Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 509 Foreshadowing from Many Years Ago
Song Ci keenly caught the fleeting look of doubt in Sun Tongyu's eyes and immediately understood what he was thinking.

His impassioned expression softened slightly, replaced by a meaningful chuckle, as he proactively asked:
"Is Mr. Sun wondering why Tengda, with such a strong foundation and a clear strategy, would go to such lengths to seek cooperation with you?"

Sun Tongyu nodded frankly; this was indeed his biggest concern: "Please enlighten me, Chairman Song."

Song Ci suppressed her smile, her expression becoming incredibly frank and serious, and began to analyze point by point: "First of all, you have unparalleled e-commerce experience and knowledge."

With unwavering gaze fixed on Sun Tongyu, he remarked with admiration, "You are the one who personally created Taobao from scratch."

They possess experience gained at great cost regarding the underlying logic of the C2C market, the psychology of platform sellers, and every potential pitfall and fleeting opportunity encountered in the development of e-commerce.

You are one of the very few living examples who have truly gone through the entire process from strategic planning to implementation and succeeded.

With you at the helm of the new platform, this new project can greatly reduce trial and error costs, avoid countless pitfalls, and save several years of detours.

This is a value that no theorist or professional manager can replace.

"Secondly, there is the crucial 'trust endorsement' and unparalleled resource appeal." Song Ci continued to delve deeper, his tone becoming increasingly respectful.

"For sellers: your name 'Sun Tongyu' is a golden brand in the vast group of small and medium-sized sellers, representing a legend and a sentiment."

The countless sellers who followed you and benefited from Taobao in its early days will have an innate sense of trust in your new business.

With just a call to action and your personal influence, you can quickly build a high-quality, experienced core team of sellers.

This solves the most troublesome cold start problem for all new e-commerce platforms: the supply-side issue.

"For investors and partners, the combination of 'Tengda Investment + Sun Tongyu managing the operation' is itself the strongest credit endorsement."

It is enough to boost the confidence of any discerning investor and allow the e-commerce platform's valuation to far exceed that of its peers in the early stages.

Furthermore, in future negotiations with partners across various stages, including logistics, payments, and even government relations, your influence and the network of relationships you've built over the years will play a crucial role in reducing multiple obstacles.

Song Ci put it very bluntly, "There's another point, it's to make up for Tenda's shortcomings in its internet DNA."

Tenda Technology has WeChat, Weibo, and Toutiao, giving us strengths in social networking, content, and traffic – these are our advantages.

However, in the e-commerce sector, which is heavily reliant on operations, on-the-ground promotion, and supply chain management, experience and capabilities are a clear weakness. And this is precisely where your greatest strength lies.

You have a deep understanding of how to build a healthy and prosperous platform rules system, how to manage and serve a large group of sellers, and how to organize and motivate a powerful ground force.

You are the best and most crucial person to fill the last gap in Tengda Technology's capabilities; you are irreplaceable.

"Finally, there's the terrifying synergistic effect of the future." Song Ci's words were so eloquent that Sun Tongyu was practically blown away by the praise.

"Once the new e-commerce platform is established, it will create a synergistic effect with Tenda's products, like a chemical reaction."

WeChat will provide an unprecedented environment for social sharing and viral marketing, making group buying and price slashing natural behaviors that spread like wildfire.

This is a treatment that Taobao could never obtain within the Tengda ecosystem; it's our deepest moat.

Today's Headlines and Weibo will become incredibly precise traffic import engines and explosive platforms for content marketing, using algorithms to accurately recommend product information to a massive number of potentially interested users.

WeChat Pay will perfectly support the closed loop of e-commerce transactions, providing stable and reliable underlying support. At the same time, e-commerce will also become an excellent scenario for promoting and expanding Tenda Pay's business.

After finishing her poem, Song Ci looked at Sun Tongyu with intense fervor, her eyes filled with sincerity and expectation.

"Now, does Mr. Sun still think that I came to you simply because you founded Taobao? What I value is the full value you represent as a person. The position of platform CEO is indispensable to you."

His words, meticulously analyzed and logically sound, not only greatly affirmed Sun Tongyu's unique value but also completely dispelled his doubts.

Sun Tongyu stood there, speechless for a long time. He scratched his head sheepishly and couldn't help but ask himself, "Am I really that outstanding?"

Recovering from the sweet words, he looked up at the young man before him, then at the fishing rod that had still yielded no results. The long-dormant world within him seemed to begin to surge with towering waves.

In the distance, the water and sky blend into one, and the gentle breeze by the lake seems unable to dispel the turbulent waves surging in Sun Tongyu's heart.

Song Ci's words were like a precise key, unexpectedly unlocking the long-sealed door in his heart.

Back in my Alibaba days, the scene of being dismissed before fulfilling my ambitions, the shock, resentment, and anger, are like ice cubes sinking to the bottom of the water.

Suddenly scooped up, it melted instantly in the sunlight, surging into a tidal wave. I thought I had already let go, finding solace in nature, numbing myself with the leisure of fishing.

But only now, with such a tempting and challenging opportunity presented to him, did Song Ci realize with absolute clarity that that matter had always been an indelible thorn in his heart!
So-called forgetting and letting go are nothing but self-deception.

Unless... unless he can personally build another e-commerce platform that can rightfully surpass Taobao, this resentment will forever gnaw at his heart, leaving him with no peace.

Song Ci quietly observed the ever-changing expressions on Sun Tongyu's face: resentment flickered, memories brought pain, ambition quietly revived, and there was also a trace of barely perceptible fear.

He chuckled to himself: The time is ripe; the fish are finally about to take the bait.

Just then, a wonderful coincidence occurred.

Sun Tongyu's high-end fishing rod, which had been dormant all along, suddenly sank, the fishing line instantly became taut, and the fishing reel made a slight "creaking" sound, clearly indicating that a big fish had taken the bait!

Normally, this would have been enough to make Sun Tongyu jump up excitedly and engage in a fierce battle with the creature in the water.

But at this moment, he was completely unaware of the commotion. His mind was completely occupied by the grand blueprint of "social e-commerce" described in Song Ci, and his brain was working at high speed, pondering the feasibility and disruptive nature of this strategy.

The fish that had taken the bait struggled a few times, but miraculously escaped and disappeared back into the murky lake water, as if it had never existed.

After a long while, Sun Tongyu took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, as if to clear away all the pent-up frustration that had accumulated over the years.

His voice, hoarse from the shock of his inner turmoil, said, "Chairman Song, I must admit, you've truly moved me. How do you want to collaborate? Do you need me to join Tengda and establish a new e-commerce department?" As he asked this question, a deep sense of wariness unconsciously crept onto his face.

After all, the lessons of the past are still fresh in his mind, and he absolutely does not want to become a pawn that can be sacrificed at any time in the game of the giants, repeating the mistake of working for someone else's benefit.

Song Ci seemed to have anticipated this, shaking his head without hesitation, answering decisively and with reassuring sincerity:
"No. It's about establishing a completely new, independent company. Just like when I invested in JD.com to support its independent development."

This company will be fully managed and operated by you, Sun Tongyu. You are the CEO and have absolute decision-making power.

Tenda will act solely as a strategic investor and its strongest backer, providing financial, operational, and comprehensive resource support.

Leaning slightly forward, his gaze intense and full of encouragement and commitment: "What we need to do is to jointly usher in the second chapter of e-commerce in China."

This time, you are not only the creator, but also the guardian. It will grow entirely according to your will and vision, until it becomes a new e-commerce giant powerful enough to shake up the existing landscape!

Upon hearing this, Sun Tongyu's tense nerves instantly relaxed, and a huge weight was lifted from his heart.

He wanted a cooperative model where he could lead the company without being constrained by complex group processes and personnel issues.

After regaining his composure, his instincts as the head of an e-commerce platform swiftly led him to devise specific strategies:
"Chairman Song, you have great foresight. So, in your opinion, which niche market should we focus on for the first phase of this new platform?"

The words of Song Ci gave him a completely new perspective. If the plan is well-thought-out and the operation is proper, it is indeed possible to carve out a new battlefield from the ironclad encirclement of Taobao and JD.com.

Seeing that Sun Tongyu quickly got into the zone, Song Ci smiled with satisfaction and patted him on the shoulder: "Mr. Sun, there's no need to rush."

The development of new e-commerce platforms is not something that can be achieved overnight; we need detailed planning. You can go back and brainstorm, and we can discuss it in more detail later.

Sun Tongyu nodded: "Indeed, we can't rush it. Business model, technical architecture, team building... there are so many things to consider, we need to plan carefully."

However, as soon as he finished speaking, as if struck by lightning, his expression suddenly turned serious, and his brows furrowed: "Wait! Chairman Song, I just thought of something very important, logistics!"

Logistics is the lifeblood of e-commerce. Without an efficient and cost-effective logistics network, a good platform experience is impossible, and growth is simply out of the question. This is the most pressing bottleneck we face!

Faced with this core challenge that no e-commerce player can avoid, Song Ci simply smiled calmly, as if she had everything under control:

"Rest assured. Tengda has long been involved in the logistics sector; we are the largest shareholder of Shentong Express."

His tone was incredibly calm, yet it revealed the profound wisdom he had gleaned years ago: "Back when I invested in JD.com, I realized that no matter how e-commerce evolves, logistics will always be an indispensable core element."

Supporting Shentong was one of the key moves made years ago. Now, it's in your hands.

Sun Tongyu was shocked upon hearing this, his face filled with astonishment, which quickly turned into sincere admiration: "Shentong's largest shareholder!"
Chairman Song, you actually foresaw this day so early on? Such a forward-thinking strategic plan is truly admirable! Absolutely impressive!

The last trace of worry in his heart vanished: "If that's the case, I truly have no more concerns!"

Since the topic had gone deep, Song Ci simply laid out his long-conceived logistics ecosystem in its entirety: "My idea is to never imitate JD.com's model of building its own nationwide logistics network with heavy assets, because the cost is too high and the cycle is too long."

By controlling key nodes, leveraging data, and innovating business models, we can integrate and improve the efficiency of the entire logistics ecosystem, especially to adapt to the future strategy of focusing on the 'lower-tier markets'.

Sun Tongyu immediately understood: "That's right!"
If the new platform's business volume explodes as expected, the massive number of orders will be enough to allow Shentong to rapidly expand its scale, optimize costs, and even surpass other logistics companies to become a giant in private express delivery volume!

“Shentong is just the foundation.” Song Ci further explained, “To solve the last mile problem, especially in the lower-tier markets, we need to complete the key pieces of the puzzle by building a network of last-mile delivery stations and a smart express locker system.”

The richest man's bright eyes gleamed with wisdom: "JD.com's warehousing and distribution, SF Express's direct operations, and Alibaba's Cainiao Stations are all currently focused on first- and second-tier cities."

Our station strategy must go against the grain, prioritizing the establishment of locations in communities, convenience stores, and small shops in third- and fourth-tier cities, counties, and towns, and rapidly expanding using a light-asset franchise model.

After thinking for a moment, Sun Tongyu suggested: "Complete self-operation involves huge costs and complex management."

By adopting a franchise model, these small shops are authorized to become service stations, requiring only the provision of a unified brand, management system, and initial subsidies.

Small parcel collection services can bring a steady flow of customers, boost sales, and create a win-win situation!

"Well said!" Song Ci was increasingly satisfied with this partner. "In first- and second-tier universities, office buildings, and high-end residential communities, we will cooperate with property management companies to deploy smart parcel lockers to solve the pain point of white-collar workers and students being unable to receive packages on weekdays."

He paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Let's call this smart locker system 'Fengchao,' which means 'rich, safe, and like home.'"

As Song Dynasty poetry unfolds a complete picture of logistics, Sun Tongyu's thinking becomes increasingly clear, and he excitedly adds:
"These stations can also become offline return and exchange centers in the future, simplifying after-sales processes and improving the experience, which is crucial for users in lower-tier markets!"

"Indeed!" Song Ci exclaimed, beaming with excitement. The two of them began to discuss the matter with great interest, exchanging words back and forth.

"In this way, the platform has a core competitive advantage: low-cost, stable, and extensive logistics capabilities."

For STO Express, the massive number of orders helped it quickly become an industry giant and achieve technological upgrades.

For Tenda, cloud computing, big data, and financial payment have found huge application scenarios, making its foundation more solid.

Ultimately, our logistics network may not be the heaviest, but it will certainly be the most intelligent, the most adapted to China's lower-tier markets, and the most efficient in collaborating with e-commerce!

This is sufficient to support the new platform in breaking through the encirclement of giants and forming a new three-way balance of power!

Sun Tongyu listened intently, memorizing every word.

Deeply moved by the strategic vision, forward-thinking planning, and captivating power of Song Dynasty poetry, my long-dormant passion has been reignited, and the light of ambition has been rekindled in my eyes.

This feeling is as if I've returned to the glorious days when I started my business alongside Jack Ma.

This time, however, his partner was a top figure with a broader vision, a more profound strategy, and greater strength.

It was as if one could already see a brand-new e-commerce empire taking shape on the shores of this rippling lake, its initial, yet incredibly clear, outline emerging from their conversation.

(End of this chapter)