Those Years When I Was Forced to Top the Forbes List

Chapter 300 Mach and Shuk

The small warehouse, exuding the fresh scent of ink, had a sloping roof and a rather low ceiling.

The cement floor had no bricks, and there was a small open space in the middle with a window. Next to the window were two long workbenches. On one workbench were several small circuit boards and a soldering torch, and on the other were a motor and a model helicopter.

It's not a multi-rotor, and the propellers don't have a metallic sheen; they're made of plastic.

Everything looked very neat and tidy, and it was very well organized, resembling a studio.

—Except for the messy bedding under the workbench.

"Sorry, it's a bit messy. I usually work at night and just took a nap at noon."

The young man smoothed his thinning hair, which was pressed tightly against his head, and pulled two chairs from the corner of the wall.

"My name is Wang Tao. Please sit down."

Chen Xuebing nodded and sat down, looking around to determine the financial information he needed.

He was very cautious about this company.

Investment was inevitable sooner or later. The low-altitude economy is an industry in which the country has gained a rare first-mover advantage. It involves military industry and strategic deterrence, and is an important part of rebuilding national confidence. It is not only necessary to invest, but also to promote its development at the right time.

But you can't just throw them indiscriminately.

He knew something about DJI's development.

The team experienced two major turning points: the addition of a talent team recommended by Li Zexiang and the creation of the world's first "out-of-the-box" aerial photography drone, which revolutionized the consumer drone market.

He also had some understanding of the founder Wang Tao's attitude towards capital.

From being completely clueless in the early stages and submitting business plans everywhere, to becoming overly cautious later on, apart from the investments before the angel round, every investor who came in afterward had extremely demanding conditions.

They refused capital bets, adopted an anti-takeover defense (founding team dual-class shares), refused to conduct open due diligence, and offered a bundled investment model that required investors to first subscribe to 1.5 times the amount of interest-free bonds. With extremely high valuations and extremely low financing amounts, and no commitment to listing, it can be said that they have been screening investors with very strong terms since the Series A round.

In comparison, Wang Tao is much more tolerant of early-stage investment partners. A friend of his father's, an investor who sold his house to invest, and even the investor who brought him the real entrepreneurial team—his university professor Li Zexiang—all held significant stakes.

The investors who came in later, including Li Zexiang, had almost no decision-making power.

Therefore, Chen Xuebing chose to invest in Wang Tao by participating in the early-stage team.

I'm here today for a job interview, and also to get a better understanding of the current situation.

However, it seems there's not much to know about this little house.

Not worth the money.

But Wang Tao didn't seem to think so. He looked up and pointed to the red helicopter model that was about 40 or 50 centimeters long on the workbench, and said, "That's our studio's experimental model. You can take a look."

A very proud smile.

Upon seeing that smile, Chen Xuebing used a bit of acting skills, turned his head to examine it, and said with some surprise, "This model airplane... it's pretty cool. Can it fly?"

“Of course! And it’s equipped with our own flight controller!” Wang Tao stood up, picked up a small metal box and smiled. “When I graduated, I made a flight controller called XP1. This is the third version of XP2. Our team worked on this flight controller for half a year, and it is also our flagship product.”

Chen Xuebing was genuinely surprised this time.

"You've been doing this for half a year? How many of you are there?"

"Yeah, include me, that makes three! This is my uncle's magazine's warehouse; we officially started working here at the beginning of the year! They couldn't come today because of something."

Wang Tao was quite proactive in introducing himself, and then asked, "Which school did you go to? What did you study?"

"Shenzhen University, Communications."

Chen Xuebing was just making things up. He still understands communications quite well, and has a lot of in-depth knowledge of it, so he wasn't afraid of Wang Tao asking questions.

If Wang Tao really wanted to be serious, he would get a fake certificate.

“Communication... We don’t have a long-range communication module yet, only a short-range receiver.” Although Wang Tao was slightly disappointed, he didn’t want to miss out on a promising business partner, especially since they were short-handed. “But it’s okay, you’ll need it later! The other two members of our team aren’t flight engineering majors, I can teach you.”

Seeing that Wang Tao accepted so easily, Chen Xuebing smiled and added:
“I have a relative who owns a company that makes electronic components in Huaqiangbei. If you need to buy motors or something, I can help you get cheap and good quality parts. I’m also a graduate student and can’t come to work often. It’s just a hobby, and I want to get involved. I can help you with sourcing and visiting customers in the market. I don’t want a salary. If you think I can help you, I can give you some shares in the future.”

"Buying goods. Do you sell electronic components? Do you have chip programmers?" Wang Tao asked casually, posing a question he had just encountered.

The shop where he used to burn chips closed down. Burning chips wasn't expensive, only a few dozen yuan each time, but it was hard to find a shop with the equipment. You had to go to a specialty electronics store, and even then, the seller might not be willing to let outsiders use it.

“Yes, I have a good friend who owns a shop with a universal CD burner, a high-end model from Aike. I can talk to him and you can use it for free,” Chen Xuebing said with a friendly smile.

Where is it?

"It's not far from here."

Mr. Chen has made a decision: he will arrange for someone to make dumplings just for this dish of vinegar.

Upon hearing this, Wang Tao's eyes lit up.

"What about STM control boards? Are they available for sale?"

"Have."

"Where's the gyroscope?"

"There should be."

Wang Tao started to get excited: "Do you know anyone who can make carbon fiber? The custom kind! I want to make a carbon fiber propeller!"

He's currently looking for a replacement for the propeller of his experimental aircraft, and the best option is carbon fiber, which is not only high-strength and lightweight but also helps reduce noise. However, only a few specialized factories can make it, and he simply can't find a way to do so.

After saying that, he felt he had been asking too much of him.

But Chen Xuebing said casually, "I should be able to find it. Give me the parameters and I'll ask around for you."

While custom carbon fiber products aren't commercialized these days, it's no problem for him. He can simply pay a few pairs from a Japanese factory.

"Wow!" Wang Tao didn't hesitate at all and reached out his hand: "Brother, if you can help me get carbon fiber, let's start a business together!"

"However, we don't have a market sales business right now. We just do flight controller integration for some enthusiasts and companies. I plan to make a stable flight controller!"

"What I'm lacking right now is good quality, inexpensive parts. If you can help me get them, that would be great!"

"Shares are no problem! I plan to give the team 40% of the shares!"

"It's okay if you go on to graduate school! Just come help us with odd jobs when you have time! As long as we raise funds, the shares can be distributed according to our contributions! You can be our logistics manager then!"

Wang Tao paced back and forth, talking incessantly.

His father gave him 20 yuan to start this studio. For him, getting shares was more worthwhile than getting a salary.

Moreover, he had already sensed a hint of a wealthy second-generation heir from Chen Xuebing's words; such a partner was not someone you could find simply by paying a salary.

Chen Xuebing, however, couldn't help but laugh inwardly.

40%? I've been fooled by your nonsense.

In Wang Tao's previous life, the founding team received less than 5% of the shares in total, and the team even broke up because of this. The ones who actually got the majority of the shares were the three people who invested money in the early stages.

However, when he spoke, President Chen said cheerfully, "No problem. My good points are that I like new things and I like making friends. You'll see how I am once you get to know me."

"Okay, come here, I'll show you our experimental machine! I plan to use this machine at the Zhuhai Airshow next month! To showcase the flight control system we made ourselves!"

Wang Tao was overjoyed. He had encountered many troubles over the past six months that he couldn't resolve, and he desperately needed a friend of such high caliber.

He didn't give the other party's purpose any thought.

They don't even want a salary. What could they possibly gain from this other person besides genuine interest?

The two talked for over an hour.

Chen Xuebing has finally figured out what Wang Tao is currently doing.

Besides making their own flight control circuit boards, they were also working on that remote-controlled helicopter.

I've been constantly testing the tightness of the screws on various components to eliminate hovering vibrations, aiming for the best demonstration effect before participating in the Zhuhai Airshow in early November.

Once they make a name for themselves, they can sell their flight controller boxes on model aircraft enthusiast forums.

This approach is definitely problematic. First of all, researching helicopters is wrong. DJI's rise to prominence is based on its flexible multi-rotor helicopters, and it manufactures complete aircraft.

However, Chen Xuebing has also read some international forums and found that very few people are currently talking about multi-rotor helicopters. Related theoretical research needs to be promoted by enthusiasts around the world. Time will correct these problems for Wang Tao. It is also good to accumulate technology on a more stable helicopter model now.

He can help solve special material problems that startup teams struggle with, and make small, tentative steps to push things forward.

"Okay, my teacher at school has something to do for me tomorrow, so I'll have my friend come over and take you to his shop. Call me if you need anything. I'll come and tighten the screws for you in a few days when I'm less busy."

"That's great! When you arrive, I'll introduce you to our team. They both have the surname Chen; one is named Chen Jinying, and the other is named Chen Chuqiang! By the way, what's your name?"

This person has incredibly low emotional intelligence. They chatted for an hour, using all sorts of "you, you, you" and "hey, hey, hey," before finally remembering to ask for Chen Xuebing's name.

Chen Xuebing was also taken aback when he heard that the other two members of his team shared the same surname, Chen.

Chen Family Troupe?
“Oh, my name is Mach,” Chen Xuebing blurted out on a whim.

The critical Mach number is the point at which a shock wave appears when an aircraft approaches the speed of sound.

He had been reading some information about drones in the past few days, and one of the magazines, "Aeromodelling," used the term "Mach barrier" to describe the vibration problem of quadcopters, so the name came to mind.

"Mach." Wang Tao clicked his tongue in amazement. "My God, your name is really Mach? With a name like that, you're born to fly airplanes!"

Chen Xuebing smiled and said, "That's what everyone says."

Once DJI breaks through the "Mach barrier" of developing its own multi-rotor aircraft, the "Mach" label will be removed.

Role-playing is quite fun and can add some enjoyment to his life. If this team continues to develop, it might even bring him some new knowledge.

But next time you come, you should wear black-rimmed glasses.

Chen Xuebing left the Sunshine Golf Building at 4:30 pm, and Qidian's people arrived at Chegongmiao at 5 pm to start looking for a suitable place to open an electronics retail store nearby.

Around 7 p.m., they rented out a small home appliance retail store about one kilometer away from the building and began renovating it overnight.

The next morning, Chen Xuebing did indeed make a friend who worked in e-commerce, named Shuke.

Shuke's real name is of course not Shuke. He is an electrical engineer with the surname Zhang and the given name Zhang Xiaojiang. However, he claims that he likes people to call him Shuke.

When Chen Xuebing was a child, he dreamed of becoming friends with Shuke, who could fly airplanes, and having Shuke take him around the world.

Mach and Shuk are a bit of fantasy and fun he left behind in this busy world.

Hopefully, Wang Tao will also feel that they are a pair of dream friends, which will inspire him to explore the world more.

(End of this chapter)