Volume 3: Taking Roots 2016 Chapter 615: Running Mode
After a very enjoyable dinner, the three parties basically reached a consensus on the financing. Although at present, the story of shared bicycles told by Hu Weiwei is very vivid and touching.
However, in terms of profit model, it is still relatively thin and unremarkable, and there is not much room for imagination for capital.
However, just by relying on one bicycle, it can attract deposits from at least 10 users. The deposit pool formed by more bicycles will become larger and larger, thus becoming a huge cash flow controlled by the company.
Even though on paper the money does not belong to Mobike and is only temporarily held for the users, from this perspective, shared bikes are more like a financial product rather than a simple sharing economy.
From this point of view, there is room for imagination. Banks nominally keep funds for users, but this does not prevent banks from being one of the most profitable industries in the world...
Although the difference between the two is as huge as that between heaven and earth, storytelling is all about exaggerating. If you keep exaggerating, it may become a fact.
With the addition of this layer of imagination, the entire somewhat skinny shared bicycle project suddenly became much fuller.
As long as the speed of bicycle release is accelerated and the market is occupied as much as possible, "ATM machines" can be erected one after another on the streets to convert users into Mobike depositors.
As long as the project gets going and runs fast enough, there will still be broad enough prospects to support it in the future. As for whether the ultimate goal of capital - IPO listing - can be achieved, that is unknown.
With a large sum of cash from the pig farm as a supplement, and tens of millions of cash flows flowing through the company's books, Hu Weiwei undoubtedly gained a lot of confidence, and he prepared to do a big job.
Immediately let the factory production line work overtime, replenish guns and ammunition, and make a big move before the Labor Day in May.
On the eve of Labor Day, Mobike announced a major news directly to the outside world.
"After a harmonious negotiation with the pig farm, we are honored to receive more than 10 million US dollars in Series B financing from the pig farm. We will continue to work hard and forge ahead to live up to the expectations of investors..."
Although it was just a simple external announcement, it still caused a stir in the capital circle. Although Zhuchang is a well-deserved veteran in the Internet field, it has not been very active in the capital circle.
Compared with Internet capital such as Alibaba and Tencent, Zhuchang is undoubtedly a relatively low-key exception, with a sense of non-interference.
This is obviously inseparable from Ding Sanshi, the soul of the pig farm. The fact that such an Internet tycoon can raise pigs at will and hang up a plaque that reads "Watching the Clouds Rise" is enough to show the pig farm's style of doing things.
Even so, no one would easily ignore the strong capital strength of Zhuchang as a veteran Internet company. The fact that Mobike was able to obtain financing from Zhuchang immediately attracted a lot of attention to the project.
At first glance, this project has nothing to do with the pig farm. However, this proves that this project must have its own unique features to be able to obtain financing from the pig farm.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to impress the Buddhist pig factory, and there is no wall that is impenetrable, not to mention that it is just a capital circle.
Just by asking around, a key figure surfaced - Zhou Dongsheng!
This upstart who has been very active in the capital circle recently not only has a close relationship with the prince of Yida, but also has the appreciation of Ding Sanshi, who even specially brought this junior to attend the dinner in Wuzhen...
It is reported that even the head of BBK Electronics, Mr. Duan, has expressed his great appreciation for this young man. As the investigation continues, these clues that are almost obvious will naturally emerge one by one.
The young are to be feared!
For a time, countless versions of speculation about the background of this young man Zhou Dongsheng were circulating, but as for the fact that he started from scratch and was a grassroots example, no one cared about it.
Anyone who believes this stuff is an idiot. I don’t believe it anyway.
This investment in the pig factory was naturally interpreted by the outside world as an investment led by the young man Zhou Dongsheng. After all, a circle is a circle, and personal connections are also a kind of invisible capital.
As an angel investor of Mobike, Li Bin was the first to learn about this news. He originally wanted to wait until he was done with this period of work and let Mobike develop further, and then he would act as a matchmaker...
Unexpectedly, this young man Zhou Dongsheng would act so quickly. Li Bin, who was already on the boat, could only shrug helplessly and wait happily for the next opportunity for financing.
After all, the entry of a big player like Zhuchang in the B round is enough to bring enough imagination to the Mobike project, and it already has the potential to take off.
Now it is not easy even for Mobike to die out suddenly.
As Mobike's tanks were filled with gas and it started running at full speed, the supply chain worked overtime and finally completed the plan to launch another 10,000 Mobikes into the Shanghai market before Labor Day.
This was just the first wave of offensive prepared by Hu Weiwei. With the guns and ammunition in place and ample funds on hand, he naturally wanted to convert as much money as possible into his competitive advantage.
By May, the arrival of the Golden Week holiday means a spring breeze of tourism in all parts of the country, and a large number of tourists pour out from the places where they are bored and flock to the places where others are bored.
Rounding off is equivalent to exchanging homes, but as the saying goes, a tree that is moved will die, a person who moves will live, running water will not rot, and a door hinge will not rot.
The large-scale flow of people plays an extremely important role in stimulating the economy and promoting consumption. At the same time, as the Pearl of the Orient, Shanghai naturally welcomes a large number of tourists.
For a time, this was an international metropolis with a population of tens of millions, but the density of people in society increased several times more than usual.
As the old saying goes, a poor family makes a rich trip. You should be frugal at home, but when you go out, you will have enough money to spend only if you have enough money in your pocket. After all, everything costs money when you are out.
"Hey, this Oriental Pearl Tower is different. It is indeed an international metropolis. Everything looks high-end, classy, low-key, luxurious and meaningful..."
"Exactly. Look, even the design of this bicycle is unique. The little thing looks quite unique!"
"Hey, this bicycle is really nice, and it's everywhere. Could it be a local specialty of Shanghai?"
"After a careful inspection, this bicycle seems to be different from the ones we have. There is no air valve, no basket, no chain, and the lock has no eyelet..."
"Oh my god, it's different in big cities. Even the bicycles are decorated with fancy things. Is there a QR code here that I can scan with my phone to unlock it?"
"It's so high-tech, let me try it!"
For the tourists who flocked to the place from all over the country, bicycles are something everyone has seen, but this is the first time they have seen such a novel and high-tech bicycle.
When it comes to curiosity and the spirit of trying new things, tourists who rarely travel are definitely the first to bear the brunt.
"Oh my, if you want to ride this bike, you have to pay a deposit of 299 yuan. How expensive!"
"Oh my god, it's so expensive, forget it, it's just a bicycle, I won't ride it anymore!"
"Well, now that I'm here, it's a rare opportunity to come to the Magic City, so I might as well give it a try. Besides, this is just a deposit and can be refunded at any time!"
"What if I cheat on Yindi?"
"How is that possible? Shanghai is such a big international metropolis, and there are bicycles everywhere. How could it be a scam?"
"Besides, look, the light boxes at the bus stops are all advertising this bike, it can't be fake, why would they go to such lengths to defraud us of 300 yuan?"
Pictures and scenes like these are constantly happening in every corner of Shanghai. As for the advertisements on the bus stops, they were naturally placed by Hu Weiwei. This was also the second round of offensive that she had carefully prepared.
Although Mobike's initial positioning was to start with the young people, it would naturally be able to play the greatest role by starting from the Internet platform where young people are highly concentrated.
The platform of the phenomenal internet celebrity [Papi Jiang] catered to the needs of the young group and immediately opened up the market, attracted a large number of young users, and completed the transition from online to offline.
However, the shared bicycle project is, after all, not a software that serves the Internet platform, but a project that focuses on providing offline services.
Therefore, offline advertising is also a crucial link. As for making a fuss about getting celebrity endorsements, Hu Weiwei feels that it is not necessary at present, so she only places advertisements in city light boxes and community elevators.
Taking advantage of the Golden Week, the peak tourist season, Mobike has provided full-scenario coverage, and the effect has been remarkable.
Even tourists who are skeptical about the deposit will be subtly more convinced after seeing the overwhelming advertisements.
As for the young user groups who frequently surf the Internet, after seeing the investment from Zhuchang and having Zhuchang as a credit endorsement, their trust in Mobike has also greatly increased.
With the joint efforts of many parties, Mobike has completely started its crazy run. In this increasingly hot weather, the fire called "shared bicycles" is getting bigger and bigger, and is gradually spreading like wildfire.
On the first day of the Golden Week alone, Mobike's app saw a surge in traffic, with hundreds of thousands of people pouring into the app, scrambling to pay deposits in order to gain the right to ride a Mobike.
Faced with this sudden surge in user demand, the Mobike bikes, which only have a little over 20,000 on the market in Shanghai, were in short supply for a while.
In ancient times, paper was in great demand in Luoyang, and it was hard to get a piece of paper. Today, cars are scarce in Shanghai, and it is hard to get one. Who would have thought that this car is a bicycle?
This time, whether it is because of the surge in users or the miraculous effect of the pig factory as a backer and credit endorsement, the user deposit retention rate has been substantially improved.
Originally, the ratio was barely maintained at 10:1, but now it has easily reached over 5:1. At the same time, with more than 20,000 bicycles, it has once created a terrifying ratio of 1 bicycle attracting 30 new people!
Of course, this is all due to the temporary surge in the number of tourists in Shanghai. If tourists return to normal, a large number of users will inevitably request refunds.
After all, at present, Mobike is just a specialty bicycle of the city of Shanghai. Leaving Shanghai means losing its usage scenarios, so it is naturally impossible to allow the huge sum of 300 yuan to remain on the software.
Even so, with the joint efforts of many parties, the deposit pool of Mobike riders reached the milestone of over 100 million for the first time!
With such substantial achievements, Hu Weiwei naturally announced the good news as soon as possible, and announced it to the public as well as doing another wave of publicity!
The feat of leveraging hundreds of millions of dollars in funding with just over 20,000 bicycles has undoubtedly once again proved the sexiness of the shared bicycle project.
If there are 200,000 bicycles, it would be possible to leverage billions of funds. If there are millions of bicycles, it would be natural to leverage tens of billions of funds...
However, in the face of the huge market demand of more than 1.3 billion people in the country, a mere one million bicycles are just a drop in the bucket!
In this way, the shared bicycle project suddenly has the support to give full play to the imagination of capital, and various capital institutions can't help but get started.
While Mobike is making great strides, Ofo, as the leader in this field, is naturally unwilling to be outdone. It took advantage of the situation to announce to the outside world that it has captured the markets of hundreds of universities and has already planted its flag in several cities.
Compared with Mobike, which is still confined to Shanghai, it is undoubtedly much faster, and even its financing speed is far ahead.
There is progress only when there is competition, and there is urgent motivation only when there is a sense of crisis. For both parties, the emergence of a competitor is obviously not a bad thing.
The same is true for the capital behind them. At least they don't have to go through the trouble of setting up a target to hit. All they have to do is aim at the opponent and work hard.
The wave of publicity launched by Ofobi may have been fueled by capital such as Jinshajiang.
For those investors who have already invested in the industry, it is natural for them to continue to promote the value and future of the vehicle, so that they can continuously raise its valuation, attract more capital, and make the entire industry bigger and stronger.
Hu Weiwei is naturally not afraid of
Therefore, instead of focusing on competitors, it is better to continue to work hard to improve one's core competitiveness. As for what is Mobike's core competitiveness compared to the Ofo?
Of course it's technology! Hu Weiwei naturally kept this factor in mind and was not at all overwhelmed by the joy of achieving phased success.
"In addition to continuing to release bicycles to the market to fully meet the needs of users in Shanghai, developing our next Mobike that is lighter, more economical, and easier to ride is also an urgent matter!"
“With insufficient funds, our team still spent a year and a half to successfully polish the first generation of Mobike. Now that we have sufficient funds, I can’t wait even half a year. I want to see the next generation of mass-produced products within three months!”
"Only when we get products with lower costs can we take the next logical step and start the national expansion!"
Hu Weiwei spoke passionately at an internal company meeting, with a tangible glow of self-confidence bursting out of her body, as if she had ushered in a second spring in her life.
Sure enough, the law that career is the aphrodisiac of life is obviously applicable to both men and women.
