Volume 3: Taking Roots 2016 Chapter 702 Active Attack
Outside a two-story hotel apartment near Peking University, hundreds of yellow bicycles are parked in an orderly manner, with uniform colors and exactly the same "OFO" logo.
It is undoubtedly a clear statement of its identity. It is the small yellow car that has become popular all over the country and can be seen actively on many university campuses.
However, the shared yellow bikes that were originally supposed to be parked on campus now appeared openly on the streets, undoubtedly creating a very eye-catching street scene.
Especially when there are a few scattered silver-and-orange bicycles around that no one knows who rode here, this lonely contrast makes the shared bikes particularly conspicuous, and I don't know if it is intentional.
However, many people may not know that a startup company that recently completed hundreds of millions of US dollars in financing and has the potential to become an industry unicorn is located in such an unremarkable hotel apartment.
In fact, if Ofo had not received a large sum of financing from Zhou Dongsheng, Ofo would not even have the conditions to choose such an office space.
When we first moved here, the entire team had only about 20 people. We were all very excited about the improved office environment.
After all, as a student entrepreneurial team, the conditions were quite limited, and the initial office environment was undoubtedly even more rudimentary.
However, times have changed dramatically. In just less than a year, the entire project became unstoppable, just like a roc that soars into the sky with the wind.
Although Ofo has rented all the vacant space in the hotel apartment and is about to buy it outright as its headquarters, it is still unable to meet the growing number of people and office needs.
Fortunately, the company has a large number of staff distributed all over the country, otherwise it would be really difficult to manage such a small place.
At this moment, Dai Wei and his founding team, as the company's veterans and executives, are undoubtedly connected to the fate of Ofo.
During this dreamlike time, they also deeply felt the joy of "one person's success brings prosperity to the whole family".
Thanks to the success of the shared bike service, each of them can now stand up straight and feel confident in interpersonal interactions.
Even their classmates from Peking University were envious when they talked about their entrepreneurial team.
After all, not every student who graduates from Peking University can achieve such remarkable entrepreneurial results like them.
Now, the stories of their team have already spread throughout the Peking University campus and have a considerable influence.
After all, compared with the many outstanding alumni of Peking University who graduated a long time ago, Dai Wei and his group of seniors who have only graduated for less than a few years are undoubtedly closer to them.
For them, the impact of new deeds is often more vivid than those great deeds that can only be admired and worshipped.
Tasting the joy of success, everyone in their team undoubtedly felt ecstatic and felt that every day was filled with energy and hope.
But they didn't expect that today Dai Wei suddenly changed his behavior and called on them to line up downstairs to welcome him, saying that an important person was coming and he wanted to express his respect.
Such a big fuss caused a lot of speculation in the company, and everyone was curious about the identity of the visitor.
After all, after several rounds of financing, Ofo is obviously no longer just any cat or dog. From well-known domestic investment institutions to hedge funds from across the ocean...
They have all come to Ofo, chatted and laughed with them, and gladly joined the ranks of their investors.
Therefore, for no reason, I naturally have more fantasies about this important person who is about to arrive .
With such a big show, could it be that the other party is even more powerful than the hedge funds on the other side of the ocean? What level of investment institution must that be?
In fact, before they received attention from overseas investment institutions, they had only a vague understanding of this, but after this opened the door to a new world of overseas capital...
Naturally, it's out of control.
But not long after, a young man with outstanding appearance and temperament was seen walking slowly towards this side, followed closely by an intellectual woman who was obviously dressed like a secretary.
At first they didn't think much about it, but they couldn't help but take a few more glances.
But when they saw Dai Wei's eyes light up and he took the initiative to greet him, they couldn't help but feel a pang in their hearts. They inexplicably felt that the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.
No way? Was this a big event just to welcome this young man?
The group looked at each other, and saw similar doubts in each other's eyes.
But since the boss had taken the initiative to step forward, they naturally could not neglect him, so they suppressed their doubts in their hearts and followed closely.
"Mr. Zhou, we finally meet. Welcome to our company for the first time. Let's applaud!" Dai Wei was extremely enthusiastic and called on others to applaud and welcome him.
Such a slightly exaggerated form gave Zhou Dongsheng goosebumps, and he couldn't help waving his hands repeatedly.
"Not really, Mr. Dai, let's just be normal."
Dai Wei didn't care. Isn't it normal for someone to say no with their mouth but be extremely honest with their body?
"Maybe many of you are unfamiliar with Mr. Zhou. Let me introduce him to you. If it weren't for Mr. Zhou's early investment in our Ofo bike, it would have helped us survive the cold winter."
"Then we wouldn't be as glorious as we are now. It can be said that if it weren't for Mr. Zhou's timely help, there would be no shared bikes today!"
After receiving such compliments, Zhou Dongsheng felt an inexplicable soreness in his neck. Why did he feel like today was a Hongmen Banquet?
I'm afraid he's here with bad intentions.
At this time, there were some discerning people in the crowd who quickly recognized Zhou Dongsheng's identity, after all, he was a celebrity who was very famous on the Internet.
Even though his influence has not reached the point where everyone knows him, there are still people who know him. Among them, the short video "Zhou Dongsheng's Boring Life" has undoubtedly played the greatest role.
For a while, the crowd was whispering to each other, and soon Zhou Dongsheng's identity spread everywhere. This time, even people who didn't know Zhou Dongsheng had a preliminary understanding of him.
I originally thought that I was already a rare talent, but I didn't expect that there are always people better than you in this world.
At a young age, Zhou Dongsheng has already achieved a success far beyond that of Ofo, which is just an investment project in his hands.
This chasm-like gap made them slightly restrain their originally complacent mentality.
After completing the welcome ceremony, Dai Wei waved his hand and dismissed everyone, then took Zhou Dongsheng to his office alone.
"It was thanks to Mr. Zhou that we were able to move here to improve our office environment. But now, for our booming small yellow car business, it is really a bit stretched..."
Dai Wei said with a hint of emotion.
Zhou Dongsheng pondered for a moment, and felt that there was something else behind the words. Could this be the way that cultured people communicate?
Zhou Dongsheng didn't care about this, he just smiled calmly and said: "From what President Dai said, have you found a new office space? A good horse needs a good saddle. Considering the current scale of Ofo, it is indeed necessary to move to a better office space..."
"Great minds think alike. Mr. Zhou really understands me. It just so happens that there is vacant space in the Ideal International Building not far away. I plan to move there in one go and use Ideal International as a new starting point for the shared bike..."
"From Ideal International, I can overlook most of the Peking University campus. As the beginning of my own business, I think this can always remind me to stay true to my original aspiration..."
Dai Wei, full of energy, sat in his seat and talked freely about the future. However, in Dai Wei's opinion, he did not seem to care much about the development of the shared bike.
Instead, he seemed to be eager to prove his success in front of investor Zhou Dongsheng, and seemed somewhat arrogant.
"Good steel should be used where it is needed most . Compared to this, I am looking forward to President Dai's strategic conference even more."
Zhou Dongsheng could not deny this, but as an investor, he still mentioned it meaningfully.
After all, it is clear that the time has not come for the shared bikes to stop at this point, so Zhou Dongsheng naturally still hopes that they can develop better and become bigger and stronger.
In this way, when the right window period comes, I can cash out in time...
This idea was Zhou Dongsheng's original intention to invest in the small yellow car from the beginning to the end. However, he didn't know that in his previous life, he failed to integrate successfully and missed the opportunity of merger and acquisition, thus losing everything in the small yellow car...
Is there any possibility in this life?
As soon as this thought came to his mind, Zhou Dongsheng was slightly stunned. It seemed that this was indeed possible. After all, he had an opportunity that he had never had before in his life...
That's me!
If the two leading shared bicycle companies could merge, then a true unicorn in the shared bicycle industry would obviously be born!
That may directly change the entire industry landscape and turn the tide, but I don’t know whether such a move will trigger the provisions of the Anti-Monopoly Law?
After all, in the live broadcast industry next door, the giant Tenda once tried to make similar moves, but it was obvious that it could only fail due to the influence of the saying "a big tree attracts the wind".
Even so, the seed of this idea was planted in Zhou Dongsheng's heart. Everything depends on human effort. If there is really a chance, he might as well give it a try...
Even if it doesn't work, you won't suffer any loss. At worst you can just cash out and leave.
After all, Zhou Dongsheng is an investor who entered the market at a low price, so there is enough room for him to maneuver and he does not need to worry about the risk of being trapped at a high price.
"Of course. I believe our small yellow car will not disappoint Mr. Zhou."
Dai Wei said this confidently, then raised his hand to look at the valuable watch on his hand and spoke a little nonchalantly.
"It's getting late. I've already made an appointment. Mr. Zhou, how about we go somewhere else to chat?"
"The guest should follow the host's wishes. I'll listen to Mr. Dai." Zhou Dongsheng said obediently.
"Okay, I believe that Mr. Zhou has not had the chance to taste all the delicacies in Beijing, so let me, a half-old Beijinger, take you to taste the delicacies in Beijing!" Dai Wei said excitedly.
This reminded Zhou Dongsheng of a joke he had seen online about "Beijing cuisine".
A netizen asked, what delicious food is there in Beijing?
A local netizen answered with a bit of embarrassment: Yes, there is, but it will take some time.
The questioner couldn't help but become interested and quickly replied: I understand this, good food requires a lot of attention to detail, and waiting is also part of the enjoyment.
After a series of follow-up questions, the local netizen, seeing that he could not refuse the kindness, finally gave his answer.
"Take a taxi and spend an hour or two getting to the airport, then buy the nearest flight to Guangzhou. Any restaurant there will be delicious..."
It was so hilarious at the time, and the joke spread widely. There is a reason why Beijing has long been known as a "food desert".
Of course, jokes aside, even if the capital city is full of local delicacies, there must be some decent delicacies in it, right?
But when Dai Wei solemnly brought Zhou Dongsheng to the famous Quanjude to eat the roast duck known as the best in China...
Zhou Dongsheng suddenly felt blessed . It turns out that some things are indeed groundless and there are still traces to follow (funny).
Two flowers bloom, each showing its own beauty.
At the same time, the news that Ofo was about to hold a formal strategic conference spread like wildfire and became widely circulated, and major media outlets also received invitations from Ofo.
Now with a huge cash flow of hundreds of millions of US dollars, the wealthy Ofo naturally attaches great importance to the organization of its first press conference.
Be it the specifications or the efforts made to take care of media friends, great effort was put into the event, and the scale of the event far exceeded the Mobike launch event held in Shanghai.
This is undoubtedly the advantage of striking back after being struck back, and there is sufficient time to arrange targeted follow-up actions. Dai Wei has obviously put a lot of effort into figuring out how to give full play to his own advantages.
Otherwise, he would not be so confident about this press conference. After all, the development speed of Ofo and Mobike is almost the same.
Even the financing scale is roughly similar, which is enough to prove that in the capital market, many investors have roughly similar estimates between the two.
There is no one who is better than the other. It can only be said that everyone has his or her own strengths. Only by determining the winner clearly can one become the winner in the end.
If we rank the shared bike industry by first come first served, there is no doubt that Ofo is the leader.
It’s just that I have always been confined to the sheepfold of university and have never stepped into the outside world.
But when it comes to the urban market, this is obviously Mobike's home ground. The small yellow bike that wants to enter the market now is undoubtedly "fighting away from home."
As for how to turn passivity into initiative and disadvantage into advantage, Dai Wei obviously has it all figured out!
After several days of publicity and fermentation, the strategic launch conference of Ofo was held as scheduled. The scene was crowded with people and witnesses. Media friends set up their cameras and were ready for battle.
Dai Wei walked onto the stage in a simple and straightforward manner, wearing a classic press conference suit of jeans and a black sweatshirt.
At the same time, the large screen behind also displayed the theme of the press conference.
“We believe cities need bikes!”
Ofo has officially sounded the clarion call for an active attack!
