Back to the prime of life

Chapter 172: Years in a Foreign Country
During the month that Lu Changge devoted himself to Lumo, Chi Yongsheng had already arrived in the United States safely and settled down there.

After all, it was a cross-border journey, and Lu Changge was not so unkind as to urge him to produce work results quickly without giving him time to adapt.

In fact, there is no need for him to urge this.

Chi Yongsheng gave up his job at a university in China for this trip to the United States. At such a cost, he was very eager to succeed.

So much so that Shen Mo was worried that he was a little too eager for quick success.

So after arriving in the United States, she worked on renting a house and registering a company, while also taking Chi Yongsheng to visit the Stanford campus.

Silicon Valley is the innovation hub of the American Internet, and what they want to do cannot be separated from here.

Whether it is future financing, recruiting talent, or accessing the latest technology and consulting, Silicon Valley is the best choice. The only disadvantage is that the rent may be a bit expensive.

However, the ongoing financial crisis helped them solve this problem. The cold wave that surged from Wall Street hit the real estate market in Silicon Valley. A 600-square-meter office area that could accommodate 10 people cost less than $ per month to rent.

Not only that, under the financial crisis, many companies that have not escaped danger of survival are unable to maintain, so a large number of second-hand office equipment appear on the market.

Some are still 80% to 90% new.

Shen Mo was not polite. Although she came from a wealthy family, the financial crisis was right in front of her. How stupid would she have to be to spend money lavishly at this time?
Chi Yongsheng spent three days to calm down, and then she took him to North San Jose.

North San Jose is located in the heart of Silicon Valley, close to downtown San Jose and Santa Clara. As a computer professional, Chi Yongsheng is no stranger to Silicon Valley, but this was his first time seeing it in person.

North San Jose has wide streets, modern low-rise office buildings and technology parks, interspersed with green belts. The architectural style is simple and practical, with common glass curtain walls and open designs, highlighting the sense of technology.

"...This is the Golden Triangle area of North San Jose,"

"Golden Triangle?"

"Not the one in Southeast Asia, but the one where highways 101, 237, and 880 converge. It's where a lot of tech companies are. Don't be fooled by the fact that the houses here don't look new; they're just four stories high. But if it weren't for the current difficult situation, you wouldn't be able to make a living there without $2000 a month."

Chi Yongsheng asked: "What now?"

"890." Shen Mo said with some pride.

"There are still zeros and whole numbers."

"This used to be a software development company. Several of us international students worked there. I noticed they were closing, so I took over. These days, more companies are closing than opening. The market in the US moves so quickly. If anything goes wrong, the money will flee. We're really unique in that we're willing to bring money here."

Chi Yongsheng would not be very happy or relieved to hear such words. Saving such money is just a small amount after all. How big a difference does a few hundred or a thousand make?
In fact, it has a greater negative impact on them.

For example, what used to be possible to raise 1000 million yuan in financing may now be difficult to raise even 200 million yuan. Can the difference between the two be justified by a few hundred yuan in monthly rent or a few used office equipment?

However, given the macro environment, they can only accept it.

"Oh, by the way, Intel headquarters is 10 minutes west of here, and Mountain View, where Google is headquartered, is 15 minutes north. Adobe headquarters is in downtown San Jose. Once you get familiar with the area, you can explore the surrounding areas. As for daily life, there's Whole Foods and a large Asian restaurant district. Anyway..."

"I don't have that in mind." Chi Yongsheng interrupted her, "I just want the product to be launched as soon as possible, to build a sufficient user base as soon as possible, and then to raise funds, iterate the product, and so on."

Shen Mo said: "I know the task is difficult, but you can't become fat in one bite."

"The room you prepared for me is nice, but apart from a trip to Stanford, I hardly left the house. I was constantly thinking about what was coming up next: what to do in weeks 1-2, and what to do in weeks 3-4. I'm not going to talk about the long term, but at least I have an idea of what to do in the first three months. Otherwise, I'd be really nervous trying to figure it out."

Shen Mo looked at him blankly. She herself was actually a bit careless and she didn't expect the man in front of her to be so serious.

This may be the difference between having a way out and not having one.

Even if Shen Mo fails, he can still return to China to inherit the family property, but as for Chi Yongsheng, the family may break up.

"Then let's contact the country and have a conference call, shall we?"

"Let me touch you first."

"can."

……

……

Silicon Valley time is 16 hours later than Beijing time. The first conference call was scheduled at 8 a.m. Beijing time, which is about 9 p.m. in Silicon Valley.

Those who participated in the conference call from Jiangzhou included Lu Changge, Zhou Shuang, and a newcomer Chen Hao.

This person, a senior talent he and Zhou Shuang had specifically recruited, was both technically and managerially proficient. He was 36 years old and very thin. He was currently working in the Android development team.

The first conference call with the Americans wasn't about technical matters, but rather about determining a directional path. The real work would begin then. It was impossible to wake up every day without knowing what to do. After the call began, Lu Changge exchanged a few pleasantries, asked about the basic situation, and then got down to business.

It's 8 o'clock in the morning now, and he has plans at 9 o'clock.

"...Mr. Shen is very efficient. He completed the basic work of renting an office space in just a few days. The company has also registered offshore according to our previous plan. However, our current urgent work does not stop there. Mr. Shen and I have discussed the following major tasks for the future.

First, we need to optimize and review the product. Currently, the App Store's review rules aren't entirely transparent, but we need to pass review. We don't know what reasons the reviewers will give us. If we fail review and can't launch, everything will be in vain. Furthermore, we're planning to launch a beta test soon and are looking for 50-100 users to begin the final round of testing.

Second, we need to build the team's infrastructure. Currently, we plan to rent a physical server from Rackspace, which will cost around $500 per month, and we'll also need to perform stress testing."

Chi Yongsheng said several points in a row.

It sounds like each point would require a lot of work.

But Lu Changge is not that "desperate" in fact, at least he knows what he wants to do.

After he finished speaking, Shen Mo interrupted, "Regarding the cold launch of the product, we've discussed and decided to start with building a pool of 1000 active users. As for specific measures, due to limited budget, we're currently planning to write a product press release ourselves and then send it to some media outlets."

Lu Changge asked: "Will it be useful if I send it?"

"Not necessarily. I have a few targets, TechCrunch, Mashable, Gizmodo, etc., especially TechCrunch, which is a website dedicated to news about the tech industry, covering startups, investment news, and new product launches. I will do my best to create a hype for us. Once we get coverage there, it will bring us great exposure. By the way, you mentioned before that if we want celebrity endorsements, you can recommend people. I plan to move forward with these things simultaneously. If these tech media outlets are not interested in us, at least we will have some exposure."

There were two people, one of whom had a software that needed to pass the final round of testing, and whether it could be successfully launched still needed to be reviewed... plus there was the financial crisis.

Starting a business is difficult.

Lu Changge has been experiencing these four words firsthand recently.

So, he has to use this cheat.

"A young female singer named Taylor Swift. Can you contact her?"

Shen Mo said: "I can't contact him, and I haven't heard of him, but US dollars are fine."

At this stage, Taylor already had a certain degree of fame. Her first album was released in 06, but she really became popular at the end of 08.

But the cost of endorsing commercials is not only related to fame, but also to the release time, release method, and whether it is an exclusive endorsement.

For example, there is a huge price difference between regional and nationwide advertising, and between North American and global advertising.

In addition, there are also big differences between single shoots and multiple shoots, and attendance at brand events.

Even after the rise of social networks, there is a new way of cooperation, which is to ask her to repost and publish brand content on her own social media, saving the trouble of shooting advertisements, the need for placement, and no fees.

And it is estimated that it will cost 10 to 30 US dollars to reprint it once.

This is what Lu Changge is looking for.

After listening to this, Shen Mo replied, "This is much simpler, but I need to find a lawyer to discuss the contract details. I estimate it will be launched around the same time as the product."

Lu Changge said, "It's best to launch the product earlier so that any problems can be promptly optimized. The contract with the female singer can be signed earlier, but the time for her to repost the content on social media can be postponed."

Shen Mo didn't understand, "Why?"

Lu Changge couldn't explain it, so he could only say, "I personally like her more, and I think her fame will rise."

This is a bit irrational and unfounded, and the decision is hard to be convincing.

Zhou Shuang said, "Isn't this a bit of a joke?"

A little bit, but Lu Changge has no choice. He can't say that Taylor's upcoming album has set a record by selling 59.2 copies in the first week, right?
"This isn't a critical issue. It's not fatal if it happens earlier or later. Let me do it this time. Maybe we'll get lucky. The key is to ensure that there are no problems with product testing and that the server doesn't crash."

Yes, the key is the product.
After that, they discussed some other aspects, such as how to quickly iterate technology, how to manage funds in operations, etc.

All in all, this first phone meeting was quite effective. Chi Yongsheng actually listed the main tasks for the first three months.

In addition, they also discussed some issues about the Android version of Chatter. Android versions need to be developed both domestically and internationally. This was decided by Lu Changge because Google has indeed taken action.

Unfortunately, Lu Changge really didn't have time later on. He had to leave at 9 o'clock because he had an appointment with someone else.

After that, he kept walking from the 8th floor to the 7th floor. Yin Anyan brought him two buns. He took a few bites and continued to work.

An Yihuan jokingly said, "Old Lu, dressed in a suit and tie, looking serious, really looks like a workplace elite."

(End of this chapter)