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

Chapter 356 Chen Yansen: Work for me, no need to feel inferior! The shared bike war begins, collect five blessings!
After an unknown amount of time, a tall, handsome young man in a dark gray suit walked in.

Upon seeing this, Liang Changlin immediately stood up and went to greet them with his assistant.

Although it was their first meeting, he had seen Chen Yansen's photos online.

Chen Yansen stood still, watching Liang Changlin jog forward, a smile appearing on his face. He then extended his right hand and said, "President Liang, it's a pleasure to meet you! Welcome to Xucheng."

"Mr. Chen, I've heard so much about you! Meeting you today, I finally understand why my friends in the industry say that you are the most handsome entrepreneur in China."

Liang Changlin grasped Chen Yansen's hand tightly and praised him with a smile.

“Let’s go upstairs and talk slowly. I heard that Mr. Liang is from Luzhou. A friend just gave me two cans of Baiyun Chunhao tea a while ago.”

Chen Yansen pointed in the direction of the elevator and said casually.

“Then I’m in for a treat, thank you Mr. Chen,” Liang Changlin replied immediately.

"please!"

Chen Yansen raised his hand to signal, and the two of them took the elevator together to the top-floor office.

After Liang Changlin sat down, Chen Yansen took out a can of tea and slowly boiled water to brew tea. The rising steam spread throughout the room.

Despite his outwardly calm demeanor, Liang Changlin's heart was in turmoil.

Judging from his observation of Chen Yansen, the other party was not an arrogant person.

Otherwise, given Chen Yansen's wealth and status, he wouldn't be qualified to drink tea personally brewed by the other party.

But the fact that the other party was so composed at the young age of twenty made him realize that Chen Yansen's ability to earn a net worth of 50 billion US dollars in just two years was by no means a fluke.

“Mr. Liang, I’ve heard Pei Yi mention Dingdong Community. Forgive me for speaking frankly, but even without Kuai Pao’s involvement, Dingdong Community’s business model would be unsustainable. It simply cannot make a profit by relying on the community users around the site.”

Chen Yansen held his teacup and took a small sip.

"Mr. Chen's lesson is that I oversimplified the problem before. I thought that I could replicate Nextdoor's successful model in big cities like Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and Nanjing, but I overlooked fatal flaws such as unclear positioning and lack of distinctive features."

Liang Changlin gave a bitter smile, appearing quite frank.

Even when he was rejected to his face by a young man twenty years his junior, he didn't get angry; he just nodded silently.

Like Ma Wenteng, Ma Liyun, and Li Yanhong, Lao Liang is also a master of logistics. Dingdong Community is a combination of Kuaipao's pre-positioned warehouse and Nextdoor that he created.

Nextdoor is the largest neighborhood social networking app in the United States, covering more than 3500 communities in 48 states. It just received a round of funding at the beginning of the year, with a post-investment valuation of over 11 billion US dollars.

This is also the main reason why Liang Changlin was able to secure 1 million yuan in angel investment.

However, due to different national conditions, communities in the United States are completely different from those in China.

For example, Dingdong Community's "Neighborhood Dialogue" function seems practical, but it can actually be perfectly replaced by WeChat group chat.

Besides, who would want to chat online with their neighbor, except for Old Wang next door?

Domestic services such as housekeeping, nannies, tutors, and appliance repair can all be found in mature domestic products.

Important announcements in the community, including water and power outages, parking fee payments, etc., are also handled by the property management staff.

As for allowing residents to exchange their unused items to achieve resource reuse, that's even more absurd. Who will assess the value of secondhand goods?
How can Dingdong Community profit from this?
"In fact, in my opinion, Dingdong Community still has certain commercial value in services such as home cleaning, dry cleaning, and food delivery, but its business scope is too narrow and its substitutability is too strong, making it difficult to achieve economies of scale. You should know that this type of software can only be profitable by leveraging economies of scale."

"Big fish eat little fish, winner takes all, the Matthew effect is most obvious."

Chen Yansen analyzed the situation with clear logic.

“Mr. Chen, I’ve been thinking lately that perhaps directly copying Nextdoor’s product model might not be suitable for the local market. But I think Dingdong Community’s business concept is sound. If we change our approach, it might just become a unicorn company.”

Liang Changlin gave an ambiguous answer.

"Improving the food delivery industry? Or perhaps imitating Kuai Pao's pre-warehouse model, starting with a single product category to provide delivery services to users? For example, fresh fruits and vegetables, chicken, fish, meat and eggs?"

Chen Yansen leaned back on the sofa and pointed out the other party's little scheme in one sentence.

Dingdong Community is a combination of Nextdoor and pre-positioned warehouses. If the first path is blocked, the second path will naturally be chosen.

Liang Changlin felt a chill run down his spine. He hadn't expected Chen Yansen to guess his thoughts so easily.

However, his goal was smaller than Chen Yansen had anticipated.

Liang Changlin wants to create a fresh food e-commerce platform that utilizes a pre-warehouse model to offer same-day delivery service.

"Mr. Chen, what do you think of this business model?" Liang Changlin asked tentatively, wanting to hear Chen Yansen's opinion, which was one of the important purposes of this trip.

"Guess why I spent a lot of money to set up thousands of forward warehouses across the country?"

Chen Yansen put down his teacup and asked in return with a smile.

Focusing solely on digital products, home furnishings, and some food categories won't satisfy Mr. Chen's appetite.

Liang Changlin remained silent. He understood that fresh fruits and vegetables, seafood, meat and poultry, milk and snacks were probably all within their business scope.

Just because it wasn't done now doesn't mean it won't be done later.

If he doesn't come to visit and instead buries himself in his work, he'll most likely suffer a crushing defeat.

If Dingdong Community were to collide with an O2O behemoth like Kuaipao, it would have no chance of survival.

It's worth noting that even Meituan, Lashou, and Dianping are no match for Kuaipao.

For a moment, Liang Changlin felt completely at a loss.

Currently, he owns two companies: YaYa.com and Dingdong Community.

As Alibaba, Pinduoduo, and JD.com continue to expand their business boundaries and increase the scope of their product categories, YaYa.com's market share is being gradually eroded.

In addition, Suning invested US$8000 million to acquire Redbaby, thus entering the competition in the maternal and infant market.

The survival environment for vertical e-commerce platforms is becoming increasingly difficult!
Chen Yansen repeatedly rejected Dingdong Community's business model.

Liang Changlin looked bewildered and remained silent. After a long while, he finally looked up at Chen Yansen and said, "Mr. Chen, could you perhaps point me in the right direction?"

I'm not your biological father!

Chen Yansen muttered to himself, but he didn't openly refuse. Instead, he pretended to think for a moment before saying, "The more people you can serve, the more users you can acquire, and the more profits you can make. Social networking, mobile games, and lifestyle services all have good market prospects."

Social media, mobile games, and lifestyle services?
Liang Changlin thought about it seriously, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper. The industry Chen Yansen was talking about was full of big fish and small fish. If he, a small fish, rushed in, he would only be bait for others. "Although there are fewer competitors in a niche category, you never know when someone will target you."

Chen Yansen added casually, then picked up the teapot, refilled it with hot tea, and took a small sip.

"Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Chen. I brought you some local specialties from Shanghai as a small gift to express my gratitude. Please accept it."

Liang Changlin waved his hand, and his assistant immediately picked up two exquisite gift boxes and gently placed them on the table.

"Mr. Liang, you're too kind."

Chen Yansen nodded calmly and accepted the gift without hesitation.

"So, according to Mr. Chen, Dingdong Community has no way out?" Liang Changlin persisted, asking further.

"If you don't believe me, Mr. Liang, just do it your way. Then we'll see if Taobao Waimai, Meituan Waimai, and Qiandu Waimai will increase their product categories."

Chen Yansen said dismissively.

In fact, Dingdong Maicai had its moments of glory, but it quickly declined under the successive suppression of internet giants.

Dingdong Maicai has limited resources and a single business model, relying heavily on users' high-frequency consumption habits and order density. Once user stickiness declines, the fragility of its fulfillment system will be exposed.

To put it bluntly, the profit margin is low, the losses are high, and they can't afford to support employees.

For Meituan, Taobao, and Qiandu Waimai, fresh fruits and vegetables are only a part of their business and account for a small percentage of sales. They only need to adopt the same tactics that Liu Qiangdong used against Dangdang, sacrificing eighty percent of their own resources to kill a thousand percent of the enemy, to crush Dingdong.

Others can forgo making money, but can you?
"Thank you, Mr. Chen, I understand." Liang Changlin's head was buzzing. Only after Chen Yansen reminded him did he suddenly realize that the business he had his eye on was actually all in the big boss's pot.

“You don’t understand,” Chen Yansen said abruptly.

Liang Changlin was taken aback, puzzled, and asked with a look of doubt, "I'm sorry, Mr. Chen, I don't quite understand what you mean."

"Instead of being defeated in the future, it's better to join a large company early on. With sufficient funds and resources, it's easier to succeed in starting a business."

Chen Yansen stated it bluntly.

Liang Changlin was a smart man, and he immediately understood: Chen Yansen wanted to recruit him to Senlian Capital.

Thinking of this, a look of hesitation appeared on his face.

He has been starting his own business since he retired from the military.

"Mr. Chen, I've never worked for anyone in my life," Liang Changlin politely declined.

"How will you know if you don't try? Working for someone else is no worse than starting your own business," Chen Yansen said.

Liang Changlin shook his head, still pondering his Dingdong Community. Since selling vegetables wasn't an option, he'd try offering door-to-door car washing, manicures, and cleaning services. He refused to believe he couldn't find the right direction.

"Thank you for your kind offer, Mr. Chen. I'd like to consider joining Senlian Capital first." Liang Changlin dared not refuse outright, for fear of offending Chen Yansen.

Chen Yansen smiled slightly and glanced at his wristwatch.

Upon seeing this, Liang Changlin's face darkened, and he thought: You're too realistic. You won't work for me, and you'll kick me out in the next second!
"Mr. Chen, I'm sorry to have bothered you." Liang Changlin sighed, and stood up tactfully, preparing to take his leave.

"No rush, I've booked a private room at a restaurant in the city."

Chen Yansen waved his hand, gesturing for Liang Changlin to sit down first.

Liang Changlin stared into Chen Yansen's eyes, and seeing that the other man's expression did not seem fake, he pondered for a few seconds and then sat down again.

Next, the two skipped the topics of 'Dingdong Community' and joining Senlian Capital, and chatted about the development status of e-commerce, O2O and other industries in 2012.

Liang Changlin became increasingly alarmed. Chen Yansen's predictions about industry trends were extremely accurate, and he was also very knowledgeable about popular overseas software.

Little did they know, this had absolutely nothing to do with any prediction.

Chen Yansen stands at a higher level than him and has more information, so naturally he can see further than him.

The two didn't leave the office until 11:30. The purple clay teapot on the table was emptied and filled again and again.

On the way to the restaurant, Chen Yansen mentioned Pei Yi and Xiao Jun, among others, intentionally or unintentionally, saying that Liang Changlin was far inferior to these two in terms of business achievements.

The implication is that you shouldn't feel inferior if you work for me.

There are many people more capable than you. If you miss this opportunity, it won't be as easy as it is today to join Senlian Capital again.

Finally, Liang Changlin nodded heavily and replied, "President Chen, give me two days to consider it, and I will give you an answer tomorrow."

"Okay," Chen Yansen replied.

Two hours later, the party ended.

Liang Changlin stayed at the hotel to rest, but after some persuasion from Chen Yansen, he began to have some ideas.

Of course, the failure of the Dingdong Community project dealt him a heavy blow. First, he had difficulty explaining it to investors, and second, he had withdrawn funds from YaYa.com, which put both products at risk of breaking their cash flow.

His situation at this time was even more miserable than Chen Yansen had imagined.

Before setting off for Xucheng, he had thought that if things really couldn't continue, he would sell YaYa.com to Xueersi, raise some money, and try again.

While Liang Changlin was hesitating, Orange Payment's R&D department was working overtime to develop the "Collect Five Blessings and Share 100 Million Yuan in Cash" campaign.

With the Spring Festival approaching and only a little over a month left, Chen Yansen certainly wouldn't miss the perfect opportunity to promote the red envelope feature.

If product placement hadn't been cancelled this year, Chen Yansen would definitely have spent another 100 million yuan to buy the naming rights for Lunar New Year's Eve.

Chen Yansen didn't go to the company in the afternoon either. After leaving the Sky Garden, he sped straight towards the villa.

the other side.

Didi Bike and Ofo Bike engaged in a fierce head-on battle in Yanjing, launching a subsidy war. Users could ride for free for half an hour every day, and after completing an order, they would also receive a 1 yuan discount coupon.

Having experienced the price war in the ride-hailing industry, Cheng Wei was not intimidated at all. He immediately increased the intensity of the promotion, giving users five ride coupons every day, far exceeding the normal usage needs of users.

This has led to no one using Ofo bikes!

Chang Wei had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow along.

OFO bicycles have achieved daily revenue exceeding 30 yuan in East China due to the lack of competitors!
(End of this chapter)