You call this entrepreneurship?

Chapter 246 Left foot stepping on the right foot

Xiong Xiaoge taunted, "Boss Qin is obviously a master at playing dumb."

Qin Shaoyan was not pretending to be confused, he was truly confused.

How did Yahoo jump out?

"That's enough." Xiong Xiaoge said impatiently, "Don't act with me anymore. The Americans have told me everything."

“Are you in contact with Yahoo in addition to Google?”

"It's a pity that your offer was not agreed with Yahoo."

Qin Shaoyan realized at this time that he had dug a nest, but failed to catch silver carp and bighead carp, but the black carp took the hook.

It seems that Yahoo is also drooling over YouTube and is more proactive than Google.

This is no wonder. Yahoo’s current status can be said to be declining, and it is getting worse every year.

In comparison, Yahoo was an American Internet giant ten years ago. It was founded in 1995 and went public in just one year.

On the day of listing, the stock price soared from US$13 to US$43, with a market value of up to US$8.5 million, making it the new darling of Wall Street.

Yahoo started to expand its territory all over the world. At that time, it was invincible and had no rivals in the Internet.

Yahoo entered the Chinese market in 1998 and was the first American Internet company to enter the country.

After that, Yahoo started a series of magical operations, and step by step, it transformed itself from an Internet giant into an Internet killer, lying in the ICU and relying on its past capital to survive.

Yahoo loves to make acquisitions, but every acquisition ruins the company, and it is known as the Internet product killer.

The number of Internet products that have died at the hands of Yahoo is too numerous to count with two hands.

Of course, what people talk about most is Yahoo’s three unsuccessful acquisitions, the first of which was the rejection of Google.

The second was that he changed his mind at the last minute and messed up the acquisition by Facebook.

The third one was waiting for a good price and missed the chance to be acquired by Microsoft.

The reason why Yahoo likes acquisitions is that most of its shares are held by Wall Street capital, and they don't care how the company is run and only want to see short-term benefits.

This resulted in Yahoo's corporate strategy becoming short-sighted, with the company only considering acquisitions that would quickly improve performance and stimulate its stock price.

Any projects that are not profitable temporarily and may bring about a technological revolution in the future will be cut off. No matter whether they are long-term or not, they will just make a quick buck and leave.

The company has no long-term strategy, its own positioning is still unclear, the top management changes frequently, and the company's affairs are characterized by inconsistency.

At that time, Yahoo was still considered an Internet giant. Although it was showing signs of decline, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse, and it still looked very intimidating.

Moreover, Yahoo loves to make acquisitions. YouTube, a new Internet darling, suddenly appeared and was sought after by netizens, so it naturally became the best target in Yahoo's eyes.

Acquiring YouTube when it was just established and the price was not high could greatly stimulate the stock price. This was a very cost-effective deal for Yahoo.

Qin Shaoyan immediately figured out the relationship. He hyped up the American Internet but failed to trick Google out, but Yahoo jumped out on its own. This was reasonable.

Think about the soft article you wrote, in which the company mentioned is an Internet giant and a search engine.

Yahoo is an Internet giant and it also has a search engine, so there is nothing wrong with it.

Qin Shaoyan quickly sorted out his thoughts in response to Xiong Xiaoge's questioning and said with a smile, "Boss Xiong, the matter about Yahoo's offer involves YouTube's insider secrets, so I can't disclose it."

"I can only say that it is normal to have disagreements on price at the beginning. In business, bargaining is the main thing."

"To be honest, Yahoo is not the only Internet company that has approached YouTube. I have received acquisition interest from two other companies."

"Okay, okay." Xiong Xiaoge interrupted Qin Shaoyan directly, "I'm not interested in who acquires YouTube."

"I want to tell you about Qvod now. We have carefully considered the valuation you told me before and decided to agree to your terms."

Qin Shaoyan was very surprised and asked back: "What valuation?"

"It's the 120 million US dollars valuation I told you about a year ago." Xiong Xiaoge's heart tightened, and he shouted, "Qin Shaoyan, you're not going to go back on your word again, are you?"

"Did I say that?" Qin Shaoyan said casually, "I don't think so?"

Xiong Xiaoge was shocked and angry, "Qin Shaoyan, you want to raise the price again, right?!"

"I warn you, don't go back on your word. Do you still have business credibility and professional ethics?!"

"I have professional ethics!" Qin Shaoyan said confidently, "My professional ethics is to help investors make money, right, Mr. Xiong?!"

"Yes." Xiong Xiaoge said subconsciously, and then immediately reacted, "No!"

"Qin Shaoyan, what are you going to do?!"

"What can I do? Of course, I can help you make money." Qin Shaoyan replied, "I think this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"YouTube wants to push up its valuation, but Qvod has funding problems, costs are increasing, and future profit prospects are unclear."

"Selling it quickly while you can get a good price is also responsible to investors."

"Right, Mr. Xiong?" Qin Shaoyan said to himself, "Don't worry, I will definitely sell it to Qvod at a good price. I will never favor YouTube or force down the price just because I'm a shareholder of YouTube."

"After all, we are all Chinese. I will make sure that Mr. Xiong can make a fortune!"

Xiong Xiaoge was speechless. He suppressed his anger and said coldly, "I don't need you to make money for me. I just need you to run Qvod well."

"This... isn't a good idea, is it?" Qin Shaoyan hesitated for a moment, "Boss Xiong, it will cost a lot of money to develop Qvod.com, you should think about it first."

"Now there are two choices in front of us. One is to sell it quickly and make a profit, and the other is to continue to invest money and bet on an expectation."

"Qin Shaoyan, you don't need to say anything more!" Xiong Xiaoge said firmly, "We are investing in the future, just name a price."

"That's hard to say." Qin Shaoyan said with a smile, "I have to wait until YouTube makes an offer before I can tell you."

"..."Xiong Xiaoge suddenly became a little angry.

Qin Shaoyan used the acquisition of Qvod to raise the valuation of YouTube, and the acquisition price of YouTube could in turn push up the valuation of Qvod.

You put your left foot here and step on your right foot, right?

Xiong Xiaoge took a deep breath and said, "Qin Shaoyan, you are in the capital now, right?"

"Yes." Qin Shaoyan replied calmly.

"Wait a minute, I'll be there tomorrow and we'll talk face to face." Xiong Xiaoge said in a hard tone, then simply hung up the phone.

Qin Shaoyan was a little emotional. Xiong Xiaoge was the best. He rushed to give him money during the Chinese New Year. It would be great if all investors were like Mr. Xiong. How much money should he ask for?

While thinking about this, Qin Shaoyan sent messages to the senior executives of Qvod.com, asking them to return to Beijing to work as soon as possible.

After the group message was sent, Chen Guangxia was the most active in replying, "Received. Boss Qin, I have returned to the capital and am ready to serve you at any time."

Kou Hongfei also quickly replied, "Okay, Mr. Qin, I'll take a plane back to Beijing this afternoon."

Qin Shaoyan felt very pleased to see the employees so enthusiastic about their work.

Maybe today is Qin Shaoyan's lucky day, he soon received another good news.

Qin Shaoyan called Fred and asked when the YouTube team would arrive.

Fred quickly replied that the YouTube team had already set off and would arrive in Beijing at midnight, looking forward to meeting with the big boss tomorrow.

Qin Shaoyan was very surprised, "Why did they leave so soon?"

Fred said happily: "Recently, there has been a lot of good news about YouTube. YouTube's executives are like taking stimulants and have become more efficient in their work."

"John, your article is really great. I never thought that another Internet company would actually acquire YouTube."

"What article? I haven't written any article." Qin Shaoyan denied. "YouTube's acquisition is a major strategic secret of the company. It's obvious that an insider leaked the company's secrets. We must investigate it thoroughly!"

Fred was stunned for a moment, then quickly reacted, "Yes, yes, this matter must be thoroughly investigated, and the leaker must be found!"

"You guys check the leak first." Qin Shaoyan said with satisfaction, "When facing the news media, you should be more low-key and keep your statement as vague as possible."

"Don't give a clear answer on whether YouTube is going to be sold. Just tell reporters that the company has a complete strategic plan and is actively expanding it."

Fred immediately understood what he meant, and then asked, "How should we deal with Yahoo's acquisition of YouTube? Should we contact them further or..."

"Ignore them for now." Qin Shaoyan said bluntly, "Yahoo is a company that does more harm than good. They acquired YouTube simply to boost its stock price. It's hard to say whether they really want to acquire it."

"Even if we start to interact with them, it may generate false signals to the stock market. We should not do such things as helping others, at least not for free."

Fred hesitated for a moment. "So we're just going to leave it alone?"

"Don't be impatient. It's a good thing that Yahoo jumped out first." Qin Shaoyan said with a smile, "Maybe there will be a second company to express its position. We will see what happens then."

"Will there really be a second company?" Fred asked with some doubt.

"There will definitely be some," Qin Shaoyan said in a very confident tone, "YouTube is such a great website. Once there is an intention to sell it, there will definitely be a lot of people interested."

Fred sighed, "Yeah, YouTube is a cool website."

"But, John," Fred asked seriously, "are you really going to sell it, or are you just having fun with it?"

"You can sell it." Qin Shaoyan said without hesitation, "But now is not the time."

Fred was a little reluctant, "John, are you really not going to consider it again?"

"I think YouTube and Facebook are a perfect fit, and it would be a shame to sell it off, like there's a missing piece of the puzzle."

Qin Shaoyan sighed, "I know YouTube is good and has great potential."

"But Fred, the video website is a money-eating beast. We can't afford it with our ability."

Fred was stunned for a moment, and then argued, "We still have money, enough to keep YouTube going."

"Then how long can we hold out?" Qin Shaoyan asked, "Three years or five years?"

"Video sites cost a lot of money, which is much higher than Facebook. We don't have that many resources to invest in YouTube."

"Besides, the money we have is the investors' money. They can't keep letting us invest in websites that can't make a profit."

"The best option is to sell it as soon as possible, cash out some money, and focus on Facebook."

"Otherwise YouTube will bring down Facebook."

There is a big difference between domestic Internet companies and American Internet companies. Domestic Internet companies can rely on national investment in infrastructure construction to develop.

American Internet companies, such as Google and Microsoft, are taking the lead in building their own networks in order to have higher bandwidth and faster transmission speeds.

Taking Google as an example, including completed submarine cables, Google and Meta will control 2001% of the optical cables (2025 million kilometers) laid from 125 to 23.

Google and Meta, which provide Internet services around the world, are also the largest users of optical cables.

Compared to renting optical cables from other companies, large amounts of data such as video can be transmitted at a higher speed and in a more stable manner, and the usage fees paid to telecommunications companies can also be reduced.

Only large companies with strong financial resources can afford YouTube and bear the high costs.

Besides, Qin Shaoyan’s main strategy for the US business is to make a quick buck and leave, so the best option is to cash out and get the money as soon as possible.

He would not bother to think about how to plan the future of YouTube. The future of this video website is that it will not be profitable and will not be able to go public for at least three years. So why not sell it quickly or wait for it to rot in his hands?

Of course, he couldn't say this to Fred directly. He could only pretend to be reluctant and create the image of a tragic entrepreneur who reluctantly sold the company he had built.

This thing is also a great test of acting skills.

Qin Shaoyan's words calmed Fred down. He was no longer the tech nerd who knew nothing. As the CEO of Facebook, he also knew how high the cost of an American Internet company was.

Video websites, in particular, cost more money than other websites.

Therefore, Qin Shaoyan’s plan was correct. It would be best to find a suitable time to sell the website and cash out. Facebook was enough for them.

Fred thought about the fate of YouTube for a while, and then said, "Microsoft Investment Vice President Davis came to me and said he couldn't contact you, so he asked me to tell you that he needs to talk to you."

"Huh?!" Qin Shaoyan was a little surprised. He had called Davis before, but the other party didn't reply to him and instead found Fred.

"What does he want to talk to me about?"

"I don't know." Fred shrugged. "He didn't tell me the reason. How should I reply to him?"

"Just tell Davis to call me directly if he has anything to say. Doesn't he have my Chinese phone number?" Qin Shaoyan said speechlessly, "If you need a face-to-face interview, ask him to come to China to find me. I won't be going to the United States in the short term."

"Okay." Fred agreed casually, "Then I'll reply to him like this."

Qin Shaoyan asked again, "What's the reaction from Mr. Taylor of Sequoia?"

"He didn't say anything." Fred hesitated. "He didn't even ask me. It seems that he doesn't care about YouTube."

(End of this chapter)