Top of the big era

In mid-April, Zhou Buqi returned to Beijing.

It's better to change quickly than plan.

Both Baidu and Penguin are listed companies, and both announced their first-quarter earnings. After comparison, it is found that Ziweixing's performance is better than those two!

In terms of revenue and net profit, Ziwei Star is not as good as Penguin, but the growth rate is high!

A high growth rate means good potential, and the price-earnings ratio given by the market will be high. Baidu’s performance is mediocre, with a year-on-year growth rate of more than 150%, relying on a PE of nearly 100 times. The market evaluation is similar to that of Penguin, with a market value of nearly 10 billion US dollars.

This has greatly boosted the confidence of Ziweixing executives.

Because Ziweixing's growth rate is higher than that of Baidu!

Profit growth in the first quarter, more than 350%!

Coupled with the news of the cooperation between Ziweixing and Pengcheng, it once again boosted the confidence of the market.

For a piece of land, Ziweixing paid 180 million yuan for the land.

I went to the bank for a loan and got a loan of 420 million yuan.

What does this mean?

The bank loan must be discounted at least in half, which means that the real value of this land exceeds 840 million yuan! For this transaction alone, Ziweixing earned 680 million for nothing.

This is the official endorsement!

Ziweixing’s revenue in the first quarter was 729 million yuan, and its after-tax net profit was close to 300 million yuan, which is the biggest recognition in the market. At this time, there is an official endorsement... It can be said that everything is ready, and the grand occasion is unprecedented.

The decision-making committee held an emergency meeting, and then called back Boss Zhou, who was on vacation.

It means that Ziweixing will change its financing plan.

The original plan was to launch Ziweixing’s A round of financing between September and November.

But this time is too long.

Why is Ziweixing's financial report in the first quarter more beautiful than that of Penguin? Why is the growth rate higher than Baidu?

In fact, it was made.

In order to be able to produce more eye-catching financial reports in the financing case, a lot of expenditures have been cut, and even some R\u0026D projects have been put on hold or postponed.

If you really wait until September to raise funds... the financial report will definitely be better, but precious time will be wasted.

The Internet market is changing rapidly, and rapid business development requires high investment and high costs.

The most intuitive impact is that Micropoint Search has been impacted. Due to the lack of promotion funds, the market share of Micropoint Search fell by 2.4% in March, and it is currently 33.2%, 18 percentage points less than Baidu.

It can't go on like this.

Wang Haoyang first discovered the problem, and then reported it to He Yang. He Yang convened a decision-making committee and passed a resolution unanimously.

Ziweixing's financing plan must be advanced!

Hurry up to raise funds, hurry up to get money, and hurry up to spend money on marketing and further technology research and development. The total investment of "Plan A" and "Plan X" will reach 100 million US dollars, and there is no way to start without money.

Wu Yu stayed in Sanya to accompany Teacher Wen, and went to the hospital for an examination. The 28th of this month is the expected date of delivery.

Zhou Buqi brought Yang Mi back to Beijing. The first thing he did was to come to the company and listen to the reports from He Yang and Wang Haoyang.

"Is it too urgent to push the financing to June? Will such a big case be settled within two months?"

"able!"

Wang Haoyang answered firmly.

He Yang said with a smile: "We made it clear in January that we will launch financing this year. So far, we have received financing cooperation letters from more than 50 venture capital institutions. Several major venture capital giants on Wall Street have participated. Several capital institutions will choose to follow suit."

Zhou Buqi asked, "What's everyone's opinion?"

"All agreed."

"Everyone?"

"Yes, everyone. The three-month reduction in expenditure has made everyone feel a little bit tied up. We want to do a big job but are hindered by financial constraints. We are a startup company, and we can't set various rules for managers. They should use their greatest imagination, and it doesn’t matter if they make mistakes, but they must do it, and they must have passion and enthusiasm to move forward.”

Zhou Buqi nodded, got up and walked to the window, overlooking the Tsinghua Science and Technology Park. After a long silence, he suddenly turned around and asked, "If the A round is completed in June, can the B round be started within half a year?"

"Huh? In such a hurry?"

He Yang and Wang Haoyang were very surprised.

With the current scale of Ziwei Star, the A round of financing must be in the scale of 1 billion US dollars. Although the plan was 3 months ahead of schedule, with the official endorsement, the net profit of a piece of land is several hundred million, which shows that the country attaches great importance to the company Ziweixing. In Pengcheng, it is possible to operate land in this way, but in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou? Presumably not much difference.

Zhou Buqi said: "You are right. The problem of capital flow cannot limit the company's development. Instead of continuous financing, it is better to completely solve the problem of cash flow this year. After two rounds of financing, starting from next year Entering a period of rapid development."

Wang Haoyang hesitated for a long time, then shook his head, "It's not very attractive!"

Zhou Buqi said: "Who says it's not attractive? Ziwei Star will only conduct two rounds of financing before it goes public. If you miss the A and B rounds, you will no longer be able to share the growth fruits of Ziwei Star. They want to play For capital, we can only play in the secondary market after Ziwei Star goes public."

He Yang pondered and said: "Just two rounds is enough. Ziweixing's revenue is good, and its ability to generate blood is very strong. With these two rounds of financing, it is enough to develop before listing. But the key is... really so Are you in a hurry? Waiting for the second half of next year to launch the B round may be more in the interests of Ziwei Star."

Zhou Buqi twitched the corner of his mouth.

This is what he fears most.

Next year... next year will be the subprime mortgage crisis!

The whole world is tightening money, and the whole world is short of money. Even an Internet company like Facebook, which is most rated by Wall Street as having the most investment value, can't get money. Zuckerberg could only go to Russian local tyrants and Li Jiacheng to ask for money, and he gave the money at the valuation of the C round of financing in October 2007.

In this specific time period, financing must be done as early as possible.

More importantly, Facebook will be short of money next year.

They have to go to the Russians to ask for money at the risk of being conscripted by the American people. If Ziweixing helps in a timely manner at this time, it can further promote cooperation in technology research and development projects.

Facebook is short of money, and those small companies are even more short of money.

It is also easier to buy technology and attract high-level talents to return to China.

Zhou Buqi thought hard for a long time before he came up with a reason, and said, "No, we have a big plan. In the second half of the year, we will recruit both the dean and the executive vice dean of Microsoft Research, and one will be responsible for the establishment of Ziweixing. The research institute and the other do cloud computing. Both of these are extremely money-burning, and capital may not like them. Once these two projects are launched, losses will inevitably be serious. Refinancing next year...may not be able to get a good price."

"But……"

"That's it! Don't you feel it? The Internet bubble has risen again, and it may burst one day. While the industry is booming, get the money quickly. The money you get is the money, and the valuation on the book is all It's a bubble, it doesn't make sense."

Zhou Buqi's alarmist words successfully frightened He Yang and Wang Haoyang.

Wang Haoyang pondered for a moment, "It is not impossible to do the A round in June and the B round in December. But we need to communicate with the management, especially we have to make a credit endorsement."

"How about it?"

"Promise to them that Ziwei Star will only conduct rounds A and B before going public. If something unexpected happens, Ziwei Star needs further financing, and we must ensure that their share does not decrease."

Zhou Buqi frowned, "It's not necessary, is it?"

Wang Haoyang said: "If you don't do this, the attraction may be less attractive. So much money has to be spent in real money in a short period of time, and the capital also needs to control risks."

Investing in Internet companies is too risky.

Even though Ziweixing is doing very well now, it might not be able to continue next year. Ziweixing launched two consecutive rounds of financing in a short period of time, which will only further increase the risk of the capital side.

Therefore, short-term financing is usually a series system rather than a new competition system.

For example, if the A round of financing was completed in June, the financing in December will also be incorporated into the A round of financing, and the money will be paid according to the valuation of the A round. If it is to launch the B round, it will be revalued and repriced. Ziweixing is developing so fast. In June, it was valued at US$10 billion. By December, it might be US$20 billion. This puts too much pressure on venture capital institutions.

Wang Haoyang said: "If the financing in December is incorporated into the A round, it will be easy to operate. If the B round of financing is started, a more comprehensive explanation and explanation must be made with the capital. The best way It is to give promises and ensure their interests."

Zhou Buqi is also uncertain about Ziweixing's future, and he doesn't want to make any promises to the capital. Once something goes wrong, he will be kidnapped by the capital, and he will not be able to live through that day.

"Then keep it a secret."

"Secret?"

"Yes, do the A round first. According to what you said, the A round will be done in June."

"What about round B?"

Zhou Buqi said: "There can be fewer cooperative institutions in the A round, so that most institutions cannot participate. Then in September, the news will be released, saying that Ziweixing will only conduct two rounds of financing before going public, and then start the B round." round. Let those venture capital institutions that are not selected take the initiative to come to grab positions.”

Wang Haoyang twitched the corner of his mouth, "It's a bit..."

Zhou Buqi looked at him strangely, "What's wrong?"

Wang Haoyang coughed lightly, and said in a low voice: "Boss, capital and enterprises should be in a symbiotic relationship, not an adversarial relationship. We are suspected of teasing the capital by doing this."

"Are there any consequences?"

"I'm afraid it won't be so smooth when we deal with each other in the future."

Zhou Buqi laughed and said, "I thought it was a big deal! Don't worry, I have a reason for this!"

At this time, Boss Zhou’s foresight showed his confidence, and he said confidently: “The private equity capital in China has just started these days, and Ziweixing can’t afford to participate in such a big project. At most, they follow Wall Street. Big institutions drink soup behind their buttocks. After a few years, the domestic venture capital industry will start. Judging from the development speed of our country, the scale of domestic private equity will not be much smaller than that of Wall Street. In the future, there will be no need Like Baidu, Ali, Lenovo, Sohu, and Sina, it will be sold in front of Americans."

Besides, what about teasing?

Capital focuses on interests, not relationships. Google's publicity made a fool of Wall Street, but today's Google is still the most sought-after darling of Wall Street.

Zhou Buqi waved his hand, "That's it! Go and execute it! Well, make a connection with Liu Qing."

Wang Haoyang took a deep breath, gritted his teeth and said, "Since it's decided, let's do it!"