Can not doing what one wants be called rebirth?

Chapter 146 144. I will accompany you after my father leaves

During the conversation, Lu Jincheng kept glancing at the business card in his hand.

Zhou Yuanxin, head of IDG Capital’s Shanghai office.

Next to it is a color photo. The man has deep facial features and a high nose bridge. It can be seen that he must have been quite handsome when he was young.

But Mr. Lu didn't know why, but he felt that this business card looked familiar.

In the coffee shop, Mr. Lu and Zhou Yuanxin were exchanging pleasantries, chatting about family matters or discussing plans, and they were slow to get to the point.

Zhou Si Ning felt sleepy after hearing this.

What are Dad and Lu Jincheng doing?
Let’s talk about shares, amounts, and business!

But she still didn't understand one thing.

[Turning Stone into Gold] The angel round investment sought by coffee shops actually has a common name in the industry.

——A decision made on the spur of the moment.

If a company is compared to an ear of wheat, then the seed round seeking investment means that the company is still in the "seed" stage and does not have scale, business form, or products. Everything is just in the embryonic stage.

The angel round means that the company has begun to take shape and is in the early stages of development. Investors at this time provide funds or resources like angels, so this stage is called the angel round.

The difference between the ABC rounds and the other two lies mainly in the scale of investment, company development model and financing purpose.

"Boss Lu, judging from your attitude, this shouldn't be your first time starting a business?"

The two chatted for a while, and Zhou Yuanxin couldn't help but ask curiously.

There is no shortage of outstanding young people in Shanghai, but those who can reach Lu Jincheng's level of conversation and cognition are extremely rare.

Young people understand the coffee market, and it is not that difficult if they study it carefully.

Understanding marketing methods can also be regarded as a sign of having a keen sense of smell and a smart mind.

But he also understands the Internet and investment.
Not only was he able to respond to Zhou Yuanxin's talks on emerging industries, investment trends and various other topics, he would also interject a few words from time to time to express his own views.

Facing a big shot like Zhou Yuanxin, as a junior, he was neither hurried nor arrogant, and was very generous throughout the whole process.

Every word discussed about the industry trends is on point, and the trend analysis is insightful.

I can't understand it, I can't understand it at all.

Are today's young people so evil?
"I also have a media company that creates content, just for fun."

Lu Jincheng said modestly.

"It is true that heroes have always emerged from youth."

Zhou Yuanxin nodded, crossed his fingers, and sighed in his heart that the new generation pushes the old generation forward.

Before coming here, Guan Yongyi and his daughter praised him to the skies, and he felt a little jealous.

Could it be that I was fooled by that smart-talking boy?

It was not until he met Lu Jincheng in person that he realized that this boy was indeed different from others.

Zhou Yuanxin has also seen countless young people who became famous at a young age and made a lot of money through niche business. Most of them have a bit of arrogance.

How many people who start from scratch will not feel proud when they make their first pot of gold?
But he didn't see any arrogance in Lu Jincheng.

It seemed that an income of more than 20 yuan a month was just a trivial matter in his eyes.

Have vision, means and courage.

This was Zhou Yuanxin's new evaluation of him after the conversation.

After the single-store model was successfully implemented, he was able to decisively reject most of the partners who were not strong enough, give up short-term expansion and immediate benefits, and make up his mind to expand the scale with all his strength.

This vision and courage alone are extraordinary.

In fact, angel round investment is mainly about investing in people.

The earlier the project is, the more investors value the founding team.

The reason is simple. For most startups that have just entered the angel round, their business models and products are not mature.

Therefore, if we simply apply the valuation model to valuate a startup, it often fails to demonstrate its value.

For angel investors, the valuation of a company depends on how much the angel investors believe the "future" is worth.

In foreign countries, the DCF valuation method is often used, but this method is based on assumptions about future cash flows. At the angel round of financing, the assumed parameters are relatively arbitrary.

For founders, the company's valuation is often the result of working backwards from calculating how much money they plan to get and how much equity they plan to give up in the angel round.

This is why Lu Jincheng and Zhou Yuanxin did not talk about how much the Midas Touch coffee shop was worth, but instead chatted about family matters and talked about everything under the sun for more than half an hour.

After all, angel round valuation is not a scientific calculation result, but a "snap decision".

Before making this decision, angel investors will consider the founder's background, experience and team.

At present, Lu Jincheng can be considered to be quite strong in all aspects.

So, Zhou Yuanxin spoke first.

"Boss Lu, IDG is optimistic about the coffee industry. Can you tell me about your future expansion plans?"

"I personally think that the small store model still has a lot of room for scale development."

Finally getting to the point, Lu Jincheng sat up straight and said.

"Starbucks, Costa and other well-known coffee chain brands, in addition to mature chain operation models and larger store scale, have more obvious brand advantages."

“So my approach is to no longer emphasize the elite style brought by the third space, but to completely turn coffee into an ordinary commodity for the masses through large subsidies.”

“We will not open large stores that are over 100-300 square meters, give up the concept of the third space, and focus on the incremental market of the coffee industry.”

He spoke fluently and Zhou Yuanxin listened attentively.

“Where is the core competitiveness?”

"The small store model is more flexible and has lower rental costs."

Lu Jincheng explained.

"Take Starbucks as an example. In order to strengthen their brand concept of the third space, they often need a street-facing storefront on the first floor of a shopping mall near the entrance."

"We are not restricted by area. Small stores can be set up not only in the atrium of shopping malls, but also in the lobby on the first floor of office buildings, occupying the entrance to the scene for core groups of people."

“And, if there are enough stores, I will launch my own app next, focusing on purchasing scenarios centered on cache stores.”

Zhou Yuanxin was stunned and asked, "Didn't you launch food delivery online? Are you also going to make an app?"

“Yes, the demand of a single store can be met by takeout, but if the number of stores exceeds 100 or even 1,000, a platform of your own becomes very important.”

Lu Jincheng nodded.

"Carrying out activities such as continuously issuing coupons on your own platform can not only meet the operational fission needs of attracting new customers and promoting activation, but also accumulate active users online and enable a large number of users to develop a consumption method of placing orders online, receiving takeout or picking up in stores."

Makes sense!
Zhou Yuanxin's eyes immediately lit up.

"Therefore, our core competitiveness is that not only is the rental cost lower, but we can also further reduce the store's labor costs in ordering and cashiering, thereby facilitating rapid expansion."

Lu Jincheng added the last sentence with a smile, his voice firm and confident.

"Boss Lu, the young are really formidable!"

Zhou Yuanxin was very experienced and he immediately deduced from Lu Jincheng's plan that this style of play was absolutely feasible.

Regardless of how it is implemented, the idea of ​​eating up the incremental market itself is worth his investment.

"What are your expectations for angel round financing?"

Zhou Yuanxin asked.

"Ten million."

Lu Jincheng thought for a few seconds and quickly gave an answer.

Zhou Si Ning next to him suddenly widened her eyes and was about to say something, but he patted the back of his hand and she fell silent again.

This number is neither too much nor too little, and is just within Lu Jincheng's expectations.

Asking for too little is like a drop in the bucket and cannot achieve the goal of rapid expansion.

Asking for too much means that the equity may be diluted more, and the risk faced by investors will increase, so they will spend more time on investigation and evaluation and make investment decisions more cautiously. "This amount is fine."

Zhou Yuanxin has always been decisive in his actions and responded on the spot.

But when he spoke, he kept his head down, his eyes fixed on Lu Jincheng's left hand, and controlled his voice.

What is this kid doing!

His daughter was indifferent to his actions. What was going on?
Are they two so close?

"But at this amount, IDG must hold at least 20% of the equity."

Zhou Yuanxin took a few deep breaths, calmed himself down, and continued.

There are three types of angel investors.

The first type is financial angel investors, who usually acquire 10%-20% of the equity, only give money and act as a hands-off manager, without participating in the operation of the company.

The second type is capital + resource type angel investors, who usually acquire 30%-40% of the equity and introduce industry resources and entrepreneurial experience on the premise of providing financial support.

The last type has the dual identities of angel investor + founder, usually obtaining 40%-50% of the equity, polishing the business model with the startup team, deeply participating in company decision-making, and having a significant influence on the company's development.

Before coming, Zhou Si Ning had already made three rules with him.

Investment is investment, but the coffee shop is the hard work of himself and Lu Jincheng, and no third voice is allowed.

As a 100% daughter slave, Zhou Yuanxin could only agree.

"."

Lu Jincheng rubbed his chin and fell into a brief thought.

From his personal perspective, the deal was a steal.

But no matter what, Zhou Sining was also his partner who had started everything from scratch with him, so he had to seek her opinion.

"I think 15% is more scientific, what do you think?"

So he turned his head, leaned close to Zhou Si Ning's ear, and whispered in a voice that only the two of them could hear.

"Uh-huh."

The two of them were too close, and Zhou Si Ning just felt her ears itchy.

Not only could she feel the man's hot breath, but she could also faintly smell the sweet scent on Lu Jincheng's body.

She nodded with a red face at first, but then realized that they were not alone, and her father was sitting opposite her.

He immediately moved to the side and put some distance between himself and Lu Jincheng.

"The share we can accept is 15%."

Lu Jincheng didn't notice Zhou Si Ning's slightly tense physical reaction, he only noticed that the middle-aged man opposite him changed his expression slightly.

The look he gave himself was somewhat more unfriendly.

What's going on?

Is it an illusion?

Or is the ratio too low?
Mr. Lu was still complaining silently in his heart when Zhou Yuanxin asked again.

"If it's 15%, is it an equal or unequal dilution for your team?"

Lu Jincheng blinked, a little surprised to hear this question.

What does this have to do with you as an investor?
There are two ways to calculate equity dilution. If new shareholders are introduced under the same proportion, the shareholding ratios of him and Zhou Sining will decrease.

If it is not an equal proportion, take a little more from his shares.

But no matter how it is distributed, these are his and Zhou Sining's business, and the angel investors' share will not change at all.

Why do investors ask this?

Mr. Lu turned his head, looked at Zhou Si Ning's expression, did a quick calculation in his mind, and said softly: "I will personally give 15%."

If the proportions are equal, Zhou Sining, who currently holds 25% of the shares, will only have 21.25% after dilution calculation, which is almost the same as the investor's proportion.

If IDG continues to increase its investment in the A, B or even C rounds in the future, Zhou Sining might not even be able to keep his position as the second largest shareholder.

It would be no fun if you dropped the watermelon and picked up sesame seeds.

"That's it."

Zhou Yuanxin nodded, his eyes softened as he looked at him, he stroked his chin lightly, and fell into silence and thought.

Several minutes passed, and it was Zhou Sining, who had remained silent, who broke the deadlock.

"15%, is that okay?"

She frowned and asked loudly, ignoring the surprised look of Lu Jincheng beside her.

"I think it's okay."

Zhou Yuanxin stood up, leaned forward, stretched out his hand to Lu Jincheng, and clenched it tightly.

"Then Boss Lu, happy cooperation!"

"Happy cooperation!"

"Boss Lu, we will keep in touch for follow-up contracts and other matters."

When the investors were sent to the store door, a Leifa was already in place.

Zhou Yuanxin turned around and said to Lu Jincheng with a smile.

"Ok."

Lu Jincheng nodded, but found that Zhou Sining was not with him. She was standing at the door of the store seeing off customers.

Instead, she was picking flowers at the front desk with a smile on her face.

It shouldn't be.

Zhou Si Ning was a little abnormal today. She didn't look like the little princess he knew.

Where is the cleverness in dealing with people?

However, the investor behaved magnanimously and gracefully. When he didn't see Zhou Sining at the door, he stretched his neck and raised his voice.

"Nannan, get in the car!"

"I'm coming!"

Zhou Sining ran out in small steps, holding a cup of coffee in her hand, and handed it to the investor Zhou Yuanxin.

what's going on?
What did Lao Deng just call Zhou Si Ning?
Do they know each other?

When Lu Jincheng saw this scene, he couldn't help but stand there in a daze.

Zhou Yuanxin took the coffee and waved to Lu Jincheng. The automatic door of the Leifa car slowly opened and he lowered his head to get in the car.

"I have to go back first."

Footsteps passed by and Zhou Si Ning stopped beside him, a smile hidden in her big peach blossom eyes.

"You're not waiting for me for dinner?"

Lu Jincheng reacted very quickly and guessed something, but he was not sure yet.

"Next time."

Zhou Si Ning turned her head and glanced at Lei Erfa's open car door.

"When is the next time, tomorrow?"

Lu Jincheng asked subconsciously.

"Not even tomorrow."

Zhou Si Ning pushed a strand of hair hanging in front of her behind her ear. Her watery eyes were bright. She stood on tiptoes and whispered in his ear.

"I'll stay with you after my dad leaves."

(End of this chapter)