You call this entrepreneurship?

Chapter 264 Shareholder Representatives
The next day, Xiong Xiaoge invited SoftBank Asia President Yan Yan and Qin Shaoyan to meet at IDG headquarters.

Yan Yan looked at the young man opposite him with curiosity and caution. Like many Internet entrepreneurs he had met, he was young, confident and full of energy.

However, Yan Yan still sensed a different temperament from the other person. Unlike other entrepreneurs he met for the first time, this Qin Shaoyan did not show any restraint, uneasiness or nervousness.

It seems like he has everything planned out, or is he just born with a big heart?

Other entrepreneurs will feel more or less uncomfortable when facing investors, and they often have trouble expressing themselves.

Of course, there are also many people who talk big. In this era of Internet entrepreneurship, there is always no shortage of grassroots talents.

Yan Yan quickly attributed Qin Shaoyan's calmness to the confidence that comes with being a successful person. After all, the entrepreneur in front of him was the owner of the largest social networking site in China.

Campus Network is one of the most famous Internet companies in the past two years. It created the first Internet SNS social networking site for acquaintances, even earlier than Facebook.

After its establishment, the website's valuation expanded rapidly, like a rocket.

Moreover, the campus network has been making big moves one after another. The last time it co-organized the Global International Marathon with Facebook, it performed very well.

By leveraging official influence, promoting the network in major cities across the country, and coordinating a series of online publicity, the number of registered users of the campus network has seen explosive growth.

Now the CEO of Campus Network is also the founder and major shareholder of the country's first online video website.

The concept of video websites has suddenly become popular recently due to the news of YouTube's acquisition, which caused a sensation in the United States.

Although no one knew who YouTube was sold to in the end, the capital market was keenly aware that the valuation of this website, which was established only half a year ago, was constantly rising.

Yahoo even offered a billion-dollar acquisition price just to acquire YouTube.

Google was not to be outdone and launched an open competition with Yahoo.

When YouTube was being snapped up, domestic investors also turned their attention to QVOD.

Qvod is known as the Chinese version of YouTube, and naturally it is given the same expectations.

The subsequent increase in QVOD's valuation seemed to be a matter of course.

Yan Yan was invited to join the game, so he naturally did some research on Qvod and compared it with YouTube.

Of course, Yan Yan didn’t understand how video websites developed. He mainly studied the people behind Qvod.

Today he wanted to take a good look at what was so special about this young man who was praised by Xiong Xiaoge.

Xiong Xiaoge sat in the main seat and said with a smile: "You always complained about being my agent before, but this time there is a good project, so I specially asked you to join us so that you don't blame me."

Yan Yan laughed and scolded: "When Xiong Xiaoge gets something good, he still thinks of me. It's really a pity that the sun rises in the west."

Xiong Xiaoge smiled and said, "Old Yan, it's really unfair of you to say that. Don't I have enough projects to help you make money?"

You have led me into many projects.

Of course, Yan Yan was just speaking casually, as the two of them had been working together for many years and were already very familiar with each other.

Investing is a matter of mutual consent, there is no question of who is cheating whom.

Yan Yan said calmly: "Any explanation this time?"

Xiong Xiaoge made a gesture and introduced the other party, "Old Yan, I have invited the big boss behind Qvod.com to come here for you."

"By the way, Mr. Qin Shaoyan is not only the operator of Qvod, but also the founder and major shareholder of YouTube."

"He was responsible for everything from YouTube website design to early event planning, including this acquisition, which was also led by him."

"Huh?!" Yan Yan was very surprised, looking at Qin Shaoyan's young face in front of him.

There is no way to connect the series of things about YouTube with the person in front of me.

"Hello, Mr. Yan." Qin Shaoyan shook hands with the other party with a smile and sat on the sofa opposite.

Xiong Xiaoge asked directly: "Old Yan, now there is an opportunity for you to invest in Qvod.com, will you invest?"

Yan Yan frowned and looked at Xiong Xiaoge, "Didn't YouTube say that it was going to acquire Qvod? You asked me to invest, what does that mean?"

Xiong Xiaoge didn't say anything, so Qin Shaoyan said directly: "Mr. Yan, the acquisition of Qvod was the idea of ​​YouTube's shareholders. They want to use Qvod to increase YouTube's valuation."

"And our shareholders of Qvod agree that Qvod has great potential and selling the website is short-sighted."

Yan Yan quickly understood what this meant, "That means Qvod is not for sale anymore."

"Yes." Qin Shaoyan nodded and said directly, "Video websites will definitely become the hottest project in China's Internet industry. Lenovo Capital is already incubating a similar project."

"We expect that within one or two years, there will be a large number of competitors to Qvod.com. In order to cope with the challenges of competitors and for the better development of Qvod.com, we decided to start the second round of financing."

Yan Yan thought for a moment and asked, "What is your valuation?"

"Two hundred and forty million US dollars." Qin Shaoyan said directly.

"Too high." Yan Yan refused without hesitation.

"Not high." Xiong Xiaoge interrupted, "YouTube raised 240 million US dollars this time to prepare for the acquisition of Qvod. This valuation is very reasonable."

Yan Yan thought for a moment and said, "Then this valuation is just right. Are you bringing me on board just to fill the funding gap?"

Xiong Xiaoge laughed and scolded: "The older you are, the less courageous you become. I told you, this time there will be benefits."

"What benefits?" Yan Yan asked back.

"Qvod.com's financing this time is secret, and its valuation will rise significantly afterwards." Xiong Xiaoge said with a smile, "So, are you going to invest or not?"

"How much will this valuation increase?" Yan Yan continued to ask, "How long will it take?"

"Half a year." Qin Shaoyan replied.

"I have to wait another half a year?"

"If I'm lucky, it can be done in three months." Qin Shaoyan added, "The increase is 50%."

Yan Yan continued to ask, "How can you guarantee it?"

Xiong Xiaoge interjected, “YouTube urgently needs to acquire Qvod, because Bill Gates has been coveting YouTube for a long time and may soon start the acquisition.”

"In order to sell at a good price, YouTube needs to raise its own value, and the quickest and easiest way is to acquire Qvod."

Yan Yan sneered, "Could it be that Qvod offered a price of 360 million US dollars, and YouTube would also buy it?"

"It should be possible." Qin Shaoyan said confidently.

Xiong Xiaoge nodded. "The last time YouTube came to acquire us, they also offered this price, but the negotiations were unexpectedly interrupted before the two sides could reach an agreement."

Yan Yan was stunned when he heard this. He didn't expect this to happen.

He groaned for a moment, "Even if YouTube is really willing to pay $360 million, it is difficult for Qvod to be convincing enough to match this value now, because you have no intention of selling it at all."

Qin Shaoyan took out two licenses and pushed them in front of Yan Yan. "We have these two licenses. They are the only ones among video websites. This is what YouTube values."

Yan Yan glanced at the copy of the license, his face became serious, and he began to think.

Xiong Xiaoge struck while the iron was hot, "Old Yan, why are you still hesitating? We at IDG are also investing this time, you can't say I'm cheating you."

Yan Yan slowly said, "These are two different things. I have a few questions for Qin Shaoyan, President Qin, before I make a decision."

Qin Shaoyan sat up straight and said, "Please speak."

Yan Yan asked: "What is the prospect of video websites?"

"Video websites are a rigid demand of the Internet." Qin Shaoyan showed a confident smile, "Where there is demand, there is value. The prospects of video websites are beyond doubt."

"How do you explain the urgent need?" Yan Yan asked.

"As human society has developed, the media used to store information has continued to change, from paper, film, floppy disks, hard disks, to optical disks." Qin Shaoyan answered without hesitation, "There is a vast amount of information stored, but it can be classified into only four categories: text, pictures, audio, and video."

"The Internet is a new carrier of information. Over the years, hundreds of websites have been categorized into text, pictures, and audio. The only thing missing from these categories is video."

"The emergence of video websites filled the gap in this field, allowing the Internet to form a complete information carrier function."

Yan Yan was a little surprised by Qin Shaoyan's explanation. After thinking about it, he felt that what the other party said made sense. From this perspective, video websites are indeed a rigid demand of the Internet.

Yan Yan thought for a moment and asked the second question: "How do video websites make money?" "The first is advertising revenue." Qin Shaoyan immediately gave the answer, "With the development of video websites, it will sooner or later replace TV programs."

"Chinese TV stations mainly rely on advertising for profit, and video websites can also make money."

"The second source of income is membership fees. We can learn from the practices of pay TV channels in the United States."

“Provide members with more high-quality video content and let users pay for the content.”

"The third source of income is copyright income. In addition to advertising and membership, our video website will also set up a special subsidiary to invest in the production of movies and TV series."

Yan Yan nodded slowly, "Membership and advertising, this business model is very mature."

"But isn't it too hasty to get involved in film and television production? You are an Internet company and you don't understand the film and television industry."

"We are already contacting professionals to join us, and we may acquire one or two film and television companies if there is a chance." Qin Shaoyan replied, "In addition, the film and television companies will solve the funding issues on their own and will not rely on the parent company for blood transfusions."

Yan Yan was a little surprised, "Solve it yourself?"

"Yes, the subsidiary will sell some shares to raise funds." Qin Shaoyan nodded, "Qvod.com will invest in it with platform resources and channels."

"In this case, I have no problem." Yan Yan looked at Xiong Xiaoge, "Xiong Xiaoge, I will trust you just once."

Xiong Xiaoge laughed, "Old Yan, I guarantee you'll make a profit this time."

Qin Shaoyan also smiled, "Happy cooperation, President Yan."

……

After knowing the inside story, Yan Yan acted vigorously and decisively.

SoftBank first took over the shares held by Morningside Venture Capital, and then participated in Qvod's Series B financing together with IDG, Sequoia Capital, and Today Capital.

Including Qvod, after the five companies signed the contract, Xiong Xiaoge felt relieved.

All that’s left is waiting for someone from YouTube to restart acquisition negotiations.

A few days later, YouTube's negotiation team arrived in Beijing on time.

This time, not only YouTube CEO David Banks was present, but other shareholders including Sequoia, Vanguard, and BlackRock also sent representatives.

So this time the number of people in the negotiation team is more than doubled than before.

In order to demonstrate its importance to the acquisition negotiations and to facilitate the negotiations, QVOD specially rented a hotel as the negotiation location.

Because the campus network’s conference room can no longer accommodate all these people.

On the day of the negotiations, a large number of reporters were waiting at the entrance of the hotel early, waiting with microphones and cameras in hand.

At nine o'clock in the morning, the convoy carrying the YouTube team slowly stopped in front of the hotel.

David Banks and his companions had just got off the car, and before they could even see where the hotel entrance was, a group of people surrounded them.

"Click, click!" The white flash of the flash almost blinded David Banks. Before he could come to his senses, dozens of thick black microphones were stuffed into his mouth.

“Are you a representative of YouTube?”

“Is YouTube going to acquire China’s Qvod?”

“Is it true that YouTube is going to spend $2 billion to acquire me?”

“Did YouTube get acquired by Yahoo?”

David Banks was confused by the series of questions. His assistant hurried forward to separate the reporters and tried to open a passage through the crowd.

David Banks quickly came to his senses and became full of energy as if he had been injected with chicken blood.

It’s a good thing to have reporters interviewing us!

With publicity comes fame, and fame will be very helpful in increasing valuation.

If time permits, David Banks would have wanted to hold a press conference on the spot and have a good chat with this group of reporters.

As David Banks walked towards the hotel, he responded to reporters through an interpreter.

“YouTube is not currently being acquired by Yahoo.”

"We are very much looking forward to cooperating with Qvod, which will benefit both parties."

"The details of the negotiation are commercial secrets and cannot be disclosed. We will announce them to the media later."

The hotel security appeared at the right time, squeezed a path through the crowd of reporters, and welcomed David Banks and his party into the hotel.

Edward was waiting in the hotel lobby early. When he saw David Banks appear, he immediately went up to him and introduced himself to him.

"I am TNB's vice president, president of Greater China, and plenipotentiary representative in China. If YouTube encounters any problems in the acquisition that require TNB's authorization, you can contact me directly."

David Banks took Edward's business card and was stunned for a moment before he remembered that TNB was one of the shareholders of YouTube.

This Mr. Edward appears to be participating in the acquisition negotiations as a shareholder representative.

David Banks immediately smiled and shook hands with Edward warmly.

After chatting for a few words, Edward led everyone upstairs and went straight to the meeting room.

In the conference room, Qvod also had a complete lineup.

In addition to Qin Shaoyan, the founder and major shareholder, several senior executives were also present.

Shareholder representatives Xiong Xiaoge from IDG, Yan Yan from Softbank, Zheng Nan from Sequoia, and Xu Xin from Today Capital were all present.

In addition, there was a taciturn middle-aged man sitting behind Qin Shaoyan.

This middle-aged man looked very unfamiliar. He was wearing a suit and carrying a leather briefcase, looking very stylish.

Before Zhang Pingyi asked Qin Shaoyan about this person's background, the YouTube team had already entered the venue.

As usual, the two sides exchanged warm greetings, introduced several important figures, and then began negotiations by dividing into left and right camps.

David Banks took out the information, said a few words about the bright prospects for cooperation, wished the negotiations a successful conclusion, and then got down to business.

The YouTube team had the information provided by Qvod and asked about indicators such as the number of registered users, growth curve, daily active users, and playback volume.

Unlike the last friendly conversation, this time the YouTube representative was more aggressive and kept questioning the information provided by Qvod.

The atmosphere of the meeting quickly became tense. After listening to a few sentences, Qin Shaoyan directly interrupted the other party's speech.

"So many people are sitting here today, not to listen to this boring nonsense, let's improve efficiency." Qin Shaoyan said lightly, "Keep it simple."

"How much are you willing to pay to acquire Qvod?"

David Banks hesitated for a moment and looked at the shareholder representative Davis, who nodded to him.

"One hundred and seventy million dollars."

There was some uproar at Qvod.com. Why did they change their mind again? The price was not this last time.

Qin Shaoyan smiled and said, "This is different from what we agreed on. In this case, I don't think you are sincere, so let's not talk about it."

Davis took over the conversation and immediately said, "Mr. Qin, don't get excited. This is how business works. Negotiations require bargaining. If you think the price is inappropriate, you can raise it."

Qin Shaoyan glanced at Davis deeply, "I know you just completed the financing."

"NO! NO!" Davis shook his head. "Although we have just raised $240 million, we cannot use all of this money for acquisitions. We also need funds to maintain the operation of the website."

Qin Shaoyan smiled, looked at Xiong Xiaoge, and winked at him.

Xiong Xiaoge looked at his nose with his eyes and his heart with his nose. He sat there motionless, and it seemed that he was not going to speak anymore.

Qin Shaoyan coughed helplessly, and the middle-aged man sitting behind him suddenly spoke up, "The price Mr. David Banks, the CEO of YouTube, offered last time was 360 million US dollars. Why don't we start the discussion from this price?"

Davis was stunned for a moment, "Who are you?"

"One of the shareholders of Qvod.com and a representative of Chao Nengli Co., Ltd."

(End of this chapter)