If everyone is reborn, who will work for capital?

Chapter 169 They're All Paper Tigers (First Update, 3k words)

Zhu Xiaohu invested in Gengzhi's [Jiaotong University Matchmaker], then partnered with Arctic Capital to invest in Momo's arch-rival [Weiju], and now he's meeting with Gengzhi privately again?

This whole thing just doesn't seem right. Could there be some kind of shady deal between them?

Is Zhu Xiaohu trying to bet on both sides?

Or was he an undercover agent planted within [Weiju] from the very beginning, specifically to pass messages to Gengzhi?

Li Dongping stood there, momentarily unable to tell whether Zhu Xiaohu was an enemy or a friend.

Geng Zhi guessed Li Dongping's suspicion from his expression, but did not explain further. He exchanged a few pleasantries with the others and then calmly returned to the reception room.

The most embarrassed person was Zhu Xiaohu.

He never expected that Geng Zhi, who usually arrived right on time, would arrive so early today and run into Li Dongping.

If word gets out that I've bet on both sides, my reputation in the investment world will be severely damaged.

Zhu Xiaohu and Kong Min escorted the second season to the elevator.

While Zhu Xiaohu was still hesitating about whether to offer an explanation, Li Dongping, unable to contain his own curiosity, tentatively asked, "President Zhu, what kind of cooperation are you discussing with President Geng?"

"Mr. Li, please don't misunderstand. Mr. Geng said he came to Beijing to discuss Momo's Series B financing and also wanted to catch up with me, but I definitely won't invest in him," Zhu Xiaohu quickly explained.

Fearing Li Dongping wouldn't believe him, he quickly added, "Look, if he really came to discuss financing, how could he come alone without a team? That doesn't make sense!"

Upon hearing this, Li Dongping thought it made sense and quickly tried to smooth things over with a laugh: "Look at what President Zhu is saying, I was just curious, President Zhu, please don't misunderstand."

"Haha, great!" Zhu Xiaohu seized the opportunity, "President Li, next time there are good projects in the internet industry, Jinshajiang will definitely invest together with Arctic Capital for mutual benefit!"

In Zhu Xiaohu's office, Geng Zhi was sitting on the sofa, leisurely drinking his Lanzhou Sanpaotai tea.

As soon as Zhu Xiaohu entered, he was met with a straightforward teasing remark: "Senior Brother Zhu, you seem to have a pretty good relationship with Arctic Capital! Were you guys just discussing some strategies for [Weiju] to deal with us [Momo]?"

Zhu Xiaohu rolled his eyes and shook his head with feigned helplessness: "If we were really discussing countermeasures between [Weiju] and [Momo], why wouldn't Li Haipeng be here?"

-

"That's true." Geng Zhi nodded with a smile, then guessed, "So, you two were having a lively chat just now, could it be that you've set your sights on a new project?"

"Yes." Zhu Xiaohu said while adding water to Geng Zhi's cup. "President Li has his eye on a smartphone project and wants me to invest in it with him."

"A smartphone?" Geng Zhi feigned interest, his eyes lighting up. "Senior, can you tell me about it?"

"What, you're interested in this too?" Zhu Xiaohu asked a pointless question, and then explained it to Geng Zhi in general terms according to his own understanding.

Zhu Xiaohu spoke very seriously throughout, but as Geng Zhi listened, he couldn't help but shake his head and sigh repeatedly.

What Zhu Xiaohu said is completely different from what Lei Jun really wants to do with Dami Technology; their logic is worlds apart.

Geng Zhi wasn't sure whether the two Lis themselves didn't understand the core logic of Dami Technology, or whether they deliberately didn't explain it clearly to Zhu Xiaohu, or whether Zhu Xiaohu's understanding was off-track. In any case, it was completely nonsensical.

Regardless of the reason, he was quite impressed that Li Dongping had thought of bringing Zhu Xiaohu into investing in Dami Technology.

Geng Zhi took a sip of Sanpaotai tea, put down the cup, and teased, "Senior Brother Zhu, you didn't invest in Dami Technology, did you misjudge the market and miss out on another good project?"

The words "[Missed again]" were like a small needle, precisely piercing Zhu Xiaohu's heart.

When Kong Min returned to the room and heard those three words from Geng Zhi, she couldn't help but burst out laughing, almost dropping the cup in her hand.

Zhu Xiaohu glared at her sideways.

Kong Min quickly covered her mouth, then changed the subject seriously: "President Zhu, President Geng, [Momo] and [Weiju]'s big competitor is coming."

As she spoke, she gave the two a general overview of some of the details of the Renren.com press conference announcement and the news of Chen Yizhou's interview.

Finally, she opened the [Private App] she had just downloaded and showed it to Geng Zhi and Zhu Xiaohu.

"Renren.com's entry with such a huge investment has made the market even more lively!" Kong Min commented at the end.

"Mr. Kong, what's your take on the industry landscape after Renren's exit?" Geng Zhi looked at Kong Min with great interest. "Who do you think will falter first, [Momo] or [Weiju]?"

Without hesitation, Kong Min blurted out, "It must be [Momo]!"

"Oh? Why are you so sure?" Geng Zhi frowned.

"Isn't it obvious!" Kong Min began to analyze seriously: "[Private App] is designed to compete with your [Momo], with almost identical functions, and it directly points out that it doesn't want to learn from hookup apps."

"[Weiju APP]'s business model is different from your two companies, so it will definitely be less affected. Moreover, [Weiju] has positive cash flow, making it more resilient."

After Kong Min finished speaking, seeing Geng Zhi calmly shaking his head, she couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Geng, you still have extreme confidence in Momo, don't you?"

"When Renren.com launched its aggressive campaign, it marked the beginning of a money-burning war, and the outcome of that war was already predetermined," Geng Zhi said, pausing deliberately.

"What's the ending?" Zhu Xiaohu couldn't help but ask.

Geng Zhi took a sip of his Sanpaotai tea, glanced at the two men, and said three things: "When a money-burning war breaks out, product experience and profit models become irrelevant. There's only one thing left to compare—"

It's about cash flow.

"[Weiju]'s current profits are just a drop in the ocean in this cash-burning war."

"If none of the companies have made any obvious mistakes, whoever doesn't have enough money to burn will be eliminated. [Momo] has far more money than [Weiju], so [Momo] definitely won't be the first to be eliminated," Geng Zhi said confidently.

Kong Min fell silent, her brows furrowing slightly as she fell into thought.

Zhu Xiaohu nodded, agreeing with the straightforward view that "cash flow determines survival." He then followed up with, "So, how much money are you [Momo] planning to raise in your Series B round?"

"What, Senior Brother, are you planning to bet on both [Momo] and [Weiju]?" Geng Zhi asked with a smile as he looked at Zhu Xiaohu.

Zhu Xiaohu remained silent, waiting for Geng Zhi's straightforward answer.

"We raised 2500 million," Geng Zhi answered without reservation, "in US dollars."

boom!

Zhu Xiaohu was stunned, Kong Min was stunned, their faces filled with disbelief.

The office fell into a deathly silence.

"Junior brother, how many shares are you planning to give up?"

"Still 10%."

Kong Min gasped, "—Estimated value of 2.5 million!"

Zhu Xiaohu swallowed hard: "————"

The office was quiet for a long time this time.

Zhu Xiaohu broke the silence: "Junior brother, I know you're amazing, you always manage to overturn my understanding. But this time—"

"This time, Senior Brother Zhu, you still don't believe me," Geng Zhi said with a smile. "But I, your junior brother, can still do it."

Zhu Xiaohu remained silent, a long silence.

He stopped questioning Geng Zhi, and he wasn't in the mood to question him anymore. What he was thinking about now was what to do with [Weiju], the company he had invested in.

As Geng Zhi said, once the money-burning war starts, even if Renren's primary target is Momo, Weiju will also be affected.

Momo's cash flow is much higher than Weiju's, so Weiju is most likely to collapse first.

Jinshajiang Venture Capital is about to face yet another investment failure.

In doing so, he was one step further away from becoming a top investor.

Cutting losses in time? He was unwilling.

[Weiju] has good data now, the team has strong execution, and Li Haipeng is a talented person.

Continue pushing for [Weiju]'s Series B funding? But no matter how much they raise, it's impossible to raise tens of millions of US dollars!

Geng Zhi seemed to sense Zhu Xiaohu's concerns and guessed, "Senior Brother Zhu, are you worried that Li Haipeng's [Weiju] will really be the first to collapse?"

Zhu Xiaohu nodded slightly.

"Actually, Renren.com is just a paper tiger." After saying this, Geng Zhi patted Zhu Xiaohu on the shoulder, but Zhu Xiaohu didn't react at all.

Kong Min, standing nearby, watched all of this in astonishment.

This was the first time she had ever seen an entrepreneur pat an investor on the shoulder to comfort them.

Seeing that Geng Zhi was not going to continue, Kong Min couldn't wait to ask, "Mr. Geng, what is the basis for your judgment?"

"It's actually very simple." Geng Zhi leaned back on the sofa, his tone calm. "You were intimidated by Renren's claim of investing hundreds of millions of dollars, but you haven't really understood Renren's current situation, have you?"

"Um—I really haven't looked into it," Kong Min admitted awkwardly.

Geng Zhi smiled and said, "Renren.com received $3.84 million in funding from SoftBank two years ago, but their net losses in the last two years have exceeded $1 million."

Zhu Xiaohu and Kong Min were both taken aback.

Geng Zhi continued his analysis at a measured pace: "Renren.com's Nuomi.com has just launched, but the group-buying war is about to begin, as you two probably know. The speed at which the money is burned in the group-buying war will be even more intense than in the LBS field."

He paused, then continued, "Renren is going public, and their financial statements need to be shown to Wall Street. They can invest in LBS..."

The money in that field is at most in the tens of millions of US dollars.

"7

After stating his point frankly, he began to break down Renren.com's model and current situation in detail, presenting one data point after another.

Zhu Xiaohu raised an eyebrow and suddenly realized that if the straightforward data was true, it made a lot of sense.

"So, Mr. Zhu, you just need to invest in [Weiju], even if it's only seven or eight million US dollars, that's enough. As long as Li Haipeng is willing, and [Momo] is willing to fight the paper tiger together with [Weiju]," Geng Zhi finally suggested.

Hearing Geng Zhi say this, Zhu Xiaohu's concerns immediately dissipated, and his confidence returned.

At the same time, he gained a greater appreciation for Geng Zhi's ability to conduct in-depth research.

"President Geng, it turns out you had already done such detailed research on Renren.com. No wonder you weren't worried at all!" Kong Min couldn't help but praise.

"My knowledge comes from my ancestors; knowing yourself is the key to victory in every battle," Geng Zhi said, putting on a show.

"What are your plans for dealing with Renren's press conference, junior colleague?"

Geng Zhi hesitated for a moment before speaking: "Senior brother is no outsider, so I'll be frank. It really boils down to two words: leveraging influence."

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