Reborn in 08, a heretical cultivator starting a business

Chapter 130 BTA Cut in Half, Wang Junshan Makes Exorbitant Demands (Third Update)
Baidu Youa CEO Xu Shun looked very unhappy.
“Once the financial crisis broke out, Vipshop’s future was hindered, and no one invested in it. It is highly unlikely that it will survive this financial crisis.”

"However, due to the financial crisis, our Baidu also faces a bleak future."

Li Yan nodded: "The financial crisis is like a typhoon, sweeping across all companies equally. It all depends on your position to determine how much of the storm you will be affected!"

"Baidu Youa Business Unit is an important strategic deployment of our Baidu Group, and failure is not allowed under any circumstances!"

"Yes!" Xu Shun replied, but he felt even more uncertain.

Now all competitors are waiting to see Vipshop fail, to see its revenue and profits both decline.

But in reality, Baidu Youa is an even bigger joke!

Vipshop was launched before the financial crisis at least!

It also achieved a remarkable transaction volume of 6000 million on its first day!
Baidu Youa will not be launched until next month, which will coincide with the height of the financial crisis.

Let alone 60 million in transaction volume on the first day, even 10 million would be difficult!

Damn it!
I really have no words to express my pain.

Ali was also unable to laugh.

In 2007, Alibaba's B2B business went public in Hong Kong, achieving a market value of US$260 billion, a truly glorious achievement!
But now, as soon as the financial crisis broke out, Alibaba's stock plummeted.

In just one day, it dropped from HK$8 to HK$4!

It was cut in half!
In just one day, more than HK$800 billion was gone!

This kind of drop kept Jack Ma up at night.

The problem is that it hasn't bottomed out yet; it's still falling!

Neither Hong Kong stocks nor US stocks have a limit down!
The same applies to the other major players.

All stocks plummeted, just at different rates.

Tencent's stock price plummeted by 20%, wiping out more than 20 billion yuan in a single day.

Baidu's stock price plummeted by 40%, wiping out more than 40 billion yuan in just one day.

The entire tech stock sector, including all the internet giants, suffered a devastating blow.

In contrast, Future Technology, which is not publicly listed, was the least affected.

The only difference is that the external valuation plummeted from 300 billion to 200 billion.

But valuation is just valuation; future technology remains completely unaffected.

Even Vipshop's daily revenue did not halve from 4000 million to 2000 million; instead, it declined normally to around 3000 million.

U-Tuan International's revenue also declined, but only from 6000 million to 5500 million.

The drop was only 10%, which is very stable.

There's no way around it; U-Group International's main sales volume comes from imported mother and baby products.

These are all essential needs!

It's impossible for the child to stop drinking just because there's an economic crisis.

Furthermore, with the surge in sales of San Niu products, the prices of all imported maternal and infant products on other platforms have skyrocketed by 30%!

However, the price of YouTuan International has increased by 20% simply because the manufacturer's shipping price has risen and the cost has increased.

A box of six cans is still hundreds of yuan cheaper than other platforms, and it's guaranteed to be authentic.

Consumers naturally buy, buy, buy.

The next day, Vipshop's transaction volume remained stable at around 3000 million yuan, showing great resilience.

Just as Wang Junshan predicted, the economic crisis inevitably led to a downgrade in consumption, which also presented an opportunity for Vipshop's brand flash sales.

High-income groups, in particular, are used to wearing designer brands every day, and they really can't accept switching to Taobao goods.

But with an economic crisis, incomes will inevitably decline, making Vipshop's 30-70% discounts on major brands a real steal!
Therefore, Vipshop's revenue not only did not decline, but actually showed a trend of growth against the trend.

This is even before a spokesperson has been chosen.

Once the spokesperson goes live, it might even see a surge in sales.

Similarly, the revenue from campus group buying and YouTuan International is also very stable.

In the context of consumption downgrading, the business models of Vipshop and Ugroup are exactly what everyone needs.

However, Wang Junshan ignored all of this.

Instead, he brought Shen Huaijin, along with his legal counsel, translators, bodyguards, and other entourage, to the United States, specifically Los Angeles and Santa Monica.

That is, the location of Riot Games.

"Welcome to Riot Games, Mr. Wang!"

Riot Games co-founders Mark and Brandon warmly welcomed them.

Steve, Tom, Ryan, and other key executives were also waiting at the door.

"Thank you everyone," Wang Junshan said with a smile.

The group entered the company premises, which, like most startups, was relatively small and had a small number of employees.

"Mr. Wang, let me introduce myself first..."

After the introductions, Wang Junshan gained a deeper understanding of everyone.

Mark, co-founder and president, is responsible for company strategy, brand development, and creative design for League of Legends.

Brandon, co-founder, leads the company's operations and business direction.

Steve, a former Dota developer and early lead designer, was involved in the core mechanics design of League of Legends.

Tom, lead designer, is responsible for hero design and game balance.

Ryan, Technical Director, leads game engine development.

"To be honest, the development of League of Legends has not gone smoothly, mainly because it is too expensive, but we do not have enough funds."

"Plus the financial crisis...you know, sigh!"

Mark sighed, looking quite helpless.

League of Legends is a free-to-play game, and this alone has dampened the interest of many investors.

In 2008, paid games still dominated the market, whether it was Steam or Epic.

Wang Junshan laughed: "The financial crisis is indeed annoying. If it weren't for the financial crisis, Vipshop, which had only been online for two days, would have been valued at 15 billion US dollars, and two giants, Alibaba and Tencent, would be vying to invest in it."

"Just as their investment department arrived in my city, even at the gate of my company, Lehman Brothers collapsed, and the financial crisis broke out."

"Alibaba and Tencent have also turned around and left."

"Haha, that sounds really unfortunate."

Mark felt a mixture of sympathy and envy.

Vipshop, which has only been online for two days, is valued at US$15 billion!
I'm so damn envious.

Upon learning that Wang Junshan was coming to inspect the area and was interested in investing, Mark and the others conducted a detailed investigation.

They thought he was just an ordinary investor, but once they investigated, everyone was stunned.

19 years old, a sophomore in college, and has only recently started his own business.

It reached a valuation of 45 billion US dollars.

Of course, after the financial crisis, the valuation dropped to $30 billion.

But it's still very scary.

It's a business miracle!

More importantly, they have excellent cash flow, with millions of dollars in profits coming in every day, so they're not short of money at all.

Riot Games was incredibly envious and attached great importance to it. Especially their original game, "WeChat Farm," which, although not in the same genre as "League of Legends," was extremely popular and very lucrative.

Moreover, it was the boss's idea, and he personally led the team to develop it!

This shows that Wang Junshan understands games and is quite skilled!

This directly brought Wang Junshan and Riot Games executives closer together.

Furthermore, the company's philosophy of creating only original games has won over everyone at Riot Games.

With this series of advantages combined, everyone at Riot Games hopes that Wang Junshan will become an investor.

Of course, the most fundamental reason is that Riot Games is too short of money and can't even afford to eat.

"Mr. Wang, last year we raised $150 million in our Pre-A round, led by Benchmark, and it's almost all gone now. We desperately need your support. If you're willing to invest, you'd be my god!"

"I'll definitely give you a satisfactory price!"

Wang Junshan was secretly delighted; he had come to the right place!
However, he did not immediately agree.

“We all understand games. If you’re just copying Dota, that’s not very interesting.”

"Of course, we're not a copycat Dota!"

Mark pulled Wang Junshan to sit in front of the computer and gave a detailed explanation of the game settings, core gameplay, and differences between League of Legends and Dota.

Wang Junshan nodded: "Dota feels like a complex war, with dark visuals and a focus on strategy, while League of Legends is an exhilarating fighting game with bright visuals, a faster pace, and is easier to pick up!"

"Yes, Wang, you really know games. You noticed the difference right away."

Mark was thrilled.

Investors had come before, but after one look, they simply left with the comment, "It's a knock-off Dota, it has no future," and then left.

Mark and the others were so angry that they cursed and swore for a long time.

But Wang Junshan was different; he immediately understood the difference.

This is the difference between professionals and non-professionals.

Tom got excited too and immediately pulled Wang Junshan aside to introduce the settings and skills of several heroes.

Wang Junshan nodded at times, and at other times asked questions and offered suggestions.

As a reborn individual, every point is incisive and to the point.

Tom and the others were full of praise: "Yes, how come I didn't think of that? This change makes it more interesting and fun."

"My king, I even want to keep you here and develop League of Legends with us!"

Wang Junshan laughed: "If I didn't have a lot of business to sign off on in Beijing, I would also be willing to join League of Legends and develop it together."

"Hahaha." Everyone burst into laughter.

"Actually, the international version of WeChat Farm is also under development. Although the gameplay and type are different, it is definitely going to be a global hit."

"I hope the same goes for League of Legends. Let's work together and meet at the top!"

"Well said, see you at the summit!"

Everyone was thrilled.

He understands games, knows Riot Games, and is also a skilled game developer.

Everyone admired him immensely.

They even played "WeChat Farm" and got hooked.

So much so that these past two days, besides developing League of Legends, I've also been stealing vegetables online.

This demonstrates the game's appeal.

As for the prospects of "WeChat Farm", these people are all experts and they all think it will be a hit!
Mark then invited Wang Junshan to his office:
"Wang, I can tell you're also interested in League of Legends. What do you think? It's an excellent game, isn't it?"

Wang Junshan nodded: "From a gameplay perspective, it is indeed good. But let's be business-minded, there are also many risks from an investment perspective, after all, you have a considerable funding gap."

"Moreover, this type of game develops slowly and may not become popular for several years."

"But in the past few years, I have had no income and have had to keep investing."

"In addition to the financial crisis, the environment will only get worse in the future."

Mark nodded repeatedly, unable to refute it; these were all facts.

"But we have a bright future, and we still hope you can invest in us so that we can witness the birth of a great game together."

"The birth of a great game!"

Wang Junshan pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Okay, you've convinced me. If the price is right, I can invest."

"Thank you, thank you so much!"

Mark was thrilled: "League of Legends has a bright future, and Riot Games has immense potential. A valuation of $5000 million is definitely achievable!"

"5000 million US dollars?" Wang Junshan laughed:

“Last year, your Pre-A round investment valued you at only $1200 million. Even if it triples this year, it’s still only $3600 million.”

"Considering the financial crisis and the uncertain future, $3000 million is a reasonable price."

“This…” Mark fell silent. This price was much lower than the 4000 million he had expected.

But times have changed. With the financial crisis, things did indeed have to be reduced.

And right now we're desperately short of money!
"A valuation of $3000 million is worth considering, but you must guarantee that you will not interfere with the development and operation of our flagship company."

"That's fine, but I want to secure the exclusive distribution rights in China and establish a branch of the company in China to operate independently. I won't interfere with how the US headquarters operates."

"Yes, but the free-to-play model cannot be changed; we cannot allow pay-to-win elements to affect the game's balance!"

"No problem, I already have a perfect solution that will allow us to make money and profit without affecting the game balance."

"What strategy?" Mark asked, intrigued, while Brandon beside him stared wide-eyed.
"If that's the case, it won't affect the game balance and it can still generate profits, that would be perfect!"

Riot Games is currently facing a dilemma: they want to make a free-to-play game that everyone can play, but they also want to make money from it, without changing the game balance due to in-app purchases.

It sounds like they want it all, and there's really no solution.

But Wang Junshan actually had a perfect solution, which was truly ingenious.

"We'll talk about that later. Let's discuss the investment first."

“Yes, it’s about investment.” Brandon nodded. “The valuation is $3000 million, and we hope to raise $800 million.”

“800 million is not enough.” Wang Junshan shook his head: “800 million US dollars, you can’t make League of Legends well. I’m a perfectionist and I don’t want League of Legends to be a simple, rough, half-finished product.”

"This……"

"Moreover, you don't want the development of League of Legends to fall into difficulties again due to insufficient funds. With the financial crisis, the future is even more unpredictable. Only by making League of Legends as soon as possible and launching it can Riot Games survive."

"Okay, let's discuss it."

"Please."

Five minutes later, the two returned:
“Wang, we can raise $1200 million and give you up to 40% of the shares.”

"Sure, but in addition to the exclusive domestic agency rights, I also want the right of first refusal for subsequent investments and the right of first refusal for acquisition."

"In addition, the revenue sharing ratio in the domestic market needs to be changed. Future Technology will be the exclusive agent for operation, with a revenue sharing ratio of 8:2. Revenue sharing in other regions will be based on shareholding."

"We must also open up all our technologies, data, and source code to future technologies to ensure that the domestic market keeps pace with the global market!"

"We will work together to develop a global profit model and operate it jointly. We will ensure that we achieve maximum profitability without affecting the game's balance."

"This……"

Both fell silent.

Mark frowned: "The other points are all negotiable, and as the major shareholder, they're reasonable. But asking you to open up all our technology, data, and source code is asking too much. These are all the research and development achievements of our flagship company!"

(End of this chapter)