From Taobao intern to the father of Pinduoduo

Chapter 190 Pinduoduo Enters Overseas Markets

Shanghai, Pinduoduo headquarters.

Lin Mu sat in his office, the computer screen displaying the follow-up to Li Xing's post.

On the trending topics list, #DisabledBrotherSpeaksOutForPinduoduo# has reached number 19.

He clicked in and looked at the comments section, which already had tens of thousands of comments.

In 2012, Weibo was not as overly padded as it is today.

It's really popular to have tens of thousands of comments.

Let me say a few words too. I'm from a rural area in Henan. In the past, I would go to town to buy clothes for my children; a cotton-padded jacket would cost seventy or eighty yuan.

Later, my daughter downloaded Pinduoduo for me, and the same clothes were only twenty-something yuan. At first, I didn't believe it and thought it must be fake. But when the clothes arrived, I wasn't scammed. The clothes were very thick and warm. I'm really grateful to Pinduoduo for allowing us country folk to use cheap and useful products.

[From Yunnan. My son studies in the county town, and his monthly living expenses are 300 yuan. The teacher asked us to print out review materials, which cost one yuan per page in the county town, but only two mao (0.2 yuan) on Pinduoduo.]

[I'm from Gansu. Courier services don't work here, but there's a pickup point in town. Now I go to town every month to bring back the things I buy on Pinduoduo. Rice, flour, oil, clothes, shoes—I buy everything. It saves me half the money I used to.]

Lin Mu scrolled down the list one by one, his finger hovering over the mouse.

He didn't expect it to turn out this way.

He originally just wanted to create some buzz, have his own people question him, and then respond to the situation to pull off a comeback.

As it turned out, all of these comments were true.

Those names he had never seen, those places he had never been, those stories he had never heard.

One by one, densely packed.

He had already asked Chen Ping, and it turned out these weren't paid trolls at all; they were all genuine comments.

If we're really talking about marketing, then the netizens who argued with that disabled guy were actually paid trolls they hired.

I never expected it would have such consequences.

Lin Mu stared at the screen, remained silent for a few seconds, and then smiled.

Oh my god.

This is something to be very proud of.

This is much more exciting than becoming a billionaire.

Hangzhou, Alibaba headquarters.

Zhang Yong sat in his office, looking rather unwell.

He had seen the controversy surrounding Pinduoduo on Weibo and witnessed how public opinion shifted.

He picked up the phone and dialed the public relations department's number.

"Come to my office."

Five minutes later, the public relations director walked in.

Zhang Yong pointed at the screen, his tone heavy: "I asked you if you had targeted Pinduoduo's charity program. You said no."

The public relations director was taken aback: "Mr. Zhang, we really don't have any."

Zhang Yong frowned: "What's going on on Weibo?"

The public relations director innocently said, "Mr. Zhang, this wasn't done by us. How could we possibly use such stupid methods?"

"stupid?"

"Look," the PR director pointed to the screen, "these questioning posts are obviously from alt accounts. But Pinduoduo's response directly posted the detailed financial statements, clearly and completely. And now so many ordinary people are coming out saying this." He paused, then concluded, "This isn't about smearing them; it's clearly about giving them free publicity."

Zhang Yong remained silent for a few seconds.

Then he asked, "Really not you?"

The public relations director raised his hand: "Mr. Zhang, I swear. You can check the accounts if you don't believe me; we simply don't have this budget."

"I can't possibly pay for this myself, can I?"

Zhang Yong waved his hand, signaling him to leave.

The office fell silent.

Zhang Yong leaned back in his chair, his brows furrowed.

It wasn't Taobao that did it.

Who is that?

Baidu? JD.com? Or some competitor that doesn't like Pinduoduo?

He thought for a long time but couldn't figure it out.

"Who exactly is spreading these rumors?"

Meanwhile, let's rewind to three months ago. "Who's Still Standing?" was still being filmed, and the 20 billion yuan investment had only been received two months prior.

February 2012, just after the Spring Festival.

Lin Mu then received a call from Goldman Sachs.

"Mr. Lin, I have a suggestion." The person on the other end of the phone was a partner from Goldman Sachs Asia, whose tone was polite but direct. "We've already seen Pinduoduo's growth in China, it's impressive. But when we do the next roadshow, if we only focus on the domestic market, the story won't be compelling enough."

Lin Mu held his phone, standing on the balcony of his old home, looking at the sea in the distance.

"Please continue."

"We suggest that Pinduoduo could extend its reach into the international market. It doesn't need to achieve huge results; even if it's just a preliminary step, as long as it can tell a story of 'international expansion,' that will suffice."

Lin Mu remained silent for a few seconds.

Then he said, "I understand."

-

After hanging up the phone, he leaned against the balcony railing, enjoying the sea breeze.

International market.

In 2012, Chinese internet companies were just beginning to consider going global. Alibaba was developing AliExpress, primarily targeting Russia and Brazil. Cheetah Mobile was making a fortune by exporting its tools.

Lin Mu's mind raced.

He thought of something that would become very popular in later generations.

That's Perler beads.

This device was reportedly originally developed in Sweden in 1970 to aid in the rehabilitation of the elderly. It was later adopted by the United States and developed into an educational toy. By 2026, its market size had exceeded one billion.

More importantly, it's also very popular overseas, with a stable audience.

There isn't a mature Perler bead industry chain in China or abroad yet. This product is still a niche market, and it could be a perfect entry point for development.

Perler beads, simply put, are a type of DIY toy. They consist of many small plastic beads that you place on a grid and use different colored beads to create the patterns you want.

After you've finished assembling them, iron them with an iron, and the beans will stick together, forming a complete artwork. You can take this artwork down and display it as a beautiful piece.

What's most fun about it is its high degree of hands-on ability. With just one picture, you can assemble almost anything.

Moreover, it has a killer feature: it doesn't have to worry about copyright issues.

For manufacturers, they are simply selling beads. The patterns on the beads are copied and downloaded by users themselves from the internet. Users use the beads to create classic designs, and the manufacturers bear no responsibility.

Let's talk about the domestic market.

The variety show "Who's Still Standing?" is about to premiere, and it emphasizes intellectual challenges. Selling Perler beads as merchandise during the show's run should generate some buzz in the domestic market.

Lin Mu also has ideas about overseas markets.

2012 was a year of rapid growth for YouTube, and he could use that opportunity to establish his presence on YouTube.

At this point, in order to generate revenue, YouTube had started using pre-roll ads, and the results were very good. He could collaborate with YouTube creators and then buy pre-roll ad content from YouTube.

They can also help promote products from Galeries Lafayette in Paris.

With multiple approaches combined, this product should at least generate some buzz. As Pinduoduo's first foray into overseas markets, this is a good start.

Three days later, in Yiwu, Zhejiang.

Lin Mu sat in the office of a toy factory, opposite a middle-aged man in his fifties surnamed Zhou, whom everyone in the factory called Factory Director Zhou.

After exchanging pleasantries, Lin Mu smiled and took out a few sheets of paper from his bag.

"Director Zhou, I want to make a toy."

Factory Director Zhou took the paper and looked down at it.

The paper had some diagrams: small plastic beans of various colors, placed on a grid board with raised dots, could be arranged into various shapes. After assembling, an iron was used to stick the beans together, creating a complete artwork.

Factory Director Zhou stared at it for a long time, then looked up with a somewhat complicated expression.

"Mr. Lin, isn't this... a bit too complicated?"

Lin Mu raised an eyebrow: "Complex?"

Factory Director Zhou pointed to the blueprints: "Look, these beans come in several colors, and each color needs a separate mold. The spacing of the raised dots on this grid plate needs to be precise to the millimeter, otherwise the beans won't fit. And this iron, the temperature needs to be controlled well, otherwise the beans will either not stick or melt."

He paused, then said cautiously, "Besides, will anyone actually play with this thing? Kids might eat the beans if they play with it. And adults? Who has the time for that?"

Lin Mu smiled.

"Director Zhou, trust me, this stuff will be a hit."

97

"Director Zhou, think about it, what would this thing look like if it were made? Imagine a little kid holding a box of colorful beans, piecing together a small house and an animal on a grid board. After finishing, you iron it, and it becomes a toy you can hold and play with."

He turned his head and looked at Director Zhou.

Do you think that child would like it?

what.

That sounds interesting.

He hesitated and said, "Maybe."

"It could sell very well in the youth market."

Lin Mu continued to tempt him, "Moreover, this product isn't just sold on Pinduoduo."

"Pinduoduo plans to expand its international business, and we intend to promote this product in the international market."

"At that time, Zhou Factory Manager, you'll earn not just RMB, but US dollars."

This time, Factory Director Zhou was truly moved.

Based on his understanding of the European and American markets, teenagers there might really like this thing.

It's like Lego bricks.

Moreover, after thinking about it, Zhou Changzi realized that Lin Mu's record speaks for itself; he has never lost a battle so far.

Almost all the factories that didn't trust him later regretted it deeply.

Just trust him.

Besides, he had fought hard for this opportunity from among his peers.

If there's no challenge, how can he demonstrate his ability?

Anyway, as long as there's a real market for this stuff, he'll be able to get it right.