My Age of Investment - Chapter 1528 Always be your strongest backing

   Chapter 1528 will always be your strongest backing

   After welcoming the two of Xia Jingxing into his office, Kalanick hurriedly called his partner Garrett Camp and introduced them to each other.

Garrett is a little curly, Canadian, two years younger than Kalanick, 31 years old this year, and an entrepreneur who has had a small success in his own business. The browser plug-in StumbleUpon developed by his 20-year-old entrepreneur was in Sold to e-commerce giant eBay for $75 million three years ago, achieving personal primary financial freedom.

  Compared to Kalanick, who was stumbling on the entrepreneurial road, Garrett's entrepreneurial life seems to be much smoother, and his first venture was successful.

The real developer of the Uber product is also Garrett. Kalanick joined Uber as a part-time consultant in the early days. He didn’t start to join Uber full-time until last month after seeing the Uber app launch and its great success. company and as CEO.

  The reason why Garrett is willing to abdicate and make a good man is also because of Kalanick's good management ability and indomitable entrepreneurial spirit that can still achieve success despite all kinds of difficulties and obstacles.

   Worried that Daeron Xia might not understand him, Kalanick offered Xia Jingxing a cup of coffee each and began to tell about his past entrepreneurial experience.

  Kalanick has the standard life experience of an Internet tycoon in the United States - he can program in the sixth grade of elementary school, and dropped out of UCLA at the age of 21 to start a business.

The first time I started a business, I founded Scour.com with 6 friends. I wanted to be a search engine like Google, but by accident, I made the American version of Thunder, and then I enjoyed the same experience as Sean Parker. The money suffered, and dozens of Hollywood companies were sued for bankruptcy in the name of copyright infringement.

After thinking about it, Kalanick started his second venture, no longer engaged in a P2P file download resource search engine, and turned into a ToB business model, providing services for enterprises, improving the way corporate files are spread on the Internet, and improving file transmission. speed, while helping enterprises save server expenses.

   This venture is not too successful. First, the partners tried to move to Sony with the development team, and then the company's largest investor, the owner of the NBA Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, was clamoring for withdrawal.

   After a few years of stumbling, the company was sold by Kalanick for $19 million three years ago.

  The two entrepreneurial experiences have accumulated a wealth of entrepreneurial experience and network resources for Kalanick, but in truth, it can only be regarded as a small game.

   However, these two stories were told through Kalanick's mouth, which was so hot that it was impossible to underestimate it.

"Darren, did you know? At that time, 29 companies in the whole of Hollywood joined together to sue me, claiming $250 million from me, but after I fought hard, I finally reached an out-of-court settlement for only $1 million. "

  Xia Jingxing nodded lightly, "Hollywood has always been like this, YouTube has also been sued, and the amount claimed is dozens of times higher than yours."

   Kalanick laughed, "But you're better than me, filling the appetite of the greedy gang with a Hulu video."

Xia Jingxing said with a smile: "You're not bad. In the first few months, I didn't dare to go to the cinema to watch a movie. I was afraid that my blood pressure would soar when I saw the names of several production companies. Later, I slowly walked out of the shadow of failure, and I accepted it calmly. Everything, and vowed to "revenge" the Hollywood company, you have also succeeded, haven't you?"

Kalanick smiles, his revenge isn't very clever, he just turned 23 of the 29 Hollywood companies that sued him into clients of his second startup, got those companies a little bloody, and corrupted them from him The $1 million that went away came back.

   These extraordinary experiences fall into the eyes of investors, which is naturally a big plus.

   Aside from what he knew about Kalanick in his previous life, Xia Jingxing was very impressed by the two entrepreneurial experiences he had told him.

   This is an entrepreneur who knows how to be flexible and flexible, and has a good sense of the market.

   In addition, he suffered a lot from the two entrepreneurships, and he has long sharpened his nerves, which is very suitable for fighting the tough battles associated with the O2O entrepreneurial model.

  Xia Jingxing put away his smile and said seriously: "Tell me about Uber, I heard that this is a business idea you came up with when you two went to Paris to attend a meeting and couldn't get a taxi?"

   Garrett turned his head and said, "Yes, at that time we thought about creating a time-sharing limousine service that can be ordered with an app, because there is such a demand in the market, waiting for us to meet it.

   Immediately after returning to San Francisco from Paris, I bought the domain name UberCab.com. "

  Xia Jingxing went on to ask: "Do you only plan to be in the luxury car market? When we just came here, we ordered a BMW 7 Series. The fare is quite expensive. The starting price of the car is 8 US dollars, and the unit price per mile is 4.9 US dollars.

   In my opinion, this will affect Uber becoming mainstream in the ride-hailing market. "

   Facing Xia Jingxing's question, Kalanick did not panic at all, and replied calmly, "This is exactly the same as what Tesla is doing."

  Xia Jingxing gave Kalanick a faint look and motioned him to continue speaking.

   "Tesla chose to start with high-end models, the purpose is to build a brand, after occupying the minds of users, it will gradually launch low-end models. This is a top-down brand promotion process."

  Kalanick paused and smiled confidently, "Uber is also doing the same thing, launching our online car-hailing brand with high-end services, so that more people pay attention to Uber and online car-hailing.

  When the time is right, we will gradually launch other mid-to-low-end models, and then expand Uber’s service territory to other cities across the United States. "

  Xia Jingxing smiled, "It's a good choice. Have you considered ordering 100,000 Model S in the future? I can decide to give you a discount."

   Kalanick shrugged, "Very good advice, why not?

   However, for the time being, Uber does not have such strength.

   In addition, the online car-hailing drivers we are recruiting are all self-provided vehicles.

   Right now, Uber’s primary goal is to expand and expand again, so it can only choose an asset-light operation model.

   The model you mentioned, Darren, is too heavy, and it may not be possible to try to a certain extent until Uber develops to a mature stage. "

  Xia Jingxing nodded slightly and said, "Have you heard of driverless cars?"

   "The one that Google X Labs is doing? Very cool! But it's too far away for Uber now, and we're currently thinking about how to make the ride-hailing business bigger."

  Xia Jingxing said: "Tesla is exploring this business, and it may be possible to cooperate with Uber in the future."

   Kalanick smiled, "Of course, we welcome all partners who can help Uber."

The corner of Xia Jingxing's mouth rose slightly. Uber is an investment project that he must win. Not only can he reap huge financial returns, but more importantly, it can help Tesla train and test driverless algorithm technology. Faster speed to commercialize driverless cars.

The only shortcoming of    is that both companies are American companies and cannot tightly control them.

   However, once the Tesla + Uber cooperation plan is explored, China can stage a "CopyToChina".

   In his business map, you can find many companies that are benchmarked against the United States.

   For example:

   The domestic holding group benchmarked against Facebook;

   Envision Capital China benchmarks Envision Capital USA;

   Fuxing Auto Group benchmarks Tesla;

  Hongmeng benchmarks Android;

  …

   Due to unspeakable factors, business mergers are very unrealistic, so we can only develop one model and two teams from China and the United States.

   At present, this arrangement is quite appropriate, taking into account the two major benefits of industry safety and financial investment returns.

   "Daren, I would like to ask you about the situation of China's taxi market. Is it difficult to get a taxi?"

  Kalanick began to ask questions on his own initiative, seemingly casually asking about the situation of the Chinese taxi market, but Xia Jingxing could see that the other party was a drunkard and not drinking.

   was just a newly hatched chick, and he began to focus on the big fat in the Chinese market.

   Considering many factors, Xia Jingxing definitely couldn't be an accomplice of UJC.

   So he said in a joking tone: "Chinese taxi drivers are not very good-natured. It is possible to strike the market or smash the online car-hailing car."

   Garrett was dumbfounded, "Didn't the media report that the Chinese people are friendly and kind?"

  Xia Jingxing laughed when he heard this, thinking that you shouldn't be watching fake BBC news.

   "The taxi industry is related to the employment of many people. If it is affected too much, the government's attitude is hard to say.

  Let me tell you a Chinese allusion, called the connection of clothing and food for millions of workers…”

After listening to the interesting story told by Xia Jingxing, Kalanick and Garrett were taken aback for a moment, the former nodded and said, "Daren, you are right, the employment rate is an issue that every consul must pay attention to. .

   It seems that we cannot easily enter the Chinese market, so as not to fall into a quagmire and slow down the pace of Uber's development. "

  Xia Jingxing said with a smile: "Yes, you should give priority to winning the developed markets in Europe and the United States, this is the most valuable market, don't lose watermelon to pick up sesame seeds.

   Moreover, it is not as easy as imagined to win the American market, the North American market and even the European market.

   Safety issues of online car-hailing, boycotts and protests from taxi drivers, different laws and regulations in various states, competitors in the market...

   This lot of troubles requires you to resolve them one by one, which will test your decision-making and ability as entrepreneurs. "

   Being guided by Xia Jingxing like this, both of them stopped talking about the Chinese market, fearing that they were too lofty to be misunderstood by Daeron Xia, the big money lord.

   "Okay, Darren, we will listen carefully to your suggestion."

   Kalanick grinned, "Let's talk about something more practical."

  Xia Jingxing nodded, then gave Ricky a look.

  Ricky took out a paper agreement from his briefcase and slapped it on the table.

  Kalanick picked up the agreement and after a few glances with his partner Garrett, he couldn't help asking: "What does this mean? Why is the investment amount blank?"

  Xia Jingxing lay back, stretched his waist and said, "You fill in the column of investment amount by yourself. I only have one request. Uber has to give up 30% of the shares in this round of financing."

  Kalanick swallowed and looked at the "heavy" investment agreement in his hand, and found that the rhetoric he had prepared was useless.

   Can you fill it in casually?

   Kalanick was tempted to fill in a $50 million bill, but he resisted the urge.

   Although Daeron Xia is bold, it does not mean that they can treat the fourth richest man in the world as a fool.

   This may be a pre-investment test?

   "Daren, our plan for this round of financing is to raise $1.25 million, diluting 25% of the shares."

   Speaking of this, Kalanick glanced at Xia Jingxing and found that the other party was calm and a little nervous in his heart, and hurriedly added: "But since you are so sincere, then we can dilute the equity by 5% more."

After   , Kalanick buried his head and filled in a series of numbers, and then handed the document back to Ricky.

  Ricky glanced at it, did not speak, and handed the document to Xia Jingxing again.

   Seeing the figure of US$1.6 million filled in the document, Xia Jingxing smiled, "Okay, that's it!"

   Seeing that Xia Jingxing's attitude was so understated, Kalanick couldn't help but feel a little regretful in his heart, he knew that he should have filled in an extra zero.

   But this is the end, regret is useless, he can't bear to let Daeron Xia Qi run away.

  Xia Jingxing glanced at Kalanick and guessed the complex mentality of the other party.

Kalanick still has the ability, but his character is really not good. He is a recognized egoist in the industry. He maliciously hires passengers to place large-scale orders for competitors, and then cancels the orders; pressured the company's internal sexual harassment incident, and finally made it happen. His notoriety caused the investor Lao Sun to be swept out of the house.

   It’s just that all of this happened after Uber got bigger.

   The current Kalanick is not qualified to negotiate conditions with himself! So it is not surprising that the performance is more honest.

   But if Kalanick is really a man of his own accord, he will suffer a lot.

  Xia Jingxing looked at Kalanick who was a little depressed and said, "Envision Capital has also launched a new service from the second half of this year, which all invested companies can enjoy."

  Kalanick raised his head and looked at Xia Jingxing puzzled.

   "We signed an exclusive cooperation with Facebook, and each company invested by Envision Capital can enjoy one free Facebook advertising service, that is to say, the advertising bill is paid by Vision Capital."

  Kalanick's eyes widened, "Can Uber also enjoy this free advertising service?"

   "Of course, but the advertising area is limited to the market that has been developed, that is, only advertising in San Francisco."

   Kalanick was overjoyed, "Great, we've wanted to advertise for a long time, but the advertising fee is too expensive, I'm a little reluctant."

   Garrett was also very happy, he had no idea that Vision Capital would have such a service.

   But if you think about the relationship between Vision Capital and Facebook, you can understand. He guessed that the advertising fee paid by Vision Capital must be discounted.

   However, even if it is more favorable, it is still a real payment. It seems that the venture capital industry is becoming more and more inward...

  Xia Jingxing smiled slightly, the mere advertisement fee did not cost a few dollars, and it was something that was beneficial without cost.

   In addition, this move can also take advantage of the potential of Envision Capital. While enjoying the free advertising service of Facebook, each invested startup company can clearly feel the huge resources in the hands of Envision Capital.

   is also a big advantage for Facebook, which is equivalent to easily developing an advertiser. When these startups taste the sweetness of advertising and later get a larger amount of financing, will they still be stingy with advertising?

   Seeing the satisfied expressions of the two, Xia Jingxing also smiled, "You two, getting the investment from Vision Capital means that you will become a family in the future.

   Don’t be reluctant to spend money, and expand for me boldly. Vision Capital will always be your strongest backing. "

  Kalanick and Garrett smiled reservedly. They were no longer rookies in entrepreneurship, and they both thought long-term.

   This round of financing has already diluted 30% of the shares. If Uber later accepts investment from Vision Capital, or even an exclusive investment from Vision Capital, then everyone will no longer be as close as they are now.

   (end of this chapter)