Reborn, back to a small county town to become a wealthy family

Chapter 810 More Than One Person Fell into the Trap

In terms of family background, Xiao Wei's family is already considered quite well-off.

My father is the president of a top-tier university, and my mother is the deputy director of the cardiac surgery department at a top-tier hospital in Shanghai. Even in a city like Shanghai, their income would be considered among the top of the middle class.

But even adding it all up, it doesn't amount to three or four hundred million!

Moreover, this is a one-time income, without taking into account the value of Kunpeng Technology's shares or the value of Gray Rhino Capital's shares.

She was also very envious.

"Are you envious?"

Luo Yang immediately saw through Xiao Wei's feelings and said to her with a smile, "Work hard. After two more rounds of financing, Edifier Technology will definitely be aiming for an IPO. At that time, investment institutions will definitely require the company to set aside a share pool. As an executive like the CEO, you should be able to get about 2% of the shares. Based on the company's valuation at that time, becoming a billionaire should be no problem."

At this point, he started clicking his tongue.

"Senior, by then you'll only have graduated from school three or four years ago, right?"

Luo Yang teased her, saying, "In the history of our alma mater, you are definitely the most outstanding female alumna."

Whether it was from excitement or something else, Xiao Wei immediately blushed, the redness spreading all the way down to her neck.

"Ugh"

Song Wan sighed, "Xiao Wei, you've fallen into a trap, and you can't get out. Our boss is really something else when it comes to this!"

"Pfft!"

Xiao Wei couldn't help but laugh out loud: "President Song, so you've jumped into the trap the chairman dug even before me."

"You."

After a moment of stunned silence, Song Wan said to Xiao Wei meaningfully, "You're still too young."

Although she is currently single, she has dated before, so how could she not see through Xiao Wei's little scheme?
It seems that if Luo Yang just beckons with his finger, this girl will be like a moth drawn to a flame.

Let's compromise.

Seeing that the topic might steer towards him, Luo Yang quickly got back to business: "Use the second plan, but stagger the timing of the promotion in Shanghai and Shenzhen. Start the promotion in Shanghai first, and then start the city promotion in Shenzhen after collecting the first batch of relevant data."

During the promotion of shared bicycles in cities, it is necessary to collect some data to support effective operation and decision-making.

The most important items include user data and geographic data.

The former collects users' personal information, such as name, contact information, and registration information, to facilitate management and provide better services; the latter collects the starting and ending points of the ride, as well as the route information, which helps to analyze popular riding routes and areas and provide a basis for future vehicle deployment.

Another important aspect is collecting vehicle usage data.

This data records the frequency of use, time, location, and riding distance of each vehicle. This data helps to understand users' riding habits and preferences, thereby optimizing vehicle deployment and scheduling.

In addition, there is vehicle data. During the promotion period, the company needs to collect status information for each vehicle, such as whether it is damaged, its battery level, and its location, to ensure the normal operation and timely maintenance of the vehicles. Environmental data during riding, such as weather conditions, temperature, and humidity, are also collected, as these factors may affect users' riding willingness and behavior.

Of course, it is also important to gather information about competitors during the promotion period.

Information such as competitors' market share, service offerings, and pricing strategies can be collected to develop more competitive market strategies.

Finally, we collect feedback data, including user evaluations and suggestions on the service, such as the app's user experience and customer service satisfaction, to continuously improve service quality.
What is the interval between the separate promotions in the two cities?

Song Wan asked a more detailed question: "If the time interval between the two plans is relatively long, more than half of the significance of adopting the second plan will be lost."

"You're just hoping someone will take advantage of the situation so you can use your follow-up methods, aren't you?"

Luo Yang pursed his lips and said, "The first batch of data collection will take no more than two weeks, normally around 10 days."

"Chairman, the time you are discussing here is the ideal time difference."

Xiao Wei interrupted the two of them and explained, "Before the actual promotion begins, we need to coordinate with the city management department, select preliminary locations in the city, and then install fixed bike racks. Because cities like Shanghai are so large, we cannot complete the full deployment in a short time. We estimate that this process alone will take about two or three months."

"Xiao Wei is more thoughtful than I am."

After listening, Song Wan nodded, then looked at Luo Yang and said, "We may still need to make a choice: whether to install and promote it district by district, or to select points in the city and roll it out in a grid pattern."

"Let's do it by district."

Luo Yang thought for a moment and said, "Didn't Xiao Wei say that before taking any action, we need to coordinate with the city management department? In my personal experience, if we only coordinate with the municipal bureau and ignore the city management departments in the districts below, our shared bicycle promotion may not be so smooth."

Song Wan's experience in this area was no less than Luo Yang's, so she naturally understood the meaning behind his words.

"Then let's install and promote it on a district-by-district basis."

After she and Luo Yang reached a consensus, she continued, "In this way, the first batch of data collection will not need to be citywide. A sample from just one district in Shanghai will be enough, and this will prevent a significant gap between the promotion in Shanghai and Shenzhen."

Although Luo Yang was still worried about using the deposit as a double-edged sword, he ultimately did not voice his opposition.

It wasn't that he wasn't afraid anymore, but rather that he knew that even if Edifier Technology didn't adopt this tactic, its competitors would eventually do so.

With so much money piled up in the accounts, who wouldn't be envious?
No one is a fool.

After discussing the promotion of shared bicycles in the city, Song Wan brought up the matter of starting a company in the United States.

"Let's make this clear first."

Before starting the conversation, Song Wan gave a heads-up: "You've already tricked me into taking over the domestic projects, so don't think I can help you take over the things in the US. I'm a human, not a machine, and no amount of money can change that!"

Even if you're willing to go through the hardship, I can't bear to see you suffer.

Luo Yang said, half-jokingly and half-teasingly, "And putting aside the differences between Eastern and Western cultures, you're not very good at boasting and making empty promises, but Wall Street loves that. Companies in the US don't require projects to be excellent, but the PowerPoint presentations must be beautiful."

Song Wan immediately spat at Luo Yang.

Of course she could tell it was a joke. Did they really think that investment institutions in the US were fools who wouldn't use professional agencies to conduct market research?

Whether a project has investment potential, whether it deserves a high valuation, and whether it can be driven to go public by capital – the US is much more adept at these aspects than China; they are the true birthplace of venture capital.

"You're planning to hire local American professional managers?"

Song Wan couldn't help but ask with concern, "Or are you planning to take action yourself?"

The second half of the sentence had a teasing tone, because she could tell that Luo Yang didn't seem like the kind of boss who would be willing to cross the Pacific Ocean and be a tireless frequent flyer.

"I plan to find an American of Chinese descent to serve as the CEO of the company there."

Luo Yang directly revealed the answer: "A professional manager who understands both the US market and the rules of the investment industry, and is also familiar with the essence of Eastern culture. As for me, as IDG's old Cohen said, I just need to be a good spokesperson." "Apart from you, IDG wouldn't feel comfortable sending anyone else to serve as CEO."

After thinking for a moment, Song Wan nodded and said, "Your approach is in the best interests of both parties. When we stayed at IDG headquarters to negotiate the details of the cooperation, the other party also vaguely made a similar suggestion."

It's not hard to understand why they think this way.

After all, IDG and Sequoia Capital hold the majority stake in the US company. Even though Luo Yang is currently the second-largest shareholder, Song Wan is well aware that Luo Yang will definitely withdraw after the project reaches its third round of financing.

Even if they don't exit completely, the shares they retain will only be a very small percentage.

Of course, in return, IDG would allow Luo Yang to take away the considerable sum of money he received from the sale of the shares.

Because the company in the US wouldn't let Song Wan take charge, nor would it let Xiao Wei get involved, the discussion on this topic didn't last very long.

Around 11 o'clock, Song Wan and Xiao Wei left Luo Yang's office.

An Ying was already waiting in the board office.

"Wen Wan didn't say why you contacted me, but I don't think it's about money, is it?"

The atmosphere of chatting with her is more relaxed.

Luo Yang doesn't even need to maintain his boss persona; he can speak more casually.

"I'm not sure what to do, so I wanted to ask you for some information."

An Ying is straightforward and gets straight to the point: "Recently, the company has been restructuring. Luo Shengtang's equity structure means it will remain in the newly formed group company. But I've been thinking about how to arrange the food group for several days, and in the end, I feel that no arrangement is appropriate."

"Oh?"

As Luo Yang poured tea for An Ying, he asked with a smile, "Why do you feel that no matter how you arrange it, it's not right?"

"First of all, the food group is wholly owned by you."

An Ying replied, "According to the principles of this adjustment, all companies wholly owned by you will be spun off, so the food group cannot be placed in the newly established group company."

"Yes, that's the most basic principle behind this adjustment."

"However, more than half of the sales channels currently used by the food group are from Luoshengtang."

An Ying frowned and said, "Especially the channels built with the money raised from Lemon CC's financing. Before, the ownership was uncertain, and I managed to keep them under control, so we could skirt the rules a bit. But after this adjustment, if the food group is spun off, it will be a bit difficult to use the channels that belong to Luo Shengtang."

"That's a bit unreasonable, isn't it?"

Luo Yang knew what An Ying was about to say, so he continued, "You're even worried about next year. If the channels you've built by leveraging existing resources haven't been properly separated from Luo Shengtang by then, they might be sold off along with Lemon CC."

Indeed, with Sequoia Capital now involved, Lemon CC is under the supervision of its investors. Even though she is the CEO of Luoshengtang, she cannot openly transfer the sales channels established with Lemon CC's funds.

All of An Ying's worries were brought to light, and there was still no good solution. All she could do was look at her boss with hopeful eyes.

"You."

Luo Yang smiled, then slowly lit a cigarette, took several puffs, and continued, "Sometimes problems that could be solved with a little trickery are like using a cannon to kill a mosquito when it comes to you. You don't really know where to start."

An Ying's eyes showed a hint of confusion.

"I'll teach you a method, go and try it."

Luo Yang advised, "Go find the manager in charge of channel development. Don't say much, just tell him the result you want. As for what methods he uses to achieve his goal, don't worry about it."

An Ying was skeptical.

Luo Yang didn't offer much explanation, because An Ying hadn't climbed her way up from the bottom, so it was normal for her not to understand these things.

There's a kind of wisdom at the grassroots level. Many lower-level managers often use underhanded methods to solve problems, and surprisingly, they often achieve very good results.

Take the channel issue, for example. At An Ying's level, it was a rather tricky problem to solve. However, when it was brought down to the level of managers below, the solution was very crude. While preserving the original channel structure, they directly emptied out the original channel's long-term employees and grassroots managers.

When needed, the poached veteran employees and grassroots managers can be directly rebuilt.

During the group-buying wars, many companies liked to use this tactic.

A more ruthless approach would be to poach everyone from top to bottom from a specific sales division of the opposing company, effectively cutting off their lifeline.

Therefore, Luo Yang instructed An Ying to hand the matter over to the channel manager below to resolve.

She's the company's CEO; all she needs to do is get the results she needs.

"Besides this, is there anything else?"

Only a dozen minutes had passed since An Ying entered the room, and seeing that the matter was about to be concluded, Luo Yang planned to finish as soon as possible.

But his expectations were not met.

Don't they realize that they'd prefer to schedule a separate work report for Saturday afternoon? It's bound to take a considerable amount of time.

"Boss, I learned a lot from my last visit to the US to inspect Starbucks and other chain coffee shops. After returning to China, I hired a professional organization to conduct a week-long survey of Starbucks in Shanghai. Combining the two reports with the other chain coffee model you mentioned to me last time, I have prepared a more detailed business plan."

When reporting this matter, An Ying exuded a greater sense of confidence.

She looked at Luo Yang seriously and said, "The market expansion of Lemon CC and Nayuki has formed a fixed template, which can be handed over to the subordinates. I only need to check the deviation and the completion of the target tasks periodically. In the next period of time, I plan to focus my energy on the establishment of domestic chain coffee shops."

While giving her report, An Ying handed Luo Yang a copy of the report.

"I plan to first establish 100 directly operated model stores in Shanghai to test the market's acceptance of inexpensive coffee."

As she spoke, she looked at Luo Yang and said, "The cost of trial and error is a bit high. I hope the boss can support my idea."

"100 model stores?"

Luo Yang placed the business plan on the table and tapped it lightly with his fingers as he pondered it.
Why this number?

In his fragmented memory, it seems that Luckin Coffee did not have so many stores in Shanghai.

"Because our business research report shows that as of August, Starbucks currently has 566 stores nationwide."

An Ying replied, "In Shanghai alone, there are more than 100 stores. Moreover, according to the predictions of research institutions and the analysis of Starbucks' development strategy, the number of Starbucks stores in Shanghai will grow rapidly and may reach around 800 in the next ten years."

In fact, ten years later, the number of Starbucks stores in Shanghai exceeded 1000!
(End of this chapter)