You call this entrepreneurship?

Chapter 568

It's perfectly normal for investors to want to place people in the company.

In all large companies, there are specially set up some high-level and high-salary sinecures to house these people with connections.

Qin Shaoyan didn't care. It was just a matter of spending some money to support a few idle people. These were normal public relations expenses.

"No problem," Qin Shaoyan readily agreed. "The group-buying company is short of a senior business consultant, equivalent to a vice president."

"How about we just give him a vice president position?" Yang Hong suggested directly. "After all, this junior of mine is really talented."

Qin Shaoyan frowned, realizing that things were not as simple as he had thought.

"Mr. Yang," Qin Shaoyan pondered for a moment, "the group-buying business company has just been established, and the management team structure is still undergoing technical adjustments. We will consider all aspects when selecting specific candidates."

Yang Hong waved his hand, seemingly not understanding Qin Shaoyan's polite refusal at all. "The team has just been formed, which is a good time. Adjusting the team leader will not affect the business, and there is time for everyone to work together."

"The person I recommend is Yang Baitao. He used to work for Dazhong.com and was very popular in Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other parts of South China. He has extensive experience in marketing and promotion."

“He has a lot of connections in Shanghai, and the group-buying business is a good place for him to leverage his strengths.”

Seeing Qin Shaoyan remain silent, Yang Hong continued to persuade him, "Of course I have no objection to the person appointed by President Qin. I also attach great importance to the group-buying business and would not send a good-for-nothing to mess up future plans."

"Yang Baitao is very capable no matter what. Let him try in Shanghai first. Even if problems arise, they can be rectified in time and will not affect the overall situation."

"I'm prepared to raise thirty million US dollars, what do you think?"

Thirty million US dollars, which is roughly two hundred million RMB, is double the price Qin Shaoyan had asked for.

Yang Hong bought a vice president position at a group-buying company for 30 million US dollars; this is a deal worth considering.

However, Yang Hong seems rather eager to place people into the group-buying company.

"President Yang is very confident." Qin Shaoyan smiled. "Then it's settled. I will make proper arrangements for Yang Baitao's position."

Yang Hong smiled, clearly pleased, and shook hands with Qin Shaoyan. "It's a deal. I'll have Yang Baitao come to the company tomorrow."

Qin Shaoyan casually said, "There's no need to rush. After all, the group-buying business is still in the preparation stage, and there isn't that much work to do yet."

"The more we prepare, the more important the work becomes." Yang Hong said, then quickly changed the subject, "Of course, I believe that under President Qin's wise leadership, the group-buying business will definitely be a great success."

"You flatter me." Qin Shaoyan said politely, still pondering how to deal with Yang Baitao, when he saw Yang Hong had already stood up.

“Mr. Qin is very busy, so I won’t bother you any longer.” Yang Hong took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to Qin Shaoyan. “My contact information and email address are on this. You can contact me anytime if you need anything.”

Qin Shaoyan casually took the business card.

Yang Hong suddenly added, "I have worked in the financial industry for many years and have some friends in foreign banks. If Mr. Qin has any needs for capital turnover between China and the United States, or currency exchange business, he can contact me."

"Both UBS and Silicon Valley Bank are acceptable."

Qin Shaoyan was taken aback, then smiled and said, "I'll definitely come to you if I need anything."

After seeing Yang Hong off, Qin Shaoyan frowned.

Yang Hong is no simple man.

They went to such great lengths to get people into Qin Shaoyan's company, and even made it clear that they didn't want the kind of backed-up, easy positions, but rather powerful and capable vice president positions.

The people planted here certainly weren't drawn by Qin Shaoyan's charm; they brought their own food and supplies, united around President Qin, and contributed to the construction of the Sentinel Group, making President Qin's wealth even greater.

Yang Baitao is both an informant and someone who wants to gain a voice.

The Sentinel Group has always been Qin Shaoyan's personal fiefdom, with no second voice within it.

The reason for this situation is twofold: firstly, Qin Shaoyan started from scratch and brought the entire Sentinel Group to its current level.

Qin Shaoyan enjoys immense personal prestige within the group, which he has built up entirely through one victory after another.

The internal staff have now reached a consensus that President Qin's decision is beyond question.

Any decision made by President Qin is bound to be correct and will undoubtedly become a new trend in the internet industry in the next few years. After all, the track record is verifiable, leaving you with no grounds for doubt.

On the other hand, Qin Shaoyan intentionally or unintentionally suppressed the executives' various unrealistic ideas.

This is to prevent the Sentinel Group from investing resources in the wrong areas and wasting time and money.

This also prevents certain executives from becoming too powerful and controlling due to their achievements.

Qin Shaoyan has poured a tremendous amount of effort into developing the Sentinel Group to its current size, and it has long become an important part of his life.

He would never allow anyone to fight for power and profit at the expense of the group, nor would he allow outsiders to seize the fruits of their labor.

Qin Shaoyan had discussed the issue of having more say in the company with investors more than once.

Fortunately, most of the investors were understanding and, in addition to confirming Qin Shaoyan's say in the contract, they also supported him in various ways.

In particular, IDG's Xiong Xiaoge and Sequoia's Zheng Nan have publicly stated that Sentinel Group can only succeed under President Qin's leadership.

Although they have placed many people with connections into the group, they do not ask for any positions of real power.

But Yang Hong is different; he not only wants to place his own people in key positions, but also wants a vice president with real power.

In addition, the fact that Yang Hong had previously placed a secretary in his president's office made Qin Shaoyan wary.

After returning to his office, Qin Shaoyan called Yang Ke, the person in charge of the group-buying business, over and explained the situation to him.

When Yang Ke heard that the investors were going to send a vice president over, her expression became somewhat conflicted.

Seeing that the other party was hesitant to speak, Qin Shaoyan said directly, "You can say whatever you want to say."

"President Qin," Yang Ke hesitated for a moment, "can we refuse this person?"

"No," Qin Shaoyan replied decisively. "Yang Hong spent a lot of money, thirty million US dollars. He's bound to be swayed by those offers."

"I'm afraid this person will keep causing trouble after he arrives," Yang Ke said with a bitter face. "Everything else is a minor matter, but I'm worried it will affect our group-buying business."

“I understand your concerns,” Qin Shaoyan smiled. “However, I don’t think Yang Baitao will go too far.”

"After all, Yang Hong spent so much money to get him in here so that he could achieve results, not mess things up."

"It's unlikely from a managerial standpoint, but objectively it's hard to say," Yang Ke sighed.

"Can you completely sideline him?" Qin Shaoyan asked Yang Ke with a smile.

Yang Ke paused for a moment, then hesitated, "How capable is he?"

“He does have some ability, but he’s definitely not as good as me,” Qin Shaoyan replied. “He has quite a few connections in Shanghai. Back then, Campus Network and Dazhong Network were fiercely competing in Shanghai, and I used some tricks to defeat them.”

Yang Ke thought for a moment and said, "That should be fine. As long as we expedite the approval of funds and the appointment of personnel, things will be easy."

"However, I'm worried that if I don't handle things properly, Yang Baitao might complain to the investors."

"It's okay, I'll take the pressure from the investors." Qin Shaoyan said nonchalantly, "If Yang Baitao can't handle it, then it's his problem. If he can swallow his pride and complain, I can also shamelessly play games with the investors."

"However, we should still unite when necessary and not let the relationship become too strained."

Yang Ke smiled and said, "I will be careful, President Qin."

"Oh, right, there's one more thing," Qin Shaoyan suddenly said, "Arrange for another person to join the group-buying company."

Yang Ke agreed without hesitation, "No problem, who do you want to send over?"

"My father-in-law."

"Huh?" Yang Ke was completely stunned.

(End of this chapter)