King of Capital

"The traffic ports provided to us by Didi and Xinda E were very promising last month, so the subsidy activities will be adjusted to focus on new users."

After a brief greeting, Wang Xiaofeng took the lead in communicating with the two investors, with his idea clearly pointing to burning money.

Liu Qing opened a box of mixed pork head meat and saw that there was too much coriander. He didn't like it and pushed it to Xie Jingxing. He reminded him in a relaxed state: "The impact of winter temperature on new users in December is a problem."

"There are three directions. The first is to operate the daily active users and maintain the turnover rate of bicycle usage frequency through activities such as 'cycling red envelopes'."

Wang Xiaofeng had already made preparations: "Secondly, for new users, we will launch activities such as free deposit for trial rides based on the credit point system to reduce the cost of use for new users and increase user stickiness through interactive methods."

"Finally, we will provide low-priced monthly cycling passes and limited-time free cycling during New Year's Day and Spring Festival in batches to boost overall user growth. We do not encourage users to ride in winter, but we will do our best to serve users who have cycling needs."

His summary is clear and logical. It is not just Mobike that has to survive the winter, but the entire industry must go through it. The key lies in how everyone can use their own skills to get through the cyclical lows and how they will greet next spring.

This truth was tacitly understood by the four people present. Xie Jingxing and Liu Qing could not say it directly: From a scientific and objective perspective, humans cannot change the natural climate, and business is difficult, so let it be.

Wang Xiaofeng didn't want to pick up the chopsticks, drink wine and eat meat, grin and say something like "our colleagues are helpless and it's only human nature that we are helpless."

When he first joined Mobike at the end of November last year, he followed Hu Weiwei to Zhuhai as president to report to the company's largest investor.

At that time, Xie Jingxing was sitting in the study like an emperor, and his assistant Song Anli was like a female official, informing the ministers who came to see the emperor that they only had half an hour to see him.

He was dressed in casual home clothes and looked a little haggard. It was said that he had just been discharged from the hospital due to a cold. He spoke in a soft and light tone, ignoring the report PPT that had been carefully prepared for several days, asked a few simple questions, and then scolded Hu Weiwei to cherish the development opportunity period.

Wang Xiaofeng still remembers clearly every detail of how he stood still and was transparent the entire time.

After that, he was promoted to CEO and has been in charge of the company for a whole year. In March, the "credit score" system was launched, cooperating with Tencent to lay the foundation for financial product functions on the mobile payment port, and simultaneously collecting its own information data to develop a future transportation big data open platform strategy.

In May, ofo's yellow bikes broke out of the campus, and Mobike took the lead by launching a cycling coupon campaign, completing its full occupation of first-tier cities and moving on to develop second-tier cities.

In June, it signed a contract with Foxconn to manufacture the 'light bike version' of its iterative bicycle, reducing the manufacturing cost to less than RMB 6 per unit.

In September, we introduced strategic investment from Xinda'e, and in November, we launched support for traffic entry from both Didi and Xinda'e...

Wang Xiaofeng believed that he had responded to Xie Jingxing with practical actions, and had not wasted every minute of the golden development period. Now he was ready to officially welcome the war, and he only needed to step on a node to sweep the market with overwhelming force.

"At present, there are more than 12 bicycles in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chengdu, and the number of bicycles needs to be increased. In addition, a large number of new second-tier cities need to be developed."

He first reported the situation and then pointed out the key point - financing.

"Our next generation of bicycles is under development, and the cost can be reduced to 1300 yuan per bicycle. Foxconn needs to build a production line specifically for us to expand production capacity."

Wang Xiaofeng put down his chopsticks and said solemnly: "It is not cost-effective for us to simply use money to buy production lines. Foxconn has the idea of ​​using production lines as investment funds to buy shares in us. In general, Mobike needs to launch a round of large-scale strategic financing to enhance product competitiveness and increase market share through subsidized marketing."

"Who says the Internet is a virtual economy? It's clearly a combination of the virtual and the real. All the money we make is made by the real industry." Liu Qing complained while drinking beer in high spirits.

Wang Xiaofeng smiled knowingly and continued, "Financing will be completed as soon as possible, and Foxconn will be able to start production around March next year."

"Business development this winter is indeed difficult, but at the macro level there are good opportunities to prepare for expansion." Liu Qing encouraged without reservation.

The investors have discussed privately many times recently, and basically all of them agree to launch a new round of large-scale strategic financing. Now the showdown is just to listen to the suggestions or decisions of the largest investor Xie Jingxing on the financing plan.

Last spring at the Lanshi Entrepreneurship Camp of Jiaotong University, Xie Jingxing proposed the idea of ​​shared bicycles to Hu Weiwei, who founded Mobike in the summer and received a total of US$500 million in seed round investments from Taihe Xiyou and US$50 from Li Bin.

Later, when the bicycles entered the mass production stage, Li Bin invested US$200 million in the angel round.

With these two sums of money, Mobike completed the trial operation of its product in Shanghai. During the Internet Conference in November, Xie Jingxing brought in a total of US$11 million in Series A financing led by Tencent and Didi.

Li Bin and his friend Liu Erhai, Kai-Fu Lee Innovation Works, Temasek's Vertex Capital and Taihe Capital all invested in the game.

After that, in June this year, it raised US$6 million in the A+ round of financing. It originally wanted to bring in Foxconn but failed to reach an agreement. Then the US dollar fund giants Warburg Pincus and Sequoia Capital led the investment, and all early investors including Grapefruit, Tencent, and Didi followed suit.

And in October, the B round of financing was 10 million, led by New DAE and Hillhouse Capital. At this point, Li Bin and his friends were so full that they were unable to continue investing.

Xiyou and Tencent are still continuing, and a large number of small and medium-sized venture capital institutions are following suit.

In just over a year, Mobike raised a total of US$1.255 million in five rounds of financing, enabling it to deploy one million bicycles and have one million daily active users.

Apart from misappropriating user deposits and bank loans, Xie Jingxing gradually found large amounts of bridge funding for it, which enabled him to maneuver the nearly 30 billion financial plate.

如此折腾下来摩拜单车股权结构为：胡玮炜个人持股29.4%、太禾西柚共持有22.75%股份、腾讯9%，李斌8%、滴滴和新大饿各自6%左右，剩余风投股东与期权池。

It is obvious that the overall financing pace is too fast, and Hu Weiwei and the founding team's shareholdings are severely diluted.

As Xie Jingxing continued to invest, he became the second largest shareholder. He sought bridge financing to delay the financing process and try to make Mobike's data perform better and achieve a higher valuation.

Although Liu Qing had basically discussed the financing plan with Wang Xiaofeng, before the second largest shareholder made his suggestion, he would at most give some nice words of support but would never make the final decision on his behalf.

But the atmosphere seemed a little off. After waiting patiently for a few minutes without receiving any feedback, she coughed and jokingly asked, "What's up, Marshal? Are you satisfied with Mobike's performance this year?"

"I am deeply moved!"

Xie Jingxing slowly put down his bowl and looked to the side: "Hu Weiwei, should I reward you?"

"..."

Hu Weiwei curled up between the sofa and the coffee table, sitting on the carpet with her knees bent and holding a bottle of wine in both hands, her face flushed and smiling.

Wang Xiaofeng opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but Liu Qing quietly signaled him with his eyes to be patient. He closed his mouth, smiled faintly, filled the glass with wine and drank it.

"Ah? Why don't you talk anymore?"

In the silence, Hu Weiwei suddenly came to her senses. Facing three gazes staring at her in unison, she felt confused and at a loss.

Xie Jingxing asked seriously: "Is the Fuqi Feipian delicious?"

"It's delicious." Hu Weiwei nodded stupidly.

"I bought it especially for you, eat more."

Xie Jingxing moved his body to sit close to her, restrained his expression and said seriously: "After serious discussion and careful decision at the board meeting, the new round of financing resolution was approved. The valuation of 20 billion US dollars will increase by 10% of the shares, and Tencent and Foxconn will jointly lead the investment."

"Applause!" Liu Qing couldn't help laughing and clapping his hands in applause. Wang Xiaofeng breathed a sigh of relief, raised his glass and said, "For the $20 billion valuation!"

"Congratulations."

Xie Jingxing stretched out his arm and knocked the wine bottle in Hu Weiwei's arms with his wine glass. His flushed face became visibly redder.

A valuation of US$20 billion a year is an achievement that Didi and New Dangshen have never achieved, but they have joined forces with Tencent and Taihe Xiyou to lift Mobike to great heights.

With a return rate of more than twenty times on paper, at least tonight Xie Jingxing had no reason not to accept it, and could only watch the world silently.

"It gets dark very early in Beijing in winter. One day, after work, several employees gathered on the side of the road doing something in the dark. I approached and saw that they were using their cell phones to illuminate the mechanical locks of the shared bikes. From the small to the big, this afternoon, Jinshajiang CEO Zhu and CEO Xie debated and believed that it was completely nonsense that Mobike was over-serving its users."

"Next spring, the next generation of bikes will also have a completely new iteration of smart locks. I have to thank Weiwei, Mr. Xie, Tencent and Mr. Cheng for that. Everyone emphasized that we should not be afraid of spending money on smart locks. Mobike chose the right technology direction when it was first established."

"Because Didi has suffered losses, we have been fighting with Uber for so long. From the beginning, the platform technology was weak in every way and now we are tied. The money we spent is astronomical. It must be technology-driven. In this regard, I can transfer several experienced experts to help you with operations."

"No problem. We are short on manpower in a fight with the yellow bikes, so we will definitely ask you for help."

"Oh, by the way, Mr. Xie, the marketing poster you and Weiwei shot together last year was very effective. Let's shoot it again. It's not easy for Weiwei to manage brand operations and overseas market layout now. You have to help her."

Wang Xiaofeng's face was flushed and he was drunk, and he controlled the situation and the atmosphere with ease.

When he was nearly 40 years old, he jumped from Uber China to Mobike and teamed up with a literary girl. He was in charge of platform operations and strategic financing, and made the triple jump from president to CEO and co-founder.

He is extremely confident that his late success will come today and he will build a career of his own.

Liu Qing lazily rested his chin with one hand, feeling a little regretful. Mobike is destined to become part of Didi's strategic map and the best solution for the last mile of travel.

However, the valuation was too high and they were unable to make a full acquisition. Xie Jingxing had a sharp eye and Taihe Pomelo entered the market really early.

Hate it, why didn't he suggest Didi to run its own shared bike project?
Now that things have come to this, let’s take it one step at a time. It would be perfect if a few senior executives could be sent to join Mobike to increase their voice.

Hu Weiwei put down her wine bottle and started eating. Liu Qing and Wang Xiaofeng were chatting and laughing with each other, and she kept stuffing food into her mouth.

A founder was completely sidelined without anyone noticing, and was forced to serve as the company's spiritual symbol, posing for promotional posters and accepting media interviews. Even his speeches at important conferences were replaced.

What else can we do except to cover up the embarrassment in a pale and feeble way?
…………

As the night deepened, Xie Jingxing escorted Liu Qing and the other person out of the room, then leaned against the door and pondered for a long time.

He forced a smile and casually turned his head to look at the grooming mirror at the entrance, then immediately returned to his normal expression. He shrugged helplessly and raised his middle finger to the mirror.

He walked back to the living room, sat down in front of the coffee table and said softly, "Eating too much at night is not good for your stomach."

Hu Weiwei remained silent, chewing the mixed vegetables in big mouthfuls, her cheeks puffed up and the corners of her mouth stained with chili red oil, looking like a miserable famine victim.

"The promotional posters of Liu Qing and Cheng Wei are too ugly. We two handsome men and beautiful women need to make the best use of our talents. Don't get fat." Xie Jingxing remained patient.

Hu Weiwei paused, her fingertips holding the chopsticks trembling slightly, she lowered her head and swallowed with all her strength.

"Or you drink."

Xie Jingxing came closer and grabbed her wrist: "I won't sleep tonight, I'll drink with you all night."

"Clap, clap."

Tears fell into the rice bowl. Hu Weiwei let go of her chopsticks and said in a sour voice: "One year I drove through Manchester when I went to England."

"It was raining late that day, and the road was very dark. I was the only one driving. As I drove on, I gradually saw many shirtless Manchester United fans drinking beer and singing in the rain, Oasis's "Champagne Supernova."

She sniffed and controlled her tone. "The first time I heard the lyrics 'One day you'll find me and see me buried by a mudslide,' I burst into tears for some reason. I cried so hard. It was only when I thought of this incident that I couldn't help crying again. Really."

"..."

Xie Jingxing was speechless. Although it was normal for venture capitalists to deal with strange things, abstract middle-aged literary women were rare after all. Even if his cerebellum turned with his heels, he couldn't understand their thoughts.

He paused for a moment and said, "I've been to Manchester. The natural scenery of the Lake District there is very beautiful."

"Can we choose Manchester as Mobike's first overseas stop?" Hu Weiwei raised her head with misty eyes.

Xie Jingxing was silent for a few seconds before pulling out a tissue and handing it to her: "No problem, you are in charge of overseas business, you make the decision."

"I don't know how to manage and I don't have experience, but I can learn."

Hu Weiwei took the tissue and didn't have time to wipe the spicy oil off the corners of her mouth. She couldn't hold back her tears and said aggrievedly, "Li Bin said at the beginning that Wang Xiaofeng was here to help me. I really believed in him and all of you."

"Li Bin asked me to give Wang Xiaofeng shares and asked me to listen to you and cooperate with Didi to get the money from Xindana. I agreed to everything without thinking, but they teamed up to ignore me." She couldn't control herself and express her feelings.

Xie Jingxing was willing to look into her eyes and say, "So you have a teardrop mole."

Li Bin, who had known her for many years, worked with several investors to quietly and tacitly sideline her. He didn't even communicate with her once during the entire process and instead took advantage of her trust.

"You have contributed money, effort and resources to get Mobike to where it is today. I am just a mascot. Why don't you choose someone else..."

Hu Weiwei gradually stopped talking, folded her arms, and blinked her red eyes timidly.

Xie Jing Xing ignored him and smiled to confirm, "You mean, Wang Xiaofeng is Li Bin's man?"

"Wang Xiaofeng used to work in Uber China's Shanghai Marketing Department. Li Bin introduced them to each other, so they have known each other for a long time." Hu Weiwei realized something and replied in a faint tone.

“Go find Li Xiang, right now, and lead a round of investment in Ideal!”

Xie Jingxing hung up the phone call to Su He, put his hands on Hu Weiwei's shoulders and said seriously: "Listen carefully, you are the ideal soul of Mobike, no one can replace you."

"You, don't be like this, I'm married and much older than you."

"..." (End of this chapter)