Gold Investor

Chapter 120 The Curse of Round C (3)
Fang Yubin showed appreciation. In his opinion, Jiang Ruobing's questions were always right.He talked eloquently: "As we all know, a start-up company will go through several rounds of financing from its establishment to its listing. But according to statistics over the years, only 10% of entrepreneurs can get the money from the C round of financing, and the remaining 90% Entrepreneurs will fall on the threshold of the C round of financing. In the investment circle, this is the famous "C round of death" curse. Therefore, I regard the C round of financing as a big test for startup companies."

Jiang Ruobing was in high spirits, with an attitude of breaking the casserole and asking the bottom line: "Why does the 'C round of death' appear, this curse is so effective?"

Fang Yubin replied: "Whether it works or not, the facts have already answered it. It has been a rule for many years that 90% of start-up companies cannot get the C round of financing. As for why this phenomenon occurs, I analyze two reasons. .First, there is a saying in the investment circle: Angel investors look at people, A-round investment looks at products, B-round looks at data, and C-round looks at models. That is to say, before the C round, with an excellent team and entrepreneurial passion, perhaps To attract investors’ attention, entrepreneurs must come up with a real business model when they reach the C round. Many startups are working hard, but they have not provided a convincing business model.”

"You said the first reason, what about the second?" Jiang Ruobing asked.

Fang Yubin said: "The second reason, I think, can be analyzed from the perspective of investors. Investors are in the business of making money, but they are not running money printing factories after all. When it comes to C round investment, the valuation of many start-up companies The value is close to 1 million US dollars, which is actually beyond the comfortable range of most venture capital. There are not many companies with a market value of more than 10 billion US dollars in the capital market, and a valuation of more than 1 million US dollars will make many venture capitalists feel The ceiling of investment appreciation is fast approaching. Therefore, they will be extremely cautious when selling."

Fang Yubin finished speaking in one breath, but Jiang Ruobing fell into deep thought.Fang Yubin asked: "Why, I didn't explain clearly enough?"

Jiang Ruobing shook his head and said, "You made it very clear. But after hearing what you said, I suddenly felt a lot of pressure."

Jiang Ruobing went on to say: "Take Yijia as an example. When Mr. Yuan established this company, he attracted a lot of funds with his own connections. This should be counted as an angel round of investment. The entry of Xinglan Capital is an A-round investment. Mr. Yuan once I hoped to launch the B round of financing, but the result was twists and turns. The American venture capital temporarily changed its mind, and finally Xinglan Capital injected [-] million cash to help the company tide over the difficulties. Next, Yijia will have to face the big test of "C round death". gone."

Fang Yubin said: "The C round of financing is indeed a hurdle, let's work together. Now Xinglan Capital is the largest shareholder of Yijia, and you are the chairman of the company. We are already a community of destiny, and we can only stand together through thick and thin."

"What's the plan for Yijia's next step?" Fang Yubin asked.

"Professionalize and segment the market." Jiang Ruobing quickly replied, "P2P finance must have a clear positioning for itself. We are doing things that banks don't want to do or can't do well, and we are definitely not trying to compete with banks for business. If you are greedy and seek perfection, you will definitely stumble.”

"Tell me more specific." Fang Yubin handed Jiang Ruobing a bottle of drink, and took a sip of tea himself.

Jiang Ruobing put the drink aside and didn't drink it.She said: "You must insist on doing mortgage loans, and do less or even no credit loans. Yijia will screen a large amount of loan information layer by layer, including repayment willingness, repayment ability assessment, etc., and arrange nearly 100 people offline. The control team will review and select the mortgage loan business with sufficient real estate or cars to recommend to financial managers.”

Fang Yubin nodded and said, "Keep steady, I agree with that."

Jiang Ruobing said: "I still have another plan, which is to shrink the front line. In the past, Mr. Yuan was keen to open branches in various places. I think that instead of casting a large net, it is better to establish one or two key areas for intensive cultivation."

Fang Yubin thought for a while and said, "It's not impossible to shrink the front line, but we must also consider the scale effect. If Yijia's transaction scale still cannot increase, what will attract the C round of investment?"

"There is no contradiction between shrinking the front line and expanding the scale. We are not cowardly avoiding war, but concentrating superior forces to fight the war of annihilation. China's economic scale is large enough, especially in the Yangtze River Delta or the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, where a single city can support dozens of The scale of loans can reach hundreds of billions or even tens of billions. Locking in the two cities of Beijing and Shanghai is enough for us to make a lot of money." When Jiang Ruobing said these words, besides being gentle, she also showed the ability of a strong woman.

Jiang Ruobing continued: "Besides, with the actual situation of Yijia, it is not yet time to expand to the whole country. Our post-loan system is far from being able to plan a strategy thousands of miles away. When encountering debts that are not repaid, collections, prosecutions, and auctions are physically exhausting. Life is a big project. No matter how hard the collection is, no matter how good the lawyer is, the air ticket and travel expenses are enough to win the lawsuit and lose money. According to my observation, let alone Yijia, there is no P2P platform in China. , can solve these thorny problems. For P2P platforms, the key depends on whether the overdue rate and non-performing rate are controllable, and whether the coverage rate is reasonable. Otherwise, the bigger the business, the greater the risk.”

"I understand what you mean." Fang Yubin laughed, "Chairman Mao ordered Su Yu to lead his troops across the river, but Su Yu proposed not to cross the river temporarily and concentrate the main force in Jiangbei to fight the big battle. Chairman Mao agreed with Su Yu's opinion , Only then did the Huaihai Campaign follow."

"I also plan to launch some new measures." Jiang Ruobing, who just took the chairmanship of Yijia Financial Holdings, talked about future plans, "The company will establish a system, and all risk control positions and management teams that involve capital risks , you must take out your own assets, take out the house mortgage loan if you have no money, and pay all of them as a deposit. The higher the position, the more important the position, the more you pay. When there are overdue and bad debts, first use the deposit to advance. I will As I said above, I hope everyone will not blame me for being cruel, who made us do P2P! Risk control, you have to be more cruel to yourself.”

"This is a good idea." Fang Yubin tapped the table, "Before the investors suffer losses, the team members have to go bankrupt first! If the team members don't want to suffer losses, then the investors cannot suffer any losses."

Jiang Ruobing continued: "Yijia still needs to improve its internal management. I used to work in a bank and know that the bank's management system has been improved for many years and is generally sound. It is estimated that it is unlikely to appear now. But the emerging P2P platform is still far behind. For example, Yijia, tens of millions of capital turnover is trivial, but many employees cannot earn 100 million in a few years. In the face of The temptation of huge sums of money can only be avoided with strong supervision to avoid breeding greed.”

Fang Yubin couldn't help nodding his head. Jiang Ruobing was indeed better than Yuan Ruilang in the detailed management of operating the P2P platform.He asked: "What you said is very good, but it is also a systematic project. How long do you plan to complete it?"

"The work is already in progress, and it will take four months at the latest, that is, 4 days to see results." Jiang Ruobing said confidently.

"120 days?" Fang Yubin was quite surprised, "Is it too urgent?"

"There is no rush." ​​Jiang Ruobing said, "There is a '120-day theory' in management science - the optimal period for systematically solving the company's management and business complex problems is 120 days. Most management issues will continue to create inertia."

Fang Yubin pondered for a while, and said: "Theories are invented by people, and work has to be done by people. Now you are the head of Yijia Financial Holdings. If you have any ideas, let's do it."

"Thank you for the investor's trust." Jiang Ruobing laughed, and then she said, "There is one more thing I want to discuss with you. I want to change the name of Yijia."

"How to change the name of the company?" Fang Yubin asked.

Jiang Ruobing said: "The so-called financial holdings refer to financial holdings. For example, in Taiwan, there are five major financial holding families, namely the Cai family of Fubon Cathay Pacific, the Xin Wu family of Xinguangtai, the Ku family of CITIC, the Ma family of Yuanda and the Lin family of South China. These financial holding groups, which own various companies in the financial industry chain such as banks, insurance, and trusts, are out-and-out financial chaebols. Mr. Yuan once said that Yijia started from Internet finance, and the long-term goal is to establish a global The financial empire of the industrial chain."

Jiang Ruobing went on to say: "I think Mr. Yuan's heart is too big. P2P finance should not be a subversive of traditional finance, but a useful supplement. From an objective point of view, P2P finance does not have the ability to subvert traditional finance. Therefore, it is too domineering to be called Financial Holdings, and there is no affinity. It is better to call Yijia Financial Services to show that we are a service-oriented financial company. Isn’t Ant under Alibaba also called Financial Services?”

Fang Yubin rested his chin in his hand, and said slowly: "I also think that the name of Jinkong is a bit misleading. But the company name was determined by Mr. Yuan after all. Now that he has just left, we will change the name, right..."

Jiang Ruobing said: "Since Mr. Yuan has resigned from the position of chairman, it means that he does not want to get involved in the specific operation. He probably doesn't mind changing the name. Besides, he is still a shareholder of Yijia. The company will develop well in the future, so naturally we wish for it."

"It's true, but it's better to say hello to him." Fang Yubin said.

Jiang Ruobing spread his hands helplessly: "We can't contact him at all."

Fang Yubin remembered Yuan Ruilang's Moments message again. He picked up his phone and saw that he hadn't received any reply to his message.Fang Yubin shook his head and said, "Ever since he was absent from the board meeting, he didn't even show his face. First, he sent a statement, abandoning the cow card plan, and then resigned as the chairman."

"Yes," Jiang Ruobing said, "so many handover procedures, and how to deal with the equity in his name, are all handled by entrusting a lawyer, and I never show up. I called him a lot, but the phone was always turned off."

Fang Yubin smiled wryly and said, "I can't get in touch with him either. I only found out that he went abroad after reading the news in Moments."

Jiang Ruobing unscrewed the drink that had been sitting in front of her for a long time, took a sip and said, "Boss Yuan is probably still angry and doesn't want to see us."

Thinking of the years of friendship with Yuan Ruilang, Fang Yubin felt a little heavy.He said: "Yuan is always my benefactor. At the beginning, I proposed to let him quit the front line of management, which was good for the company as well as him. But I just asked him to give up the position of president, but unexpectedly he also resigned the chairman. completely left the company."

Fang Yubin frowned: "I think there is some misunderstanding here? Otherwise, why did he leave without saying goodbye?"

Jiang Ruobing kept sipping drinks: "You also know Mr. Yuan's personality, he has a strong concept of face. If there is any misunderstanding, we can only let time dilute everything."

Jiang Ruobing put the drink bottle back on the table, and said: "He is traveling around the world now, but he is happy. I shoulder the chairman and the president, but I just help him and other shareholders to look after the stall. In Yijia, I don't have any points. After all, Qian Shares is just a senior wage earner."

"You are not a wage earner." Fang Yubin said, "That's right, you don't have shares in the company yet, but it was made clear at the last board meeting that the management will be promoted to hold shares."

Jiang Ruobing smiled: "I know. What I said today was just casually. Don't think that I am urging you, a major shareholder, to ask for shares."

Fang Yubin laughed loudly: "It is clearly written in the resolution of the board meeting that you will own the corresponding shares if you achieve any performance. It is useless to remind me."

The two were talking and laughing when there was a knock on the office door.Then, Su Jin walked in.Jiang Ruobing turned around and greeted warmly: "Teacher Su!"

"Mr. Jiang, hello! I didn't know you were here." Su Jin responded politely, but his expression was a little cold.

"I'm here to talk to Yubin about something," Jiang Ruobing said.

"Let's talk about work. I'll come in later." Su Jin said as he was about to close the door and go out.

"No need. Just finished talking." Jiang Ruobing stood up with a smile, took Su Jin's hand, and praised Su Jin's skin and complexion.

After chatting for a few words, Jiang Ruobing picked up the leather bag and said goodbye: "Leave the world of the two of you to you, I'll go first."

Fang Yubin got up to see him off, and when he reached the door, Jiang Ruobing asked again: "I just said that the company changed its name, do you have any objections?"

Fang Yubin replied: "Let's think about it again."

4 If you can’t get your money back, don’t look for the market, let alone the mayor
When Su Jin came to the office, he made an appointment to meet Fang Yubin and go back to Jiangzhou together.Su Jin's cousin Su Hao returned to Jiangzhou a few days ago, and the family will gather tonight.

After Jiang Ruobing left, Su Jin said to Fang Yubin, "You two had a good chat!"

"Of course." Fang Yubin said with a smile, "Ruobing is a good person. Without her, my personal problems would not be solved for a long time."

"What, you guys are going to talk about marriage? When will the invitation be sent out, and I'll come to ask for a drink too?" Su Jin teased with an unhappy face.

Fang Yubin said: "What kind of marriage do I talk about with her? I mean, how could you give me a chance to reform without anyone helping me? If I hadn't gone to Jiangzhou with her and been beaten violently, You won't come to the hospital to see me, maybe you're still having trouble with me now."

Fang Yubin was really grateful to Jiang Ruobing for being able to make Su Jin change his mind. First, when he went to Jiangzhou to collect debts and encountered an accident, Su Jin came to visit, and the relationship between the two finally turned around; Su Jin felt a sense of crisis.

"Nonsense!" Su Jin's face turned bright, but his mouth was not forgiving, "At the beginning, I saw you being beaten to death, and my heart softened for a while. What does it have to do with her!"

Fang Yubin said: "Since I have reformed myself, do you think it's time for us to talk about marriage? I will bring this up when I go back to Jiangzhou to see my uncle and aunt today."

"Don't push yourself too hard. I'm going back to Jiangzhou today because my brother is back. Don't worry about your own business." Su Jin's face flushed a little.

Fang Yubin tidied up his desk, put on his coat again, and said, "Let's leave early. During the rush hour, the road will be jammed again. Your brother finally came back, so let's not be late."

Speeding all the way, after 5 pm, the two arrived at Jiangzhou's home.His father, Su Dingguo, had always been worried about his daughter's marriage. Now that Fang Yubin and Su Jin had reconciled as before, he was filled with joy.Su Jin's mother came out to say hello to Su Hao, and then went back to the kitchen to prepare the family's dinner.

Su Dingguo, who was in a good mood, chatted with Fang Yubin, and Fang Yubin asked, "How is uncle recently?"

Su Dingguo nodded and said, "Very good! I can eat and drink during the day and sleep soundly at night. If others don't tell me, I will almost forget my age."

Su Jin interjected: "No matter how good your body is, you must take care of it. I heard my mother said that you went out to eat last night, broke your drinking habit, and came home drunk."

"Your mother can't do anything else, and the small report is not ambiguous. Our family's unhealthy complaints should be dealt with." Su Dingguo has been an official for many years, sometimes joking with his family, or making a report at a conference.

Su Dingguo said again: "I was invited by some old subordinates last night. Now that they are all successful, and some even become city leaders, I put on airs and don't drink at all. People can't say I'm relying on the old to sell the old."

"Who are you with?" Su Jin asked.

Su Dingguo said, "You don't know Uncle Lin, Uncle Chu, and others."

Su Jin said: "I heard that Uncle Lin has just been transferred back to the city and became the deputy mayor?"

Su Dingguo nodded and said: "This kid has made rapid progress. When I was the deputy secretary of the municipal party committee, he was also the deputy director of the political research office of the municipal party committee. He stayed in the office all day writing materials for the leaders. Now, he has just been working as a subordinate for two years. The secretary of the county party committee was promoted to the city government in charge of economic work."

Su Dingguo went on to say: "Everyone was congratulating Xiao Lin last night, but he said that he was under a lot of pressure and encountered a hot potato as soon as he took office. In recent years, economic growth has slowed down, and various conflicts have erupted. Especially the corporate debt problem, Many companies owe a lot of money, and the creditors have no choice but to block the government's door."

(End of this chapter)