They’re all reborn, what’s wrong with being a little more almighty?

Chapter 239 Let’s Be an Angel Investor

Although Wang Xing is not tall, his big forehead like a birthday star is so conspicuous in the crowd that Zhang Wei recognized him at a glance.

Zhang Wei knew that this big guy was a genuine graduate of the Department of Electronic Engineering at National Tsinghua University and was a genuine senior.

In 1997, Wang Xing was admitted to the Department of Electronic Engineering of Tsinghua University. Being admitted to Tsinghua University, especially a popular major, meant that he was at least the top student in a prefecture-level city.

After graduating from university, Wang Xing received a scholarship to pursue a master's degree at the University of Delaware in the United States. This school is not very famous in China, and its ranking in the United States is almost 100, so it is not considered a top university.

But the University of Delaware is an Ivy League university, which is still a plus.

While studying for a master's degree in the United States, Wang Xing tried to start a business. At that time, American SNS websites, or social networking websites, were on the rise, so Wang Xing founded several SNS websites in China. These projects did not set off waves, but they allowed Wang Xing to accumulate rich experience.

In 2005, with the rise of Facebook in the United States, Wang Xing decided to focus on the university campus social networking site market segment and founded Xiaonei.com.

Unfortunately, Xiaonei.com failed to raise funds, so Wang Xing sold it to Oak Pacific Group at a bargain price of US$200 million. Oak Pacific Group later changed the name of Xiaonei.com to Renren.com and successfully listed it. At its peak, Renren.com’s market value reached US$80 billion.

Wang Xing used the funds from the sale of Xiaonei.com to found Fanfou, which was also the first website in the mainland to provide microblog services, but was eventually shut down for various reasons.

Sina Weibo was born a month after Fanfou was shut down. If Fanfou could continue to operate, Sina Weibo might not exist now.

Next, Wang Xing founded Hainei.com, which was also a social networking site. However, this site had no distinctive features and was highly homogenized, so it was shut down after two years.

After the failure of Hainei.com, Wang Xing did not stop his entrepreneurial efforts. His next project was Meituan.

The following story should be familiar to everyone. Meituan started out as a group buying service for offline stores, and gradually got involved in industries such as movie tickets, hotels, and tourist tickets. Later, it entered the food delivery industry, becoming a vampire that eats merchants, riders, and users.

In fact, it is not really Meituan’s fault that it is called a vampire. It is the nature of capital to pursue profits. The purpose of running a business is to make money. As long as it does not break the law, it is natural for a business to find ways to make more money.

If we have to raise it to a moral level, then isn't harming the interests of others in the name of morality itself a form of moral kidnapping?

One is immoral, the other is morally blackmailing, they are the same, no one should criticize the other.

The main reason why everyone thinks Meituan is unscrupulous is that Chinese people are generally not accustomed to paying for services.

Foreign food delivery platforms also charge service fees, and the three parties also take a cut. Some platforms' commission rates are even higher than domestic food delivery platforms. If it is in a country like the United States where tipping is practiced, consumers will have to pay additional tips to the delivery man.

Foreigners are used to paying for services. In their minds, since the food delivery platform provides services, it is natural to pay.

However, in the minds of most Chinese people, services that cannot be seen or touched are not worth paying for. Only things that can be seen and touched are worth paying for.

So when I order takeout, I have already paid for the meal and the delivery fee, so the platform should provide me with the service for free.

It’s like many people go to the hospital to see a doctor and spend more than ten or twenty yuan in registration fees, but they really feel that it is a waste of money!
I have come to your hospital for treatment. Your doctor prescribed me tests costing hundreds of dollars and medicines costing hundreds of dollars. I spent thousands of dollars on this visit to the hospital. Why do you still charge me a registration fee?
To put it bluntly, people feel that doctors’ services are worthless, after all, they cannot be seen or touched.

There are hospitals that offer free registration fees, but they are all from the Putian system. Do we dare to go there? You earn from the registration fee of 20 yuan, but they earn from your bank card with tens of thousands of yuan in deposits!

People say that the platform's commission is too high, but this is the business rule. They have the power to make the rules, and you have no ability to overturn them, so you can only survive under the rules. You don't want to beg for food under these rules, but there are many people who are willing to do so.

Our life is like walking under an apple tree. Some people can pick ripe red apples; some people can only pick sour green apples. Some people are willing to take the risk of being hit on the head by apples and stand under the tree waiting for the apples to fall; while some people can only lie on the ground and pick up those rotten and rotten apples just to fill their stomachs for one day.

Back to the point, when Zhang Wei saw the big boss Wang Xing, he approached him without hesitation. If not now, when would he make friends with him?

"Hello, senior brother!" Zhang Wei walked over and greeted Wang Xing.

Wang Xing estimated Zhang Wei's age and guessed that he was a student in the Department of Electronic Engineering, which meant he was his junior, so he asked, "Junior, what do you want to talk to me about?"

"Excuse me, are you Senior Brother Wang Xing?" Zhang Wei asked with a smile.

"Junior brother, you know me?" Wang Xing was a little surprised. He thought that he should not be well-known in the Department of Electronic Engineering. Besides, it has been five years since he graduated, so there should not be any young junior brothers who know him!

"My name is Zhang Wei, class of 03, Department of Electronic Engineering, and I have been using the campus network." Zhang Wei answered.

When it comes to the campus network, Wang Xing nodded in sudden realization.

When the campus network was first established, Wang Xing promoted it in various universities in Beijing. Wang Xing had been to Tsinghua University as his goal, so it was reasonable for his junior classmates to remember him.

When he met the user, who was also a junior from the same school and department, Wang Xing let down his guard and the two of them started chatting.

"Brother, I think Xiaonei.com has great development prospects. Have you ever thought about raising funds and then continuing to expand its scale?" Zhang Wei asked.

Speaking of financing, Wang Xing sighed: "Of course we need to raise funds. We have talked to several companies recently, but none of them came to fruition."

"Brother, I can introduce someone to you, Zhou Hongyi, the former CEO of Yahoo China. You must have heard of him. He is in the VIP lounge at the back now. How about I take you there? I heard that he is here on behalf of Sequoia Capital. If he can be noticed by Sequoia Capital, he will definitely be able to obtain a large amount of financing." Zhang Wei asked.

Wang Xing sighed again: "I have met Mr. Zhou before, at Sequoia Capital. As for Sequoia Capital, it's a pity that the deal didn't go through, they didn't want to invest in me."

Wang Xing's words reminded Zhang Wei of an interesting story that was later circulated on the Internet.

It is said that at the end of 2005, Wang Xing went to Sequoia Capital to raise funds for Xiaonei.com, but Sequoia Capital did not know much about social networking sites, so they asked Zhou Hongyi to help with the review.

As a result, Wang Xing showed no enthusiasm when he met Zhou Hongyi. Zhou Hongyi thought that since he was the former CEO of Yahoo China, he didn't even greet him with a smile. He thought that he was too arrogant and would never succeed. So he didn't invest in Xiaonei.

After the news that Sequoia Capital did not invest in Xiaonei.com spread, many investors were deterred from investing in Xiaonei.com. Everyone felt that Sequoia Capital would definitely not make a mistake. Since Sequoia Capital was not optimistic about it, Xiaonei.com would definitely not succeed.

If Wang Xing could get investment from Sequoia Capital, perhaps the situation where Xiaonei.com lacked operating funds and was eventually sold cheaply to Oak Pacific Group would not have occurred.

Zhang Wei was delighted to learn that Xiaonei.com had encountered difficulties in raising funds. So he immediately asked, "Brother, how much money do you plan to raise for Xiaonei.com?"

"If we can raise 8 million RMB, we can survive!" Wang Xing said.

Zhang Wei nodded suddenly, thinking about the Taole in his American account, and asked, "Brother, do you think I can invest in Xiaonei.com?"

"Hehe, junior brother, you have eight million?" Wang Xing just thought Zhang Wei was joking.

"I don't have 8 million RMB this month, but I still have 1 million US dollars," Zhang Wei answered seriously.

Last year, Zhang Wei bought two sea view villas in Qinhai and invested in Weiguang Technology, which cost 8 million RMB. Zhang Wei really cannot afford that now.

Although the money earned from the Three Kingdoms web game in the first month has been deposited into Weiguang Technology's account, it is not yet time to distribute dividends. Moreover, Weiguang Technology will be investing a large sum of money in the development of the DOTA2 game engine, so Zhang Wei does not plan to use the money in Weiguang Technology's account.

Then Zhang Wei had no choice but to use his account in the United States. After all, "The Thirst Games" was the number one bestseller on Amazon, and the royalties were quite high, one million US dollars, which Zhang Wei could afford.

Wang Xing still felt that Zhang Wei was joking. He smiled and said, "Brother Zhang Wei, we are talking about one million US dollars, not one hundred US dollars!"

"Brother, you don't trust me? But that's normal, you don't understand me!" Zhang Wei smiled, took out his business card and handed it to Wang Xing.

"Vice President of Weiguang Technology?" Wang Xing looked at the business card, then looked at Zhang Wei, and asked in surprise: "Is it you?" "Of course it's me! I opened a company with my friends to make online games." Zhang Wei replied.

"Junior brother, you are really a hidden talent! You just said that you are from the class of 03, right? You are only a junior, but you have already started your own business? You are the Bill Gates of China!"

"Actually, I'm a freshman."

"Aren't you level 03?"

"I was in the Department of Electronic Engineering in 03, but was expelled. Then I was admitted back in 04 and studied in the Department of Bioengineering."

"That should be sophomore year!"

"I dropped out of school again, and then got back in 05 and went to the School of Economics and Management, so I'm a freshman now," Zhang Wei replied.

Wang Xing was stunned, thinking, what's going on? There are people like this? How much love do you have for Tsinghua University? You have been applying to Tsinghua University for three consecutive years.

Then he changed his mind and thought again, genius and madness are often just a matter of one thought. A place like Tsinghua University gathers the smartest minds in the country, as well as the most weirdos in the country. Maybe it is even better than a mental hospital.

If judged by the standards of a mental patient, Zhang Wei is already considered a normal person.

Zhang Wei continued with a serious face: "Brother, I am not kidding you. I can really afford 100 million US dollars. Although my game company has just started, it is still profitable."

Seeing Zhang Wei's serious expression, Wang Xing finally felt that Zhang Wei was here to discuss business, so he asked, "Brother Zhang Wei, what games have you developed for your game company?"

"We have only developed one online game so far, called Three Kingdoms Generals. It is a web game. You don't need to download it, you can just click and play it." Zhang Wei replied.

When the game was mentioned, Wang Xing did not react. But when the phrase "No download required, click to play" was heard, Wang Xing thought, why does this phrase sound so familiar? He seemed to have seen it somewhere.

I remembered that when I was surfing the Internet these days, I always saw this sentence when I opened the hao123 homepage, listed together with many website navigations.

I clicked on it, but found it was a web game so I quit. However, the female character image on the game page is so beautiful! The waist-to-body ratio is amazing!
"Are you talking about the online game that gave Diao Chan away?" Wang Xing asked.

"Yes, now we not only give Diao Chan, but also Xiao Qiao and Da Qiao. Brother, have you played it too?"

“I haven’t played it, but I know the game.”

Wang Xing did not show any seriousness. He obviously did not know the power of this pay-to-win web game. If he knew the daily turnover of the Three Kingdoms web game, he would definitely worship Zhang Wei as his sponsor.

Zhang Wei then said, "Brother, if you still don't trust me, I will ask Dean Shen Jiahai to come over and ask him to guarantee me."

"It's trustworthy, definitely trustworthy!" Wang Xing's words sounded like "Yes, yes, yes, you are right", multiple affirmations expressing negation.

Zhang Wei sighed helplessly. It seemed that after a while, he really had to pull Shen Jiahai over before Wang Xing would believe him.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, Junior Brother. I just feel that this is a bit sudden. We have discussed so many financings before, but none of them came to fruition. Suddenly today someone comes and wants to invest in me. This is really unexpected. I haven’t come to my senses yet!

Wang Xing excused himself and then asked, "Junior brother, why do you want to invest in Xiaonei.com? One million US dollars is not a small amount! Do you want to discuss it with your family?"

Wang Xing felt that even if Zhang Wei could really come up with one million US dollars, it must have been given by his family. So Zhang Wei should be a top second-generation rich man.

But even if you are a top second-generation rich, you should discuss it with your parents before spending one million US dollars and give them an explanation.

"I invested in Xiaonei because I think it has potential and I am optimistic about the development of social networking sites. Doesn't the United States have Facebook? I think Xiaonei can also become the Facebook of China."

Zhang Wei paused, then continued, "But I also have conditions. I hope that Xiaonei.com can be fully open for registration within this year."

"Completely open for registration? Even people from the public can register a building?" Wang Xing frowned.

“As far as I know, Facebook is also planning to open up to non-student groups, probably this year.

"Where did you get the news?" Wang Xing asked immediately.

"Amazon!" Zhang Wei made up a lie, then leaned close to Wang Xing's ear and continued, "Actually, I'm also a consultant for Amazon."

"Amazon consultant?" Wang Xing stared at Zhang Wei in surprise, wondering who this young man was!
……

Zhang Wei was really interested in Xiaonei.com, which later became Renren.com.

If we were to talk about the most regrettable brand in the history of China's Internet development, it would be Renren.

At its peak, Renren had 1.7 million active users, and more than % of college students in China were using Renren.

It’s such a pity that a website of this size, especially a social one, didn’t succeed.

The slogan "Go to classmates, find Renren" is a memory for many people born in the 1980s and 1990s.

Now we have QQ, WeChat, Weibo, Tik Tok, and various social software. Even primary school students have Little Tiancai watches. They can add friends by touching each other and contact each other at any time.

But in the 1990s, and even in the first few years of the 21st century, these things did not exist, and even QQ was not popular. After graduation, classmates almost lost contact with each other, and only a yearbook was left, which simply recorded each other's contact information.

Renren has become a great tool for finding old classmates.

Think about the girl you had a crush on when you were in love, but you no longer have her contact information. But now you go to Renren and search for her, and you actually find her homepage and can contact her. Wouldn’t you be happy?
Then I clicked on her homepage and saw that it was full of sweet photos of her and her boyfriend traveling together. Isn't that annoying?

The key point is that your boyfriend is not as tall as you, not as handsome as you, and not as rich as you. Do you hate him?
Renren could have become the Facebook of China. Unfortunately, such an awesome social networking site quickly went out of business due to mistakes in its business strategy.

In fact, Renren only needs to copy Facebook. Whatever Facebook does, Renren will do the same. Anyway, Facebook cannot enter the mainland and will not pose any competition to Renren.

If you don't want to copy Facebook, you can also develop social media properly, such as Twitter, Instagram, or even a sharing-based social media like Xiaohongshu, and you can live a very comfortable life.

But Renren just didn't copy it properly, nor did it do a good job in social media. It had no real substance at all and just did a bunch of things here and there, ruining its core content.

Due to several strategic mistakes, the company missed the opportunity of Internet development, quickly lost users, and completely failed in just a few years.

The reason for this is that Oak Pacific, which operates Renren, is not actually a traditional Internet company, but more like an investment company in Internet disguise.

Oak Pacific is better at capital operation than product and content development. If you give them an excellent product, they can use it to quickly raise funds and even get listed on NASDAQ. As for the operation and development of this product, that's it.

This type of corporate philosophy can make money for investors in the short term, but it is difficult to operate a product steadily.

If Xiaonei.com had not been sold to Oak Pacific but continued to be operated by Wang Xing, perhaps the outcome of Xiaonei.com would have been completely different.

So Zhang Wei decided to take a gamble and bet that Wang Xing had the ability to turn Xiaonei.com into China’s Facebook!

(End of this chapter)