Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 420: Preparing for TikTok's Pre-IPO

November 16th, Hengdian, the crew of "Love and Destiny".

Dilraba, dressed in a white dress, stood in the makeshift set, her face haggard, her gaze unfocused, staring ahead, silent for a long time, until…

"Cut! OK, this one's passed."

Director Lin Yufen's voice was amplified through a pager and entered Reba's ears.

Just a second ago, her pupils were lifeless, but after hearing this command, her eyes lit up instantly.

The haggard look created by her makeup clashed sharply with her barely suppressed joy.

However, Dilraba didn't care about other people's opinions. She was only thinking: After more than five months in the crew, we've finally wrapped up filming!

Holding her costume, Dilraba walked out of the film set. She was about to go to the dressing room to change and leave, but before she had taken two steps, she turned back and walked straight toward director Lin Yufen.

"Hurry up and tidy up the place, the next film crew is coming... Hey? Reba, what brings you here?"

"Director, I came to tell you that I'm leaving the crew soon. Thank you for taking care of me during this time."

Reba smiled broadly, but her squinted eyes were clearly not looking at Lin Yufen. The dreamy look in her eyes was as if the person she was thinking of was directly reflected on her retina.

Hearing that Reba had come to say goodbye, Lin Yufen, though used to it, still asked him a question.

Are you heading off to your next film set?

"No, the next film crew will probably take a few more months to complete preparations. I'll go home and rest for a bit."

"Wow~, you're so happy even when you're resting, I bet you miss your boyfriend."

"Hey hey hey."

Judging from your silly grin, you're probably still here, but your heart has already flown home, right?

Lin Yufen thought so. She was so engrossed in shipping the two on set that she didn't try to persuade Reba to stay. She just confirmed their next collaboration.

"Tencent has finalized the copyright for 'Eternal Love of Dream' and is expected to start filming next year. You're the lead actress. I heard that you applied to Tencent to let me direct it?"

"Hehe, Sister Yufen, we've already collaborated twice, wouldn't it be even better to do it again!"

Reba did not deny it, but only talked about their friendship and nothing else.

"The Pillow Book" tells the story of Bai Fengjiu. As the female lead, her current popularity and status are enough to communicate with the production company.

I recommend Lin Yufen. Besides the fact that we have worked together many times and are already familiar with each other, Lin Yufen is also the most successful director in the fantasy drama genre. Her works include "Chinese Paladin 3", "Xuan-Yuan Sword", "The Journey of Flower" and "Eternal Love".

To be on the safe side, Dilraba didn't want to work with other directors.

Hearing her reply, Lin Yufen smiled happily: "Of course it would be great to work with you again. Alright, I won't take up any more of your time. Let's talk again next time."

"Goodbye, Sister Yufen."

After finishing the last round of social niceties, Dilraba rushed to the dressing room to remove her makeup and change clothes. Then, she called her assistant and they sped off to the airport to prepare for her return to Beijing that day.

Sitting in the back of the van, listening to her assistant and manager's conversation, Dilraba closed her eyes and pretended to doze off out of boredom.

However, she had only rested for a short while when she suddenly sat up straight, opened her eyes abruptly, and her eyes showed a hint of panic.

Meeting the strange look from her assistant, Dilraba forced herself to remain calm and said, "You continue, give me my phone."

"oh oh."

Taking the phone, Dilraba leaned back in her chair, pursed her lower lip, and found the mysterious group chat on WeChat.

Xiaoba: "Hey, I wrapped up filming today. What have you guys been up to lately? @Mengdada @Dalitian"

Dali Tian: "I'm filming in Shenzhen. The weather here is nice. It's November, and I can still wear short sleeves."

Meng Dada: "(Why are you looking for me? emoji)"

Xiaoba: "I'm heading back to Beijing soon, what are you planning? @MengDada"

Meng Dada: "Hehe."

Dali Tian: "Hehe."

Meng Dada: "@Dali Tian, ​​what are you 'hehing' about? Aren't you also stuck outside and unable to go back?"

Xiaoba: "Oh, you're outside! Okay, got it. You go ahead and do your work, don't rush back @MengDada"

Meng Dada: "You f***ing..."

Seeing Meng Ziyi's reply in the group, Reba chuckled and then sent a private message to Chen Xiu, who wasn't in the group chat.

"Brother Xiu, I'll arrive in Beijing around 17 PM. What time are you going home?"

When this message reached Chen Xiu's phone, he received a message from Meng Ziyi a second later, followed by one from Tian Xinwei.

Meng Ziyi: "Dilraba is back today??"

Tian Xinwei: "When will you be finished with your work? I can ask the crew for a few days off."

Exiting the main interface and carefully examining the three messages, Chen Xiu quickly sent a single reply to all three in the meantime between the arrival of the people she had arranged to meet.

"I'm dealing with work, something very important. I miss you too. Bye."

Get it done.

Putting away her phone, Chen Xiu saw Zhou Shouzi walking towards her from the side, and stood up with a smile to shake his hand. "Shouzi, you don't look well. Didn't you sleep well last night?"

"Hehe, I've been busy with the handover of work these past few days, so I haven't been getting enough sleep, but it doesn't matter."

Zhou Shouzi does not have a non-compete agreement, so as long as Xiaomi cooperates, the resignation process will be very quick.

After giving a brief explanation, he waved to the waiter and ordered himself a double espresso Americano.

After ordering, Zhou Shouzi, looking excited, said to Chen Xiu, "President Chen, I have officially completed my resignation. The handover of the remaining tasks will not affect me in any way."

"Can we begin the next phase of our work communication now?"

"Of course, but I haven't officially joined TikTok yet?"

"The information we discussed was all publicly available, and I just wanted to seek your advice."

After dispelling her concerns, Chen Xiu waited for the waiter to bring the coffee, watched Zhou Shouzi take a big gulp, and then they began to talk about business.

"Shouzi, could you first share your thoughts on TikTok?"

What are your thoughts on TikTok?
Short videos? Algorithm recommendations? Content-driven social media? The era of personal self-media?
Chen Xiu's question triggered a flood of thoughts in Zhou Shouzi's mind, most of which were labels that the internet had currently attached to Douyin.

After simplifying these thoughts, Zhou Shouzi's eyes lit up as he said, "I think TikTok is a content product that uses core algorithms to capture users' preferences and provides them with targeted recommendations, making it very suitable for the current era of the internet entering a period of stock growth."

"This answer is basically consistent with my thoughts."

Chen Xiu nodded in agreement and used this as a starting point to chat with Zhou Shouzi about TikTok's journey from its inception to its overseas expansion, its acquisition of Musical.ly, and the remarkable achievement of adding 1 million users within 30 days after the merger of the two companies.

After giving a brief overview of TikTok's development and current situation.

Chen Xiu paused for a moment, then slowly raised her head, looking calmly at Zhou Shouzi.

"Our next phase of discussion will focus on TikTok's pre-IPO plan."

"So fast?"

For the first time, Zhou Shouzi showed surprise on his face, but he quickly regained his composure.

Pre-IPO is not a standard Series A, B, or C funding round, but rather a crucial late-stage or pre-IPO funding round categorized by investment stage.

Following the completion of this round of financing, the company will then formally submit an IPO application to a stock exchange.

Zhou Shouzi was surprised by the news, mainly because he felt that TikTok's IPO was happening a bit too fast.

However, from another perspective, now that he has joined TikTok, he needs to lead the pre-IPO work, be responsible for lobbying various investment institutions, and deal with various difficulties posed to TikTok from overseas.

Indeed, the task is arduous!

Seeing that Zhou Shouzi's excitement only increased, Chen Xiu knew she hadn't chosen the wrong person: "Your knowledge of finance far surpasses mine. What are your thoughts on TikTok's pre-IPO?"

"Mr. Chen, you should have already made contact with PE (private equity) funds and hedge funds, right?"

"So far, Silver Lake and SoftBank have shown great interest, Blackstone is still hesitant, and some large domestic companies also want to make a strategic investment in TikTok."

The Silver Lake Capital and Blackstone Group that Chen Xiu mentioned are global-level private equity firms.

The former tends to invest in technology companies, while the latter's investment direction is more conservative.

Seed, Series A, B, and C funding rounds for early-stage technology startups fall under venture capital, with investors primarily being angel investors, as well as VCs like Sequoia Capital and DST.

As companies enter the pre-IPO stage, they reach a relatively mature stage of development, with lower investment risks and higher capital requirements. The main investors then become private equity firms, hedge funds, and large institutions.

Upon hearing the names of the companies Chen Xiu mentioned, Zhou Shouzi pondered for a moment before continuing, "May I ask about the scale of this pre-IPO?"

"Hehe, Shouzi, you don't need to be so careful with your words. Since I'm willing to talk to you about this topic, there's nothing wrong with saying it."

Reiterating their cooperative relationship, Chen Xiu did not answer Zhou Shouzi, but instead casually held up three fingers.

Looking at the OK sign in front of him, Zhou Shouzi's pupils contracted slightly, and his mind began to calculate rapidly.

TikTok's last funding round was already in the $10 billion range, so it's impossible for them to back down before their pre-IPO stage.

"30 billion US dollars?"

"You think it's too much?"

"In terms of scale alone, it's not a lot, but TikTok is not profitable yet, and this amount of financing may put too much pressure on its IPO."

"TikTok's profit model is already very clear. We expect TikTok's profitability to grow significantly in the first quarter of next year, which is also the figure we have estimated."

Chen Xiuyin went to see TikTok's specific profit situation, but Zhou Shouzi didn't ask any further questions.

Seeing that Zhou Shouzi still had concerns on his face, Chen Xiu said, "What I'm telling you is the direction of TikTok's next phase of work. I'm informing you in advance so that you can prepare for it."

"I see."

Zhou Shouzi nodded slightly, then fixed his gaze and looked up at Chen Xiu.

"Once the remaining aspects of Xiaomi's operations are handed over, I hope to start working as soon as possible."

"I have no reason to refuse, welcome to TikTok."

Chen Xiu stood up and shook hands with Zhou Shouzi again.

(End of this chapter)