Volume 8 Final Chapter Chapter 1252 Entrepreneur Club
Daniel's Arbiter Capital does not develop any games itself, but it makes various investments and stakes in global game creation, distribution channels, and terminals through anonymously controlled subsidiaries.
Daniel has been immersed in the game industry for more than 20 years and knows how to cultivate think tanks. When he started out, he also had the support of Nan Yi's memory. He rarely makes mistakes in his investments. For the popular games on the market, the Arbitrator can get a share of the profits. Not to mention the scary revenue figures, just in the past ten years, Nan's has shared $21.5 billion in profits.
Calculating in a more naked and ruthless way, the rate of return on Nan Yi's raising Daniel as his godson is huge, and the investment-output ratio can be concluded to be at least 20,000 times.
Nan's does not make games, but it has the greatest benefits in the gaming field. The key is that it does not bear the blame. No matter how much parents blame it, they cannot blame Nan.
Now Nan Yi is going to invest in the field of e-sports again. It will provide a new way out for those promising young people who could not find stable jobs in the past and had to settle for flexible employment and rely on playing games to relieve boredom. It will make them understand that playing games can also help them cross class boundaries and reach the pinnacle of life.
Most young Indians are still quite poor. If they are not white-collar workers working in offices, it is difficult for them to come up with a budget to buy a computer, and they will not try too hard to save money because computers are not a necessity for them. On the contrary, the penetration rate of smartphones is very high, and the penetration rate of 4G feature phones is even higher.
This is closely related to the chaos in India's communications industry. Before 2016, VSNL and other operators in India were engaged in limited competition. While competing for fixed-line customers, they reached a consensus on the price of mobile data. End customers had no choice anyway, so everyone set the price higher.
At that time, VSNL did not dare to innovate at all. State-owned enterprises in any country had the same problems: bloated staff, inefficiency, more people eating idle meals than working, and very complicated personnel relations. Any employee could bring out a Buddha statue. In order to sort out the internal affairs without violating the terms on personnel placement during the acquisition, Nan spent another third eight years.
After sorting out internal affairs and just when he was about to stir up trouble, Mukesh Ambani, a super rich man who was afraid that others didn't know he was rich and had a high-caste wife, jumped out. He first rushed into the fixed-line field with his brand JIO, spending 50 billion rupees to control two operators, attempting to achieve JIO's goal of covering 50 million households with fixed-line networks.
But this goal is not so easy to achieve. The land in India is privately owned and ordinary people can do whatever they want. However, the local kings and landlords in the city-states are not so easy to deal with. Without their consent, who would dare to build a line across and give it a try?
At the local level, there are local cable TV operators (LCOs) that have already paved the way in the early years, have customer resources, and are responsible for laying the last mile of optical fiber. These companies are strong in various city-states. More than 300 local network providers across India will cooperate with LCOs to install their own lines on their existing lines.
Unfortunately, JIO's fixed-line plan includes TV services. How could local LCOs easily include it? Even if they wanted to, they could include it and take the lion's share of the profits, which could eat up all of JIO's profits or even cause losses.
JIO has been engaged in fixed-line network for two or three years and has occupied a large part of the market, but it is only making a loss and gaining publicity. It is also seen as a troublemaker by other operators, who unite to fight against it. However, JIO's parent company Reliance Industries is rich and powerful, and it can take on several other operators. The end result is that while the snipe and the clam fight each other, the common people benefit, and the Internet fees are extremely low.
While other operators are fighting fiercely in the fixed-line field, VSNL, which was previously a bystander, has made a big move and launched the "1088-303-100-45" plan - for only 1088 rupees, you can take home a Maximum feature phone with 4G Internet access, and for only 303 rupees per month, you can enjoy 100 minutes of free voice calls and 45G of monthly data packages.
Maximum is pre-installed with applications such as TTM, TTMbook, Youtube, Adam, etc. Although it is not very smooth to use, but for a mobile phone of about RMB 100, what else do you want? For ordinary users, Maximum is powerful enough and can fully meet their needs.
Maximum also has a cloud storage function. Address books, memos, call logs, and chat logs can all be backed up in the cloud. Moreover, ordinary users only need to use the free capacity. If you are not a heavy chat enthusiast, you don’t need to pay to expand the capacity.
The only drawback of Maximum is that during the data compression and storage process, artificial intelligence will analyze and archive the data, and then targeted advertisements will be pushed to the mobile phone. Whether you want to buy electrical appliances, motorcycles, someone in your family is sick, or you want to become a Bollywood star, there will always be an advertisement suitable for the user that will appear warmly.
Seeing Maximum encroaching on the mobile communications market, Mukesh could no longer sit still and quickly launched the "JIO Phone" which was almost the same as Maximum. The two sides fought fiercely for the low-end market. Generally speaking, Maximum had a slight advantage because of its lower costs and implicit profits.
First of all, Maximum is manufactured by Shuangniao Industry. Not only is there no manufacturing fee, but each mobile phone will also pay a channel fee to Maximum in exchange for related bundled sales in VSNL's business halls. As long as users buy a Maximum feature phone, they can buy Shuangniao Industry's home appliances at a preferential price. Which user would not be tempted by a TV set at 1,188 rupees?
The profit from selling home appliances by Shuangniao Industry is not actually that high, but it is generally acknowledged that the quality of its products is not good. After using them for half a year or a year, there will always be some minor problems, which are not expensive to repair and can be fixed with one or two hundred rupees. Shuangniao Industry has thus gained a small but stable source of profit from the sales of accessories.
Secondly, Maximum can also get an advertising share from the pre-installed software vendors.
Although the two profits are not very large, they can provide VSNL with some bullets, so that it can be more confident to launch some preferential packages when competing with JIO, and the firepower coverage time can last longer.
The fierce competition among telecom operators has made it cheaper for users to own and keep mobile phones, which has promoted the development of mobile games in India. The proportion of mobile game players among teenagers is very high. Although the market size is a bit small, less than US$700 million last year, it has great growth potential and is very suitable for listed game companies to tell a good story based on India.
As long as you assist the game companies well and provide them with better jokes and plots, you will naturally be able to share in the good profits. This is why Nan Yi is thinking about investing in e-sports in India. When the wind comes, the pig will be blown up. Even if it doesn't blow up, it is not difficult to find a buyer. The investment risk is relatively small and the safety of funds is guaranteed.
…
When KiKi felt thirsty while shopping, Nan Yi went to a convenience store to buy a drink and came back, he saw a Chinese man holding a mobile phone and asking KiKi something.
When Nan Yi came closer, KiKi said to him, "Uncle, this gentleman wants to ask for directions, but I don't know either. You tell him."
"Hello." The passerby greeted Nan Yi.
"Hello, where are you going?"
"I'm going to the Shangri-La Hotel."
"Shangri-La is at 56 Huanggong Road. It's a bit far from here. You'd better take an Uber."
The passerby looked embarrassed and asked, "I only know a little English, can you write down the address for me?"
Nan Yi became suspicious and asked passers-by. They didn't look like tourists, but more like businessmen who came to India to catch the trend. They couldn't pass the language barrier, so they dared not bring an interpreter with them.
"Okay, wait a moment." Nan Yi took out his cell phone, typed out the address of Shangri-La, and asked the passerby to take a photo. He also said kindly: "The hotel can provide tour guides and translation services. You'd better hire one."
"Thank you, thank you."
"You're welcome."
After parting ways with the person asking for directions, KiKi said, "Uncle, there are quite a lot of people from China here. The one just now is the third one we have met in the past few days."
"It's not surprising. Since 2013, domestic Internet companies have begun to explore the Indian market. In the past two years, Eggplant Quick Transfer and UC Browser were very popular here. Now a group of companies led by TikTok have come here to explore the short video track. There are also many mobile games making money here. The trend has emerged, and more people are coming here to look for opportunities. The one just now looked like he was here to investigate."
"Are we here to make money?"
Nan Yi smiled and said, "Tsk, you are really good at talking. If I remember correctly, I am here to inspect, and you are here to travel and to bother me."
KiKi sneered, "Uncle, can you please have some shame? You're acting like you've suffered a loss."
"Okay, consider it as an advantage."
The two men were arguing but they did not stop walking. After walking for a while, they saw from a distance two rows of flower baskets placed in front of a store. It was obvious that it was a Chinese business, as Indians did not have such requirements.
I walked along the sidewalk and looked at the door. It looked like an Internet cafe. After taking a closer look, I realized that calling it an Internet cafe might not be appropriate. It would be more appropriate to call it an e-sports hall.
Nan Yi only took a few glances, but he unexpectedly attracted the attention of someone inside. The person walked up to Nan Yi excitedly and greeted him warmly, "You are from China, please come in and have a seat. I just opened my business, and the first three days are free."
Nan Yi clasped his fists and responded, "Congratulations, good luck with the opening. The boss is so enthusiastic, the business will surely prosper."
"Thank you, thank you. My name is Zhang Dewen. I gave myself an English name, Devin, for the sake of convenience."
"Devin, German, Boss Zhang, this English name is really good. My name is Nan Yi, and I'm a teacher." Nan Yi pointed at KiKi, "She is KiKi, the child of a relative of mine."
After the three of them exchanged greetings, Zhang Dewen led Nan Yi and the other man into the e-sports hall.
On the way, KiKi pinched Nan Yi and whispered, "Is my father or my mother your relative?"
"All of them. I want to call them uncle and aunt."
KiKi said coquettishly: "My parents are younger than you."
Zhang Dewen, who was walking in front, had already stopped in front of a circle of leisure seats. Nan Yi did not reply, but waited for Zhang Dewen to invite him to sit down on the sofa, and put the water he had just taken out of the side pocket of his backpack on the coffee table.
The tap water in Bangalore does not meet the drinking standards at all. Without a bottle of water as a shield, I would feel embarrassed to not drink the tea provided by the host.
Zhang Dewen | When opening a store for business, the scene must be enthusiastic, but not so enthusiastic that you actively pull strangers who are watching the fun outside the store into the store. Nan Yi and the other man are surrounded by a group of people and their demeanor is quite extraordinary. There is no harm in saying hello and getting to know them.
As Nan Yi thought, Zhang Dewen's enthusiasm continued. As soon as he sat down, he asked a woman who was probably his secretary to make coffee. The body odor of the female secretary was exactly the same as that of Indians. She should be a local Chinese.
“Brother Nan is teaching at Bangalore University?”
"I work at Beijing University. I came to Bangalore for tourism and to see if there are any good investments here."
“Do you have a goal?”
"I've been here for a few days, but I've only been having fun. Today I started to pay attention to investment." Nan Yi looked around, "Dewen, you have a big scene here, so you must have invested a lot, right?"
"It cost 2.4 million in total. The work efficiency in India is not good. It took more than half a year to open the store, and it took four months to register the company..."
Zhang Dewen complained for a while and then said, "Brother Nan, if you have time tomorrow at 3pm, you can come over and sit with us. We, a group of people who came to Bangalore from China to start a business, have set up an entrepreneur club. We can sit together and chat, and we can help each other if there is anything."
"Okay, I'll trouble you to introduce me to me."
After the secretary brought the coffee, Zhang Dewen shared his story with Nan Yi.
Zhang Dewen used to work in sales at a company producing LCD monitors in Shenzhen. While doing sales, he often came into contact with Internet cafes and e-sports halls. As a result, he developed a strong interest in opening an e-sports hall. However, he did not open one in Shenzhen, where there were already more than 8,000 Internet cafes. Instead, he listened to a friend's idea and came to Bangalore to investigate.
After investigation, he felt that there was great potential for e-sports in Bangalore, so he quit his job and went here with his friends to engage in e-sports, relying on high-end e-sports stadiums to build an Indian team and e-sports ecosystem. He and his partners were even prepared to not make a profit in the first three years and build the system from scratch.
After listening to Zhang Dewen's story, Nan Yi thought it was a coincidence that the two of them had the same idea and were both eyeing the e-sports industry. However, he did not have the plan to open an e-sports stadium. If nothing unexpected happened, the e-sports stadiums in Bangalore would be doing very poorly in the next two years. By then, he could buy one or two stadiums at a low price depending on the situation, so that he could have a place to organize small-scale competitions.
He was not as optimistic as Zhang Dewen. Zhang Dewen was mentally prepared to not make any money for three years. His idea was to suffer losses for five consecutive years and break even in the sixth year. The profit period would be in the last five or six years of the twenties.
By that time, Nan Zehang was already a teenager, so this job could be handed over to him, leaving the fruits for him to pick.
Of course, this is the minimum expectation. On the premise of ensuring the healthy operation of the project, you can also adopt some risky strategies in order to enter the profit period as soon as possible.
After sharing the story of founding the e-sports arena, Zhang Dewen said that he is actively contacting game manufacturers for cooperation to create offline experience venues. He also plans to organize campus competitions for some mainstream games to attract local young people to his e-sports arena.
Nan Yi acted as a qualified listener, listening to Zhang Dewen talking about his plan.
At first glance, Zhang Dewen seems to be talking too much, but if you think about it carefully, you will know that what he said has nothing to do with leaking business secrets. Experience venues and campus competitions are two of the three tricks of e-sports venues, and all those who open e-sports venues will do so.
However, Nan Yi couldn't judge whether Zhang Dewen regarded him as an expert or a layman. If he regarded him as an expert, he would just treat it as an ordinary topic. If he regarded him as a layman, he might be showing off or baiting. It is possible that Zhang Dewen's funds are a bit tight and he wants to introduce a shareholder who doesn't know anything and only invests money but doesn't do anything.
No matter what, clues will emerge after further contact. Nan Yi is quite interested in the Entrepreneurs Club, and maybe he will establish trading relationships with some of them in the future.
We sat and chatted for about twenty minutes, and we covered most of the things we could talk about for a first meeting, and the conversation ended in a friendly atmosphere.
When walking out of the e-sports hall, Nan Yi saw the name of the hall "Hanusha" on the wall. After a little thought, he could guess that this name is a combination of the monkey god Hanuman and the elephant god Ganesha, which caters to the preferences of Indians.
The name is well chosen. Nan Yi silently wishes Zhang Dewen to be able to survive the upcoming difficult period.
I continued shopping and stopped when passing by a newsstand. I glanced at the newspapers on display and picked out a few newspapers reporting on the Indian election and the border situation.
Afterwards, they passed by a cinema and KiKi suggested going in to watch a movie. It was an old movie that had been released for more than two months. It was called "Uri: The Surgical Strike", which is known as the Indian version of "Wolf Warrior". It was a version dubbed in Kannada. Neither of them could understand the dialogues, but fortunately it was a pure action movie and the dialogues didn't mean much.
…
The next day.
In the morning, Nan Yi received an email from Prabhu Vaze. A man named Gautam came up with an idea to sell water. It was not a new idea. It was similar to the coin-operated water vending machines that were briefly popular in China eight or nine years ago. The idea was to place the machines in various communities, connect them to faucets, and then wait to collect money.
Gautam's idea was to adapt to local conditions and change the coin-operated water vending machines to NFC recharge and deduction methods, and to build a water purification system - setting up a large water tank at a high place to store the extracted groundwater so as to generate enough water pressure to send the water to the filtering and purification components below.
In addition to filtering to remove color, using activated carbon to absorb impurities, and adding chemicals to sterilize and disinfect, water vending machines also use reverse osmosis and ultraviolet rays to repeatedly purify and disinfect the water to ensure that the water that was originally not suitable for drinking meets drinking standards.
The purified water is then packaged into containers and delivered to water vending machines set up in various locations.
Gautam feels that this stored-value NFC card model is relatively ideal to meet people's needs to buy water anytime and anywhere.
On the one hand, this is safer. Because there is no cash transaction, there is no need to worry about someone destroying the water vending machine and stealing money. On the other hand, NFC cards make it easier for people to get water on demand, and it is also convenient to collect statistics and adjust services in a timely manner according to people's needs.
In addition, Gautam will also use the Internet of Things technology to add remote monitoring devices to the water purification system and water vending machines, so that the two sets of devices can provide real-time feedback on the operation of the equipment. Once the water purification system is operating abnormally or the water quality deteriorates, it will immediately notify the staff to go for maintenance.
When the remaining water volume of the water dispenser is lower than a certain standard, it will constantly remind the water station to add water quickly to prevent the water tank from being completely empty. In this way, users can buy clean and standard drinking water 24 hours a day with less manpower.
The latter idea is similar to the shared electric vehicles in China. Nan Yi guessed that Gautam had studied various domestic models and his plan was made based on his research.
The plan is not fresh enough, which makes it difficult to tell stories later. The scale of investment is also large, which cannot guarantee future returns. However, it does have good reference value.
