era, the sharing economy is a market-based model supported by modern information technologies such as the Internet. It involves resource suppliers providing temporarily idle resources (or skills and services) to resource demanders for a fee through a technology platform. Demanders obtain the right to use the resources (or enjoy the services), while suppliers receive corresponding compensation.

Through the integration of technology platforms, the goals of effective resource allocation, effective urban governance, and more convenient access to urban social services for citizens have been achieved.

In Luo Yang's integrated concept, the sharing economy has five characteristics.

First, it is supported by technologies such as the Internet, the Internet of Things, big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence;
Secondly, there is the widespread application of data;

Third, it achieves optimized allocation of massive, dispersed, and idle resources through sharing;

Fourth, market-based approaches efficiently provide social services to meet diverse social needs;
Finally, it possesses the characteristics of a quasi-public good.

Presenting such a complete set of concepts, especially terms like the Internet, the Internet of Things, big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence, is sure to hit the sweet spot for Wall Street capital.

Keep in mind that this was still 2012. The internet wave was still going strong, the concept of the Internet of Things was just emerging, big data was still under research, cloud computing was considered a high-end application, and artificial intelligence was the future.

When a project contains so many elements and can logically and self-consistently close to the concept of the sharing economy, it's hard for a bike-sharing project not to attract the attention of investors.

Luo Yang presented the story, IDG was responsible for coating it with sugar, Wall Street was responsible for hype, and international funds were responsible for paying the bill.
Some people made a fortune, but Luo Yang was definitely not the one who lost money.

After having a quick meal near headquarters, Luo Yang returned to his office and took a nap for over an hour.

Without using a computer, Luo Yang sipped tea and scribbled on A4 paper with a pen, completely absorbed in creating his story.

He would have completely forgotten the time if his phone hadn't rung on the table.

Dong Xuan?

Luo Yang glanced at his phone screen and answered the call with a puzzled look.

"Mr. Luo, are you free tonight?"

This woman is still an employee of Yongcheng Bank, so she still dares to use a hook when talking to Luo Yang.

I wonder if she'll still have the guts when she's under Luo Yang's command.

"What, you can't wait to see me after just a few days?"

Luo Yang actually liked this relaxed way of communicating. He had really lost a lot of brain cells just now, so changing the scene was nice.

"Yes, it feels like three autumns have passed, just because we haven't seen each other for a day."

Dong Xuan chuckled on the other end of the phone, "Would Mr. Luo do me the honor of joining us tonight?"

Goodness, it's clearly like three autumns have passed since we last met, but she rearranged the order and made it sound like she was driving.

"I'm afraid I won't have time lately."

Luo Yang knew that Dong Xuan's call was definitely not about not seeing each other for a day, but he was going abroad the day after tomorrow, and he really needed to clear his mind and think carefully about the talks during his trip to the United States.

"I've been racking my brains these past few days to come up with a plan to tell a story in the US."

"You're going to the United States?"

Dong Xuan paused for a moment on the other end of the phone, then bombarded her with three questions: "When are you leaving? How long will you be gone? What's the matter?"

Luo Yang didn't hide anything from her and briefly explained the shared bike situation.

What's on your mind tonight?

After explaining, Luo Yang asked Dong Xuan the purpose of making the call.

The reason for this order is to tell Dong Xuan that she shouldn't speak about things that aren't very important.

Do you remember what you told me a few days ago?

Dong Xuan seemed not to understand Luo Yang's hint and continued at her own pace, "I've arranged to meet with Zhou Nanjiang, the finance manager of Zhaohe Real Estate's Shanghai branch. Would you like to meet with him and have a chat before you go abroad?"

I managed to schedule an appointment with the finance manager of Zhaohe Real Estate's Shanghai branch.

No wonder.
The acquisition of the headquarters building was inseparable from dealing with Lu Ruicheng, the general manager of Zhaohe Real Estate's Shanghai branch.

Unfortunately, this person is very difficult to approach, has a strong personality, and is even dictatorial.

Faced with such a stubborn and self-willed negotiating opponent, it was necessary to understand him. The investigation revealed that Lü Ruicheng was a womanizer, a heavy drinker, and a gambler.

The first two points posed little threat to him, but the last one gave Luo Yang a breakthrough.

At the time, it was suspected that Lü Ruicheng might have misappropriated project funds, and the financial head of the Shanghai branch became the breakthrough point.

Dong Xuan is now telling Luo Yang that she can get this guy named Zhou Nanjiang to come out tonight.
"time and location."

Luo Yang made a decision without hesitation: "Send it to my phone later."

(End of this chapter)