The Entertainment Industry in Turmoil: Young Actresses All Want to Rise to the Top

Chapter 99 Prejudice and Outsiders

The plane soared through the clouds, leaving the lingering drizzle of Shanghai behind.

Shen Mo practically sprinted to finish all the wrap-up work for the "My Love from the Star" crew with Li Yitong, and then rushed back to the capital without stopping.

He had a mountain of backlogged tasks, but he clearly identified two primary objectives.

Firstly, there's Xiaomi's Series C funding.

Previously, Shen Mo had Chen Jun from the Strategic Investment Department attend the meetings, and now the final report has been submitted.

This round of financing raised a total of $2.16 million. If Inkstone Capital wants to maintain its existing 1% stake without being diluted, it must invest $216 million.

Funding is not a burden for Mohen now; Shen Mo values ​​the signing ceremony itself.

Qualcomm Ventures, IDG Capital, Qiming Venture Partners—these names evoked a deep glint in Shen Mo's eyes.

These are all familiar "old friends" from the capital world of his past life, and are indispensable key nodes in building his network of connections.

Secondly, there's Didi, which he's been planning for a long time.

He had previously instructed Chen Jun to keep a close eye on the developments of these ride-hailing service apps.

Now, Didi has finally launched, but as he predicted, the initial market response has been lukewarm, with a lack of effective marketing and promotion methods and slow user growth.

And this is precisely the kind of situation that Mohen excels at solving.

Shen Mo knew that the time to make his move had come.

The conference room of Mohen Capital in Beijing.

After listening to Chen Jun's final report on Xiaomi's Series C funding, Shen Mo lightly tapped his finger on the smooth conference table.

"Following in, no problem. Chen Jun, you're coming with me to the signing ceremony this time."

Chen Jun perked up: "Understood, President Shen. I have prepared all the relevant materials and contact persons."

"Hmm," Shen Mo nodded, then changed the subject.

"Another thing, Didi, the project team will be established immediately, with you in charge."

"Prepare a welcome gift for them," a draft of an integrated marketing plan addressing their current user growth challenges.

"Be quick, hit the nail on the head."

Chen Jun hesitated slightly: "President Shen, our initial assessment is that their model—"

"The model itself is fine; it's the execution and promotion pace that needs adjustment."

Shen Mo spoke with certainty, his words carrying an undeniable insight.

"Tell them that Inkmark can not only provide funding, but also solve their most pressing problems."

"The purpose of the meeting should be to have a sincere discussion, expressing our willingness to offer assistance in times of need, rather than adopting a condescending or judgmental attitude."

"clear!"

A few days later, at the signing ceremony for Xiaomi's Series C financing.

Shen Mo, dressed in a well-tailored dark suit, stood out among the many seasoned investors, appearing remarkably young yet attracting considerable attention.

Holding a champagne glass, he strolled calmly through the crowd.

IDG partner Zhou Quan greeted him with a smile. "This must be President Shen. It's an honor to meet you!"

"I was just talking to Mr. Lei about you, and I even said that this handsome young man from some family came out to learn from you. Only after Mr. Lei explained and introduced you did I realize that I had no idea how great you were."

Shen Mo gently clinked glasses with him, his smile humble and composed: "President Zhou, you flatter me. How dare a junior like myself presume to speak so highly of you?"

"I hope to have more opportunities to cooperate with you in the future."

Zhou Quan is arguably one of the top venture capitalists in China, having handled cases including Ctrip, Baidu, and Tencent.

Sohu, Weilai, Xiaopeng, etc.

Compared to other institutions that invest in companies or industries, he prefers to "invest in people".

This is probably why he took the initiative to come and communicate with Shen Mo.

After all, compared to the institutions in the industry, Mohen is still too small and young, but its investment activities and marketing activities during this period have been quite significant, and the venture capital circle has long been very interested in it.

The heads of Qualcomm and Qiming, who were standing nearby, came over when they saw the two having a pleasant conversation.

The follow-on investment agreement was successfully signed, maintaining the equity stake in Xiaomi.

After leaving the hotel and getting into the car, Shen Mo gave instructions to Chen Jun in the front passenger seat.

"That concludes our discussion with Xiaomi."

"Next, let's focus our efforts on taking over Didi."

"Yes, Mr. Shen." Chen Jun took notes efficiently.

Shen Mo leaned back in the back seat, closed his eyes, and the neon lights outside the car window flickered on his face.

For Shen Mo, Xiaomi's signing ceremony was a well-timed debut within his social circle.

Zhou Quan's initiative to make friends was a pleasant surprise. This bigwig, known for his "investment in people," has vision and resources that will be indispensable for the future.

He also clearly sensed the subtle sense of superiority emanating from the two executives at Qualcomm and Qiming.

Compared to Mohen's investment experience, they were more curious about Shen Mo's celebrity status.

Beneath the glitz and glamour of this industry lie clear barriers; education, background, and past achievements are all intangible tickets.

His background as an undergraduate in performing arts at the Beijing Film Academy is probably still seen by these people as an "outlier" that needs to be examined.

O

However, a cold smile appeared on Shen Mo's lips.

Prejudice is meant to be broken down.

In the battlefield of capital, only the rate of return matters in the end.

Even if you graduate with a PhD from an Ivy League university, if you don't have any impressive investment track record, no one will care about you.

But even if you come from humble beginnings, if you consistently invest in unicorns, then you are the most dazzling investor.

"Chen Jun," Shen Mo suddenly spoke, his eyes still closed.

"President Shen." Chen Jun immediately turned around.

"The core idea of ​​the solution we provided to Didi can be summarized in eight words: a powerful ground sales force, and using incentives to pave the way."

Shen Mo's voice was calm, yet it carried an undeniable penetrating power.

"The specific implementation will be divided into three steps: First, concentrate resources to penetrate the core business districts and university parks in Beijing and Shanghai to create a model market."

"Second, design a tiered subsidy and referral reward mechanism to quickly attract new users with real money, creating a viral effect."

"Third, we will collaborate with companies we have already invested in, such as Xiaomi and Meituan, to exchange traffic and drive traffic across industries."

Chen Jun was deeply moved as he quickly took notes on his tablet.

In such a short time, Shen Mo pointed out the way forward for Didi, almost instantly outlining a clear, ruthless, and highly operational blitzkrieg blueprint.

It directly addresses Didi's core pain point of "having cars but no passengers, having passengers but no cars".

This is not the conventional investment due diligence approach, but rather a top-tier trader's disruptive strategy.

"In addition," Shen Mo added.

"Tell Cheng Wei that Mohen can organize a private dinner for the 'Chinese Entrepreneurs Club'."

"The ride-hailing business will inevitably face challenges from policies and a complex offline environment sooner or later, so it's always good to build up some connections in advance."

Chen Jun couldn't help but gasp. This wasn't just about providing money and solutions; it was also paving the way for potential non-market obstacles in the future.

He couldn't imagine Cheng Wei having any reason to refuse such "sincerity" and foresight.

"I understand, Mr. Shen! I will immediately organize a team to refine your ideas into an actionable plan, and we can have a draft ready to discuss with Mr. Cheng as early as tomorrow afternoon."

Shen Mo finally opened his eyes, his gaze clear and bright. The slight fatigue from before was gone, replaced by the sharp glint of a hunter locking onto his target.

"We need to act quickly. While we're making contact, other organizations are definitely watching."

"What we need to do is to be the first to come up with a solution they can't refuse, and use efficiency and resources to crush all hesitation."

"yes!"

"Um."