Chapter 359: Distinguishing between Horses and Donkeys

Chapter 359: Distinguishing between Horses and Donkeys

Chapter 359: Distinguishing between Horses and Donkeys (5k)

Hu Xubo suddenly felt the pain that he had worked so hard to alleviate!

From last year to this year, he always avoided Yu Xing intentionally or unintentionally. Even when Bai Xiaosheng was successfully listed on NASDAQ and Qiming Venture Partners received an invitation, he did not show up!

However, today, when I suddenly heard Yu Xing’s assessment of the O2O prospects of the beauty industry, that pain came back to me unexpectedly!

In other words, the pain has never gone away, but it is just covered up deep in the heart by all the busyness.

As a general rule, investing involves risks, and the success or failure of a project is perfectly normal.

However, Qiming Venture Partners’ investment and exit in WeChat are too well-known, and the distinction between horses and donkeys is also the most popular laughing stock in the industry in recent years!
However, Alibaba's WeChat is getting bigger and bigger, and Penguin is suffering more and more serious damage. The profound impact on the core business of this giant and the story of Qiming Venture Partners are always inevitably mentioned repeatedly, and it is almost written into investment textbooks as a negative example.

For a while, Hu Xubo even often dreamed about the signing moment between him and Penguin on behalf of Qiming Venture Partners, and Yu Xing's voice always appeared beside him - donkey, donkey, donkey, donkey...

He took two deep breaths and silently loosened his fists that he had clenched at some point.

Hu Xubo saw President Xu carefully reading the materials and asked in a casual tone, "Oh? Really? What did he say?"

Xu Xin seemed to have not noticed Mr. Hu's abnormality at all. He also came back to his senses from thinking about the materials and said with some worry: "Mr. Yu believes that Meituan is developing too fast. This is a big hidden danger for the O2O of the beauty industry. The group buying market is likely to be a situation where the strong take all."

Meituan was founded in 2010, followed by the explosion of the group buying market after the entry of capital. Last year's "Thousands of Group Wars" was also unusually brutal. This year, Meituan has firmly established itself as the leader in the group buying market, widening the gap with its competitors.

Today, Meituan occupies 30% of the market, the second-place Dianping has less than 20%, and the third-place Nuomi has less than 10%.

Xu Xin noticed this. Although the previous communication with Yu Xing was brief, the other party also mentioned Meituan's speed, which was a coincidence.

The beauty industry O2O is definitely a typical Internet story. The problem is whether this market segment can withstand the competition from companies like Meituan and Dianping that survived the "Thousands of Group Wars". This requires a big question mark.

Since the advent of the mobile Internet era, competition represented by WeChat has been moving at a speed that is significantly different from that of the PC era, and this has become increasingly obvious.

Xu Xin believes that O2O in the beauty industry is a false proposition, but this does not prevent him from using this false proposition to lobby investors.

Coincidentally, Qiming Venture Partners was already in this situation, so it can only be said to be fate.

There are high and low levels of investment, and an inferior horse is still a horse!
Hu Xubo was obviously thinking for a long time, and after a while he struggled to put forward a strong argument: "Penguin has also joined this time, and it will provide a lot of traffic support to Meilishuo."

Xu Xin easily gave a more powerful rebuttal: "Mr. Hu, if traffic is omnipotent, would Penguin have reached this point today?"

Despite severe competition, Penguin still has huge traffic, but compared with its once almost mythical reputation for traffic, it has now been stripped of its filter.

WeChat, Weibo, e-commerce, these setbacks in the market make it hard not to re-examine them.

Xu Xin also gave a little news: "It is said that Gaopeng, a group buying company invested by Penguin, will merge with Meituan this year. Both sides are already promoting it. Penguin's traffic is also struggling in the group buying market."

Penguin is trying to make achievements in the group buying market. It has established Gaopeng.com in a joint venture with Groupon, the originator of group buying in the United States, and has invested in another group buying platform Ftuan. It also has its own QQ group buying. However, the first two have already been merged and integrated. It is said that QQ group buying will also be integrated in the next step and then sold to Meituan.

This is undoubtedly another practical proof of the limits of Penguin's traffic power.

When Hu Xubo heard this, he couldn't help but take out a cigarette anxiously.

Xu Xin sighed: "Penguin has traffic, but traffic is just a tool. How to use the traffic is the most important thing."

She looked at Hu Xubo's expression and said, "Mr. Yu is indeed very capable in business operations."

Hu Xubo exhaled a long puff of smoke and had to admit this: "Yes, Yu Xing, he has a good vision and good management, that is, that is..."

It's just that his words were a bit harsh.

Xu Xin supplemented the unfinished sentence of Hu Xubo in his mind.

Of course, the specific statement about the difference between donkeys and horses came from his own mouth, and was used to divert attention from issues before and after Today Capital's investment in WeChat. There is no need to go into details about this.

Even if Yu Xing didn't say such words in person, would he dare to say that he didn't think that way in his heart?

Hu Xubo smoked two more cigarettes, sorted out everything, and found that the situation before him was in a desperate situation.

Assuming that Yu Xing’s judgment this time is correct, the beauty industry’s O2O transformation is difficult, Alibaba’s e-commerce traffic is cut off, and the transformation to vertical e-commerce faces fierce competition... This situation is too difficult!

The problem is that Qiming Venture Partners has two more projects facing this situation!

One Mogujie and one Meilishuo!

Hu Xubo thought about it and suddenly noticed one thing. Another investor in Meilishuo this time was Red Falcon Capital, and Yu Xing had a close relationship with Red Falcon. He couldn't just watch Red Falcon fail in the project, right?
Thinking of this, he slowly asked, "Boss Xu, since Yu Xing said that beauty industry O2O is not working, what does he think of Meilishuo's current situation?"

"I talked to him." Xu Xin said half the truth and half the lie, "I talked to him for a long time."

Hu Xubo listened attentively.

"He thinks the beauty industry is a dead end, but there is still hope in e-commerce." Xu Xin said seriously, "Mogujie and Meilishuo have been cut off from traffic and commissions. His Carbon Silicon Data Company now has good traffic. The two companies also had traffic. In addition to Alibaba, other e-commerce companies still need traffic. The shopping guide business can still be done, so at least they can survive first."

Hu Xubo was surprised and asked, "Alibaba has a stake in Carbon Silicon Data Company. Can Carbon Silicon take over there?"

Xu Xin nodded: "Yes, this is also why Mr. Yu is hesitant. If Carbon Silicon Data makes a move, Alibaba will definitely be unhappy. He is also hesitant about the direction of this matter. What do you think of the future of Carbon Silicon Data?"

Hu Xubo hesitated for a moment, and had to admit, "Carbon Silicon Data is better than many people think. Its ad blocking and karaoke performance are average, but its WiFi Master Key is really good. The content in the latest hot spots is mixed, and it hasn't released any data. However, its activity level looks good."

"Yes, so, it will be very good if the carbon silicon data maintains the current development. Whether it is necessary to take the initiative to break this situation is what Mr. Yu is worried about." Xu Xin believed that his observations should be very close to Yu Xing's considerations.

This wave of integration was originally proposed by Yu Xing, but he later became a little conservative and was simply considering the future of Carbon Silicon Data.

Xu Xin felt that he couldn't let Yu Xing just wait and see. He should do what he could. He should first integrate what he could, and then use his "operation" to do it. This would be half done. As for the future after the integration...

Competition in the e-commerce market is indeed fierce, but mobile Internet can bring new opportunities.

Xu Xin didn't say that it would definitely work, he just felt that it was worth a try.

As long as the current integration can be completed, she hopes that Capital Today will invest in the next round of Carbon Silicon Data. Moreover, Mogujie and Meilishuo can also be incorporated into Carbon Silicon Data in the form of assets in the future.

This is the operational direction that Xu Xin is implementing.

Unlike Today Capital’s past operations, this one is more complicated and requires cooperation from all parties, but the benefits after completion are worth imagining.

"The traffic of Carbon Silicon Data..." Hu Xubo thought about this possibility, and the problem returned to the solution to the traffic interruption situation. Unlike the vigorous transformation to O2O, this way of finding new traffic and new commissions is more "traditional".

But if this is the solution, Qiming Venture Partners does not need to invest so quickly and can observe the situation. After all, it already has shares in Mogujie and has an unlucky guy on its hands.

But Qiming Venture Partners also invested along with Penguin Capital!
Hu Xubo raised a very realistic question: "Penguin's investment in Meilishuo has given it a 15% stake, making it the largest institutional shareholder. If it wants to access Carbon Silicon Data's traffic, the future direction... this could easily lead to disputes."

"Penguin has failed repeatedly in e-commerce over the past few years. If I had to choose, I would only choose Carbon Silicon Data, which is better at mobile Internet." Xu Xin said without hesitation, "It is the largest institutional shareholder, but these shares are not enough for it to decide the direction of Meilishuo. What I am considering now is that not only should there be a unified understanding within Meilishuo, but it is also best for Meilishuo and Mogujie to reduce competition, so that they can better survive in the fierce environment."

Hu Xubo nodded slightly, understanding what Mr. Xu meant: "You mean, Meilishuo and Mogujie can exchange shares? It would be a good idea to form an alliance in a critical moment."

He is also a shareholder of Mogujie. From this point of view, it would definitely be best for the two companies to put aside their competition and develop in a coordinated manner.

Xu Xin shook his head and corrected him, "No, I think that only by completely integrating these two companies can we get out of the predicament. Moreover, after getting out of the predicament, we still need to develop. This is a long-term issue that we need to pay attention to. We can't just ignore it after surviving this period."

Hu Xubo subconsciously said, "It's very difficult to merge. Mogujie and Meilishuo are both AB shares, and Chen Qi and Xu Yirong have a lot of voting rights." Xu Xin borrowed the name again and said, "Mr. Yu said that if the integration is not thorough, it is better not to integrate at all. If we don't operate in this direction, there is no point in Carbon Silicon Data Company to survive."

Hu Xubo silently said this in his heart: If the integration is not thorough, it is better not to integrate at all...

This sounds more ruthless than the alliance he was considering, and seems to be able to solve the problem more fundamentally.

He felt sweat starting to drip from his forehead, and when he reached out his hand to touch it, he was really sweating!

"I think this makes sense. It is precisely because of the difficulty of merging the two companies that Carbon Silicon Data has been reluctant to take action." Xu Xin expressed his ambition, "But this difficulty is not unsolvable. Alibaba's suspension of supply has made everyone very angry. This sudden external pressure may be an opportunity for the two companies to merge."

She looked at Hu Xubo who nodded involuntarily and said seriously: "It's just that we need to convince some people first."

Hu Xubo touched his chin, feeling that President Xu already had a plan in mind: "Who should we convince first?"

"I'm thinking about it too." Xu Xin shook her head. "I haven't talked to Xu Yirong yet, nor have I talked to Sequoia and Jiyuan. As for how Mr. Yu will judge the carbon silicon data, we still need calm thinking and communication."

Hu Xubo smoked another cigarette.

First, Mr. Yu said that O2O in the beauty industry will definitely not work.

Second, it is better not to integrate at all than to have incomplete integration.

Third, Carbon Silicon Data must at least have certain decision-making power over the operational direction.

Hu Xubo had a lot of dealings with Yu Xing. After considering everything, he suddenly said, "I remember Mr. Yu said that the future of vertical e-commerce is difficult."

"Yes, he has said this on many occasions. So, we need to survive this wave first, and the direction of the next wave is also something that we need to determine." Xu Xin said carefully, "From the current situation, Xu Yirong is considering doing O2O, and Mogujie wants to switch to vertical e-commerce. But no matter what the prospects of O2O or vertical e-commerce are, their progress today proves that they did not predict Alibaba's move enough."

Hu Xubo understood what Mr. Xu meant. The judgment of those two people was not accurate enough. The current situation still needed someone who could truly take charge of the overall situation.

Is Mr. Yu such a person?

He does have a lot of experience in managing projects and has a top-notch reputation, but his energy is currently focused on automobiles. As a second choice, can Carbon Silicon Data guide him in the right direction?

Hu Xubo sighed and said, "Boss Xu, didn't you talk to Boss Yu about this before investing?"

"Don't talk about me. What about Hongshun? Didn't he get stuck in it?" Xu Xin shook his head. "He is now focused on Carbon Silicon Group. Investment is risky. When you invested in Mogujie, could you have expected Alibaba to turn against you?"

Hu Xubo did not expect this, so now he can only sigh.

Likewise, he did not expect that the prospect of transforming to O2O would be rejected so easily. As for whether he should be stubborn and give O2O another try...

The last time I didn't trust Yu Xing's judgment, it led to very uncomfortable consequences.

Hu Xubo suddenly asked an unrelated question: "How is Carbon Silicon Group doing now?"

Since Yu Xing founded Carbon Silicon Group and worked hard for it, he has actually become very low-key and has been spending a lot of time in the automotive industry. The previous crackdown on pyramid schemes was also related to automobiles, and many of the activities at Carbon Silicon Data Company were caused by Zhong Zhiling, Zhai Yifei and others.

"He is very busy, and the progress is as expected." Xu Xin said truthfully, "The last time I saw him, he had just received the government's support policy and had established a cooperative engine project with Shenyang Mitsubishi. There is also another one..."

She thought for a moment and continued, "It is said that there is another support policy related to radar frequency. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will come up with a trial method that is beneficial to the millimeter wave radar frequency band."

Xu Xin had heard a lot of what Yu Xing said before, but didn't remember the specific details. He just knew that this time he had just obtained two policy supports.

Hu Xubo was unable to feel the specific progress of Carbon Silicon Group. He just heard about this policy support and felt that... Was Mr. Yu's judgment on entering the automotive industry this time correct?
Then trust his judgment on O2O.

After the discussion, Hu Xubo thought carefully about the current situation and gave his own ideas: "Mr. Xu, we should first talk to Sequoia, GGV, BlueRun, Zero2IPO, Zhaoxin, IDG, Red Falcon, Bertelsmann and others, and then talk to the founders of the two companies. Since OO is not working and both companies need traffic, we have to start talking about this now. There are so many companies, it's not easy to talk."

Excluding Penguin, the two companies involve 10 investment institutions, and it is not an easy task to unify everyone's ideas.

Xu Xin also agreed with this point. It’s not easy to talk about. Right now there are only four companies: IDG, Red Falcon, Today Capital, and Qiming Venture Partners which was just signed today.

As for the remaining 6 companies, we will talk to them one by one with 4 of them having almost unanimous opinions. And as long as we talk to one more company, we will have more than half of the 10 companies.

What exactly can we talk about?

Let’s take today’s conversation with Mr. Hu as an example, plus the number of institutions that have agreed, as well as the impressive traffic from Carbon Silicon Data.

Xu Xin is quite confident about this operation.

She did not express this confidence, but only agreed with Mr. Hu's judgment that he should take action immediately.

Sure enough, within just one week, the number of institutions that agreed to a complete integration reached six.

Xu Xin called Yu Xing to inform him of the latest developments.

Yu Xing was shocked: "All six shareholders agreed to the merger? This... everyone is very... very happy."

This is really unexpected.

Then, he estimated Mr. Xu's enthusiasm and praised him: "Mr. Xu, your lobbying is very successful."

Xu Xin did not mention the fact that he had borrowed Mr. Yu's name, but just smiled and said, "Mr. Yu, don't underestimate me. After all, an inferior horse is still a horse."

Yu Xing didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Boss Xu, I really didn't say that!"

"Anyway, it's said that you said it, so it doesn't matter whether you said it or not." Xu Xin said seriously, "Mr. Yu, we will continue to communicate. I think we can have a substantive discussion about Carbon Silicon Data's entry."

After Yu Xing pondered for a moment, he did not dwell on this matter any more. In fact, the throwing of the red falcon symbolized the official start of things.

He agreed: "Okay, I will let Zhong Zhiling and others discuss how to do this. The role of Carbon Silicon Data Company is actually relatively simple. At this stage, it is just a provider of traffic. Well, the institutions are willing to merge. Now we need to see what Mr. Chen and Mr. Xu think."

The founders of both companies hold more than half of the voting rights, and integration is impossible without their approval.

Xu Xin naturally knew this, and just said: "Mr. Yu, not everyone can handle pressure like you."

Yu Xing thought about how Carbon Silicon Data Company often used the reputation of Capital Today to pressure other companies, and said sincerely: "Mr. Xu, hey, you are sometimes a little strong. I have a good impression of both of them."

He had met Chen Qi from Mogujie and Xu Yirong from Meilishuo when he attended the last Internet conference. Of course, that did not prevent him from mentioning the development goals of the two companies in front of Ma Dian.

Xu Xin also said sincerely: "Mr. Yu, whether it is strong or weak, this time it all comes down to how to get out of the predicament. What else can we talk about if the company is dead? We believe in your operating methods and vision, and we also believe in the development of Carbon Silicon Data in the mobile Internet."

Yu Xing no longer had any more modesty at this point, and simply said, "Okay, let's try it together."

A smile appeared on Xu Xin's face.

The call ends.

Yu Xing held the phone in his hand, thinking about the strength of Xu's style.

Xu Xin picked up the teacup and pondered the reputation of Mr. Yu's operation.

(End of this chapter)