Entertainment: I just want to be the boss behind the scenes

Chapter 191 Why not just call it Pinduoduo
"Mr. Meng said it well!"

Listening to Meng Bai's description, Huang Zheng couldn't help but applaud.

Over the past six months, the phrase he has heard most often is "The e-commerce market has been completely occupied by Taobao and JD.com, and there is no need to continue on this dead end."

Duan Yongping, his mentor and friend, also advised him that instead of clinging to the e-commerce platform, which has passed its peak, he should switch to a new track, such as short videos, Internet travel, or the sharing economy, which is now in full swing.

But Huang Zheng just didn't believe it.

Most of those who can succeed are a group of stubborn people, just like he did not follow Ding Lei to NetEase but chose to start his own business. He firmly believed that there was no problem with his ideas.

Therefore, when faced with outsiders’ “persuasion to quit”, he always comforts himself by saying that “entrepreneurs are always lonely”.

But at this moment, someone suddenly stood up and said to him, I agree with your business model and plan, and I also believe in future development.

If they are asking for money, they might be scammers, but now they are here to invest money.

What is an angel investor?
This is a true angel investor!
However, mere agreement is not enough, he needs to confirm why the other party believes in this model.

Thinking of this, Huang Zheng calmed down a little and then asked, "Mr. Meng, are you so sure that the sinking market can support a new platform?"

"Yes." Meng Bai nodded calmly, "There are two reasons why I believe it can be done."

"Appreciate further details."

"The first reason is because of people." Meng Bai said without hesitation: "I know Mr. Huang's experience. After leaving Google, he founded mobile e-commerce business and e-commerce agency operation business. He suffered losses and made money. He still insisted on the road of e-commerce, which is enough to show your determination."

"The trend will pass, and companies will disappear. Talent is the core. So-called investment is actually investing in people."

Huang Zheng smiled and said, "Investing is investing in people, as Buffett famously said."

Meng Bai was stunned for a moment. This was just what he thought of just now. He didn't know that Lao Ba had said the same thing.

Then again, in the field of "golden quotes in life", Buffett's status is second only to Lu Xun, so everything he said seems to be reasonable.

"What about the other point?" Huang Zheng asked.

“Another reason is that I have seen the potential of this new market.”

This time it was Huang Zheng who was stunned.

Meng Bai explained: "I don't know if Mr. Huang understands the film and television market. My main business is actually making online dramas."

"I know, Arclight Films, the pioneer of the online drama market." Huang Zheng nodded and said, "I've watched some of them, and I feel they are more interesting than many current TV dramas."

Having said that, in fact, he only checked the information temporarily after receiving the other party's investment intention.

It's just business promotion, can you just say "I've never heard of it"?

"When we made our first drama, our main target audience was young people in first- and second-tier cities, especially college students. It turns out that we made the right choice. The average viewing time of users on the website backend shows that the number of users in first- and second-tier cities is the largest."

"However, as mobile network charges decrease and network construction gradually improves, the proportion of users from third- and fourth-tier small cities and towns is gradually increasing, and the growth rate is not weaker than that of first- and second-tier cities."

Compared with the abundant resources in big cities, the cultural and entertainment resources in small cities and towns are relatively scarce, and the cheap Internet has become the best form of entertainment.

Meng Bai saw this from the background data of Leshi.com.

This is true for online dramas, and the same applies to e-commerce shopping.

There are certainly many wealthy people in small cities, especially small counties, but the overall average income is much lower than that in big cities, and most consumers are price-sensitive customers.

As the systems of Taobao and JD.com become more standardized, the boundaries between online and offline products have been broken. Take clothing as an example. The prices of the same products sold offline in many brand flagship stores are actually the same.

This certainly makes it more formal, but it also loses the original core advantage of e-commerce: cheapness.

"So, the key to grasping the 'cheap' is to seize this vast market." Meng Bai said.

Huang Zheng was silent for a while, and then said with a sharp gaze: "The ancient sages often lamented that 'I am not alone'. Today I finally understand this feeling."

After he finished speaking, he stood up, extended his hand to Meng Bai and said, "Mr. Meng, on behalf of the entire team, I welcome you to join us."

"Pleasant to work with."

The two parties have confirmed their intention to cooperate, and the next step is to work out some specific details of the cooperation.

Qiming Venture Partners' investment amount is US$500 million, which is not a low amount for an angel round VC.

Huang Zheng calculated that if the 600 million yuan previously contributed by Duan Yongping and Ding Lei were added, the entire angel round financing amount of "Pinhaohuo" would be 1100 million US dollars.

As long as this money is not wasted too much, it will be enough to last for half a year.

With this period of development, he is confident that he can take the user base and GMV of "Pinhaohuo" to the next level, deliver results that the capital market can trust, and obtain the next wave of Series A financing.

Of course, financing must be exchanged for shares.

The $1100 million investment was exchanged for a 24% stake in Pinhaohuo, of which 11% belonged to Qiming Venture Partners.

As the full controlling shareholder of Qiming Venture Partners, Meng Bai has also become the third largest shareholder of Pinhaohuo.

However, "Pinhaohuo" adopts the AB share system, and Huang Zheng, as the company's first shareholder, founder and CEO, has 90% of the voting rights, so the entire project is still controlled by him.

Meng Bai naturally had no doubts about this. He was only here to make money and had no intention of interfering in the business.

What's more, this investment can only be regarded as a "side story", and his main focus is still on film and television.

His only suggestion is that Tencent should be considered for subsequent financing. After all, the Pinhaohuo model based on "group buying among acquaintances" is a perfect match for WeChat's functions. Moreover, Tencent has not been very successful in the development of e-commerce in recent years. Even though it has invested in JD.com, it has always been suppressed by Alibaba's Taobao.

They will definitely not miss this opportunity to make trouble for Alibaba.

It took more than a day for the two parties to sign an equity financing agreement, which also included a weighted average anti-dilution clause to prevent Qiming Venture Partners' shares from being diluted too much in subsequent rounds of financing.

"Is Mr. Meng going back to Beijing now?"

"Yes, there is a new drama that will be aired next month, and we have to go back to prepare for the promotion." Meng Bai said: "By the way, if you have any needs in terms of publicity, we can help a little bit."

"Okay, thank you, Mr. Meng."

Turning to leave, Meng Bai suddenly remembered something: "Mr. Huang, I have a small personal suggestion."

"You say."

"The name 'Pinhaohuo' sounds more straightforward, and it is now tied to the main fruit and fresh produce business. If we want to expand into a full range of products in the future, I think we should change the name."

Huang Zheng thought about it and felt that what he said made sense: "Does Mr. Meng have any suggestions?"

Meng Bai thought for a few seconds and said, "Our main feature is 'group buying'. The more consumers participate, the better. Why not call it 'Pinduoduo'?"

“Pinduoduo? Pinduoduo…”

Huang Zheng repeated the name a few times and found it quite catchy.

"Okay, if we need to change the name later, we'll call it 'Pinduoduo'."
-
Walking out of the Jinhongqiao International Center building and looking back at the 28th floor, Meng Bai breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally, I have taken the first step into the capital market.

I just don’t know whether there is a smooth road or a cliff ahead.

"We put all our funds into one project. Isn't that too risky?" Chen Jing asked with a frown.

"We can't help it. Our capital is too small." Meng Bai said, "You have seen the situation before. We can only reach the threshold of the market by going all in."

After that, he comforted her, "It's okay. It doesn't matter if we lose money. As long as the business development of Arclight Films is going well, we will always have a trump card to make a comeback."

Chen Jing nodded. Indeed, Arclight Pictures was the core of their entire business.

"So, should we accept financing at ArcLight? According to our current development scale, we can skip the Angel Round and start directly from the A Round. In recent months, many people have contacted me to ask about this."

"Arc Light's financing..." Meng Bai pondered, "Don't worry, just wait and see. Sister Jing, you can contact them first and ask about their conditions. By the way, there is one thing you must know, Arc Light does not accept requests like 'betting'."

"Okay, I understand." Chen Jing agreed and asked, "Then boss, aren't you going back with us?"

Meng Bai shook his head: "No, I have something else to do here. I will go back after I finish my work in two days."

Hua Yan, who had been silent during the discussion of serious matters in the past two days, suddenly became energetic and looked at Meng Bai and said, "Brother Meng, are you going to look for Sister Qinqin?"

"..." Meng Bai glanced at her and said, "You are the only one who is smart, right? I have never seen you use your brain so well when talking about serious matters."

"Hehe~~"

"Stop being cute." Meng Bai said, "I remember you went out and bought a bunny doll last night, right? Did you open the package?"

"No." Hua Yan shook her head, and then stared at him cautiously: "Boss, what are you going to do?"

"When we get back later, lend it to me."

"No! This is my daughter, how can I give her away!"

"I'll give you two later." Meng Bai said, "You can choose the full set."

Hua Yan blinked: "Four, choose your own."

"Deal. You buy it directly and I'll pay."

Twenty minutes later.

In the hotel room, Hua Yan reluctantly handed a 30-centimeter square box to Meng Bai.

"Boss, it would be better if you just go and buy one."

"I was planning to go, but now it's too late."

Meng Bai took the box and weighed it. It was very light.

Who would believe that an industrial-scale product like this would cost more than six hundred yuan each.

Went downstairs to check out, including Meng Bai's room. After saying goodbye to everyone, Meng Bai waited in the lobby for a while, and a message popped up on his phone.

After taking a look, he picked up the gifts and suitcase at hand and turned to the underground garage.

Not long after, a royal blue BMW stopped in front of him.

"Brother, do you want to take a ride?"

A cute voice came from the car, and then Li Qin's delicate face with smiling eyes appeared in front of him.

(End of this chapter)