Rebirth Starting as a Stock Market Enthusiast

Although Shen Fei was well aware of the future development of Douyin, Chen Kai was not!

Upon hearing Shen Fei's request, Chen Kai's smile slowly faded, and he fell into deep thought.

He picked up his coffee and took a small sip, seemingly organizing his thoughts.

Chen Xi sat quietly to the side, her peach blossom eyes, which seemed to gaze affectionately at a dog, were now fixed on Shen Fei with a hint of inquiry.

She discovered that Shen Fei's talent in the short video industry was truly exceptional! How did he manage to do it? How could a recent college graduate be so accurate in predicting industry trends?

After a long pause, Chen Kai put down his coffee cup and said in a deep voice, "President Shen, increasing the video length to 60 seconds is technically not difficult for us. However... there has been a lot of internal debate about this proposal."

"We chose 15 seconds because it was the optimal solution derived from massive data testing. In terms of completion rate, retention rate, and interaction data, 15 seconds is superior in all aspects. Although it now seems to be the main reason for the homogenization of content on the platform and the emergence of a large number of vulgar and borderline content, it greatly lowers the threshold for creation and is the fundamental reason why we were able to quickly scale up in a short period of time."

"Furthermore, if we remove the video length limit, it will become mid-length video. Our business model will undergo a radical change. We already have Xigua Video, so is it necessary for Douyin to launch mid-length videos?"

After listening to Chen Kai's question, Shen Fei did not refute it, but nodded in agreement, saying, "Mr. Chen is right. 15 seconds is indeed the optimal solution for short videos at present. It has attracted the widest range of users with the lowest threshold, which is the foundation for Douyin's meteoric rise. I completely agree with this point."

Upon hearing this, Chen Kai subconsciously sat up straight, his expression turning serious.

He wasn't afraid of the other party having requests; he was afraid the other party was an amateur who would come up with some outlandish ideas. Shen Fei's ability to pinpoint the underlying logic of the 15-second mode shows that he wasn't just being unreasonable, but had genuinely given it deep thought.

"As for Xigua Video," Shen Fei changed the subject, speaking slowly, "Mr. Chen, Xigua and Douyin are fundamentally different species in terms of their product DNA. Xigua is designed to compete with YouTube, focusing on content accumulation, depth, and stickiness. Users use Xigua with a clear purpose, driven by search logic. But Douyin is different."

"Douyin's DNA is 'recommendation,' it's about algorithms. It's about getting users hooked on content within 15 seconds without any warning, then immersing them and making them keep scrolling. These are two completely different mental models."

Chen Kai frowned. Shen Fei's words had essentially revealed the strategic direction they had discussed countless times internally.

"Therefore, relaxing the time limit doesn't mean turning Douyin into Xigua, nor does it mean competing with Bilibili. 15-second videos offer direct, satisfying moments and quick feedback. But by relaxing the time limit, we can still retain the core content of the first 15 seconds, while using the remaining time to enrich the content..."

Now that the conversation had started, Shen Fei stopped keeping everyone in suspense and directly shared his thoughts.

"If the video length could be extended to one minute, or even three or ten minutes, there would be so much more content we could create."

"For example, performing skits, sharing funny and silly everyday moments; or popularizing scientific knowledge and relieving stress..."

Shen Fei, unhurried and methodical, unveiled one wildly successful track after another, one that had been proven successful in his previous life.

With each name mentioned, Chen Kai's eyes lit up a little more.

The expression on his face changed from initial calm to surprise, then to shock, and finally to utter disbelief and horror!

He looked at Shen Fei with a blank expression.

So many things can be done after the time limit is lifted?

Douyin's top management has held countless brainstorming meetings in an effort to find new growth drivers. They are anxious about the homogenization of content on the platform and worry that users will eventually experience aesthetic fatigue.

They also wanted to make the content more diverse and in-depth, but they could never find a clear direction and could only continue to cultivate their core areas such as music and dance.

They did consider relaxing the time limit, but the internal debate always revolved around what to do after relaxing it.

This problem, like a fog, hangs over the minds of all decision-makers.

Now, Shen Fei has cleared away all the confusion with just a few words.

He not only pointed out the direction, but also clearly described how to go in each direction, what kind of road to pave, and what kind of house to build.

Chen Kai was completely dumbfounded.

He had only one thought in his mind: What kind of monster is this kid?

"call......"

Chen Kai let out a long breath, as if to expel all the shock from his chest.

He leaned back on the sofa, picked up the now-cold coffee, and drank it all in one gulp.

"President Shen, I've truly seen something new today." Chen Kai put down his cup, his tone filled with undisguised admiration. "To be honest, the directions you've suggested are things we've discussed internally for over half a year, and none of them are as clear as yours. So, I'll go back and push for relaxing the time limit. I'll give you a definite answer within a month."

Shen Fei smiled slightly and raised his coffee cup: "Then thank you very much, President Chen. Once Douyin opens up the 60-second limit, Feiyu Media will definitely be the first to provide high-quality content to boost the platform."

"Okay! It's a deal!" Chen Kai stood up and extended his hand.

The two shook hands and said goodbye. Chen Kai left in a hurry, clearly feeling uneasy after Shen Fei's words and eager to get back to work.

......

After seeing off Chen Kai, who was anxious and eager to fly back to headquarters for a meeting, the atmosphere in Starbucks instantly became somewhat subtle.

Shen Fei said he had other things to discuss with Chen Xi, and asked Ning Wei to return to Anyuan County first to accelerate the expansion of the team.

After obtaining the rights to use the video platform, the company had many development directions. The first was recruiting screenwriters. The idea of ​​the writer "The Sleepless One" for a palace drama was very good, and Shen Fei had been in contact with him. Next, Ning Wei would need to recruit screenwriters for other different areas.

Of course, Shen Fei also gave some directions, mainly focusing on the plot development of themes such as comeback, face-slapping, family ethics, sweet romance and sad love.

It's a pity that short dramas don't currently have a complete review and filing process, otherwise Shen Fei would be...

Soon, only Shen Fei and Chen Xi remained at the scene.

Chen Xi looked at Shen Fei, her eyes brimming with laughter, and couldn't help but gently nudge him:

"Where did you get all these crazy ideas from?"

Shen Fei naturally couldn't say that he had been reborn and was fully aware of the future development of short videos.

"Watch more, think more, and summarize more," he casually remarked. "I spend at least four or five hours a day scrolling through Douyin, not just watching the content, but also the comments section, watching user reactions, seeing what kind of content goes viral, and what kind of content no one watches. The more you watch, the more patterns you can naturally summarize."

Chen Xi tilted her head, clearly not believing it: "That's it?"

"That's it." Shen Fei said without changing his expression. "What did you think? There are no profound theories in this industry; it's all about who understands the user better."

Chen Xi remained silent for a while, seemingly processing what he had just said.

"So, those tracks you just mentioned to Chen Kai were also something you figured out by watching videos?"

"Of course." Shen Fei continued without batting an eye, "Look at Douyin now, it's basically just music and dance and borderline content. Users find it novel at first, but they get tired of it after scrolling through it a lot. But sketch comedy is different. A good sketch comedy can make users laugh and be memorable; popular science can satisfy users' curiosity... The lifespan of this kind of content is much longer than that of simple music and dance."

After listening, Chen Xi nodded thoughtfully.

I don't believe a damn thing. Not a single word this bastard says is true...