Those Years When I Was Forced to Top the Forbes List

Chapter 179 A la carte entrepreneurship

"You two are here pretending to be poor and demanding money from me, with bowls of fried potatoes in your hands?"

Chen Xuebing glared at the two of them unhappily: "The foundation isn't a loan from me; it's an investment. If you don't want to invest anymore, I'll let you withdraw when it's due."

"I'm not pretending to be poor, these potatoes are really delicious! They're freshly fried, you should try them!" Hu Li moved the bowl closer to him.

Chen Xuebing made a tactical retreat.

You present me with something I've been eating since I was a child.

Xu Yunfeng, standing next to him, was much more direct.

“I’m not pretending to be poor, I’m genuinely poor. I just want to ask you, how much money has the foundation made so far? When are you going to make some big moves? My shop needs the money.”

"What's the panic? You know about the market volatility last month, right? We made over 400 million, and Alpha's returns are already very high."

Chen Xuebing was quite satisfied with the fund's performance in its first month of operation.

The market as a whole did not rise, but it maintained a good overall return, and almost all of this return can be attributed to Alpha.

If we calculate it annually, a fund with a size of 1.55 million would generate over 5000 million in annual returns, a return rate of over 33%. In a normal year, that would make it one of the top-performing private equity funds in the country.

Of course, this is partly due to his good stock picks.

This at least proves that this fund can survive, and thrive, even without a bull market.

However, the more than four million yuan in revenue this month is not a considerable amount when divided among Hu Li and Xu Yunfeng, less than three percent. Both of them signed guaranteed minimum payments, and Chen Xuebing will take 40% of it.

Neither of them seemed very excited.

"Brother, you finally came back, why don't you show us around? We're so bored."

Hu Li was a restless person. She socialized with everyone in her class and then with Xu Yunfeng and his gang of rich kids, until she finally got tired of it.

Chen Xuebing recalled some ideas that had just flashed through his mind, a smile appearing on his lips as he nodded slightly at the two of them:

"You're bored. Mr. Xu is short of money, right?"

Hu Li nodded, but Xu Yunfeng remained silent.

But what they said next moved them both.

"How about I help you two start a business?" Chen Xuebing said with a smile.

Hu Li was initially excited: "Start a business? Great! How do I start a business?"

"Let's do something avant-garde and get involved in the internet."

Now Xu Yunfeng was also interested, but still a little cautious: "How do you play? Do you have to invest money?"

Chen Xuebing sat down again, tapped the table, and gestured for them to sit down as well.

“Startups don’t cost much money, at most a few hundred thousand. I’ll provide the business ideas, you make the choices, you build and manage the team yourselves, I’ll contribute half the money, you’ll contribute half, you’ll hold the majority share (51%) and act as the legal representative, and I’ll hold 49%.”

Upon hearing this, Hu Li immediately agreed.

It's fair to assign shares based on the amount of capital invested.

Xu Yunfeng frowned: "According to you, if the three of us are partners, Hu Li and I are just doing the work, and together we only have a controlling stake, not absolute control?"

He owns the shop, so he knows very well that in a business partnership, the person in charge of management should have a share of the profits.

"Who said I'm not working? You know how to play the internet, right?" Chen Xuebing said with his arms crossed, laughing.
"Propose a concept, develop a product, get venture capital support, generate initial traffic, secure large-scale financing, burn money, burn money, burn money."

Chen Xuebing said "burning money" three times in a row before finally adding two words: "Going public."

The word "listing" is quite irritating.

Both of their fathers were aiming for this goal.

The ultimate dream of 99% of entrepreneurs.

“Me,” Chen Xuebing pointed to himself, “I’ll be responsible for coming up with the concept and handling the process after the venture capital investment. You’ll only be responsible for the initial investment, building the team, and developing the product. As long as you make a good product, I’ll take care of the subsequent investors. I’ll lead each round of financing, and of course, you can also co-invest according to the shareholders’ rights.”

"Moreover," Chen Xuebing said with a smile, "I didn't say it was a three-person partnership. What I mean is that I will provide a list of options, and each of you will choose one project to work on with me. This project must be something you are good at, or at least something you are interested in, otherwise it won't last long and it will be a waste of my energy."

Hu Li started to panic.

"You want me to start my own business? I can't do it, I don't know how!"

Chen Xuebing smiled calmly and said, "If you don't know how, then learn. I can guide you. If you're not even willing to learn, then you might as well quit playing around."

He told them these things because he saw that both of them had their own entrepreneurial abilities.

Hu Li is good at dealing with people, and Xu Yunfeng is experienced. The two also share a common trait: thick skin.

In fact, many second-generation rich kids have the trait of being thick-skinned. They have seen a lot, are more aware of things than ordinary people, and understand the rules of survival in society. They don't value so-called "dignity" so much. This is one of the basic characteristics of entrepreneurs.

Without this trait, you won't be able to get past the hurdle of building a team.

However, he had many other candidates like this. His foundation had plenty of rich second-generation heirs, but Chen Xuebing only decided to use them as practice subjects because he was more familiar with these two.

He has just figured it out. When entering the internet industry, he should not choose to do things himself. First, the goal is big and easy to attract attention. Second, with so many mature things in his mind, why should he choose to put his energy into one or a few tracks?
Select talent, diversify goals, and break down large tasks into smaller ones.

He had long considered investing in the internet industry and had even tried, but there were too few projects to invest in. Waiting for a fixed candidate who had already succeeded in a previous life to grow was too long a process.

In fact, the model for success is already in his mind; he doesn't need to pin his hopes on others.

These wealthy second-generation individuals who can afford to lose money, have grand visions, resources, and free time are actually the most suitable group for starting a business.

Selecting partners from the children of the fund's major clients creates a bond of mutual benefit, eliminates concerns about anyone running away with the money, and also helps raise their children.

Even if we lose money, it's okay. A startup project only requires an investment of a few hundred thousand or a million, so it's just a bonus.

He can train several teams to compete in one track.

He can selectively co-invest in promising and successful projects, proposing deeper creative ideas to enhance their competitiveness.

As for not holding a controlling stake, it's just for their entrepreneurial passion. Everyone wants to be the big boss, but once they succeed, the subsequent rounds of financing won't be up to them. Chen Xuebing knows very well how much money the internet industry burns, and he has many ways to turn his 49% stake into a 51% controlling stake, or even an absolute 67% controlling stake.

What he needs to do is create a "menu" list, allowing these rich kids to choose the most exciting track and generate the most core traffic for him during the entrepreneurial process. He will then selectively distribute the traffic and funds to help key projects grow.

These projects, like countless tiny tentacles that split from a topological graph, expand covertly on the side unnoticed, grabbing traffic, and then returning to their own large circle when needed.

This is how Tencent operated after it reached maturity; they called this model "incubation."

However, Tencent passively selects existing projects for incubation, while Tencent can actively incubate projects.

"So, are you in or not? I can tell you with certainty that with my guidance, as long as you choose a direction that suits you and stick to it, your chances of starting a business are at least 50%," Chen Xuebing said confidently.

As a pilot project, he will put a lot of effort into supporting it.

Xu Yunfeng was stunned when he heard this.

"What do you mean by entrepreneurial success?"

Chen Xuebing chuckled: "Anyway, your fourth-generation dealership is definitely not a success. It needs to be at least among the top in the industry. Whether it can go public or not depends on fate."

"Just a few hundred thousand?" Hu Li looked like she was hearing a foreign language.

Upon hearing the word "then," Chen Xuebing couldn't help but click his tongue.

There's a real difference between the rich kids and the rich kids. Hu Li and Xu Yunfeng can easily come up with hundreds of thousands of yuan, but Xin Mengzhen can't even afford to buy a house.

This doesn't mean Xin Mengzhen's family is poor. He's certain that the combined assets of the two families are less than half, or even less than a third, of Xin Mengzhen's family. However, Hu Li and Xu Yunfeng are both only children and have exclusive access to resources, while Xin Mengzhen's family has three branches, starting from her grandfather, and the resources are all allocated to the men.

Reincarnation is truly a skill.

Wang Jianlin of Wanda Group is not the only person to reach the top of the rich list. Why is everyone envious of his son?
The richest man's only son, and with a mother like Lin Ning, he probably won't have any more children. This is a unique case.

Guaranteed win.

Chen Xuebing felt sorry for Xiao Xin for a moment, then his thoughts returned to the main point.

"It's only a few hundred thousand, but after the initial market validation, if you don't participate in the co-investment, your shareholding will definitely decrease, but I guarantee that the value of the shares will increase many times over."

"What's that list of plans you mentioned? Show it to me." Xu Yunfeng had decided to get on with it.

Chen Xuebing was now in a bit of a dilemma, not knowing what their specialties were, but not wanting to waste time, he took out his phone, opened the text message interface, and while thinking, wrote down a few tracks that he could work on at the moment based on his understanding of them.

video.

music.

Fiction.

Browser... UC Browser is here, never mind, I'll close it.

game.

social contact.

travel.

Comprehensive consultation.

He started with mainstream apps from later generations, listing several that could be implemented on web pages for them to choose from.

The two took the phone, glanced at it, and began to make their own plans.

"What do you mean by 'video'?" Xu Yunfeng asked.

"There are many more. You know Tudou.com, right? It's a video aggregation website that broadcasts movies and TV series, and it can also create its own content in a specific field."

This is being compared to Youku and iQiyi, or A-site and B-site.

"What about comprehensive consultation?" Hu Li asked, picking the last question.

"It's news, you can choose the direction yourself."

This is being compared to Toutiao (Today's Headlines).

It's the Toutiao app, not Today Capital.

When Chen Xuebing thought of this, he couldn't help but recall the legendary app that Capital Today created before Douyin.

Beep, beep.

Steamed buns! Ouch~
So he added, "Actually, creating your own funny content is also fine."

He didn't point out any general direction; he originally planned to diversify his investments. He believed that it would be good if these startups could become the leader in a certain category within a certain track.

Hu Li's eyes suddenly lit up: "Could we do something related to the entertainment industry? Something that allows me to contact celebrities!"

She is fascinated by all the gossip in the entertainment industry. If she could work with celebrities, she would be happy to be a boss or even just an employee!

"Yes, these categories have all grown significantly and are related to celebrities. It depends on what you want to choose: celebrity news, celebrity social media, and celebrity endorsements."

What is celebrity social networking?

"You can invite celebrities to join your blog, but this is resource-intensive and has high server requirements, so there's a high chance you'll fail."

The blog wars were already fierce, and microblogs have become a standard feature for tech giants, representing the vanguard in the push for the Internet 2.0 era. Sina Weibo, Sohu Weibo, NetEase Weibo, Tencent Weibo…

To be honest, Chen Xuebing didn't really want to let a newbie like Hu Li try out this core traffic technology. Just like with network communication, he didn't offer this option at all; these were areas he would most likely have to handle himself.

To everyone's surprise, Hu Li looked down on her.

"Blogs... how do you get in touch with celebrities? Are there any movie investment opportunities or anything like that?"

Chen Xuebing really wanted to say, "Do you even know what a Weibo Night is?"

But since she didn't think it was a good thing, he changed his mind and said, "Then you can make aggregated videos. Once you get big, you can make your own movies. In the early stages, you can accumulate users by encouraging user-generated content. Look up the UGC model. I can provide you with some marketing solutions, but you'll have to do the website building yourself."

“Okay!” Hu Li readily agreed.

"I want to make games, to make a high-quality game." Xu Yunfeng had also figured out his direction.

"I suggest you don't play single-player games. Start with online games, or even web games."

Xu Yunfeng chose a very profitable industry and had entrepreneurial experience, so Chen Xuebing explained it with more seriousness:
"You can also choose to distribute foreign games. You can find some projects with low distribution fees, make a list, and I will help you choose. Once you have successfully distributed one or two games, you will have the money to build a professional modeling team. Only then will it be possible to realize your dream."

"Games also have many directions: role-playing, action, adventure, strategy, fighting, real-time strategy. But as I always say, choose one you like, one you can play, and one you have high expectations for. Just like writing a novel, if you don't love it, the work has no soul."

"Imitating other games is also acceptable. Good games don't have to be dazzling; they can be rough and low-cost, but they must have playability that sparks players' interest. If you find a benchmark product, I can provide you with some directions and new content."

After explaining it this way, Chen Xuebing felt much more at ease.

He only needs to provide ideas and guidance later on. With this kind of joint entrepreneurship, he can easily lead dozens of teams.

If even a third of them survive, he could easily be called an internet giant.

“Then I’ll choose to imitate.” Xu Yunfeng made his choice decisively: “I want to do it myself. I’ve had enough of helping others sell their products.”

Chen Xuebing responded with a "yo".

"If you follow this line of thinking, I think it would be quite suitable for you to go home and inherit your father's business. Your father is doing something quite significant: racing electric motorcycle batteries and soft-pack lithium batteries. These are all promising areas."

His biggest expectation for Xu Yunfeng was that he would come home and work with dry cell batteries.

"Stop joking. I know you're in the mobile phone business. I've already asked around for you. If you have time to go to Northeast China, he'd be willing to meet with you. But if you want him to be your sole supplier and give you a small factory for R&D, that's impossible. He already has many large, established clients."

Xu Yunfeng waved his hand, revealing Chen Xuebing's thoughts in a single sentence.

Chen Xuebing hadn't hidden his thoughts to begin with, and upon hearing this, he simply chuckled and said, "When you truly start your own business, remember these four words: 'Man proposes, God disposes.'"

Xu Yunfeng was impervious to reason, and even his father couldn't influence him, so naturally he wouldn't listen to Chen Xuebing's nonsense.

"I'm planning to start this business in my own shop. What do you think?"

"I don't provide management guidance. You draft the plan, I provide the ideas, and I invest in batches according to your startup progress. It's that simple."

Chen Xuebing made his intentions clear from the very beginning.

He doesn't really approve of the idea of ​​working with the internet in 4S stores, but he would never spend a lot of his time managing things for others.

Do whatever you want.

"Great idea." Xu Yunfeng gave a thumbs up: "Tomorrow is Monday, I'll get people to recruit a team from the Computer Science Department."

He not only makes games, but also treats this matter as a game.

A game that he immediately wanted to play.

Hu Li got a little anxious: "What about me? What about me? Give me some pointers! You promised to teach me!"

Chen Xuebing put away his book, pointed at Xu Yunfeng and smiled: "When he assembles a team, you follow him through it once, and then do it again according to your own ideas, adding your own embellishments."

"Damn it, I think you're messing with me!" Hu Li wanted to curse.

Chen Xuebing straightened his shirt, extended his hand to her, and gestured for a handshake: "Don't worry, Ms. Hu, I'm absolutely serious."

(End of this chapter)