How can you become a star without money?

Chapter 121 A Night Without Words, Just Work [10,000-Word Update, Please Subscribe]

“Ms. Ni, we are just architects and product managers. Traffic distribution is managed by another department, but it should all be allocated by the system, and the possibility of manual intervention is unlikely,” Wei Bo quickly explained.

Wang Yao smiled. If ByteDance had said this in its early days, he would have been willing to believe it, since their algorithm and AI hosting was genuine in the early days. But for Taobao to say this was a bit like protesting too much.

“I’ve recently expanded some of Taobao Alliance’s channels, and they’re working quite well. Are you two familiar with this section?” Wang Yao asked.

Wei Bo and Chen Qi exchanged a glance and nodded.

"I was originally in charge of the Taobao Alliance project, but I left later due to some issues. What do you think of this project, Mr. Wang?" Chen Qi asked curiously.

“Great. The commission system plus disguised discount coupons are beneficial to the rankings of merchants like us with stable sales without affecting the store’s transaction price. However, there are many bugs that make it easy for Taobao affiliates to exploit them,” Wang Yao said with a smile.

"Indeed, the team leader of this project has many loopholes to exploit, and I've always been worried that something similar to quantitative trading in the stock market might happen," Chen Qi admitted.

The reason why Taobao Affiliate Program was eventually abolished by Jack Ma was not only because it caused traffic spillover, but also because some technically savvy companies would exploit loopholes in merchants' business by using methods such as applying for promotions on a large scale.

Sometimes, even when the product wasn't sold by a Taobao affiliate, the commission would still be settled into the group leader's account, and there have even been a few news reports about 'stealing transaction volume'.

So in the end, Lao Ma (Jack Ma) abandoned this channel, leaving only the basic functions without continuous improvement. This also led to the rise of platforms like Mogujie, Meilishuo, and Fanli.com, which directed traffic to Taobao through API ports but did not import users. Instead, they used discount and rebate models to attract Taobao users, causing Taobao's customer acquisition cost to increase several times within two years.

In the end, Lao Ma resolutely decided to cut off all external API ports, almost killing this type of platform.

That's how distribution channels are. Whether it's online or offline, they always put unwieldy pressure on the source factories. Even with ByteDance's powerful algorithm, it's still difficult to avoid being controlled by private domain group leaders.

“But there’s nothing I can do about it, so for now I only cooperate with some large group leaders.” Wang Yao smiled.

"Mr. Wang, you should know about Fanli.com, right? What do you think is the essential difference between Fanli.com and Taobao Alliance?" Chen Qi suddenly asked.

"One leverages Taobao's user traffic, while the other leverages its own external user traffic. The two are very different." Wang Yao was a little surprised that the other party would ask such a basic question.

“I’ve observed the data of Mr. Wang’s store and found that a lot of external traffic doesn’t come from platforms like cashback websites, but from public domain traffic like Baidu. Actually, the reason we’ve invited you here today is to ask whether this is a coincidence or part of your strategy?” Chen Qi’s eyes gleamed.

“Besides the e-commerce company, I also have a content brokerage company, and some of the public domain costs are generated through content acquisition,” Wang Yao stated frankly.

"It really is a UGC model," Chen Qi said in a deep voice.

Wang Yao raised an eyebrow slightly, as if he remembered why the name sounded familiar.

"Mr. Wang, to be honest, when I first started Taobao Alliance, I felt that a crucial element was missing. It's like a mud hole; it can let water seep in, but in the process, a lot of the water is absorbed by the soil."

I thought to myself, if only it were a water pipe, then there would be no water overflowing, and it would allow for two-way flow. I couldn't figure out how it could become a water pipe until I saw your shops that grew by relying on Ma Ruo's traffic.

It suddenly dawned on me that all cashback websites currently rely on discounts to retain users and generate sales. If this continues, they'll fall into a price war, and as profits decrease, merchants will cut corners.

For Taobao affiliates, lower commissions mean less incentive to promote products, as they can only rely on price advantages. Over time, this will create a vicious cycle where bad money drives out good.

"So I want to create a professional UGC platform for product recommendations, providing users with the most suitable products while ensuring that merchants' interests are not harmed." Chen Qi's tone was somewhat excited.

"Mr. Chen's idea is excellent. The popularity of Weibo has enabled the UGC model to spread rapidly on the internet. The previous media model of one-way information acquisition will be replaced by a new media model of two-way information transmission."
"The power of discourse will no longer be in the hands of a few, which will give rise to a large number of self-media. My company is currently doing this, and Ma Ruo and Qu Shou are both artists under my management." Wang Yao said with a smile.

Wei Bo and Chen Qi both froze for a moment.

Oh no, I've run into someone who really knows what they're doing.

"I also created a platform specifically for e-commerce businesses, providing services for everything from store design and operation to graphic design, customer service, and even models," Wang Yao continued.

"No wonder you update your shop's main image so frequently." Chen Qi immediately realized the key.

E-commerce is essentially a business based on images and text. The most important thing is whose images and titles can stimulate consumer impulses. Therefore, the faster the images are updated and the better they are displayed, the higher the conversion rate will be.

Wang Yao uses his own model photography team, which allows him to have lower content costs than his competitors.

This is using scale to crush fragmentation. If it really reaches a certain scale, it could even monopolize a certain category!

Wang Yao not only has a good idea, but he has also successfully put it into practice and even started to make a profit.

Chen Qi's plan still exists in theory, and it seems to overlap with Wang Yao's in many ways.

Originally, I wanted to probe the effectiveness of the UGC model, but it seems they've already blocked the way.

Chen Qi and Wei Bo's expressions changed simultaneously.

"So Mr. Chen and Mr. Wei actually want to break out and do things on their own?" Wang Yao smiled.

Those obsidian-like eyes seemed to have the ability to see into people's hearts.

Chen Qi swallowed hard and chuckled awkwardly, "That's right, we do have that plan."

“You two come from an e-commerce source company, and you share the same ideas as me. Why don’t we cooperate?” Wang Yao extended an olive branch.

"Cooperation?" Chen Qi was taken aback.

"I'm already developing a UGC platform for sharing women's fashion, and it's mobile and PC compatible. Originally, I wanted to use the API to drive traffic to Taobao to earn commissions, support the website, and build a user base at the same time."

I believe most women's forums on the market will be shut down because their commercial value is not pure. My platform, leveraging the existing advantages of models and self-media teams, can produce a large amount of targeted content, allowing consumers to find all the suitable products they want.
If you can't find it, you can post a request for help, and you'll soon find helpful people or professionals to share or answer your questions. Wang Yao briefly described the model of Mulan Street.

Chen Qi looked dejected, because Wang Yao's platform had not only completed everything he needed to do, but had also improved upon it.

"If you're interested, feel free to contact me anytime. I'd like to invite you to visit our beta version," Wang Yao said with a smile, observing the changes in their expressions.

Chen Qi ate the meal absentmindedly, while Wei Bo was a bit better off. He was more business-oriented and, although he had high hopes for the platform, he didn't intend to go all in.

On the contrary, I heard that Ni Ni's company's agency operation service has been perfected to the extreme, and I became more and more interested in recommending new clients to her.

"Don't be so downcast. Isn't this a good thing? Someone else thinks the same way as us, which at least means your thinking is sound." Watching the unfamiliar Porsche model drive away, Wei Bo turned to comfort the dejected Chen Qi.

"The information he shared today is definitely mature; his platform might already be in trial operation or even starting to make a profit," Chen Qi sighed.

"Wow, he's really young and promising," Wei Bo remarked. "Anyway, I'll go take a look tomorrow. Even if we don't cooperate, it'll be good to learn from him."

"Content, platform, and channels—he now has a self-sustaining three-in-one system. He started much ahead of us, and I estimate that he will also accumulate in the private domain, since the user profiles of women's clothing and star-chasing groups are the most valuable," Chen Qi said thoughtfully.

He's not one to get stuck on things. Although he's prepared to give up stock options worth millions and a million-dollar annual salary to start his own business, if the path has already been paved by someone else, he'd rather hitch a ride and wait for the next opportunity.

"Let's go check out Mr. Wang's [Star Travel] tomorrow. There's a high chance I'll be joining them. What do you say?" Chen Qi took a deep breath and asked, trying to sound alert.

"Me? Let's finish making this extra money first." Wei Bo smiled and prepared to introduce all the brands he had good cooperation with to Wang Yao.

This way, even when you switch jobs, it can be considered a job change with your own compensation.

Meeting Chen Qi and Wei Bo today was indeed a pleasant surprise for Wang Yao.

Originally, the Mulan Street project was not planned to be officially launched. It was only intended to serve as a centralized blog for the artists under its management, because the Mogujie route was not very valuable and was too time-consuming, while the objective conditions for pursuing the Xiaohongshu route were not sufficient.

Wang Yao originally planned to nurture Mulan Street first, and then directly acquire Mogujie or Meilishuo once they matured. The reason was that Wang Yao felt that operating such platforms was too energy-consuming, and the cash return ratio was not very high.

But now that he's run into Mogujie's founding team, if they can cooperate, he can at least be a hands-off manager and let them support themselves slowly. When the time is right, he can see if there's an opportunity to overtake them.

"What time is the appointment with Magic Family tomorrow?" Wang Yao asked as he escorted Ni Ni to her dorm.

"At eleven o'clock, we can get up and go straight there." Ni Ni stretched. Their dormitories were in the same community, and they used to work together.

“Okay, I have something to do tomorrow morning. Send me your location and have Ma Ruo take you there.” Wang Yao nodded.

"Are you not coming home tonight?" Ni Ni sensed something was wrong.

"Get some rest." Wang Yao shooed her out of the car and drove towards Thames Town.

In addition to using this place as an office for [Star Travel], Wang Yao also rented a villa as dormitory for employees of the overseas branch.

Currently, Kim Ji-won and her agent Lee Eun-hye have joined the team. After the Lunar New Year, they went to Shanghai to apply for work visas and began learning Mandarin to prepare for their future work.

As soon as Wang Yao arrived, he saw Kim Ji-won looking around at the entrance of the residential area and honked the horn. Startled by the sound, Kim Ji-won came closer, saw Wang Yao, and flashed a big smile. She ran to the car, her breath damp with the night air, and threw herself into Wang Yao's arms, exclaiming, "I missed you so much~!"

Wang Yao stroked her head and said, "Come on, I'll show you around."

"Mmm," Kim Ji-won murmured like a cat.

After nearly half a month of living in a foreign country, even with a familiar agent by my side, I still felt a strange sense of fear, which was finally released when I met Wang Yao.

She finally saw the Bund view she had been longing for, but before she could appreciate it, a violent storm soon struck.

Nothing was said that night, just work.

The next day, when Wang Yao brought Kim Ji-won to the appointment, Ni Ni's lips curled into a subtle smile.

"Mr. Yao! Long time no see! This is a New Year's gift." Ma Ruo was full of energy, and seemed to have gained a lot of weight over the New Year. She handed him a gift, an LV belt.

"Looks like you had a good New Year," Wang Yao joked.

"Hehe, thanks to you, we got to sit at the head table when we went back to our hometown this year, and we really got to hold our heads high," Ma Ruo laughed.

“Okay, keep up the good work this year, and try to have your own table next year. This is Kim Ji-won from the Korea branch. You’ve met her at the company, right?” Wang Yao introduced.

"I've met him before. President Chi emphasized introducing him on my first day at work," Ma Ruo greeted him with a grin, using a somewhat unfamiliar Korean expression.

Kim Ji-won quickly responded using the Chinese she had just learned.

“I’ve never met this young lady in Korea before. I’ve only heard Naza mention her. I didn’t expect her to be so beautiful in person. No wonder President Yao had to pick her up personally,” Ni Ni teased.

"This is their company?" Wang Yao ignored her teasing and looked at the factory of Mofashijia. Arranging to visit the factory would show that he valued the products.

"Okay, I'll have someone come pick me up." Ni Ni made a phone call.

A short while later, a middle-aged woman in her forties, accompanied by a group of men and women in suits, came out to greet them.

"Mr. Ni, why did you arrive early? Please come in quickly, it's cold outside." The lady's gaze swept over Ni Ni and the others, marveling at their youth and appearance. She was clearly surprised when she saw Ma Ruo.

"Mr. Zhao, this is my boss, Mr. Wang. These two are artists we work with. They brought them here today to experience our company's products and culture." Ni Ni had obviously communicated with Mr. Zhao several times before and was quite familiar with him.

"Hello, Mr. Wang. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Zhao Xiufen, the founder of Mofashijia." Zhao Xiufen was a little surprised. She had originally thought that Wang Yao was Ni Ni's assistant or boyfriend, but she didn't expect him to be the boss.

"Wang Yao, Mr. Zhao's factory is bigger than I imagined," Wang Yao said casually.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xiufen began to introduce the factory's history and the origin of the brand.

The characteristic of owners of manufacturing companies is pragmatism; they like to showcase the hard power of their factories, which is quite different from the tendency of internet industry owners to talk about abstract concepts.

Zhao Xiufen worked in the daily chemical industry in Shanghai in her early years. After getting involved in skincare products, she was among the first to go into business as a factory worker. Later, after China joined the WTO, she made some money in the processing industry and sent her daughter to study abroad.

A few years ago, my daughter graduated and returned to China saying she wanted to start a new e-commerce brand. I thought it was just to let her practice, but she actually succeeded. Last year, the output value even reached 50 million yuan.

They immediately broke away from the original OEM manufacturing model and began to transform.

This year, my daughter is betting on the continued boom in e-commerce and is preparing to invest heavily in the skincare industry, spending a considerable amount of money to develop new raw materials and products overseas.

Zhao Xiufen is responsible for production and management cooperation in China, while her daughter is responsible for research and development and sales abroad, making it a typical family-run factory.

Zhao Xiufen introduced the company's current best-selling product, the mung bean mud mask, and explained that the product line of Magic Formula is developed with pure natural and unique ingredients as the core.

After touring the production line, we returned to the office and began to get down to business.

"My daughter and I are very interested in the performance-based agreement that Mr. Ni mentioned before. After all, your store's operational capabilities are undeniable, and we fully believe that Mr. Wang can achieve it."
"But a 50% commission is just too much; it's practically forcing us to operate at a loss," Zhao Xiufen said bluntly.

“I’m here today with sincerity, after all, you are the first premium brand we’ve partnered with. Actually, the core of our agency operation service is not sales volume, but brand value.” Wang Yao took a sip of tea and said slowly, “Mr. Zhao’s company’s products should have a gross profit margin of around 70%.”

"To be honest, it's true that if we're talking about net profit, it's even less than 30%." Zhao Xiufen nodded.

"Mr. Zhao comes from an OEM background, so he should know how much profit margin international brands have. Our Korean branch has partnered with many brands. In the mass-market skincare sector, Korean and Japanese cosmetics are two hurdles that our domestic brands can't bypass."
Korean cosmetics can achieve an average gross profit margin of over 80%, not only because of cost reduction, but more importantly because of brand premium. And you should know what brand premium relies on.” Wang Yao smiled.

"As for endorsements and channel control, don't be fooled by the high gross profit margin of Korean cosmetics. Most of the profits are spent on endorsement fees. Something that costs 30 yuan is sold for 45 yuan after a celebrity endorsement. The cost is ultimately passed on to the consumer, who doesn't get any real benefit."

Why do we sell so well? It's because we offer high-quality products at low prices. For example, our mud masks are sourced from the same manufacturers as those of major Korean cosmetic brands, but our prices are only two-thirds of theirs.” Zhao Xiufen said with a face full of pride.

“Then tomorrow I’ll find a factory that produces the same products as you, create my own brand, and make it a third cheaper. Does that mean I’ll soon be able to surpass Mr. Zhao’s Magic World?” Wang Yao smirked.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xiufen frowned. "President Wang has misunderstood. We still have our own self-developed technology."

"Mr. Zhao, you don't need to treat me like an outsider. Whether cosmetics are effective or not, especially face masks, is something you and I both know perfectly well. In other words, if I switch to cooperating with Yujifang, it will be the same thing."

"Because for both me and other consumers, all of you brands only have one name: 'Made in China,' not 'Brand.' The only reason I choose you is because you're cheap, not because you're good." Wang Yao chuckled and shook his head.

"I don't quite understand what you're saying, Mr. Wang. Affordability is a prerequisite for choosing a product, while usability is a condition for repeat purchases," Zhao Xiufen shook her head.

“You’re using a product-selling logic,” Wang Yao shook his head. “The purpose of skincare products is to maintain results; they need a long time to prove their effectiveness. But many factors can affect the product’s effectiveness during this process, such as diet, climate, and mood.”
"We're talking about results, but what are foreign brands talking about? They're talking about skincare concepts. Do you know what functional skincare, simplified skincare, ingredient-based skincare, and therapeutic skincare are?" Wang Yao laughed.

Zhao Xiufen was stunned for a moment. She had never heard these words before, but her years of experience in the industry told her that these words were very important.

"Product logic doesn't work in the skincare industry; it will eventually lead to involution. Only brand logic can make skincare products survive, and behind brand logic are these manufactured skincare concepts."

For example, your mud mask is based on the concept of traditional Chinese medicine, which believes that the properties of mung beans can whiten the skin, clean pores, eliminate dullness, clear heat and reduce inflammation, and alleviate acne scars.

"But actually, I had your product tested by a professional institution, and the mung bean content doesn't even reach the effect you claim. If I post this information on the internet, what do you think will happen to your blockbuster product?" Wang Yao placed a test report in front of Zhao Xiufen.

Zhao Xiufen's expression changed drastically instantly. She didn't open the file because she knew very well that what Wang Yao said was true.

No one knows better than the founder whether a product is useful.

“Even if it’s possible to exaggerate the effects of a product from a research and development perspective, that doesn’t mean our product is ineffective,” Zhao Xiufen said, feigning composure.

“But at least if there’s even the slightest bit of negative news, or some other alternative, your advantage will vanish.” Wang Yao curled the corners of his mouth.

"Is Mr. Wang here today to give me a hard time?" Zhao Xiufen was a little confused by the young man's negotiation tactics.

We're discussing revenue sharing in a partnership, and you're immediately accusing me of being a fraud? What am I trying to achieve?
Threat?

"We are here to screen our clients, because only those with brand awareness and authors are worth our time and effort," Wang Yao stated frankly.

"Mr. Wang, what is brand awareness?" Zhao Xiufen asked, frowning.

"Expelling the Tartars and restoring China is brand awareness," Wang Yao said calmly.

"Huh?" Zhao Xiufen was taken aback.

"Women hold up half the sky, that's brand awareness," Wang Yao continued.

Zhao Xiufen frowned and fell silent.

At the time, she didn't understand what a brand was, and neither did her daughter. They just felt that they needed a catchy and memorable name, like the previous Pechoin and Bee & Flower brands, which spread by word of mouth.

But they have indeed been wondering why foreign brands can command higher prices, even though they are essentially the same products.

Is it really true that "foreign monks chant better sutras"?
But after listening to Wang Yao's words today, she had some sudden insights. Although she was not a highly educated person, she was no ordinary person who could support such a large factory.

"Culture?" Zhao Xiufen hesitated for a long time before tentatively asking.

Upon hearing this, Wang Yao smiled.

"Mr. Zhao is very perceptive."

(End of this chapter)