Returning to his senior year of high school, he went all in and made billions by buying at the botto

It was already dark when the plane landed in the provincial capital.

The hatch opened, and a warm breeze carrying a hint of late spring dampness rushed in.

As soon as Chen Mo and Zhang Ming stepped out of the VIP passage, they saw Lin Wan standing at the exit.

Today she was wearing a light gray business suit, her long hair was tied back, and she was holding a folder in her hand, which made her look very elegant.

Next to her is Zhang Nan.

Zhang Nan's eyes were bloodshot, and her hair was tied up casually, clearly indicating that she had been staying up for several days.

Chen Liping stood at the back, his shirt sleeves rolled up to his forearms, his face showing signs of fatigue.

These days have really worn them out.

The group didn't exchange many pleasantries; the car was already parked outside.

After getting into a minivan, Chen Mo's driver and bodyguard sat in the front.

The car drove off the airport expressway and headed straight for the Douyin Group's office area.

On the way, Zhang Nan turned on her computer.

The screen displays a set of real-time data.

"As of 4 PM today, daily active users have exceeded 10 million."

Her voice was a little hoarse.

"The new users mainly come from universities, young white-collar workers, and areas surrounding first- and second-tier cities."

"But the trend of spreading to lower-tier cities has also begun. The most popular trends are still the three-second costume change and dormitory relay dance. Users are spontaneously creating their own videos so fast that content moderation can't keep up."

Zhang Ming stared at the screen, his brows slowly furrowing.

"What about retention?"

"The next-day retention rate is over 50%."

Zhang Nan paused for a moment.

"The core user base is higher."

There was a moment of silence in the car.

This number is amazing, it's simply outrageous.

Chen Mo simply nodded.

"Where's the server?"

Zhang Nan rubbed her temples.

"The pressure is immense."

"We're expanding our capacity every day. The recommendation system, video storage, transcoding, and moderation are all burning through cash."

"The tech team has been working through the night for a week straight."

Lin Wan took over the conversation.

"Of the original 100 million yuan in the account, 90% has already been used up."

"Server and bandwidth costs saw the fastest growth."

"The budget is also being increased for copyright, operations, campus promotion, and staff expansion."

"At the current rate of growth, we can only hold on for another ten days at most."

Zhang Ming's eyelids twitched when he heard this.

"Burning so fast?"

Zhang Nan smiled wryly.

"Mr. Zhang, user growth is also rapid."

Chen Liping continued, "The biggest problem right now isn't the lack of money, it's the constant expansion while burning through cash. If you buy servers today, you won't have enough tomorrow."

"Hiring is the same. The review, algorithm, and backend teams are all saying they need more people."

"Several engineers fell asleep in the office yesterday, and the first thing they asked when they woke up was whether the server had crashed."

Zhang Ming pushed up his glasses.

"Now that's what a startup should be like."

Chen Liping said irritably, "President Zhang, your Toutiao has deep pockets. Yunfan has never spent money like this before."

Zhang Ming smiled.

"It's not Yunfan anymore."

"That's why it's even scarier."

Chen Mo then looked at Lin Wan.

How many investment institutions are involved?

"Twelve companies registered today."

Lin Wan opened the folder.

"Sequoia Capital, IDG Capital, Matrix Partners, Qiming Venture Partners, Legend Capital, and several other US dollar funds."

"In addition, several RMB fund trust companies in the provincial capital also want to get involved."

"Some people have already arrived at the office area."

"Some people even went directly to the hotel to wait."

Zhang Ming sighed.

"If this drags on any longer, the office will turn into a roadshow hall."

Chen Mo did not speak immediately.

Douyin's current problem is quite simple.

The problem is burning through money, lacking manpower, lacking servers, and lacking systems.

But these problems are not problems when faced with a true blockbuster.

The biggest problem is how to secure a poker table before everyone sees its value.

……

Half an hour later.

Douyin Group conference room.

The table was covered with coffee cups, mineral water, and several freshly printed data reports.

The current equity structure is written on the whiteboard.

Star Technology, 60%.

Bytes, 35%.

Chen Liping, 5%.

Xingchen Technology initially invested 100 million yuan to acquire a controlling stake.

Zhang Ming stood in front of the whiteboard and stared at it for a long time.

"This structure is something that external investors will definitely ask about."

Chen Mo sat next to the main seat, twirling a pen in his hand.

"Just ask."

"They'll feel that Star Technology is taking up too much space."

"Then they can choose not to vote."

Zhang Ming glanced at him.

That's very much Chen Mo's opinion.

Zhang Nan flipped through the data report and said, "Now is indeed a window of opportunity for financing."

"Bringing in top-tier agencies would be helpful for subsequent copyright, branding, GG creators, and talent recruitment."

"But the valuation cannot be low."

Chen Liping sat next to him, holding a paper cup in his hand.

He no longer knew what to say.

These recent numbers have really taken a toll on him.

One hundred million yuan, tens of millions of daily active users.

More than a dozen investment institutions blocked the entrance.

The money is being burned at a rate like a leaky water tank.

He used to work for Yunfan Software, and his largest contract was only a few million.

These days, when people hold meetings, they're constantly talking about dollars, valuations, and funding rounds.

He even felt a little unreal sitting there.

Lin Wan asked, "President Chen, what are your thoughts?"

Chen Mo put down his pen.

"Series A funding, pre-money valuation of two billion US dollars."

The meeting room fell silent.

Zhang Ming raised his head.

Zhang Nan's hand stopped on the report.

The water in Chen Liping's paper cup sloshed and almost spilled onto his pants.

"How many?"

Zhang Ming thought he had misheard.

Two billion US dollars.

Chen Mo repeated it, speaking casually as if he were talking about 200,000.

Zhang Ming stared at him for a few seconds.

"Mr. Chen, do you know how much Toutiao was valued at in its last round of funding?"

Around five hundred million US dollars.

"Then why did you dare to report 2 billion to Douyin?"

"Why wouldn't you dare?"

Zhang Ming was momentarily speechless.

He suddenly didn't know how to respond.

It has taken Toutiao so long to reach a valuation of $500 million.

Douyin was launched less than a month ago.

Chen Mo's offer of two billion US dollars is simply delusional.

Zhang Nan couldn't help but ask, "Isn't this valuation too high?"

"Won't."

Chen Mo looked at her.

"Douyin is not a filming tool. It is a content distribution platform."

"It didn't just eat up the market share of Meipai and Miaopai."

"It consumes users' time. Users only have 24 hours a day. Whoever can occupy young people's fragmented time can redefine content, Google, e-commerce, and social media portals."

He pointed to the data on the table.

"And now Douyin has proven one thing: users are willing to give it their time."

"Furthermore, with tens of millions of daily active users within a month of launch, it's unique in today's market, and the retention rate is as high as 50%. You are all professionals, so you probably all know what these figures mean."

No one spoke in the meeting room. Zhang Ming looked down at the retained data and his heart sank.

He realized that Chen Mo might not be exaggerating the valuation; he might have actually seen much more.

"How much funding do you need?" Lin Wan asked.

"Release of no more than 7%".

Chen Mo said.

"Based on a pre-investment target of $2 billion, the financing is around $150 million."

"A portion of it is given to external organizations."

"Star Technology has simultaneously increased its funding to ensure the company's cash flow."

Lin Wan nodded and quickly wrote it down.

Zhang Nan wanted to say something else.

She glanced at Zhang Ming.

Zhang Ming remained silent.

Chen Mo continued, "Spread the word."

"If you agree with this valuation, then we can discuss it in the meeting room. If you don't, just leave."

"Douyin has no shortage of stories, and Xingchen Technology has no shortage of money."

He looked at Lin Wan as he said this.

"Tell them that if no one invests in this round, Star Technology will continue to raise capital on its own."

"I can afford to burn through servers, copyrights, and teams."

The meeting room was so quiet that you could clearly hear the air conditioner.

Chen Liping slowly lowered his head and looked at the line of words on the whiteboard.

Chen Liping, 5%.

Two billion US dollars before investment.

5%.

He calculated it in his mind, then calculated it again.

The paper cup in my hand finally slipped and gently tapped on the table.

A little water spilled out.

Chen Liping quickly grabbed a tissue to wipe it off; no one laughed at him.

Because anyone would be prone to trembling when faced with such a number.

He was the owner of a small software company that was on the verge of collapse, but his nephew inexplicably dragged him into Douyin (TikTok).

His current paper wealth has reached a level he never dared to dream of before.

As Chen Liping wiped the table, only one thought remained in his mind.

Five points, $1 million....

Zhang Ming finally spoke.

"Investors will think we're crazy."

Chen Mo looked at him.

"Then let them think about it first."

"If the data rises for another week, they'll feel like they missed out."

Zhang Ming looked at Chen Mo.

After a long pause, he smiled.

"You're really ruthless."

Lin Wan closed the folder.

"I am now informing the investors."

Chen Mo nodded.

"Let's not discuss prices tonight. Let them know the rules first."

"The meeting will officially begin tomorrow."

Lin Wan got up and walked out of the conference room.

Chen Mo leaned back in his chair, looking at the equity structure on the whiteboard.

Two billion US dollars.

He still felt the price was too low, but he had to get capital on board, otherwise the road ahead would become increasingly difficult.