Volume 3: Taking Roots 2016 Chapter 647: Growing Stronger
Zhou Dongsheng’s visit was naturally a top-notch event for Mobike. After all, this heavyweight investor not only helped the company overcome the difficult period when its capital chain was almost broken.
They spared no effort and brought in the phenomenal internet celebrity Papi Jiang as their spokesperson when the company entered the market, which helped Mobike gain market visibility.
Not to mention that with the help of Zhou Dongsheng, the entry of top Internet investor Zhuchang Capital has given Mobike an even greater boost.
It can be said that the reason why Mobike was able to leap from an unknown company to a rising star in the industry in a short period of time was that Zhou Dongsheng, the "mentor", played a crucial role!
At least that's what Hu Weiwei sees.
As for Zhou Dongsheng, he was just going with the flow, a hands-off boss who took advantage of the situation and did not dare to take any credit for it.
After all, the key to Mobike's success lies in Hu Weiwei's persistence in technological research and development, which lasted for a year and a half.
This has given Mobike a solid foundation for rapid development on the technical level, so I am at most just a speculator who "adds icing on the cake", not even a helping hand in times of need.
However, this kind of thinking only remains in Zhou Dongsheng's self-knowledge. It is enough to keep such thoughts in his heart and there is no need to speak them out.
After all, Zhou Dongsheng quite enjoys the feeling of being grateful to others.
Therefore, when Zhou Dongsheng arrived at the Mobike headquarters in Shanghai, Hu Weiwei took the lead and led a group of backbones from the company to line the streets to welcome Zhou Dongsheng's arrival.
For Mobike Technology, which is currently penniless, this courtesy is the highest treatment it can offer .
"Hey, Mr. Hu, we are such a close friend, why do we need to do all this fancy stuff..." Although he really enjoyed it in his heart, Zhou Dongsheng still had to be polite.
"Although we know that Mr. Zhou may not like this, we still feel sorry for his contribution to our company if we don't do something, so they spontaneously organized a welcome ceremony..."
Hu Weiwei said with a smile. At the same time, a group of backbone members behind her echoed her. Their enthusiastic attitude made the smile on Zhou Dongsheng's face even brighter.
Such a happy scene reveals the four words "human nature and worldly wisdom" in full.
After enjoying it, Zhou Dongsheng coughed and asked directly to the point, "Didn't Mr. Hu say that he prepared a big gift? I felt like a little hand was scratching me in my heart all the way..."
Fortunately, Zhou Dongsheng is not Takumi, and Hu Weiwei is not Xia Shu, so the little drama in Zhou Dongsheng’s mind did not appear.
When it comes to business, Hu Weiwei can't help but be excited, and a proud look appears on her face, "Yes, I just happened to hear that Mr. Zhou is in Shanghai, so I specially invited him to come and witness it. The finished product has just been delivered, and we haven't had time to unveil it yet..."
As they were talking, the group walked into the company. A piece of red cloth was placed on an open space with a conspicuous bulge in the middle. From the shape, it was not difficult to tell that it was just a bicycle.
Such a scene is certainly not unfamiliar to Zhou Dongsheng. After all, he already owns several luxury cars. Compared with the red cloth when he picked up the car, this piece of red cloth is obviously a bit childish.
However, the difference between the two is incomparable.
The value of a luxury car is certainly considerable, but it is only an expense of several million or even nearly ten million.
However, the value that can be created by the bicycle in front of us is far beyond the comparison of a mere luxury car.
Judging from Hu Weiwei's cautious attitude, it is not difficult for Zhou Dongsheng to guess that this bicycle should be the piece of the puzzle that can make up for Mobike's shortcomings!
After making up for this shortcoming, Mobike will start to take off!
There are tens of thousands of luxury cars in the world, but there are only a few that are worth tens of millions of dollars, or even hundreds of millions of dollars. The value of the bicycle in front of us is already hundreds of millions of dollars...
While Zhou Dongsheng was thinking, Hu Weiwei invited him warmly: "This bicycle is of great significance to Mobike Technology. After much thought, it is only Mr. Zhou who is also of great significance to Mobike Technology that is most suitable to unveil it!"
(Li Bin:? It was a wrong choice after all.)
Now that it had come to this, Zhou Dongsheng was about to agree. After all, rounding it off, this could be considered a "historic moment", right? Being able to participate in it, it was inevitable that he would feel a sense of honor.
However, in a flash, Zhou Dongsheng, who was familiar with "Emotional Intelligence", suddenly came to his senses and said, "How can I have such a big credit? The success of Mobike is ultimately the credit of Mr. Hu and everyone else. In my opinion, why don't we all do the unveiling together?"
Hu Weiwei wanted to refuse, but when she looked at her colleagues, she realized that Mobike’s success today is inseparable from their companionship and persistence.
They didn’t persist because they saw hope, but they persisted until the end and then saw hope…
Hu Weiwei couldn't help but become emotional. She turned around and said solemnly, "Thank you, Mr. Zhou, for waking me up. Let's all unveil it together and lift up this red cloth!"
Hu Weiwei was as happy as a little girl. She waved her hand and let everyone share the joy of the acceptance results.
Although the design process includes all the parameters and those involved are very clear about them, the symbolic meaning is naturally completely different when they actually see the finished product .
So when Hu Weiwei said this, all the key members of the company couldn't help but show joy on their faces. They originally thought that it was prepared for Zhou Dongsheng, but they didn't expect that everyone would have a share now. They inexplicably felt a sense of happiness from an unexpected surprise.
Although there is no real money reward, sometimes the sense of achievement is far more exciting than real money...
Good man, why did you take my excuse so seriously? You even thanked me so solemnly ...
Zhou Dongsheng wanted to say something but stopped himself. However, now that things had come to this, it was obviously a done deal and there was no room for detours. Zhou Dongsheng could only smile brightly.
"Then let's all come together, one person on each side, and together we will unveil this red cloth!"
Several people stepped forward and solemnly unveiled this ordinary bicycle, while the camera that had been prepared for a long time faithfully recorded this historic moment.
When we look back from the future, we will find that this ordinary moment is a milestone for Mobike.
At the same time, under the red cloth, a silver bicycle slowly emerged, shining brightly under the light.
Compared with the first generation of expensive Mobike bikes, this one still continues the classic design in color. The contrast between the silver body and orange tires is very eye-catching.
But visually, it appears to be simpler and lighter, and it also has a basket that was not there before. The overall design is undoubtedly more popular.
Apparently, consumers still want a basket, even if they don’t use it to carry things…
Hu Weiwei, who was standing by, couldn't wait to introduce Zhou Dongsheng.
"Mr. Zhou, this is the lightweight version we have successfully developed. It is 16 kilograms lighter than the first generation product! At the same time, the cost has been reduced by nearly half, and the mass production price can be reduced to less than 1,000 yuan!"
"Although the cost has been reduced, our unique patented technology is still used, and each bicycle is still equipped with the necessary integrated wheels and orange honeycomb solid tires!"
"While reducing costs, the service life and quality are still guaranteed. At the same time, based on the consumer feedback we collected in Shanghai, we added a basket and an adjustable seat..."
Hu Weiwei made the introduction with great joy and pride evident in her words, as if she was showing off to others the excellent results achieved by her own child.
The backbones of the company standing by were naturally proud of it, with bright smiles on their faces.
From this point of view, as the leader of the entrepreneurial team, Hu Weiwei does have some personal charm, otherwise people would not be able to follow him willingly.
At this time, Hu Weiwei pointed to the black base at the bottom of the basket and said proudly: "Also, we have innovatively added a solar panel here. With this panel, the battery life problem that may exist in the smart lock is completely solved!"
"This is the second generation of Mobike, which also means that Mobike technology has entered the '2.0' era!"
His passionate words and proud look fully revealed the temperament of a company leader. He was radiant and extremely eye-catching.
"Clap, clap, clap!" Zhou Dongsheng couldn't help but applaud and gave applause to Hu Weiwei for her wonderful introduction. This was also a recognition as an investor.
With Zhou Dongsheng taking the lead, the other backbones naturally dared not disobey, and the sound of applause resounded throughout the company.
"Well said! With this lightweight version, Mobike will no longer be limited to Shanghai. We can safely and boldly deploy bikes in other cities!"
"With a better product experience and lower maintenance costs, Mobike will surely capture the market faster..."
Zhou Dongsheng said with a smile, but there was one more thing he didn't say: the boom in shared bicycles will soon come in the second half of the year.
By then, the shared bicycle craze will sweep the country and become the hottest star in the public opinion field, unrivaled in the limelight!
"That's right. The financing from Zhuchang Capital has also arrived. The company's cash flow is currently sufficient. We are going to take a two-pronged approach. We will continue to operate in the Shanghai market while returning to the Beijing market with this product!"
As she spoke, Hu Weiwei's eyes sparkled, and she was obviously upset about her decision to temporarily avoid the limelight and choose the Shanghai market.
Today, with the support of pig factory capital, we have a new generation of better products, and the company's cash flow is abundant...
In Hu Weiwei's opinion, it is time for Mobike to return to Beijing now that it has grown stronger. After all, the prefix of Mobike Technology is Beijing Mobike Technology, not Shanghai Mobike Technology...
Beijing is the base camp where Hu Weiwei has run his business for many years, so returning to the Beijing market has a different symbolic meaning for Hu Weiwei.
As the leader of Mobike Technology, Hu Weiwei’s obsession is the direction of Mobike Technology.
However, despite saying this, Hu Weiwei still looked at Zhou Dongsheng a little nervously, wanting to ask Zhou Dongsheng's opinion.
After all, along the way, Zhou Dongsheng's importance to Mobike and Hu Weiwei has been subtly elevated to more than one level.
Zhou Dongsheng also provided great help in the strategy of taking root in Shanghai and setting sail from Shanghai, so his opinion is still very important to Hu Weiwei.
"Okay, I support Mr. Hu's idea. Since we are going to do it, we have to do it on a big scale. We should first take Beijing, then go all the way south, and then plan for Guangzhou and Shenzhen. As long as we can take root in these four major cities..."
"Then even if Mobike Technology becomes completely famous, we will be halfway to success!"
Unexpectedly, Zhou Dongsheng not only did not oppose, but strongly supported it, which surprised Hu Weiwei a little. He also felt that his tone was even more arrogant than hers.
Just as I was thinking of Beijing, Zhou Dongsheng had already set his sights on Guangzhou and Shenzhen. These four cities, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, are known as the Four Little Dragons of China. They have been battlegrounds for military strategists since ancient times.
The same is true for shared bikes...
As if fearing that Hu Weiwei might have concerns, Zhou Dongsheng added, "President Hu, just go ahead with the expansion of Mobike. As for the financing issue, I will take care of it!"
"I can guarantee that there will always be enough ammunition in Mobike's ammunition depot for Mr. Hu to squander," Zhou Dongsheng assured confidently.
With the pig farm capital as proof, Zhou Dongsheng's words were undoubtedly full of convincing magic, which made Hu Weiwei feel proud and nodded heavily.
"Okay! We will definitely not let Mr. Zhou down..."
As for the fact that Zhou Dongsheng is also an investor in Ofo, both parties are obviously aware of this, but the atmosphere has reached this point, and there is obviously no need to mention this matter.
At least Hu Weiwei wouldn't spoil the fun, and her statement of returning to the Beijing market might have been a way of testing Zhou Dongsheng...
After all, in Hu Weiwei's opinion, if Zhou Dongsheng wants to fully protect his own interests, he should let the two companies stagger their development routes. The most ideal situation is that each company occupies half of the market.
For Zhou Dongsheng, who is playing two games at the same time, this is naturally as stable as a rock. But if the two boats collide with each other in advance, won’t he fall into the water?
Unexpectedly, Zhou Dongsheng didn’t seem to have this intention. Instead, the shared bike seemed to have become an “abandoned child”.
After all, whether it is [Papi Jiang] or Zhuchang Capital, Zhou Dongsheng has bet all of his money on Mobike, which seems to have already shown Zhou Dongsheng's attitude...
Thinking of this, Hu Weiwei couldn't help but feel ashamed for holding a grudge against herself. Damn it, I am really a jerk. Others are completely open to me, but I still doubt their intentions...
Zhou Dongsheng naturally knew nothing about this. As for why he encouraged Hu Weiwei to return to the Beijing market and go head-to-head with Ofo in its home turf, to create a clash of the two, he naturally had his reasons.
A single flower does not make spring. If we want to really ignite the fire of shared bicycles, the two companies must have a real fight.
