You call this entrepreneurship?

Chapter 412 Our Success

As for the matter of subsidy fraud, as long as you are willing to spend time and study it, you will definitely find a way.

Mingyue knows it clearly, and Qin Shaoyan knows it even more clearly.

Currently, he is the only one that allows Chinese animation to go overseas and receives subsidies from the government.

But if the profits are big enough, imitators are sure to emerge.

These imitators basically do not rely on quality to expand overseas, but rely on other methods.

It just raises the threshold for fraudulent subsidies and screens out low-end players.

Low-end players can live well in the comfort zone of provincial and municipal TV stations by relying on their connections, and going overseas will not affect them.

Unless the government cancels the subsidies, these parasites will continue to exist.

An idea suddenly popped into Qin Shaoyan's mind: should he set up an assembly line operation to defraud subsidies?

Let TNB purchase cartoons for YouTube, buy domestic cartoons at low prices, and then negotiate with the animation companies in advance.

After receiving the purchase fee, it will be repaid in full under another name, and after receiving the state subsidy, it will be divided into 30% and 70%.

Of course TNB will take 70%, after all, they control the only channel.

However, Qin Shaoyan quickly dismissed this idea. This method costs little but is troublesome. It is really a waste of time - it is totally unnecessary.

He has no shortage of ways to make money, so there's no need for him to do this kind of shady work.

Moreover, he sold the animation mainly to hype the IP, not to defraud subsidies.

However, it is a good thing that the city took the initiative to provide subsidies, which provides the "MAGA" animation company with additional income.

After being streamlined, the animation company's monthly expenditure costs are around 1.5 million, and the income from the "I Plant Potatoes on Mars" project is enough to sustain the company for a year.

Qin Shaoyan has obtained a very promising IP. Next, he will consider how to bring "I Grow Potatoes on Mars" to Hollywood.

Thinking of this, Qin Shaoyan took out his cell phone and prepared to find some connections to make some arrangements.

……

Xiong Xiaoge was chatting with an entrepreneur. They were having a very interesting conversation when his cell phone vibrated a few times. He picked it up and looked at the caller ID, frowning slightly.

"Excuse me, I need to take a call." Xiong Xiaoge stood up and walked to the window, and answered the call. "This is Xiong Xiaoge, what's up?"

"Have you heard?" Qin Shaoyan on the opposite side said mysteriously in a low voice.

"What?" Xiong Xiaoge felt confused. What did he hear?

"I recently wrote a novel called 'I Plant Potatoes on Mars'. It's very popular and I've already booked next year's Galaxy Award in advance," Qin Shaoyan said proudly.

Xiong Xiaoge was somewhat speechless. Why would a boss like you write a novel instead of doing your job? He couldn't say anything critical, so he could only perfunctorily say, "Congratulations."

"Congratulations, congratulations." Qin Shaoyan said happily, "I think we can celebrate."

Xiong Xiaoge couldn't bear it any longer, "What does the novel you wrote have to do with me?"

"How can there be no relationship?" Qin Shaoyan retorted, "We are partners. Isn't my success your success?"

Xiong Xiaoge laughed angrily, "Can you give me a share of the royalties from your novel?"

"That can't be done." Qin Shaoyan answered decisively, "I wrote it alone, why should I give it to you?"

"Then what have I accomplished?" Xiong Xiaoge asked, "What's the logic behind this?"

Qin Shaoyan replied: "My novel is so popular that Kuaibo Film and Television, a subsidiary of Kuaibo.com, bought the film and television adaptation rights. In the future, it will be made into a science fiction movie or TV series."

"Qin Shaoyan!" Xiong Xiaoge was shocked and angry. "Is it fun to play like this? Are you short of money?"

The founder of Qvod wrote a novel and then asked Qvod to buy the copyright of his novel. Isn't this pure cash-out?

"What's your attitude? Qvod Films only gave me two million yuan in copyright fees. I'm losing a lot, okay?" Qin Shaoyan said confidently, "I made a great sacrifice for the company's benefit."

Xiong Xiaoge frowned, feeling that something seemed wrong. Qin Shaoyan didn't seem to be short of the two million, so what was the point of doing this?
He was too lazy to guess and asked directly: "What do you mean?"

"The IP value of this novel is now at least 100 million, which has brought the valuation of Qvod forward again." Qin Shaoyan asked calmly, "Do you think this is a huge success?"

"One hundred million?" Xiong Xiaoge was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Are you dreaming?"

What novel is worth 100 million?

It's not worth it even if you write it with gold.

"This novel has been adapted into an animated version by MAGA Animation Company." Qin Shaoyan added, "YouTube has decided to purchase the overseas copyright for 200 million US dollars."

"Two million dollars?" Xiong Xiaoge thought for a moment, "This is indeed a good deal, but why is it only worth 100 million?"

"If the animation is successfully developed, there will be sustained profits, and we can subsequently develop a second season or an animated movie," Qin Shaoyan replied.

"The value of cartoons in China is very low," Xiong Xiaoge retorted, "and there is no value in developing peripheral products."

"It's possible in the United States." Qin Shaoyan said with a smile.

"The premise is that this animation can be successful." Xiong Xiaoge said bluntly, "I don't see any potential for success in it. It will be difficult to achieve success if it is adapted into an animated film and released in the United States."

"What if this novel is adapted into a live-action movie?" Qin Shaoyan asked back.

"Huh?" Xiong Xiaoge was stunned.

"I have discussed this with Davis and plan to sell this work to Hollywood." Qin Shaoyan threw out another bait.

"Hollywood?" Xiong Xiaoge was frightened and fell into deep thought.

If this novel can really be sold to Hollywood, it will be a huge profit. Along with the publication of the novel, the animation and peripheral products will be worth a lot of money.

"If it's Hollywood, then it's certainly possible." Xiong Xiaoge thought for a moment, "But it's not going to be easy to do, right?"

Qin Shaoyan said confidently: "Everything depends on human efforts."

“As long as you work hard, you have a chance to succeed.”

Xiong Xiaoge was a little puzzled: "But this is in your best interest."

Qin Shaoyan laughed and said, "I have given all the copyrights to Qvod.com for operation, and all subsequent income will belong to Qvod.com."

"Oh?" Xiong Xiaoge was a little surprised, "Boss Qin is really selfless."

Qin Shaoyan showed no emotion towards Xiong Xiaoge's praise, but asked seriously: "After all this operation, do you think this IP is worth 100 million?"

"It's worth it." Xiong Xiaoge gave a professional assessment, "and it's not even worth 100 million."

Qin Shaoyan laughed, "One IP costs 100 million, so what about ten? What about a hundred?"

"What do you mean?" Xiong Xiaoge was a little confused.

"If I have the ability to mass-produce IP, do you think this will be a big business?" Qin Shaoyan continued to ask.

"That's impossible!" Xiong Xiaoge retorted subconsciously, "IP is not an industrial product that can be manufactured on an assembly line." Qin Shaoyan didn't explain anything, but just said, "You can read the novel I wrote and then draw your conclusion."

After hanging up the phone, Xiong Xiaoge pondered for a moment, left the entrepreneur in the reception room and went straight to the assistant, "Please check for me the novel "I Plant Potatoes on Mars" and all the information about this novel."

The assistant was stunned for a moment, then immediately agreed.

When did Mr. Xiong start liking reading novels?
Soon, two copies of "Science Fiction World" magazines and related news were piled on Xiong Xiaoge's desk.

Xiong Xiaoge was also stunned when he saw the thick stack of information. After he finished reading the relevant information and news, he suddenly smelled a conspiracy.

This novel is indeed good, but it is not yet a hit.

There are obviously people behind the hype. There are so many promotional articles on the Internet, which are obviously paid for.

But these are minor issues, and similar tactics in the writer's circle are nothing new.

The next operation is the highlight. Qin Shaoyan used the animation company as a springboard to hand over the adapted animation to YouTube.

The monetary gain was secondary, as it played a huge role in boosting the fame of the novel, and this move completely ignited the craze for the novel.

To be honest, this operation is nothing new. Xiong Xiaoge is knowledgeable and has seen similar things.

What really surprised him was that Qin Shaoyan was only 25 years old, but his business operations were so sophisticated.

Moreover, Qin Shaoyan is neither from a professional background nor has any education from his family, nor has he been influenced by any professional field, yet he can accomplish it with ease.

Is he really a business genius?
However, he was very excited by Qin Shaoyan's words. If IP could be mass-produced, the value it contained would be enormous.

The purpose of Qin Shaoyan's novel is to tell him that IP can be manufactured on an assembly line.

When Xiong Xiaoge thought of this, he immediately called Qin Shaoyan, "Boss Qin is very capable. You can make a lot of fun out of a novel. I admire you very much."

"It's just a trifle." Qin Shaoyan said modestly, "Do you think this will work?"

"It's also a good way." Xiong Xiaoge admitted that developing IP is indeed a new way.

"If Qvod has a large number of IPs, will it be of great help to its valuation?" Qin Shaoyan asked in return.

“The premise is that these IPs can be planted like potatoes,” Xiong Xiaoge replied.

"Everything depends on human effort." Qin Shaoyan said with a smile, "As long as you succeed once, the capital market will believe that you will succeed a second time."

"Let alone other things, the IP in the hands of Qvod is enough to increase the valuation by 10%."

"Qvod.com is expected to go public in 2007. This is great news."

Xiong Xiaoge took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

Qin Shaoyan painted another pie for him, but this one was different from the others.

It can eat it if it works hard.

Xiong Xiaoge said calmly: "The premise is that this operation must be successful."

"We are partners." Qin Shaoyan said seriously, "My success is your success. IDG is also a shareholder of Qvod."

Xiong Xiaoge immediately understood the hidden meaning, "What do you want me to do?"

"My sister-in-law is a Hollywood producer. I think it would be a good idea to let her buy the film rights to this novel," Qin Shaoyan suggested enthusiastically.

"..." Xiong Xiaoge almost broke down, and he managed to suppress the urge to curse.

Later, I thought again, Luo Yan is indeed a Hollywood producer, and buying the film adaptation rights of the novel is also like selling it to Hollywood.

It all depends on the angle from which a thing is explained.

Whether the live-action movie of the novel can be made will not affect the current valuation of Qvod.com.

Qin Shaoyan continued, "We can ask my sister-in-law to register a small company and then buy the copyright. We can hype it up in China."

"As for how my sister-in-law runs the business in Hollywood, I won't interfere. If it can be sold, it's good. If it can't be sold, it's no loss."

Xiong Xiaoge couldn't help but ask, "Did you plan this in advance?"

"Absolutely not!" Qin Shaoyan denied it flatly, "You think too much of me. I am sincerely working hard for our interests."

Xiong Xiaoge sneered a few times and said nothing.

However, he was indeed somewhat tempted and felt that it could indeed be hyped up, but it was not quite the same as the best result he had expected.

Xiong Xiaoge thought about it for a while and found that he would not lose anything, so he mentioned the matter to his wife Luo Yan when he got home.

Unexpectedly, Luo Yan was very interested in this matter. She immediately asked her assistant to book a plane ticket and rushed back to China to talk to Qin Shaoyan in person.

……

Two days later.

Qin Shaoyan was writing quickly in the office when he suddenly heard a noisy sound outside, and he immediately felt displeased.

"Xiao Chen, what are you doing outside?" Qin Shaoyan asked sternly, "Why is it so noisy?"

Secretary Xiao Chen quickly pushed the door open and came in, "Boss Qin, Boss Xiong from IDG is here."

"Hey, you're here so soon." Qin Shaoyan was overjoyed, "Please come in."

"Well, Mr. Xiong brought a lot of people with him." Xiao Chen was a little embarrassed, "Your office can't accommodate them all."

"Then let's go to the meeting room." Qin Shaoyan put away the unfinished manuscript, stood up and walked out of the office.

As soon as Qin Shaoyan stepped out of the office door, he saw people from IDG and the executives of Campus Network chatting and laughing.

These people haven't been here for several months, and the executives of the campus network have missed them a little, so greetings are inevitable when they meet.

Qin Shaoyan also greeted them warmly, "Everyone, go to the reception room. What are you doing standing outside? Xu Lei asked someone to prepare coffee and snacks. What are you still standing there for? You should entertain Mr. Zhou."

Xiong Xiaoge's deputy Zhou Dao was also not shy, "Boss Qin, go and do your thing. We can do it on our own. Boss Xiong is waiting for you in the conference room."

Qin Shaoyan walked into the meeting room and found Xiong Xiaoge's wife Luo Yan was also there. He was immediately surprised and asked, "When did the elder sister come back?"

"I took the flight last night." Luo Yan said with a smile, "I came back specifically for your novel."

Qin Shaoyan secretly gave Xiong Xiaoge a thumbs up, but said, "I am flattered by what you said, elder sister."

Luo Yan didn't look at Xiong Xiaoge's reaction and said jokingly, "I didn't realize that Xiao Qin is actually a great writer."

"I read the novel on the plane and it is indeed well written."

"Moreover, I think it's worth adapting into a movie." Luo Yan quickly got into the mood. "The scenes are basically on Mars, and most of the perspectives are on the protagonist alone."

“I think it could be made into a low-budget science fiction film.”

(End of this chapter)