China Entertainment: Adding fairy friends at the beginning

Chapter 103
As soon as Ding Shuo returned to the capital, Sun Qian reported to himself that the venture capital department of Sequoia Capital China Fund sent someone to invite him to have a detailed chat.

Ding Shuo's dynamic sound is running normally every day. From the data, the average daily usage time of users and the number of new users are increasing every day, and the increment is getting bigger and bigger, which is already on the right track.

Although Ding Shuo is a two-handed swordsman, he still understands that the number of users is the foundation of an app, and the more users, the better.

Although the company has not opened advertising and other revenue services, it has been paying to subsidize video uploaders.

Plus more servers need to be purchased, but these are the dark days before the dawn.As long as there are more users, the valuation of the software will be higher, and the bargaining chips for the game with investors will be higher.

Moreover, the more people who use dynamic sound, the more mature the background algorithm technology will be, and the better the experience feedback to users will be, thus forming a virtuous circle.

Ding Shuo attaches great importance to the negotiation with Sequoia.

Sequoia Capital China Fund can be understood as a branch of Sequoia in China. It was co-founded by Shen Nanpeng and Sequoia Capital. It has invested in a large number of well-known Internet companies such as Ali, JD.com, Didi Taxi, Ele.me, and Kuaishou. .

Before the meeting, Ding Shuo and several partners carefully prepared countless related financing materials, among which Sun Qian contributed the most.She was originally an assistant in the venture capital department of Softbank, so she is naturally familiar with the ways of investors.

When the appointed day came, Ding Shuo and several partners of the company dressed neatly in suits and leather shoes, trying to leave a capable and energetic impression on investors.

In the presidential suite of the Capital Bulgari Hotel.

Ding Shuo and the others met Sequoia's venture capital manager Chen Jie as scheduled.He is about 40 years old, with a medium height and a well-proportioned figure. He wears a well-fitting suit and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. He looks like a successful person with a successful career and a self-disciplined life.

After the meeting, both parties were very enthusiastic. Although Ding Shuo wanted Sequoia's investment, Sequoia also wanted to acquire the potential stock of Douyin early.The two sides can be described as a man who is affectionate and a concubine who is interested.

After Ding Shuo and Chen Jie shook hands, Chen Jie smiled and said to Ding Shuo, "I heard that Ding Shuo is a well-known director, and he is the first among Internet bosses."

Ding Shuo also complimented with a smile: "Manager Chen is the one who has a successful career. The best venture capital companies in China are all involved in billions or tens of billions. He is our God of Wealth."

"Where is it, I am a part-time worker, and the one who can really make the decision is our Mr. Shen."

After a few people exchanged pleasantries, a group of people sat on the sofa in an orderly manner and began to talk about business.

"This is the user data of our Douyin at the current stage, and the plan for the next stage. I would like to ask Manager Chen to correct me."

Ding Shuo winked at Sun Qian, and Sun Qian took out the prepared materials from the briefcase and handed them to Manager Chen.

Manager Chen took the materials and looked at them carefully. It lasted about twenty minutes, and he kept asking questions from time to time.Directly saying what Ding Shuo said was dry, Sun Qian boiled water and made tea for the two of them with a wink, and chatted while drinking tea.

Ding Shuo's brow was covered with sweat from the question, he missed the group of investors in the entertainment circle very much now.

Not to mention that when Ding Shuo first entered the industry, he heard his seniors brag about the investment made by the former coal boss. He signed the contract while pinching his feet at the wine table or in the KTV.

Even those people who are engaged in the Internet in the entertainment industry now, they will see that your project has IP and traffic, and they will spend money to invest in it.

Nowhere is it like now, Manager Chen on the opposite side can't wait to take off Ding Shuo's underwear to see what color it is.

The company's next plan, Ding Shuo can't all go out bald.Not only did he want to paint a good picture for Manager Chen, but he also had to hold back. Ding Shuo lost a lot of brain cells.

"I firmly believe that the product we make will be an epoch-making product. It is based on the user's preferences and can better capture the pain points of the user.

Afterwards, when the number of users has reached hundreds of millions, we can even open live broadcast functions, shopping malls, or purchase music, film and television copyrights, becoming the first choice for mobile phone users for leisure and entertainment.In the future, the market value will not be inferior to that of Tencent and Ali. "

After Ding Shuo gave a big speech, he even felt that Douyin could really do a lot in the future.

"The prospect you describe is very good. Big data analysis and algorithm recommendation are indeed the core of your company, and it also makes up for the shortcomings of the domestic short video market. It is indeed a project worth investing in."

Hearing Chen Jie's praise of Dongyin, Ding Shuo and the others didn't express too much joy. Generally speaking, "but" is the key point.

Sure enough, Chen Jie put away the smile on his face, and suddenly became serious: "But as an investor, I naturally don't want our money to go to waste. Since your team can develop it in a few months, then the goose There are tens of thousands of software engineers in the factory, why can't they plagiarize?
With all due respect, I am afraid that Goose Factory is having a meeting now to discuss the development of similar products.At that time, coupled with the huge drainage effect of QQ and WeChat, I am afraid that you will be photographed dead on the beach. "

Chen Jie picked up the teacup, took a sip of tea, and continued: "And to put it bluntly, Brother Ding, you were born as a director in the entertainment industry. Are you familiar with the code and structure? Do you have the energy and ability to lead the company to go public in the future? Your advantages Where?"

Seeing the boss being 'humiliated', Sun Qian interjected: "Our boss's code level is not low, and he participated in the coding of the APP throughout the process."

Yang Zhen and Wang Yu who were sitting on the side also nodded in agreement, proving that what Sun Qian said was true.

It was indeed difficult for Ding Shuo to refute Chen Jie's doubts.The fact is that, if it is not because of the system, I would never, nor have the ability, to get involved in Internet entrepreneurship, and even go all the way to the step of financing smoothly.

If a big company like Goose Factory really came to attack him, then Ding Shuo really didn't know how to deal with it in a short time.

There is no doubt about Ding Shuo's success in dynamic sound, after all, it is produced by the system and must be a high-quality product.But how to deal with the challenges that the company will face in the short term, Ding Shuo is somewhat Muggle.

The only thing he can do now is to take advantage of the fact that he is one step ahead of others, whether through subsidies or advertising, to quickly compete for most of the users in the market.

When the time comes, he will take ten thousand steps back, and at worst, he will 'sell the dynamic sound to the goose factory', take the money and leave, and exit as a 'loser'.

Therefore, even though Ding Shuo felt a little guilty, he still said calmly: "Of course we have considered what you said. Even if the Goose Factory is approved now, it will take a few months until the product comes out. We have already taken advantage of the time. And we also have a plan for the next step. As long as we raise funds, we will immediately start the next round of money-burning mode, and we will definitely be able to take the lead and occupy more than [-]% of the market share!"

Chen Jie shook his head, smiled and said: "This is all your one-sidedness. The reality is always crueler than the ideal. Real money is not so easy to get. If there is no high return, we will not take such a big risk." risky."

Although Chen Jie didn't speak well, Sequoia was still very optimistic about Ding Shuo's project. As Sequoia's boss Shen Nanpeng's capable man, his ability to sit here already showed a big problem.If there is a preliminary consensus this time, I am afraid that Shen Nanpeng will come forward in person next time we meet.

Ding Shuo naturally understood the principle of lowering prices, smiled slightly, and said, "If I didn't have confidence in Dongyin, how could I have invested hundreds of millions of funds by myself? My vision is pretty good so far."

"Naturally, Director Ding has a tricky eye in the entertainment industry. If Director Ding wants to raise funds for another film and television company, he must also seek out Sequoia.

How about this, I will report the basic situation to the headquarters first, and then I will leave the evaluation of the valuation to a special person, how about it? "

"No problem. Manager Chen is a guest. We have already arranged a banquet. Let's chat while eating at noon?"

Chen Jie replied with a smile: "Okay, then I will be disrespectful."

……

Sure enough, those who engage in finance are deep in the city, and they are always sober.Ding Shuo originally planned to have a few more drinks with Chen Jie, so as to explore the bottom of Sequoia.

But in front of Chen Jie, this old fox, his own tricks were not enough.After drinking and eating, Ding Shuo insisted on saying nothing.

Saying goodbye to Chen Jie, Ding Shuo felt that he had exhausted his mind and energy for financing these few days, and today he spent a whole day dealing with Chen Jie, and he had enough good words and smiles.Now my heart is empty.

Yang Zhen and Wang Yu, who had been accompanying them all, also drank a little too much just now, so they went back first.Now only Ding Shuo and Sun Qian are left.

"Is there any smoke?" Ding Shuo looked at the capital street with neon lights flashing in the distance, emo, and had the urge to smoke.

"I only have women's cigarettes, and I don't usually smell smoke on you, boss."

Sun Qian took out a pack of women's cigarettes from her bag, handed Ding Shuo a thin one, and put one in her mouth herself.

Ding Shuo leaned over, lit the fire, and took a deep breath.

Looking at Sun Qian who is close at hand, she has long maroon wavy hair, bright red lips, and slender white jade fingers holding thin smoke. Her delicate face looks a little more mysterious in the night, as if it is full of stories.

"Do you still smoke? You look like an old smoker. There is a story in Japan? How come you resigned from Softbank?" Ding Shuo and Sun Qian got along like friends for the first time.

Sun Qian seemed to have been told what was on her mind, she gave Ding Shuo an annoyed look, and said, "There is no rule that the boss should know the past experiences of his subordinates."

"I'm not a friend, I care more about you."

Sun Qian smiled meaningfully: "If you have this kind of heart, you should pay more attention to your girlfriends."

Ding Shuo didn't itch if he had too many lice, and didn't worry about having too many debts. He said like a normal person, "Well, I'm just asking for trouble. Let's talk about something else."

When Sun Qian heard that Ding Shuo wanted to chat, she asked curiously: "Other people are very happy to raise money, why do you look so bitter and vengeful, boss?"

Ding Shuo was having troubles in his heart, so he said, "I don't know why, but I just feel a lot of pressure. Even if I get financing, it will only make me feel that the burden on my shoulders is even heavier."

Sun Qian asked back: "Then when you are a director, do you have a lot of pressure when you are making a movie?"

Talking about the film, Ding Shuo's tone became a little more serious: "Of course not. It's so interesting to be a director. The whole process is like completing a work, and you can also play against young and beautiful girls. I am the biggest in the whole set. Then What pressure can there be?"

"It's very simple, because you are interested in the film and you are sure, so you feel relaxed and happy during the process.

When it comes to starting a company and playing with the Internet, if you are not interested and uncertain, of course there will be pressure.Since you are not interested in the Internet, how can you have such a high level of code? "

"Because I hung up." Ding Shuo said with a joking smile.

Sun Qian gave Ding Shuo a white look, and said, "Childish."

Ding Shuo chatted with Sun Qian for a while, feeling much more relaxed in his heart, and asked, "Then what do you think I should do?"

"It depends on your pursuit. If you want to make a lot of money, you should concentrate on doing a good job in mobile music and ring the bell when it goes public; Let you spend your whole life in style."

Ding Shuo was a little embarrassed: "Would that be a little bad? How do you say that, why did your majesty surrender first when you were about to fight to the death?! Do you think that I sold the company, which is a bit lacking in loyalty? .”

"You think too much, who do you want to work with? The new boss just pays enough dividends. By the way, boss, when you talk about movies, you will have light in your eyes."

After chatting with Sun Qian, Ding Shuo really felt much more relaxed.

Sun Qian's suggestion is undoubtedly a good way. Is the original intention of creating Douyin really to change the world and not be a layman?

At that time, I simply thought that this idea was good, and it would be a pity not to make it, so I spent my time finding someone to make it, and I didn't have this ambition.

Of course, even if you sell the dynamic sound, you have to wait for it to become more valuable before selling it.To sum it up in one sentence, Ding Shuo wanted to sell it, but he also wanted to build a memorial archway.

……

Four or five days later, Ding Shuo has been in secret contact with Sequoia people these days, discussing the valuation of Dongyin and how much Sequoia plans to invest and how many shares it holds.

Sequoia wants to take 20.00% of Doyin's shares in one breath. Even if Ding Shuo has the idea of ​​cashing out and leaving in his heart, he can't be such a prodigal at this stage.

Let alone one percent, even if it is one thousandth, one ten thousandth, it may be worth several million in the future, so both sides are a bit haggard.Besides, there is no rush for billions of dollars in business transactions.

It was night, and Ding Shuo was still reading books on financing at his desk.

It turns out that so many Internet companies in China are in order to achieve tax avoidance and facilitate overseas listing and other purposes.There are so many doors in it?
A series of operations such as building a VIE structure and registering the company in the Cayman Islands opened Ding Shuo's eyes.

Seeing that Ding Shuo was still reading, Nazha felt bored alone, entangled like a vine, and lay on Ding Shuo's lap.

How can Ding Shuo care about the structure of Roush's subsidiaries.The machine rested all day yesterday, today is the time to work overtime and refresh yourself!
The next day, Ding Shuo was woken up by the ringing of the phone. He pulled his arm out of his grip, without even looking at who was calling, and asked angrily, "Who is it?"

"I am your father."

"Father?" Ding Shuo got up and got most of his anger gone. He rubbed his eyes, saw that it was only 6 o'clock, and asked, "Dad, what's the matter with calling me so early?"

"Your mother and I have packed up. Let's go to the capital first to have a look, and come back to complete the formalities if it is suitable. You wait to pick us up."

"Ok."

(End of this chapter)