Wind Rises 2005

Chapter 341 Incubation
Investors?
Short of funds?

Jack Dorsey was completely stunned when he heard the words. He never thought that good things would come to him before the promotion of Twitter started.

Is there any shortage of funds?Nonsense, of course it is missing!Which start-up company will not be short of money.

He stared blankly at Ma Liang, obviously seeing that he was too young, so he tentatively asked, "Are you really an angel investor?"

"It's true, you can doubt me, but you can't doubt the dollar!

As long as I can invest money in you, does anything else matter? "Ma Liang looked at each other playfully.

According to the information from the previous life, Odeo Company is very short of money at the moment.

In order to support Twitter's project, company boss Evan Williams bought all the shares from other shareholders at his own expense.

Not only is Odeo running out of money at the moment, but even Evan Williams himself is not rich.

Otherwise, how could it be so shabby for Jack Dorsey to come to the SXSW carnival for publicity? Only two large screens were installed in the main venue, and there were no arrangements for other branch venues.

Jack Dorsey also laughed at himself after hearing this, isn't that the case.

As long as this young man is willing to invest money, no matter what his status is, he is an angel investor if he is willing to give money.

It's just that he wasn't so easy to fool, and asked cautiously: "Sir, are you sure you want to invest? But you don't even understand our project yet."

"So, isn't this waiting for you to introduce it to me?

My name is Marlon. May I ask you, what should I call you?

How about we go have a drink and chat slowly? Ma Liang pointed to a caravan selling beer outside the main venue and gestured.

Jack Dorsey only hesitated for a moment, and readily agreed: "Just call me Jack!

You go over first, and I will come as soon as I explain. "

As he said that, he turned around and ordered his younger brothers to continue debugging the equipment, and he quickly followed Ma Liang.

There were many caravans outside the main venue, and the caravan Ma Liang found was specialized in selling beer.Not only is there a rich variety of beer, but also snacks such as grilled sausages, chicken wings, and French fries.

A few oversized parasols and some tables and chairs are placed beside the caravan, and guests can sit down and enjoy a variety of cold beers.

Ma Liang ordered beer and a bunch of snacks, entertaining Jack Dorsey to sit down and chat slowly.

Jack Dorsey, the reserved computer genius, was clearly flattered by his enthusiasm: "Marlon, thank you for the beer and the food."

"You're welcome, let's have a toast to our fate!" Ma Liang raised his glass and clinked one with him.

In fact, the more introverted people are, the less intimate relationships they lack. Jack Dorsey is also very happy to meet new friends: "Cheers!"

"Jack, although I haven't made a deal in the United States, I am indeed an angel investor in China.

And has invested in two start-up companies, there is no problem with funding.

This time I came to participate in the SXSW carnival, on the one hand, I came to play, and on the other hand, I wanted to see if there were any entrepreneurial projects worth investing in.

Would you mind chatting about your website, I'm very interested! "After exchanging a few pleasantries, Ma Liang got straight to the point, and he couldn't wait any longer.

Jack Dorsey organized the language, and then began to speak: "Marlon, our website has just changed its name to Twitter, and it has only been online for more than half a year.

Twitter is a brand-new pan-social platform where users can share dynamics, and it also supports picture and link sharing.

……

However, due to the shortage of funds, there has been no large-scale publicity and promotion.

This time I also came to SXSW Carnival for promotion, and also to make some user data to facilitate the next angel financing.”

Jack Dorsey patiently introduced, and the conditioning is very clear.

This is not the first time for him to start a business, and he has done roadshows many times, so he is very proficient in talking about projects.

Participating in the SXSW carnival this time is also a last-ditch battle for the founders. If the data is not good, then it will really be a matter of life and death.

If there is no follow-up financial support for the project, the countdown begins when the website goes offline.

"It sounds good, it feels like a pan-social version of Facebook, can it be understood in this way?" Ma Liang pointed to the essence.

Jack Dorsey was very happy. Like him, a tech nerd, he likes investors who can quickly understand their products: "That's right, and it's a simplified version of pan-social Facebook.

If you want an accurate definition, I call it a one-sentence blog. "

"How many founders are there in your company? What's the shareholding structure?" Ma Liang then asked again.

In fact, he knew this information a long time ago, but now he is acting as an angel investor, and there is sister Jiang University who knows everything by his side, so the process that should be followed still needs to be followed.

Otherwise, isn't this investment too ridiculous?

After all, Sister Jiang University is not as easy to fool as Lin Fengyun. He has to understand the situation clearly before deciding whether to invest or not.

Jack Dorsey responded anxiously again: "Our company has three founders.

Besides the owner of the company, Ivan Williams, it was just me and Biz Stone, and the ownership structure was very simple.

The major shareholder is Ivan, and Biz and I currently only have a small share of options. "

……

The two asked and answered in this way, and Ma Liang learned more insider information about Twitter, and also had a more sense of identity with Jack Dorsey.

Starting a business is not easy, no matter in China or in America.

Despite the fact that there are many investment institutions here, the venture capital circle is very popular, but the competition is also huge.Entrepreneurs get involved, it is really no worse than the workplace.

It is easy to find funds and capital, but it is equally difficult to get investment.

If you don't have any family background and want to raise money just based on a concept, you are delusional.

There must be operating data or a certain amount of revenue to prove that the project has passed the test in a small area before it can get financing.

This is the same as Huaxia, and it is the same for grassroots entrepreneurship.

There are only those second generations who have all kinds of financial support when they come up, and they never worry about money at all when starting a business.

Of course, if you are an entrepreneur with successful experience, it is another matter.

For example, it is very easy for Yilongma’s Tesla company to raise funds. After all, they have succeeded in the PayPal project before, which made investors a lot of money.

Entrepreneurs with successful experience do not need to worry about financing at least in the first few rounds when starting a business again.

But Jack Dorsey doesn't have this ability, even the owner of Odeo, Ivan Williams, does not have this kind of successful experience.

Ivan Williams was the founder of Blogger before, and was later acquired by Google, and he made a little money.

After working at Google for two years, Ivan Williams came out to start a business again.

Along with another friend, Noah Glass, he founded the podcast (video sharing) site Odeo, which was Twitter's parent company at this time.

Although Ivan Williams can be regarded as a successful entrepreneur, he can only be regarded as a small personal success.

It did not bring much return on investment to investors and investment institutions.

The most important thing is that in addition to Odeo, this guy is also an angel investor and has invested in many entrepreneurial projects.

So it is not so easy to get angel financing for Twitter.

Moreover, Ivan Williams recently devoted most of his time to the operation of the startup incubation company The Obvious Corporation, and did not ask too much about Twitter at all.

Twitter can only be regarded as one of the projects incubated under his umbrella, and the real manager is Jack Dorsey.

While Evan Williams is bullish on Twitter's future, it's still an early project right now.

In the eyes of Ivan Williams, Twitter is not much different from other entrepreneurial projects he incubated at the moment, so how can he pay too much attention to it.

This is why he promised to give Jack Dorsey and Biz Stone a large portion of options. After all, there is no benefit, but they can't tie talents.

In fact, this is a common incubation model in the US technology industry. Many successful entrepreneurs will become angel investors after they make a fortune.

Use this incubation model to cast a net investment, trying to create another entrepreneurial miracle.

Even many domestic entrepreneurial leaders later played like this, and the most ruthless one was Zhang Yiming of ByteDance.

After all, Douyin was just a small project incubated by Byte at the beginning.

For apps like Douyin, Zhang Yiming has incubated no less than hundreds of them.

This is also the reason why Bytedance was later called the APP factory, because he likes to engage in this factory-like project incubation model the most.

Ma Liang is also working hard in this direction. He supports Fa Ge in Malatang, which is actually a kind of entrepreneurial incubation.

　Flags can't stand up randomly. I said I won't engage in anti-theft chapters today, but I have to slap myself in the face again.

　　The next chapter will be a little later, brothers, bear with me.

　　There is really no leave of absence, the starting point of the leave system is disgusting.

　　If I don't engage in anti-theft, I won't be able to guarantee my full attendance. At least it's 1000 yuan.

　　I'm really sorry, I'll try my best to finish writing and send it out as soon as possible!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)