How can you become a star without money?

Chapter 173 Excessive Advice is Essentially a Form of Control

Water Slingshot has been online for a month now, and its first-month sales are impressive, exceeding 130 million copies and generating nearly $270 million in revenue. With Apple's App Store revenue split at 7:3, the final revenue after deducting that is $190 million.

The second round of promotion involved sponsoring the "Assassin's Creed Tournament" with the "American University Friendship Association," targeting the college market across the United States. This was also the first step for Mulan Street to expand into the Western social media market. With the triple boost of the new social media model, the popularity of "Water Assassin's Creed," and the explosive success of the iPhone 4, sales next month may see further growth.

Therefore, the overall atmosphere at Xingyou Company was full of fighting spirit, which was in stark contrast to the panic among employees at Tianhuo Company next door.

"It's perfect timing that Boss Wang is here. Could you give us some advice?" Just two days ago, the first commission payment arrived in the company, and Cai Haoyu and his team were figuring out how to reward their employees.

"What programmers love most are electronic devices and producer wives, right? What's there to hesitate about? Just replace all the company's equipment with the best one. I'll go to JD.com for a bulk purchase discount," Wang Yao said with a smile.

"Replace everything? That would require at least four million in budget," Cai Haoyu exclaimed.

Xingyou currently has many projects and over a hundred employees, not counting outsourced teams.

"A skilled craftsman must first have the right tools. Consider this a reward for everyone's hard work during this period," Wang Yao waved his hand.

"Wait, does Mr. Wang mean... to give it to an individual? Not as a company fixed asset?" Liu Wei questioned.

"Of course we'll give them directly to the employees. That's what employee benefits are all about, but it's best to keep them in the office. Of course, it's fine if you want to take them home, since you guys work overtime at home anyway," Wang Yao said with a smile.

Everyone immediately praised Wang Yao's generosity.

"I'll have someone write a few reports later to see if we can attract some talent. The company still doesn't have enough people," Wang Yao said with a smile.

“Actually, those programmers in Korea are really quite useful. How about we open a branch office there sometime?” Cai Haoyu suggested.

The R&D lab jointly established by Xingyou and KT has been working together for several months and they are quite familiar with each other.

“Sure, that way we can give back to KT later.” Wang Yao nodded.

Although Korean programmers earn higher salaries, their work ethic is impeccable, and they feel no psychological pressure when exploited.

"I'm going to Japan in a few days. Is there anything you'd like me to bring back? Or if you're not too busy, you could come with us," Wang Yao said.

"A company-funded trip? Will President Wang take us to Akihabara?" Liu Wei's eyes lit up.

"Shouldn't a man visiting Japan experience the Kawashiro Street?" Wang Yao joked.

"What is that place?" Everyone looked bewildered.

"I heard about it too." Wang Yao waved his hand, indicating that he wanted to skip the topic.

"Shall we acquire GAINAX?" Cai Haoyu asked with a smile.

"With a little more effort, producing two hits similar to 'Water Spinner' shouldn't be a problem. However, the main purpose of this trip was indeed to collect IP licenses," Wang Yao said with a smile.

"Oh, right, Mr. Wang mentioned earlier that he was planning to operate an e-commerce merchandise store, right?" Cai Haoyu suddenly perked up. "How about we acquire a hub for anime and manga fans?"

“Bilibili?” Wang Yao raised an eyebrow.

“Recently, it seems that both AcFun and Bilibili are struggling and are looking for funding. Actually, if it's for game promotion, having a video platform like this would be quite good,” Cai Haoyu said.

Both A and B sites are still in their early stages, basically operating out of pure passion. In reality, due to bandwidth costs, video websites aren't very valuable right now.

Fortunately, A and B stations are niche enough, and they should be able to support themselves in the future with the sale of photocards and related merchandise. It wouldn't be bad to use them as a base for attracting and exploiting anime fans.

“Okay, let’s go ask both companies what prices they’re willing to sell for. If it’s a good deal, we’ll buy it.” Wang Yao nodded.

Wang Yao then checked the development progress of "Great Wall Escape", "Happy Match" and "Immortal Path". With ample funding, the efficiency was indeed much higher.

In addition, there are some conceptual gadgets for research and development, as well as a selection of benchmark games, all of which are quite interesting.

Just as Wang Yao was getting ready to experience these retro games, Xu Chen called.

"Mr. Wang, it seems Lehman Brothers is preparing to divest all of its shares," Xu Chen said in a low voice.

"There really are kind people willing to buy it? What price?" Wang Yao raised an eyebrow slightly, somewhat surprised.

Meishe's core business has already collapsed, yet someone actually dares to take it over?
"I heard it's someone from Alibaba." Xu Chen's tone was also somewhat doubtful.

"I heard?" Wang Yao narrowed his eyes.

“Lehman himself told me about it, and even asked if I wanted to join in. They offered me 200 million for his 28% stake,” Xu Chen said.

"Hmm?" Wang Yao frowned.

This price is quite fair, almost equivalent to the valuation of Meishe offline stores, but he couldn't quite understand it.

Alibaba has already been ripped off for 4 million yuan, and now they're throwing in another 2 million yuan to get a 44% stake. What are they planning to do with that?

If the valuation is indeed based on Tianhuo Shares, then Alibaba's move can be considered a "stop-loss" measure, because the valuation of Tianhuo just offsets the losses. If the valuation of Tianhuo increases, they may even be able to profit from holding the shares.

But it doesn't seem to make any sense.

Leaving such a large amount of cash flow here carries a certain risk.

Does Alibaba really have such high hopes for itself?

"Whether you sell or not is up to you," Wang Yao said, offering no further advice.

Xu Chen still holds nearly 5% of the shares, and if Alibaba really acquires them, he can indeed cash out a lot of money.

"Mr. Wang, I'll listen to you." Xu Chen reacted very quickly.

He had figured it out clearly: even if Alibaba continued to acquire Meishe this time, it was only because they were optimistic about Wang Yao. Lehman Brothers and the like were a thing of the past. What he needed to do now was to cling tightly to Wang Yao as his powerful backer.

"You should make the decision yourself. Let me know if there's any new information." Wang Yao smiled and hung up the phone.

As Xu Chen listened to the busy tone on the phone, he fell into anxious contemplation.

He realized that this was Wang Yao's test for him.

After hanging up the phone, Wang Yao prepared to go back and review the purpose of Alibaba's operation.

Although it's highly likely that the goal is to push for the merger of Tianhuo and Meishe, since this aligns with Alibaba's ultimate objective of cutting its losses, what they've always wanted is a complete Taobao Girl business line.

Alibaba's "one-click matching" may seem similar to Taobao Girls, but the costs and additional model premiums behind it are still incomparable to Taobao Girls.

Because Tianhuo's support for Taobao models is a complete closed-loop incubation chain, while Alibaba can only consume them.

Moreover, Wang Yao has now reshaped the entire online modeling industry and raised the industry threshold and costs again. Tianhuo's complete "artist incubation" industrial chain will become increasingly attractive to high-quality professional models in the future.

As the online shopping industry becomes more standardized, the core strengths of models will become increasingly important. A top model may even influence the overall sales of a store. However, model development requires the support of the cultural and entertainment industry chain.

Therefore, in the long run, as long as Alibaba does not get involved in the cultural and entertainment industry chain, it will be impossible for it to compete with Wang Yao in the Taobao online auction field.

Therefore, for Alibaba, the reduced acquisition costs resulting from the collapse of Meishe.com actually give it more motivation to integrate Tianhuo.

Furthermore, Meishe also owns 30% of Chengtian Entertainment's shares as a guarantee against future debt.

This means that for 6 million yuan, they indirectly acquired about 27% of Tianhuo's shares, which is much lower than the overall acquisition cost.

Even if Wang Yao disagrees with the merger, Alibaba can still push for the merger of Meishe and Chengtian to fill the gap in the cultural and entertainment industry chain.

Wang Yao quickly deduced Alibaba's investment purpose, and couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

The think tanks of large companies are truly professional.

I spent four months planning, but others not only found a way to reap the rewards in half a month, but also had a significant financial advantage.

That's what makes these giants so terrifying.

He may not make a profit, but he will never lose money.

"Mr. Wang, something's happened." Wei Bo knocked on the office door with a grim expression.

"What's wrong?" Wang Yao glanced at the time; it was only four o'clock in the afternoon, not yet the end time for Tao Laoban's class.

"Mr. Ma is here." Wei Bo's expression was strange.

"Who?" Wang Yao raised an eyebrow slightly.

“Mr. Ma, Ma Yun.” Wei Bo sighed.

As a long-time employee of Alibaba, Wei Bo had only met Ma Yun a few times, but everyone had a natural sense of awe towards her.

Even after leaving Alibaba, the mark of being part of the 'Alibaba system' cannot be erased.

Moreover, Wei Bo never expected that Ma Yun would personally come to Tao Boss's event; he couldn't fathom the impact and purpose behind it.

"Let's go." Wang Yao said expressionlessly, his tone slow and deliberate.

Wei Bo was taken aback, surprised by Wang Yao's calm reaction. Anyone else would probably feel flustered or panicked if Ma Yun personally showed up and disrupted their plans.

But from Wang Yao's brief single word, Wei Bo sensed a hint of murderous intent.

Wang Yao was not afraid at all.

There's even a fighting spirit?!
Wei Bo quickly followed.

Tao Laoban's event was held in a venue in Thames Town that was about to be converted into a theater, just a few minutes' drive from Wang Yao's office.

When we arrived at the venue, there were many security personnel at the entrance who were clearly not from Tianhuo.

Wang Yao walked into the venue expressionlessly, and heard bursts of applause coming from inside.

Unsurprisingly.

Standing on the makeshift stage, the one holding the microphone is no longer Taobao's lecturer, but Ma Yun.

Ma Yun is a very good speaker. Perhaps because she was a teacher, she can speak fluently whenever she has a microphone or stands on a podium.

Coupled with his prestigious status, even a fart from him could garner applause.

The concentration shown by the first batch of Taobao boss trainees at this moment was even more solemn than when Wang Yao appeared on the first day.

After all, this is Ma Yun.

For them, the mere appearance of Ma Yun overshadowed even Wang Yao.

"President Wang." Cheng Wei walked over and greeted him with a somewhat embarrassed expression.

Wang Yao had already declined Ali and Ma Yun's visit during a phone call with Cheng Wei on Saturday.

But Ma Yun's sudden visit seemed to be a response to Wang Yao's rejection.

"Why didn't you inform me in advance that President Cheng and President Ma have come to visit?" Wang Yao said with a gentle smile.

"It happened so suddenly. We were originally going to Shanghai to inspect the land for the new company, but unexpectedly, Mr. Ma had a sudden idea and came here instead. He even specifically told us not to make a fuss. He just wanted to see what Mr. Tao was talking about." Cheng Wei took out two school badges.

They indicated that they entered the school through legitimate channels by paying for tickets.

In order to lower the barrier to entry and reduce scalping, Wang Yao did not use a real-name registration system for the first phase of the event.

When we saw the name Ma Yun, everyone thought it was a coincidence or a prank.

After all, no one would have imagined that Ma Yun would participate in such an event.

Even Wang Yao himself just laughed it off at the time, thinking that a big shot like Ma Yun wouldn't be so bored as to personally cause trouble.

But to my surprise, this person was actually incredibly bored.
The second phase must be conducted with real-name registration!
Wang Yao feigned surprise, "You guys actually signed up? Then Mr. Ma is one of our first cohort of students, right?"

"Mr. Ma said that although he is the founder of Taobao, he has no experience in operating e-commerce stores, so he came to learn," Cheng Wei said with a chuckle.

Even a fool could guess that Ma Yun's personal appearance was to give Wang Yao a warning.

His appearance was an absolute disaster for Taobao's boss.

Because if Ma Yun were to say even a single negative comment about Taobao in the public media...

That means Taobao's business line has been cut off.

Because in the public's perception, no one is more authoritative than Ma Yun in the field of Taobao e-commerce.

Even if Wang Yao is very professional, can he be more professional than Ma Yun?

His heart is so cruel.

Cheng Wei had a good impression of Wang Yao, and even as an Alibaba employee, he felt that Ma Yun's actions were a bit too bullying.

"You flatter me," Wang Yao said with a light laugh.

I glanced at Ma Yun, who was still giving a passionate speech on stage.

Is this how someone comes to learn?

Seemingly noticing Wang Yao's arrival, Ma Yun ended her speech early, handed the microphone back to Ni Ni, and went straight to Wang Yao amidst applause from thousands of people who stood up.

Thus, the first cohort of Taobao Boss students witnessed a highlight moment in the history of e-commerce.

After shaking hands, Ma Yun and Wang Yao left together.

The rivalry between Alibaba and Taobao models is largely confined to high-level executives or investment circles within the e-commerce industry.

Because neither of them brought this competition to the forefront.

Therefore, most practitioners and outsiders are unaware of the relationship between the two. They even think that Ma Yun is endorsing Wang Yao, and that Taobao Boss is a project under Taobao.

In no time, news of Ma Yun's appearance on Taobao Boss spread like wildfire on the internet, and its popularity soared.

"It's truly astonishing that Mr. Ma has graced us with his presence." Wang Yao pulled Ma Yun to the unfinished villa, anticipating that a large number of reporters would soon flood the town.

"The office and meeting environment that President Wang chose is quite unique," Ma Yun said with a smile after walking around the unfinished apartment and looking at the scenery outside.

"I couldn't afford to rent in the CBD, so I decided to find a place that's affordable and has a good view. After all, work is about enjoying life. Although this place is far from the center and lacks some conveniences, it's quiet yet lively." Wang Yao smiled.

"Making a commotion in stillness, that's a good idea. I'll go to the outskirts of Lin'an and get some land to build an e-commerce town in this style," Ma Yun said with a smile, then waved her school badge.

"As one of the first batch of students at Taobao Boss, I would like to offer some feedback to Mr. Wang: our course is a bit too theoretical and lacks practical application. E-commerce can only be validated through practice. There is no way to operate mechanically with a standard operating procedure. Each product and each store has its own unique positioning and methods."

You, Ma Yun, are just a lousy e-commerce platform operator. What do you know about Taobao operations?
Believe it or not, I'll demonstrate to you directly using the store group model what SOP category monopoly means.

The algorithm completely messed you up.

Wang Yao maintained a smile, "I've received Mr. Ma's feedback. I'll have the team make improvements when I get back. However, e-commerce truly requires practice to accumulate experience, so we've provided some practical opportunities for our trainees. All Taobao Boss trainees can work in the internship department specially set up by Xingdian Company."

Choosing a product category based on individual preferences not only provides a salary but also eliminates the financial burden of sourcing goods or building a team during the initial stages of entrepreneurship. After gaining familiarity with the process through internships, one can then consider whether to return to their home business and open their own shop.

"2000 yuan for an internship? Mr. Wang is indeed a business genius." Ma Yun saw through the essence at a glance.

“There’s nothing wrong with what Mr. Ma thinks,” Wang Yao smiled and didn’t argue.

"Taobanba is a great project. I've held several official conferences before when I was working on 1688, but the atmosphere wasn't as good as Taobanba. This time, I found that there are many things we can learn from it. I've really benefited a lot today."

"To be honest, this kind of grassroots training model lacks endorsement. I suggest that even if Mr. Wang doesn't partner with our e-commerce platform, he should at least find some local government agencies to cooperate with. That might even drive the e-commerce transformation of local traditional industries and make a significant contribution to the development of the e-commerce industry." Ma Yun mentioned Taobao again.

Repeatedly mentioning it is a form of pressure.

Excessive advice is essentially a form of control.

Within three sentences of meeting, Ma Yun had already given two suggestions and mentioned the Taobao Boss project twice.

Whether it was intentional or unintentional.

It's clear that Ma Yun has placed herself in a very high position, 'guiding' Wang Yao.

This is the arrogance of a big shot.

Wang Yao's smile was warm, but a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes.

He knew Ma Yun's intentions were not good, but this move was indeed somewhat offensive, as if she had already treated Tianhuo as a subordinate department of Alibaba.

Adding to the information Xu Chen reported earlier, it seems that Ma Yun is quite determined to push for the merger of Skyfire and Meishe.

"Mr. Ma's words really reminded me. Activities like Taobao Boss could definitely be partnered with some organizations. They could not only inspire more people to start their own businesses, but also create a lot of jobs."

"I did ask Shanghai Commercial Investment Group to help me find some impoverished and underdeveloped areas in the surrounding region and hire some disabled people to work from home, to see if we could bring convenience to this group by providing some basic e-commerce jobs," Wang Yao said with a smile.

Upon hearing that Wang Yao was already working to create jobs, even for people with disabilities, a hint of surprise flashed in Ma Yun's eyes.

This kid actually has such a broad perspective and thinks the same way as me?
“Not bad, not bad. Mr. Wang is a person with social responsibility and commitment. For us entrepreneurs, the most important thing is to contribute to society.” Ma Yun nodded and smiled, her assessment of Wang Yao becoming even more important.

"I'm hardly an entrepreneur; I'm just an employee. But everyone has a responsibility for the fate of the nation, and I really need to learn more about social responsibility from my predecessors," Wang Yao said with a smile.

"At your age, Mr. Wang has achieved so much, yet he remains so humble. This is truly a rare quality. Remember not to be arrogant or conceited, or you'll easily make a mess of things." Ma Yun carefully examined Wang Yao and offered him sincere advice.

Arrogant and conceited?

"Thank you for the pointers, Mr. Ma." Wang Yao sneered inwardly, but maintained his smile.

(End of this chapter)