You call this entrepreneurship?

Chapter 407 MAGA, Make Animation Great Again
Half past eight in the morning.

In the spacious and bright office building, all employees are already sitting at their workstations.

Although the computers were on, no one present was in the mood to work, and from time to time they would look up and stretch their necks to look towards the door.

The "Soyin Animation" logo at the company's entrance has been removed, and the new logo has not yet been put up.

After a change of dynasty, old officials always feel uneasy when facing the new boss.

It’s the uneasiness of the unknown.

Even though they are already employees of the new company, the uneasiness has not been alleviated.

Because the boss has changed, will the original working methods change, will the salary and benefits system change, and will their positions change.

Everything is still unknown.

In the agony of waiting, time came to half past nine.

The company's glass door was pushed open, and a group of people surrounded a young man and walked in.

Everyone perked up and looked over.

Liu Yuanyuan, who was sitting in the corner, first brightened up his eyes and thought, wow, this guy is so handsome.

Huh? Why does this person look so familiar?

Liu Yuanyuan suddenly remembered, isn’t this Sister Mingyue’s boyfriend?

Just as Liu Yuanyuan was confused, she saw the handsome guy walking in.

Several project directors and producers from the former Suoyin Company followed the new boss and diligently introduced the situation to him.

After a while, several people came into the company carrying something covered with a red curtain and gently placed it against the wall.

Everyone surrounded the boss and brought him in front of everyone. After some discussion, they handed the microphone to the new boss.

A sound came from the speakers that had just been installed around, followed by a strange voice.

"Hello, everyone." Qin Shaoyan said with a smile while holding up the microphone, "I am the legendary new boss."

"Let me introduce myself first. My name is Qin Shaoyan."

"You can tell from my name that I'm not good at speaking." Qin Shaoyan looked at the silent crowd and said with a smile, "Actually, I was planning to just take a look and leave today, but they all said that as the new boss, I should say a few words to everyone."

"I don't know what to say, so I'll just say a few words."

“You may have heard of my name, but some may not know me.”

Some of the animation company's employees showed surprised expressions and stared at the new boss in a daze.

People who surf the Internet frequently or pay attention to games are indeed familiar with the name Qin Shaoyan.

"It doesn't matter if you don't know me, but I think you must have used the products I designed." Qin Shaoyan raised his finger, "I am the boss of Qvod.com and also the founder of the campus network."

"I designed a small game in 2003, which set a record for the best-selling game the following year. The game was called Plants vs. Zombies."

Everyone showed an expression of sudden enlightenment, and the atmosphere on the scene became relaxed.

It is easier to get closer to familiar people. Although they have never seen Qin Shaoyan before, it is a little better to be a stranger who knows nothing about him than to be a well-known person.

"Now that everyone is an employee of the new company, you can relax a little. After all, our company is not as tense as Suoyin. I can't do such a harsh job that makes everyone work overtime for several days in a row."

Everyone burst into laughter when they heard this. Suoyin Company's approach was indeed a bit too anthropomorphic.

Qin Shaoyan continued in a relaxed tone, "At least I will prepare sleeping bags for everyone instead of asking everyone to sleep on the table."

"From this point of view, the welfare benefits of the new company are better than those of Suoyin."

"Of course, just a sleeping bag would make me seem a bit harsh as a boss, so I decided to add some free snacks and drinks, and even better, a working meal."

"If the company's conditions improve, there will be free shuttle buses and the like."

The employees showed expressions of surprise and anticipation. I don’t know who took the lead in applauding, but soon the applause spread out.

They have never enjoyed such treatment. A company that pays wages and bonuses on time is considered conscientious.

As soon as the new boss came in, he described to everyone the wonderful benefits of the new company, which made everyone unable to suppress their inner longing and fantasize about the wonderful working life in the future.

Qin Shaoyan looked at the cheering employees with a smile on his face, picked up the microphone and continued speaking.

"Whether the company's welfare benefits can be better implemented is not just my business, but depends on everyone's efforts."

"The better the benefits, the better the company's welfare benefits will be."

"I have heard a saying that it is mutual achievement. The company provides a good working environment for everyone, so that everyone can create better benefits for the company."

"I also hope that the company and everyone can achieve mutual success, work together to make the company better, and everyone can make money by the way."

Qin Shaoyan glanced at everyone's reactions and suddenly his expression became serious.

"I know that people join the animation industry not just to make money, but because they have feelings for animation itself and devote themselves to this industry with great enthusiasm."

"Many people have been hit by the cruel reality, the sluggish market and the unscrupulous and unscrupulous bosses, but I believe that more people are still full of love for animation."

"When we were recruiting a few days ago, you didn't choose to go to the game company, but stayed here. I believe that the passion in your hearts is still there."

"In fact, I have feelings for animation itself. Otherwise, why would I choose to invest in an animation company? I can make tens or even dozens of times more money by just starting a game company than an animation company."

"But after considering for a long time, I still chose the animation company." Qin Shaoyan said with deep emotion, "I grew up watching domestic animation. They are beautiful memories of my childhood."

"The word 'animation' is probably not quite accurate." Qin Shaoyan said seriously, "Strictly speaking, it should be called an art film."

"In the field of cartoon animation, China is also a pioneer in the world industry, which can be traced back to the 20s."

There was silence at the scene, and everyone looked at Qin Shaoyan quietly.

Art film, what a distant, strange and yet familiar word.

For a long time, cartoons were called "art films" in China, so the main or even almost the only animation production organization at that time was also called "art film studio."

This kind of "art film" and this "art film studio" created the "Chinese school" of animation with distinctive national style in both content and form, which is unique in the world.

Chinese animated films originated in a small alley in Shanghai in the 20s. Mr. Wan Laiming and his four brothers founded a small workshop called "Wan's Cartoon" and produced the first animated feature film "Princess Tieshan".

In 1947, the department in charge of animated films at the Northeast Film Studio was called the "Cartoon Group." In 1948, it was expanded to the "Cartoon Unit." In 1949, it was renamed the "Animated Film Group." This is also the earliest source of the name of animated films.

In 1950, more than people from the animation group collectively joined the newly established Shanghai Film Studio, which was later reorganized and expanded into the Shanghai Art Film Studio, which is the famous Shanghai Animation Film Studio.

"When I was a kid, I could watch not only cartoons imported from the United States and Japan, but also many domestically produced art films, which were very beautiful and interesting." Qin Shaoyan began to count on his fingers, "Calabash Brothers, Black Cat Sheriff, Tales of the Heavenly Book..."

"At that time, the types of Chinese animated films included ink painting, paper cutting, origami, and puppetry. They were like a galaxy of shining stars. Chinese animated films were unique in the world and were frequent winners of international awards."

"But after the 1990s, Chinese animation has been in decline. Now most animation companies have become tools for defrauding subsidies."

"I don't think the animation industry should be like this." Qin Shaoyan raised his voice, "The Chinese animation industry shouldn't be like this either."

"Even if the Chinese animation industry, which once stood at the top of the industry, has fallen, it should not be reduced to relying on inferior products to defraud subsidies, or even lose face."

"Out of my love for the animation industry, I thought I should do something, so I founded this company."

"I hope to leave some sparks for the Chinese animation industry, even if they are very small, I hope they can continue."

Qin Shaoyan said with great conviction: "I hope that one day this spark can become a raging fire. I hope that the Chinese animation industry will rise again."

“So I gave the company a new name that can continue to inspire everyone.”

“The name is MAGA!”

As he spoke, Qin Shaoyan pulled open the red curtain covering the LOGO, revealing the four letters "MAGA".

"Make Animation Great Again!" Qin Shaoyan raised his hand, "Make animation great again!"

Warm applause suddenly broke out in the company, and everyone's eyes fell on those four letters.

Liu Yuanyuan, who was huddled in the corner, clapped his hands desperately, feeling deeply moved. This new boss was quite sentimental.

A company that is passionate about animation, has money, and cares about its employees is simply a dream company.

Amid warm applause, the new boss waved and smiled, then walked into the conference room with a group of senior executives.

The conference room of an animation company is much smaller than that of a gaming company. After all, office space is very expensive, unlike a large villa in the suburbs.

A dozen people huddled together, looking cautiously at Qin Shaoyan who was sitting in the first seat.

Qin Shaoyan changed his smile and said expressionlessly: "The animation company should be prepared to live a hard life."

Several directors and producers of the animation company were startled.

Sure enough, what the new boss said outside just now were actually empty promises to the employees.

Otherwise there wouldn’t be so many good things.

They also get free snacks, drinks and working meals. They have never enjoyed such treatment since they started working.

"The animation company is an independent company, but I won't inject more funds into you in the future." Qin Shaoyan said seriously, "You have to learn to support yourself."

"First of all, we need to change the previous model of cheating subsidies by producing shoddy cartoons and pay more attention to quality."

"I will set up an independent review committee to control the animation project establishment, budget and quality."

"If the quality is good, I will communicate with CCTV and sell the film to them."

"Local TV stations should not give up either. In short, they should try to increase revenue as much as possible, whether it is to cover the film fees or government subsidies.

The directors lowered their heads and took notes, and began to complain in their hearts, thinking that it was still a subsidy fraud after all.

"In addition to self-made cartoons, the company also needs to develop new businesses," Qin Shaoyan emphasized. "Game-related CG, action, special effects, and animation-related outsourcing, whether from the United States, Japan, or even South Korea, should not be given up, and the company's business scope should be expanded as much as possible."

"Qvod.com will also customize a batch of cartoons for you every year as a supplement to your business."

"Although we are a sister company, we cannot relax on quality." Qin Shaoyan warned, "We need to produce it carefully. If the quality is good enough, the cost of purchasing the film will also increase."

"If you are capable enough, I will also recommend your film to YouTube."

"You will make a lot of money by then!" Qin Shaoyan smiled. "Don't dwell on the past, look to the future. You must shoulder your responsibilities and make the company a major international company."

"In addition, the company will set up an IP development department to design cartoon characters and make these cartoon characters become classic IPs through operations."

The directors were stunned. They could guess what IP was, but they didn’t understand the operation.

Previously, their job responsibilities were to be responsible for the production of animations and project progress, and they had never done any IP development.

"I will assign someone special to be responsible for IP development and operation. You just need to cooperate." Qin Shaoyan said lightly.

Qin Shaoyan's strategy is to spread the influence of the cartoon character through Internet hype, and then continue to maintain the popularity through animated shorts and peripherals, and then cash in when the time is right.

Not only should it be spread on the domestic Internet, but it should also be hyped on the foreign Internet.

We must make full use of our power as a Facebook shareholder to hype and develop a number of classic IPs.

You have the right not to let it expire. While you are still a Facebook shareholder, grab as much traffic as possible from Facebook.

"The first image to be developed is the panda." Qin Shaoyan took out a planning proposal, "Design several panda images according to my requirements. Here are their personalities and backgrounds. You must study them carefully."

"Project name, Kung Fu Panda."

"Kung Fu Panda is aimed at overseas Internet users. This is our first step towards an international strategy and also the company's most important project in the future. You must select the best and brightest to complete it."

That’s right, Qin Shaoyan wants to snatch the “Kung Fu Panda” IP back from Hollywood in the United States.

He couldn't bear to see foreigners damaging the image of pandas and using Chinese elements to make money, which was simply shameless.

This kind of cultural appropriation is not uncommon. For example, South Korea has been constantly stealing Chinese culture and claiming it as its own.

Hollywood in the United States is not much better in this regard, and is even more blatant.

Don’t think that it’s a good thing for them to use Chinese elements. No one will cherish things that are not their own.

Pandas and Mulan are both part of Chinese culture, but they were exploited by the United States, which used stereotypes to create them and then made money from the Chinese market.

This is not only an economic issue, more importantly, they are fighting for cultural discourse power.

Qin Shaoyan was very unhappy about this. He believed that only he could use his own things well.

Therefore, the first step is for Qin Shaoyan to use animation as a channel to export Chinese culture.

(End of this chapter)