Rebirth of the Rich Second Generation's Growth Diary

Chapter 163 Thunderous Means!

Li Xu has always disdained to win business wars by directly attacking competitors.

He has always been more inclined to use the right method to achieve victory, which is simply an open conspiracy.

In the teacher's words, it means grasping the main contradiction and being orthodox yet surprising.

But the main contradiction at the moment has changed somewhat.

In terms of operations, there is nothing that can be innovated or improved in this smart campus solution, and it has basically taken shape.

During the next operation period, we must ensure that no problems occur, which is to maintain the right direction.

During this process, there will always be someone trying to make trouble. It is impossible to eradicate the opponent's small tricks, but now that we have the energy to free up our hands, it is very easy to choose an opponent to intimidate him.

And this Xinghai Education has been doing these little tricks time and time again. What is tolerable and what is intolerable?

Li Xu’s idea this time was to completely destroy them.

Of course, he has always disdained to use conspiracies and tricks. Actions like Photoshopping photos and making false accusations will only bring risks to himself.

Li Xu carefully read the information of Xinghai Education with a slightly cold look in his eyes.

"Song Xinghai? He'd better pray that there aren't any flaws in his company or business."

When this was being done, there were only Liu Yunfei and Li Xu in the office. The fewer people who knew about this, the better.

After reading for a while, Li Xu already had a general understanding of Xinghai Education's business and model.

Simply put, Xinghai Education is an online training network technology company similar to Zuoyebang and Tiku.

The main user groups are children and parents who have such needs, and of course parents are the majority.

Judging from their first two rounds of financing information, Xinghai Education is favored by some capital.

Li Xu put the materials aside and leaned back in his chair.

The light in the office was a little dim, and he seemed to be sinking into the shadows.

Liu Yunfei on the side did not speak, waiting patiently for Li Xu to think.

Li Xu was recalling his experiences in his previous life.

First of all, one thing needs to be made clear. This kind of online training project is definitely promising. After all, in his previous life, before he was reborn, it had already been rolled out on a large scale. Especially a wave of epidemics has become a hot spot for this kind of online training project.

However, at present, such projects are still in the stage of wild growth.

After a moment, Li Xu sat up straight and looked at Liu Yunfei, saying, "These things alone are not enough. I need more detailed data."

Liu Yunfei's eyes flickered, and he hesitated, "What specific data are you talking about?"

Li Xu took a deep breath and said, "First of all, Xinghai Education announced 100,000 users during its second round of financing."

He narrowed his eyes and looked at Liu Yunfei. "Tell me, are these 100,000 users real?"

Liu Yunfei was stunned for a moment and said, "Do you suspect they are falsifying the data?"

Li Xu said nothing.

Online education is currently booming, with question bank apps and O2O tutoring platforms experiencing explosive growth. However, based on later experience, the industry is plagued by widespread problems such as fake teacher qualifications and inflated data.

Because there are many similar competitors, everyone is scrambling to attract investors.

When everyone's model and technology are similar, it all comes down to who has better eloquence and who is a better storyteller.

What is needed to tell a story is real data, and most investors don’t understand technology.

This is a very funny era. Investors don’t understand technology and don’t even pay much attention to profit models. They only focus on user growth, as if user growth can bring a better tomorrow.

Although Li Xu had no evidence, Xinghai Education clearly did not emerge in his later memories, which meant that they must have done something wrong and were eliminated by the times.

So Li Xu’s idea is that as long as he can find the point where they are eliminated by the times and break it out in advance, his goal will be achieved.

However, this part of the data is difficult to obtain through conventional means.

Liu Yunfei's eyes flashed and his brain raced, thinking about how to fulfill Li Xu's request.

After a moment, he took a deep breath and said, "Xinghai Education's backend data must contain what you want, but this data is definitely not public."

Having said that, Liu Yunfei looked up at Li Xu and did not say anything further.

Li Xu's eyelids twitched. He knew exactly what Liu Yunfei meant. Since the data wasn't public, the only way to get it was to hack, find a loophole, and crawl it out.

In terms of difficulty, it is definitely not a difficult task for Liu Yunfei.

But Li Xu immediately shook his head and said, "If we need to use shady means, it's definitely not okay. This is our bottom line. Apart from this method, is there no other way?"

After hearing Li Xu's reply, Liu Yunfei felt inexplicably relieved. He took a long breath and said, "This isn't the only way, but I'm sure I can't do it alone. I need Ye Ruida's help."

Li Xu's heart moved slightly, and he asked, "What's the solution?"

Liu Yunfei said, "But there's a prerequisite." He paused, looked at Li Xu, and said, "Are you really sure that their users are fake?"

Li Xu was silent for a moment, then his eyes became firm. He said, "Not only are the users fake, I also suspect that the teaching team they claim to have is not necessarily genuine."

Liu Yunfei gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, then we'll use reverse thinking. Let's assume their data is inflated and reverse-engineer the algorithm to deduce and verify it. Using public data, we can directly crawl the public APIs of the Apple and Android app stores to obtain data such as Xinghai Education's user growth rate and active time periods. By using the abnormal daily activity curve, we can deduce the proportion of zombie users. In addition, we can also crawl user IDs that mention Xinghai Education in the education super topic on Weibo and compare them with the 10 paying users claimed by Xinghai."

Li Xu's eyes lit up slightly and he said, "That's a good idea."

Liu Yunfei nodded and said, "But the prerequisite for doing this is that they really have problems. Otherwise, our efforts will be in vain."

Li Xu was silent for a moment and then said, "How long will it take?"

Liu Yunfei thought for a moment and said, "If Ye Ruida helps me, it can be done in just over a week."

Li Xu nodded and said, "Okay, let's do it!" As he spoke, Li Xu took out his cell phone and called Ye Ruida.

After this matter was arranged, Liu Yunfei hesitated and asked again, "But there is still the teacher's data, which cannot be obtained in this way."

His eyes narrowed slightly and he said, "How about looking on the dark web?"

Before Liu Yunfei could finish his words, Li Xu shook his head slightly, interrupted him, and said, "I've already figured out a way to deal with the teachers. You just need to take care of the data!"

After Liu Yunfei left, Li Xu sat down and flipped through a document again. Then, with a meaningful smile on his face, he said, "You're not the only one using policies as a weapon. However, our project has no policy loopholes at all, but I wonder if you could handle it if it were you?"

Time flies and it’s two weeks later.

It's time for Song Xinghai to go on a business roadshow again. This time he is launching a brand new version 2.4, which has made many functional optimizations and also introduced blockchain technology as a selling point.

Before officially taking the stage, Song Xinghai could already imagine how much of a shock this would cause to investors.

This business roadshow is also paving the way for the next stage of round C financing.

If you can successfully obtain round C financing during the operation period of the entrepreneurship competition, then the probability of successfully winning the grand prize of the entrepreneurship competition will be greater.

Before going on stage, in the lounge backstage, Song Xinghai adjusted his clothes in front of the mirror again. Looking at his young and promising self in the mirror, Song Xinghai showed a high-spirited smile.

He raised his wrist to look at the famous watch he had just bought, and couldn't help but think of his experiences in his youth.

He is not a child from a wealthy family. He relied on his own efforts to be admitted to Tunghai University step by step and finally reached his current position.

During this process, he understood very early on that the winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. The process is not important. In this cruel reality, people only care about the outcome. After entering the pass, there will be great scholars to defend you. Before that, all voices are just noise.

The assistant came in and told him that all the guests had arrived and he could go on stage.

Song Xinghai nodded and said, "Okay, I'll be out right away."

He buttoned his collar neatly, picked up the microphone and walked out.

No one at the scene was superfluous, except for the media, representatives of investors, and many potential investors.

This was not originally a business roadshow for users.

After taking the stage, Song Xinghai spoke very generously and naturally: "Friends, are you ready to embrace the new era of education? Then please follow my story and let us take a look at what the future form of education should look like!" An exquisite PPT was displayed on the screen behind him.

Song Xinghai put a lot of effort into this roadshow. Compared with using policies and a little overseas tricks to attack other competitors before, doing one's own things well is the key. So Song Xinghai didn't care that Li Xu's team resolved his attacks twice. This kind of thing is done naturally. If you can't effectively attack the opponent, then make yourself as strong as possible, the result will be the same.

As the PPT played in the background, Song Xinghai's speech became more and more popular. It could be seen that many investors' representatives in the audience nodded frequently, looking very interested.

Finally, Song Xinghai's speech came to an end. The essence of such a business roadshow is to create an opportunity to communicate with investors, so after the brief speech, the second part is more important, answering questions from the audience.

Soon an investor asked a question. Fortunately, the question was not difficult. Song Xinghai smiled slightly and answered the question very generously and appropriately.

While answering, Song Xinghai recalled the scene of his thesis defense when he graduated from university a few years ago. He was a little nervous at that time because his thesis was not entirely written by him. But fortunately, even if it was a thesis written by someone else, through careful study, he could not reveal any flaws during the defense. The current scene was very similar to the defense, but the difference was that this time he was not nervous at all.

After answering several people's questions in succession, Song Xinghai became more and more proud.

At this moment, a person sitting in the corner suddenly spoke up: "Hello, Mr. Song."

Song Xinghai looked over and saw that the nameplate in front of him read Huitang Group.

Song Xinghai recalled that it seemed to be a group from Jinchuan City. He nodded and said, "Hello."

The other party folded his arms across his chest and spoke slowly, "Mr. Song is indeed a hero born young. Before participating in this roadshow, we have been paying attention to your company for a long time and have done a lot of research on your business and related information. Meeting you in person today, you are indeed very good at speaking."

A smile appeared on Song Xinghai's face. He was secretly proud and a little happy in his heart. Judging from the other party's tone, it seemed that another potential investor was about to be won over?
He was about to respond to the other party's flattery, but before he could open his mouth, the other party spoke again: "However, after a detailed analysis of some of your company's data, we found a suspicious point. I hope Mr. Song can give us an explanation."

Song Xinghai didn't think much about it at this time, and nodded with a smile: "Okay, tell me, what are your doubts? I will definitely explain it to you clearly and plainly."

The other party smiled and said, "Mr. Song's words are enough."

He then pulled out a document and opened it, saying, "We scraped app store data to obtain data on Xinghai Education's user growth rate, active hours, and other data. We looked at the abnormal daily activity curve and discovered that a large number of users had abnormally active hours. We consulted with relevant technology companies and, through model analysis, deduced that the proportion of zombie users is over 70%."

After a pause, the other party continued calmly, "We've been scammed in a similar way before, so when we invest, we'll focus on reviewing this part of the company's data. Could you please allay our concerns, Mr. Song?"

As soon as these words were spoken, there was a brief silence and then the scene became lively like a bombshell.

Many investors turned their heads to look at the speaker, and then there was a whisper of discussion at the scene.

Song Xinghai on the stage, who had just been full of high spirits, suddenly felt a buzz in his head. His eyes widened and cold sweat broke out on his back. His brain went blank for a short time and his scalp began to feel numb.

"Hold on, hold on." He forced himself to calm down, his mind racing. Seeing the situation on the scene, which was a little beyond his control, he said with a stiff upper lip, "I assure all investors, this is absolutely impossible. There must be something wrong with your statistical compilation!"

Before he could finish his words, the other party said, "Our algorithm and the entire statistical process have been published on the relevant forum. We welcome criticism and corrections. Of course, our current conclusions are not final. We are only in the stage of questioning and concern. I think it will be easy for Mr. Song to prove it. You just need to find a professional organization to issue us an appraisal."

After hearing this, many investors present reacted: Yes, they only need to find a third-party appraisal company to sign a confidentiality agreement and authenticate the data to prove their innocence. It is not a risky or difficult thing, but it is very important for them as investors.

Then another investor immediately agreed, "That's right, Mr. Song, you just need to produce an appraisal report to prove it."

Many people at the scene have noticed that Song Xinghai's expression has become a little unnatural, and naturally they have wondered in their hearts, could it be that the users of Xinghai Education are really fake?
Song Xinghai hadn't expected to encounter such an unexpected situation, which disrupted all his rhythm. At this moment, he could only bite the bullet and agree, saying: "Investors, please rest assured. We can certainly prove that our data is absolutely true. Don't worry, the authentication certificate will be produced soon!"

This is the only way to barely get through this hurdle.

During the subsequent questioning, Song Xinghai seemed a little absent-minded, and the effect was much worse than before. In the end, this business roadshow ended abruptly.

After returning to the company, Song Xinghai smoked two or three packs of cigarettes in the office in one afternoon. He scolded every employee who went in to report on work. Later, no one dared to go in to report on work.

However, there was one thing that had to be reported. The marketing manager, holding a document in his hand, gritted his teeth and went in.

As soon as he entered, Song Xinghai said coldly: "What's the matter?"

The marketing manager cursed inwardly. It wasn't me who caused the trouble, so why were you so angry at me? But he still put on a smile and said, "Boss Song, there's something important that I must report to you immediately."

Song Xinghai nodded, and the marketing manager came over and took out a document. Song Xinghai took a look at it and his eyes widened. The document was very long. It was a Sunshine Plan launched by the Ministry of Education. There was only one line that involved their company's business: China Higher Education Student Information and Career Center will launch a teacher certification system.

Song Xinghai was completely stunned when he saw the relevant details. He could already imagine how big of a blow this Sunshine Plan would have on their Xinghai Education.

The marketing manager stood there, secretly watching Song Xinghai for a long time before tentatively asking, "Mr. Song?"

Song Xinghai waved his hand, lit another cigarette for himself, and said, "You go out first. I want to be alone for a while."

Song Xinghai couldn't understand why bad luck suddenly happened to him one after another.

He could only blame it all on luck.

He didn't smoke the lit cigarette. The spark from the cigarette butt slowly burned to the side of the filter, leaving behind a long tuft of ash.

Song Xinghai frowned, staring at the cigarette butt solemnly, then gave a wry smile, "How could this happen?"

But Song Xinghai's nightmare had just begun.

Two days later, with the opening of the teacher verification system, someone among Xinghai Education's users took the lead and began to demand that Xinghai's outstanding teachers who claimed to be from 985 universities or even Peking University and Tsinghua University to obtain academic qualifications certification.

Since Xinghai Education did not respond immediately, and its subsequent responses were hesitant and evasive, someone soon started the trend.

"Does it mean that the teachers from Peking University and Tsinghua University that were previously promoted were all scammers?" Questions like these arose one after another, and related topics were pushed to the top of the hot searches on Weibo.

However, Song Xinghai had no time to deal with the issue of teacher qualifications because a bigger trouble was coming to him.

Because of the launch of the Ministry of Education's Sunshine Plan, companies that previously engaged in fake order business were unable to obtain certification and were required to settle payments in the early morning, which directly triggered a financial run crisis for their companies.

One thing after another seemed to break out after that business roadshow.

Song Xinghai even began to doubt metaphysics at one point. Could it be that the day chosen was not good?
Compared with Song Xinghai's troubled situation, the campus of Peking University and Tsinghua University is a thriving scene.

Li Xu also signed long-term cooperation agreements with several factories. Since the project at Jinchuan University has also been officially approved, construction can be officially started soon.

They have also officially received the first installment of proceeds from the sales plan, and the remaining balance will be paid after the project is completed.

This was their first project at an off-campus school, so Li Xu naturally attached great importance to it. To be on the safe side, Li Xu asked his father for help in finding the outsourced construction team.

During the construction process, he even took a few days off and went there to take charge in person. He only returned to Peking University and Tsinghua University after everything was on track.

On this side, An Duoduo couldn't wait to tell him the good news about Xinghai Education's successive bankruptcy. Li Xu couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth slightly when he heard it.

Seeing Li Xu's expression, An Duoduo quickly realized something and looked at him suspiciously, "Why aren't you surprised at all? Could it be you who did this?"

Li Xu knocked An Duoduo on the head in annoyance and said, "I don't know what you are talking about. How can you slander someone's innocence? How can something a good person does be called mischief?"

An Duoduo became more and more confident behind him, and quickly pestered Li Xu, saying, "Tell me quickly, please, please." As she spoke, she reached out to hug Li Xu's waist. Li Xu widened his eyes, feeling the numbness coming from his waist.

An Duoduo looked at him innocently, "Why are you looking at me like that? Tell me quickly!"

……

A few days later, Song Xinghai looked at the agreement on the table in the reception room of Sequoia Capital with a heavy heart. He picked up the pen with difficulty, raising it and putting it down several times.

This is the confirmation letter of Sequoia Capital's withdrawal of investment, which requires his signature.

Song Xinghai no longer had the high spirits he had before. He looked at Manager Ye dejectedly, smiled bitterly and said, "I'm just unlucky."

Looking at Song Xinghai's expression, Manager Ye sighed and said as he sorted out the documents he had signed, "Do you really think it's just bad luck?"

Song Xinghai was stunned for a moment, as Manager Ye seemed to have something else to say.

Seeing that Song Xinghai hadn't reacted yet, Manager Ye sighed a little. After all, he was also a college student who knew nothing. In the first two years after graduation, he knew nothing and had no experience. He caught the trend and completed a project, and he felt that he was a rare talent.

Thinking of this, I was about to point him in the face when I said, "The Sunshine Project and those questions at the roadshow press conference, do you really think they were coincidences?"

Song Xinghai's eyes suddenly widened.

Manager Ye then muttered to himself, "Your opponent is much more powerful than you. I don't know who you've offended."

At this time, Song Xinghai could no longer hear anything else. His thoughts returned to a scene from some time ago.

Someone under his command brought him an expense list and asked him to sign it. He glanced at it and saw that the expenditure item was written as competitor marketing expenses, but the amount was a bit large.

He inquired about the details, and his subordinates responded: "Mr. Song, simply put, we're hiring some professional companies to use completely legal means to attack your competitors. Don't worry, there will be absolutely no legal disputes with our company. The methods they use are nothing more than sowing discord within the competitor's team or using existing legal policies to report them."

When signing, he did have a moment of hesitation, but then he thought it was not a big deal and signed it without hesitation. Little did he know that the gears of fate had already started turning from that moment on.

(End of this chapter)