Chapter 458: Unexpected Polaroid Results
Of course, he has thought about whether Zhang Yonghao might be the core competitiveness of Toutiao Technology.
But as Zhang Yonghao kept telling him: Toutiao Technology is a technology company, and the most important thing is their core algorithm.
Zhang Yonghao is not a programmer, nor is he responsible for the company's program development business.
Therefore, Chen Yan felt that the probability was unlikely.
Of course, he did not become arrogant enough to confront Zhang Yonghao and break up with him just because he believed in his own judgment.
Planning before taking action is what he likes to do most.
So, he just chatted with Zhang Yonghao for a few more sentences in a perfunctory manner, pretending that he was not angry because of Zhang Yonghao's rejection.
Although there was nothing wrong with what he said.
But the change in his expression was still very obvious.
So, after he hung up the phone, Yang Rou asked softly, "Is the situation bad?"
When facing Yang Rou, Chen Yan no longer needs to hide anything.
He nodded, then said expressionlessly, "If you hold 3% of a company's shares, you can be considered a partner of the company. You can participate in board meetings and propose your own plans."
"Holding 10% of a company's shares makes you an important shareholder and partner of the company. You have the right to proactively convene shareholders' meetings, have a great influence on the company's decisions, and have the right to supervise the company's operations and even propose replacing company executives at critical moments."
“All domestic venture capital firms and companies investing overseas can participate in the affairs of the invested companies.”
"We are the only ones who can't do it!"
Chen Yan's voice was a little cold. "I own more than 20% of Toutiao Technology's shares, and a large part of the company itself belongs to me."
"I have the right to participate in the company's daily operations, company decision-making, and the selection of company management. And I have the right to enjoy the company's profits and benefits."
"As a result, he directly excluded me from the power center of the company."
"Now, the entire Toutiao Technology has become his one-man show."
"I threw billions of dollars out there, and it was just like waste paper. I didn't get any feedback from the headlines."
"Then why should I invest in it? Is it just to make money?"
Listening to Chen Yan's words, Yang Rou was silent for a while.
Then she stood up, pulled Chen Yan to sit down, and comforted him, "Every founder of a large company has a different temper..."
"But, in general, there's a bit of ego. They think the company is theirs."
"So, it's normal that he doesn't want to interfere in our affairs."
"When his shares continue to disperse and he gradually loses control of the company with his shares and needs to seek help from other shareholders, he will understand that since he has sold his shares, he should let others share the company."
At this point, Yang Rou asked, "But he said he would not favor the Zhao family and let us each rely on our own abilities, right?"
Chen Yan nodded.
Then he said, "Forget it. Let's leave it at that for now."
He ordered, "Contact the PR team and have them post a message on Toutiao."
"Even if we don't get support, based on our writing skills and the explosiveness of this matter, it shouldn't be a big problem."
Yang Rou nodded.
She had the same idea as Chen Yan: this matter itself has explosive potential, and with the writing skills of the public relations team, even without the official support of Toutiao, the popularity would not be low.
Thinking of this, she got up and went to the balcony, made a few phone calls, and arranged this matter.
While Yang Rou was on the phone, Chen Yan was sitting on the sofa, thinking about his next plan.
To be honest, Zhao Qingtian's quick reaction surprised him a little.
He thought it would take Zhao Qingtian at least two or three days to react.
Unexpectedly, in just a few hours, Zhao Qingtian suppressed all public opinion.
This also gave him a certain understanding of the Zhao Group's risk supervision and risk response capabilities.
However, no matter how powerful the Zhao family is, now that the war has begun, Chen Yan can no longer stop.
Not to mention whether Zhao Qingtian will let him go after finding him, just because Zhao Qingtian attacks the women around him, he will not let Zhao Qingtian go!
However, now that the entire network is blocked from receiving news, the next step of response has become a top priority.
Chen Yan needed a suitable entry point to send out the message again...
And just as he was thinking this.
Yang Rou also walked in from the balcony.
Chen Yan didn't care at first and just looked up at her.
As a result, with just one glance, Chen Yan found that Yang Rou's face looked very bad.
With a cold face, she said to Chen Yan, "Mr. Chen, Zhang Yonghao tricked you."
A question mark popped up in Chen Yan’s head:?
Yang Rou explained, "I just called those PR companies, and they said they have been posting relevant information on Douyin and Toutiao."
"But, either you are audited or you are demoted."
“No different than any other platform!”
"Zhang Yonghao is not impartial at all, but has sided with the Zhao family very early on."
After hearing Yang Rou's words, Chen Yan's face suddenly lost all expression.
Obviously, Zhang Yonghao's choice made him very angry.
Seeing him like that, Yang Rou wanted to say something, but held it back.
She hesitated, then said, "You need to be calm. Don't be impulsive."
"When I gave you the dirty laundry, I knew it wouldn't be easy."
"Now, it just confirms my thoughts."
"We still have a chance."
Hearing Yang Rou's words, Chen Yan smiled. He looked up and said to Yang Rou, "Don't worry, Sister Rou. I'm calm."
After that, he stood up, looked at his watch, and then said to Yang Rou, "Okay, Sister Rou. I have something else to deal with here. I need to take care of it first."
"It's getting late now, you should go back and have some rest."
Yang Rou glanced at Chen Yan coldly and asked, "Are you really okay?"
Having worked in the workplace for more than ten years, Yang Rou has seen a lot of betrayal and selling out.
There was also a time when, after making great contributions to the company, he was kicked out by his boss without hesitation.
She understood this feeling and also understood Chen Yan's feelings.
She knew that Chen Yan had always attached great importance to Toutiao Technology.
Therefore, we try every possible means to invest. After investing, unlike other venture capital companies, we do not send directors, supervisors, or even interfere in the company's affairs or reorganize the company's business.
Instead, he gave up a series of his rights and fully trusted Zhang Yonghao. He just acted as a simple investor and did not interfere in any of the company's affairs.
As a result, first he almost had his shares forcibly taken back and was kicked out, and then he stabbed Chen Yan in the back at such an important moment.
If you only look at the headlines in these two incidents, you can see their attitudes and stances towards Chen Yan and Zhao.
Most people who don’t know probably think that the Zhao family holds 20% of Toutiao Technology’s shares.
This is the real case of taking money but not doing anything.
Even after working in the business world for more than a decade, Yang Rou still felt that Zhang Yonghao had gone too far.
This is really just a scam for honest people.
If we replace him with a more aggressive gold medal investor, he would probably ask for a re-election of the board of directors and become a director of the company on the day the contract is signed.
Then send supervisors and have their own people stationed in key departments such as the Finance Department.
They may even intervene in the company's business under the pretext of guidance and assistance, or even split or merge the two companies after encountering another suitable company.
This is a common phenomenon in the investment circle.
Therefore, people like Chen Yan who only invest money but do not exercise their rights and are constantly excluded and suppressed are very rare.
She felt a little unfair for Chen Yanming.
Of course, if Yang Rou had the same personality as He Mengxue, at this moment, she would most likely comfort Chen Yan while asking to stay and give Chen Yan a warm and soft embrace to soothe his wounded heart.
But she is Yang Rou.
So, even though she had a lot on her mind, she just glanced at Chen Yan and said softly, "Then you should take good rest. Contact me if you have anything."
Chen Yan smiled and nodded.
After seeing Yang Rou off, Chen Yan's face became completely expressionless.
He felt that Zhang Yonghao had really gone too far this time.
Although the company is not just owned by Chen Yan, and Chen Yan cannot use the power of the company at will, but this company is not just owned by Zhang Yonghao. Chen Yan is also a major shareholder, and a major shareholder who holds more than 40% of the shares and has a veto power!
Therefore, Chen Yan didn't want to find any breakthrough anymore.
He is going to make a breakthrough from Toutiao Technology!
Once we have achieved a breakthrough in Toutiao technology, everything else will be incredibly easy!
Thinking of this, Chen Yan went straight back to his study.
He opened the safe and took out Polaroid photos of Toutiao Technology's financing plan and due diligence materials.
Then, he went to the desk and found the information related to Toutiao Technology, including a list of all executives.
After doing all this, he crossed out Zhang Yonghao's name, wrote his own name, and then took a photo with Xiao Ha's Polaroid camera.
After a moment, the back of the photo showed the company's future development forecast.
Previously, Toutiao Technology’s valuation two years later was 180 billion yuan.
But now it has become 130 billion, 50 billion less.
Previously, Toutiao Technology’s valuation four years later was 700 billion.
Now, it has become 600 billion.
Previously, Toutiao Technology’s valuation after seven years was around 1.2 trillion yuan.
But now, it has become about 1.3 trillion yuan.
Chen Yan was a little surprised to see the changes in the system after he acquired Toutiao Technology.
He analyzed it carefully.
At the beginning, because I took over Toutiao Technology and the company was in turmoil and I did not understand the business, the valuation was lower.
This is normal.
After that, the valuation gap widened further, which showed that there was a certain gap between my ability and Zhang Yonghao's, which led to the company's business capabilities not improving.
However, the miracle happened at the end: after seven years of development, the valuation of the company controlled by Chen Yan was actually higher than that of Zhang Yonghao.
To be honest, even if Chen Yan was conceited, he didn't think that his abilities surpassed Zhang Yonghao's later.
Then the result is obvious.
If it wasn't his ability that improved, then most likely there was something wrong with Zhang Yonghao.
Maybe he got rich and became arrogant. Maybe he proposed the wrong direction for the development of the group. Maybe he had some problems, which affected the company...
However, this means that even if Chen Yan takes over Toutiao, Toutiao will continue to develop smoothly, and because of Chen Yan, the company will even develop better than before.
In this way, Chen Yan felt relieved.
As long as Zhang Yonghao is not the core competitiveness of Toutiao Technology, he can carry out his plans unscrupulously!
While thinking this, Chen Yan continued to experiment.
Because he had a lot of Polaroid cameras, he crossed out the executives of Toutiao Technology one by one to verify who was the core competitiveness of the company's development.
Then he found a real talent: Pang Wenbo.
The company's technical director, one of the company's partners, holds 1% of the company's original shares and unredeemed options worth 1...5% of the shares.
He is considered one of the top five executives in the company.
However, when Chen Yan crossed his name off the list, the company's valuation dropped to the bottom.
50 billion in 2 years, 800 in 5 years, and dropped to about 30 billion in 7 years.
This shows that the company relied on its original advantages to develop and became a unicorn enterprise. However, because it lost its core competitiveness, it gradually lost its ability to reach the top.
It was not enough. Chen Yan tried it and found that if he fired him after three years, it would have almost no impact on the company's development.
This shows that according to the normal "world line", Toutiao Technology's core algorithm should have been optimized in recent years until it was officially formed three years later, with only slight adjustments afterwards.
This is a real technical expert.
Although Chen Yan had never seen him before and didn't know much about him, he still silently took note of this person and prepared to investigate and study him thoroughly.
If Chen Yan really moves into Toutiao Technology in the future, he will be the one to appease and keep him.
Afterwards, Chen Yan tried other people's combinations one by one.
Then he was surprised to find that without Pang Wenbo, the company would fail. But if the other executives and Chen Yan were gone, leaving only Pang Wenbo, the company would still decline further and further.
It seems that this person is not a management talent, but a big shot who specializes in technology.
Chen Yan gradually got a grasp of him.
What surprised Chen Yan even more was.
After he accidentally put Qin Ming on this list, the company's development was only slightly worse than Zhang Yonghao's.
However, in the last seven years, it suddenly surpassed the previous level and reached a terrifying valuation of 1.6 trillion yuan.
The market value is one-third higher than the original headline.
Therefore, Chen Yan has roughly determined the future development strategy of Toutiao Technology...
That night, Chen Yan called Qin Ming and He Mengxue and asked them to gather the company's legal, financial, and negotiation teams and go north to Tiandu together the next day.
When they suddenly received Chen Yan's call, Qin Ming and He Mengxue both felt a storm was about to come.
So, they urgently began to make arrangements for their trip north tomorrow.
The next morning, Chen Yan washed up and came to the company. He Mengxue, Qin Ming, and the company's team were all waiting there.
The group set off for the airport in a mighty procession.
When he arrived at the airport, Chen Yan found out that because the incident happened suddenly, he could not book any air tickets, so He Mengxue directly unleashed the He family's private plane and applied for the route in advance.
On the private plane, Chen Yan and He Mengxue sat together. The others were at least one row away from them, leaving ample space for the two of them.
Because of this incident, Chen Yan suddenly felt that he should buy a private plane. This way, no matter what unexpected events he encountered, he could take off directly.
According to He Mengxue, the domestic control over private and business aircraft was very strict in the past. It took a week in advance to apply for a flight route, which was very inconvenient.
But now, the normal process has been shortened to one day.
In fact, because only wealthy people can afford this kind of aircraft, sometimes a phone call can get the permit in a few hours. It is very convenient.
Chen Yan silently kept this in mind, planning to wait until he came back and withdraw He Mengxue's career cashback before choosing a plane...
…
At the same time, Tiandu.
Zhang Yonghao also received news that Chen Yan would be coming to the company with a large team.
He knew why Chen Yan came.
So, he also convened a small executive meeting.
There were a total of six people attending the meeting, all of whom were co-founders of the company and senior managers who subsequently received shares.
When these executives suddenly received the meeting notice, they were all a little confused.
In the conference room, it was Zhang Yonghao who took the initiative to speak.
He said, "Tell me the reason for this meeting."
"Our company's shareholder and partner, Mr. Chen from Qindao, is on his way to Tiandu. I think he has bad intentions."
Hearing his words, his loyal strategic investment director asked, "Why is Mr. Chen here with bad intentions?"
The two of them were obviously in unison.
Zhang Yonghao sighed and said, "Because I rejected his unreasonable request yesterday."
He said, "Mr. Chen called me last night and said he was going to hype up a piece of news."
"But he has no evidence, and some of the rumors are just hearsay."
"It's just that he has some business competition with the other party. So he wants to use the pressure of public opinion to influence the other party."
“So, I rejected him without hesitation.”
"After all, public affairs are public affairs, and private affairs are private affairs. We cannot confuse the two."
After hearing Zhang Yonghao's words, several executives of the company couldn't help but whisper to each other and start chatting.
Obviously, they believed Zhang Yonghao's words without a doubt, so they also had some complaints about Chen Yan.
Among them, only the heads of the operations department and the technical department looked at each other, and saw a hint of doubt in each other's eyes.
Because, they actually received a call from Zhang Yonghao yesterday, asking them to reduce the traffic pool of a certain keyword, which is what people call suppressing popularity.
This kind of thing is not uncommon for companies, so they did it.
But when I think about this matter now, it feels a little strange...
However, now that the boss Zhang Yonghao had defined the matter in this way, they certainly couldn't jump out and sing a different tune , so they remained silent and didn't say anything.
After several executives discussed it, the director of the strategic investment department spoke again. He said, "But even if Mr. Chen came to the company, it seems to be useless, right?"
"He was in the wrong in this matter."
"Also... although he holds a lot of shares, it's only 20%. Our management team holds much more shares than him, so he can't do anything."
"So, it seems we don't have anything to worry about, right?"
