You call this entrepreneurship?

Chapter 243 News
Qin Shaoyan was not surprised by Zheng Nan's reaction. Xiong Xiaoge must have informed him in advance, and the two of them had discussed it beforehand.

However, even though he already knew Zheng Nan's opinion, Qin Shaoyan still wanted to make the call.

Qin Shaoyan hesitated for two seconds, "But YouTube in the United States has already negotiated with me, and they will send someone over for an interview soon."

"What?" Zheng Nan was shocked. It was only the first day of the new year.

Qin Shaoyan gave him such a surprise?
"Qin Shaoyan!" Zheng Nan was furious. "Why did you just tell me about such a big thing? You are violating our shareholders' right to know!"

"Boss Zheng, how can you slander someone's innocence out of thin air?" Qin Shaoyan retorted, "Didn't I already tell you?"

"What's the point of telling me after you've already negotiated it?" Zheng Nan was so angry that his nose was crooked.

"I just agreed to meet with them for a talk. President Zheng, there's no need for you to get so excited." Qin Shaoyan snorted coldly, "I'll let you know when they come over. It's up to you whether you want to meet and talk or not."

Qin Shaoyan hung up the phone, then found Xu Xin's number and called her.

"Hello, Mr. Xu, Happy New Year! Wish you good fortune and all the best!"

Xu Xin was a little confused by such enthusiastic New Year greetings, and responded casually, "Thank you, President Qin. I also wish you a happy New Year and all the best."

"Mr. Xu, today is the first day of the Chinese New Year. I'm here to wish you a happy new year and tell you a piece of good news." Qin Shaoyan said cheerfully, "YouTube will be sending a representative to meet you soon. Mr. Xu, would you like to come along?"

Xu Xin was a little confused, "What is YouTube doing here?"

"Eh, Mr. Xu, didn't you know?" Qin Shaoyan was a little surprised. "YouTube wants to acquire Qvod.com. They are willing to pay 120 million US dollars for it, but I think this offer is too low. It should be doubled at least."

"What do you think, Mr. Xu?"

Xu Xin was a little dumbfounded. What do you mean by how should I see it?
What can I watch?!

"When did YouTube say it wanted to acquire Qvod? Why didn't I know about this?" Xu Xin asked anxiously. "Boss Qin, this is a bit unfair of you. Why didn't you inform us shareholders about such a big thing? We also have the right to know."

"Huh?!" Qin Shaoyan was a little surprised, "Didn't Mr. Xiong tell you?"

"Mr. Xiong came to inspect me a while ago, and I informed him. We also exchanged views frankly and had a lively discussion."

Xu Xin suppressed the doubts in her heart and said calmly: "Boss Qin, let's not talk about this matter for now. Tell me why you want to sell Qvod?"

"Something new has happened at YouTube, and they are eager to increase their valuation, so they have set their sights on Qvod." Qin Shaoyan paused for two seconds and said, "And I also think this price is very suitable. After all, Qvod has only been online for more than a month, and it is already very good to be able to sell it at this price."

"Qvod.com has great potential, Mr. Qin." Xu Xin said anxiously, "Don't do stupid things just for a little profit, Mr. Qin."

"Qvod.com is developing so well, and it has great potential for going public. You must keep it steady."

"I've thought about this as well." Qin Shaoyan sighed, "Boss Xu, to be honest, Qvod has indeed developed quite well, but I'm still a little unsure."

"I am pessimistic about whether Qvod can make money in the future. What if the video website track doesn't work? Wouldn't that mean the venture capital money is wasted?"

"I think it would be better to sell the website now and cash out, so that the venture capitalists can also get a high return."

"This way I can live up to your expectations of me, Mr. Xu."

Do we venture capitalists lack your returns?
Xu Xin suppressed her anxiety and said gently, "Boss Qin, the business model of video websites is being explored step by step, and it will take time to make a profit."

"You can't achieve success overnight. Many websites can't make a profit in three to five years. Why should Mr. Qin be in such a hurry?"

"We venture capitalists focus on the future and will not require short-term returns from Mr. Qin."

Qin Shaoyan sighed, "That's true, but who can predict market changes for sure?"

"Boss Qin, when we invest in venture capital projects, we are actually gambling," Xu Xin consoled him, "We are not only betting on projects and markets, but also on entrepreneurs."

"Although I haven't had much contact with Mr. Qin, Mr. Xiong has spoken highly of you. I think with your ability, you can definitely make a video website a success."

"Then I would like to thank Mr. Xu for his good wishes." Qin Shaoyan calmed down his emotions and said, "I hope we can work together to make the website better."

"Mr. Qin, just go ahead and do your job. We venture capitalists will just focus on investing money." Xu Xin breathed a sigh of relief.

"Speaking of investing money." Qin Shaoyan pondered for two seconds, "Mr. Xu, the previous round of financing for Qvod has been spent. Let's find a time after the New Year to discuss the second round of financing."

Xu Xin was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously asked: "How much do you want to borrow?"

"The original plan was to raise 24 million US dollars, but now we're not sure, let's wait and see." Qin Shaoyan said casually.

"Twenty-four million dollars?!" Xu Xin was stunned. "What is the valuation of your website?"

"Didn't I tell you? YouTube is willing to buy it for 120 million US dollars." Qin Shaoyan answered seriously, "But I think it's too low. Let's talk about it again. I'll notify President Xu when they give a new offer."

"After all, this is the only way to reflect the true value of Qvod."

"..."Xu Xin was stunned.

She felt that what Qin Shaoyan said made a lot of sense and didn't know how to refute him.

After hanging up the phone with Qin Shaoyan, Xu Xin immediately called Xiong Xiaoge and asked directly: "Boss Xiong, we are partners after all, why didn't you inform me of such a big thing?"

Xiong Xiaoge was stunned for a moment, "What's the matter?"

Xu Xin was speechless. Xiong Xiaoge, are you pretending to be confused in front of me?

"It's about Qin Shaoyan wanting to sell Qvod." Xu Xin said unhappily, "Boss Xiong, Qin Shaoyan told me that you were the first person he notified. Why didn't you try to persuade him?"

Xiong Xiaoge's face suddenly darkened, "Boss Xu, how do you know I didn't persuade you?"

"The YouTube people are all coming to China for interviews. How can you persuade them?" Xu Xin couldn't help but say, "Qin Shaoyan is now waiting for YouTube to make an offer."

"Huh?" Xiong Xiaoge was shocked. I just celebrated the Spring Festival, and things turned out like this?

"You said people from YouTube are coming to China? How did you get this news?"

"Qin Shaoyan told me this himself, just now." Xu Xin frowned, "Boss Xiong, how should we deal with this matter? Should we invite Boss Zheng and the others to meet and discuss it?"

"It's okay, don't panic." Xiong Xiaoge said calmly, "Qin Shaoyan is trying to trick us. There's no way the YouTube people can come so quickly."

"Boss Xiong." Xu Xin was a little anxious, "What if Qin Shaoyan really wants to sell Qvod?"

"He can't sell it!" Xiong Xiaoge said firmly, "Then we can use legal means to drag Qvod into a lawsuit, and the acquisition will not be discussed."

Xu Xin frowned, "Boss Xiong, isn't this a bit too much?"

"How can we achieve our goal without using drastic measures?" Xiong Xiaoge said seriously, "Qin Shaoyan is a man with a lot of bad intentions. Although he is young, he does things in unexpected ways and has wild and unconventional ideas that are hard to understand."

"To deal with Sun Wukong, you have to suppress him under the Five Finger Mountain before he behaves." Xu Xin sighed, "I'm afraid it will get too awkward. After all, we have cooperated with him on more than one project."

"Don't worry, I know my limits." Xiong Xiaoge comforted.

As soon as Xu Xin hung up the phone, Zheng Nan called again.

Xiong Xiaoge pinched his forehead helplessly, "It's only the first day of the new year, and it's so chaotic."

……

Qin Shaoyan, the instigator, was now leisurely eating. He reheated the leftovers from yesterday's New Year's Eve dinner and cooked some frozen dumplings, which tasted particularly delicious.

He guessed that Xiong Xiaoge must be having a headache at this time. Today happened to be the first day of the Lunar New Year, so he would strengthen Xiong's strength later.

After eating and drinking, Qin Shaoyan drank tea while dialing the phone number in the United States.

"Good evening, Fred."

“What’s the weather like in Silicon Valley?”

"It's sunny here, not bad." Fred laughed, "It should be the Chinese New Year over there, Happy New Year John!"

"Thank you, Fred." Qin Shaoyan said with a smile, "Any New Year's gift?"

"I've prepared a Microsoft XBOX game console for you. Would you like me to express it to you?" Fred asked.

"No need to be so troublesome, just send someone to deliver it to me directly." Qin Shaoyan said seriously, "Is that okay?"

Fred was a little surprised. "Why send someone over? Is there any special reason?"

"Of course, I originally planned to give you a New Year's gift, but this matter seems a bit problematic." Qin Shaoyan sighed.

"What New Year's gift?" Fred asked curiously, "You prepared a surprise for me?"

"It's just a little surprise." Qin Shaoyan said, "I also set up a video website in China, did you know?"

"Oh, I heard about that," Fred asked casually. "How about that website?"

"It's developing very well. We already have more than three million users." Qin Shaoyan said happily, "Its development speed has exceeded my imagination. It is expected to have five million users by the end of the month."

"Wow." Fred also whistled in surprise. "That's really an amazing achievement, John. You made the right choice in the video website model again."

"Thank you for your compliment, but this is just the beginning." Qin Shaoyan said with a smile, "YouTube's achievements are also quite amazing. I think it's time to take YouTube to a new level."

Fred immediately became serious, "John, what are you going to do?"

"Let's hype up YouTube's valuation first." Qin Shaoyan said calmly, "I think investors would also like to see this."

"Then how do we drive up the valuation?" Fred asked cooperatively.

Qin Shaoyan smiled and said, "How about letting YouTube acquire Qvod?"

"Qvod has accumulated a lot of users in China, and we have obtained authorization from administrative agencies and obtained some licenses."

"You have to know that having a license in the Chinese domestic market means you have access, which is a very high threshold."

Fred's eyes lit up. "I think the investors will like this news. How much do you plan to offer?"

"How about 240 million US dollars?" Qin Shaoyan said casually.

"Two hundred and forty million?! For real." Fred was shocked. "This price is too high."

"Not high, not high at all." Qin Shaoyan said confidently, "Because YouTube's valuation is higher, so spending 240 million US dollars to buy China's video website is the only way to match YouTube's value."

Fred hesitated. "What is YouTube's valuation?"

Qin Shaoyan hesitated for two seconds, "I have some inside information to share with you, I hope you don't tell anyone else."

"Okay, I swear I won't tell anyone." Fred asked curiously, "What news did you hear?"

"Google plans to acquire YouTube, and their offer is $800 million." Qin Shaoyan said slowly, "Of course, this offer is not the final price."

"Wow, eight hundred million dollars." Fred gasped, "Is this true?!"

"Google is still considering this matter and has not made it public." Qin Shaoyan said seriously, "But I think $800 million is far from the upper limit for YouTube. YouTube has great potential, and this number can be doubled."

"Wow!" Fred couldn't help but exclaimed, "Can it reach $16 billion?"

"That's great, we'll all be billionaires, I'm going to buy a house and a yacht."

"Don't be too happy yet. I think it will be acquired in the form of cash and stock." Qin Shaoyan said with a smile, "Since Google is interested, I think there are more companies interested in YouTube. It's better to wait and see."

"OK." Fred became excited. "John, what should we do now?"

"Ask YouTube to send a few executives here." Qin Shaoyan hesitated for two seconds. "I'll contact the venture capital firm later. Even if I don't notify Taylor from Sequoia, I'll have to tell Mr. Davis from Microsoft."

"Okay, no problem. I'll ask the people from YouTube to prepare and we'll set off tomorrow." Fred said happily.

After the two chatted about some details, they hung up. Qin Shaoyan smiled and called Davis, the vice president of Microsoft Investment.

Davis' secretary answered the phone and then apologized to Qin Shaoyan, "Mr. Davis is in a meeting. If you have any messages, please let me know first and I will pass them on."

Qin Shaoyan said with some regret, "Just tell Mr. Davis that I want to talk to him about something, please reply as soon as possible."

After hanging up the phone, Qin Shaoyan started thinking again, trying to see if there were any other people he could use.

This matter needs to first hype up Qvod, and then release the news of YouTube's acquisition.

First, start with domestic websites and let the internet trolls write more gossip. Then, the news media will scrape the news from the Internet and reprint it in print media.

This is not enough, news should be created on foreign websites first and then transferred back to domestic media.

The news of export-to-domestic sales seems much more reliable. Fortunately, this trick can still be used now, unlike the era of the rise of mobile Internet, when everyone has become immune to it after it has been used so many times.

When Qin Shaoyan was thinking about it, his cell phone suddenly vibrated.

Looking carefully at the caller ID, it turned out to be Liu Mingzu's call.

(End of this chapter)