I can become stronger by paying salaries. I have one billion employees!

Chapter 323 Daniel: A nouveau riche from Asia has arrived! The tragic state of Spotify!
Three days later, at 19 Kingstreet, Stockholm, the capital of Sweden.

A completely black Volvo XC90 turned from the main road into Spotify's headquarters building.

This is a 12-story office building with a minimalist Nordic design that incorporates modern design concepts.

It looks rather shabby, which seems inconsistent with Spotify's market position among music apps in Europe and America.

Daniel Eck was dressed in a blue haute couture suit with a white shirt and a royal blue tie. He looked impeccably tailored and extremely formal.

In Stockholm in October, the daytime temperature was only 8 degrees Celsius. He wanted to wear another wool coat, but to maintain appearances, he gritted his teeth and stood downstairs waiting.

“Boss, the other party is just a Chinese person. Although the Alexa smart speaker has brought 300 million paying users to the company, I don’t think it’s worth giving him such treatment.”

Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are all developing similar smart speaker products; we should focus our efforts on communication and cooperation with other end-product companies.

Martin, co-founder of Spotify, pursed his lips, seemingly puzzled by Daniel's performance.

In his view, the success of Alexa smart speakers is merely due to an early advantage. Once Microsoft, Google, and Amazon step up their efforts, Orange Technology's R&D capabilities will be no match for these European and American research giants.

“Martin, I hope you can immediately put away your contempt for Orange Technology. Chen Yansen’s business talent is in no way inferior to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. If it weren’t for the different circumstances, Chen Yansen’s business achievements would probably have surpassed Zuckerberg’s long ago.”

Upon hearing this, Daniel's expression immediately turned serious, and he solemnly instructed him.

“I know Orange Technology is valued at over $200 billion, but that’s just a valuation. Facebook is already listed, and Zuckerberg’s stake is worth as much as $300 billion.”

Martin shook his head, indicating his disagreement.

"You have too little information! Chen Yansen also owns a courier company with a daily parcel volume of over 1000 million and an e-commerce company with annual sales exceeding 2000 billion. In terms of overall strength, Zuckerberg is far inferior to Chen Yansen."

Daniel shrugged and chuckled.

The daily volume of collected applications exceeds 1000 million.

Martin paused slightly. He had only investigated Orange Technology's information, but had overlooked Senlian Capital's other holding subsidiaries.

Keep in mind that Sweden's total population is less than 1000 million!
The other party's courier company provides logistics services to more than 1000 million people every day. Although he is not familiar with the valuation calculation method of the logistics industry, based on the more than 30 billion express parcels collected in a year, its valuation is no less than 200 billion US dollars.

Therefore, he had to admit that he had underestimated the other party's financial resources and influence in the East.

Just then, a Volvo XC90 came into view and stopped in the open space in front of the gate.

'Snap!'
The car door opened with a click!

Chen Yansen stepped down. Today he was wearing a light gray suit, which was very form-fitting. His tall and upright figure, at 1.86 meters, made him appear several centimeters taller than Daniel Eck and the others.

Song Yuncheng followed closely behind, wearing a fleece-lined business suit, and participated in the meeting as an assistant.

"Mr. Chen, welcome!" Before Chen Yansen could even get close, Daniel led a group of Spotify executives to greet him.

In terms of wealth and status, he is incomparable to Chen Yansen.

Eight months ago, Spotify received $4000 million in funding from JPMorgan Chase, bringing its post-investment valuation to $15 billion and easily making it a unicorn company.

However, Chen Yansen's Orange Technology had already secured $13.5 billion in funding from DST Capital a year earlier, valuing the company at $90 billion.

Now, a year later, Orange Technology has become a leading mobile phone manufacturer in China, with a valuation that is likely above 200 billion US dollars.

Moreover, Orange Technology is just one of the other party's many holding subsidiaries.

Daniel prides himself on being a genius in the business world, but compared to Chen Yansen, his sense of accomplishment in founding Spotify vanishes instantly.

Therefore, he adopted a very humble attitude.

“Mr. Daniel, it’s a pleasure to meet you! Thank you for contributing to the development of the Alexa smart speaker application ecosystem.”

Chen Yansen extended a hand and responded with a smile.

In his view, Spotify at this time was no different from domestic music platforms like Kuwo, Tiantian, and Kugou Music, with a valuation of at most 25 to 30 billion US dollars.

Six years later, Spotify, which went public on the New York Stock Exchange with a market value of over $260 billion, was the only company he would give a second glance.

Daniel quickly grasped Chen Yansen's right hand and said with a smile, "Mr. Chen, you're too kind. Orange Technology is also an important partner of Spotify."

After exchanging a few pleasantries outdoors, Daniel led Chen Yansen and Song Yuncheng into Spotify's headquarters building.

The group took the elevator to the rooftop terrace.

Standing here, you can overlook the entire city of Stockholm and the coastal scenery. "Mr. Chen, please have a seat!" Daniel greeted him warmly.

In 2012, Spotify was in a period of rapid growth, with its main operating areas in Europe and the United States, such as Germany, Australia, Ireland, and Beacon. It was also tentatively cooperating with Penguin Music in preparation for expanding into the Chinese and even Asian markets.

Last year's revenue was US$2.4 million, and this year's revenue from Q1 to Q3 was US$6.9 million, showing a significant increase in revenue.

What's giving Daniel a headache is that in order to gain access to a library of 1500 million songs from record companies such as Universal, Sony, and Warner, Spotify has to pay a huge copyright fee every year.

It even accounts for 50% of revenue!

The more users we have, the greater our losses!
Although Chen Yansen does not own any listed companies, his company, Senlian Capital, also possesses substantial financial strength.

To put it bluntly, Daniel wanted to take this opportunity to seek financing opportunities from the Asian businessmen in front of him and obtain a substantial amount of development funds.

In the past three months, he has also been in contact with Goldman Sachs, but they were only willing to offer an insulting $24 billion, which Daniel naturally refused.

With only three months left in 2012, if he couldn't secure funding, he wouldn't even be able to pay the copyright fees, let alone run ads or acquire new users.

"I heard that Apple is in talks with record companies to increase the number of songs on iTunes."

After sitting down, Chen Yansen said casually.

Daniel felt a chill run down his spine. Apple's smartphone shipments in Europe and America were second only to Singstar. Relying on its terminal advantage, iTunes posed a great threat to Spotify.

This is why he values ​​Orange Technology so much!
The Alexa smart speaker was just one example; Orange Technology's move into the Eastern European mobile phone market gave him a glimmer of opportunity.

If Spotify can form a strategic partnership with Orange Phone to pre-install its software on phones, it can achieve low-cost customer acquisition.

After all, Facebook's advertising costs are too high, and the pressure of copyright fees is really making it difficult for him to cope.

"iTunes' music library is far inferior to Spotify's. In order to improve the user experience, I have signed copyright licensing agreements with record companies such as Universal, Sony, and Warner. The total music library exceeds 2000 million songs. Mr. Chen, Spotify is the best choice for Orange Technology."

Daniel quickly explained.

They were afraid that Chen Yansen would abandon Spotify and switch the music service provider for his Alexa smart speaker to iTunes.

"Is that so?" Chen Yansen asked noncommittally.

"Mr. Chen, what do you think of Spotify?" Daniel chuckled dryly, touched his nose, and changed the subject.

how is it?

Chen Yansen narrowed his eyes, pondering the meaning behind the other party's words. He saw Daniel looking eager and wearing a fawning smile. Could it be that he thought he was a sucker and wanted to ask him for financing?

In a few short moments, his mind raced through the possibilities, listing more than a dozen, but financing seemed to be the most likely option.

"Mr. Daniel, do you want me to tell the truth?"

Chen Yansen replied with a chuckle.

“Of course.” Daniel sat up straight, ready to hear this business genius’s opinion on Spotify’s business model.

"High copyright costs, unclear profit model, slow user growth, and low paid conversion rate..."

Chen Yansen didn't mince words and pointed out Spotify's problems one by one.

Daniel's smile gradually faded, his facial muscles stiffened, and he couldn't help but show an embarrassed expression.

He knew all the issues Chen Yansen mentioned.

Goldman Sachs investors used similar reasoning to forcefully reduce Spotify's valuation to $24 billion.

But it is precisely because it is the truth that it touches people's hearts.

Daniel was surprised that Chen Yansen's words were completely honest and straightforward.

Seeing that the other person's expression was getting increasingly unpleasant, Chen Yansen restrained himself slightly and stopped the conversation.

"Mr. Chen, I'm trying to find ways to improve the issues you mentioned. I'd like to know, in your opinion, does Spotify have any investment potential?"

Daniel took a deep breath and asked directly.

　Godfathers, please give me some monthly votes, muah!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)