Ordinary Road 2010

Lin Yi couldn't help complaining: "You really think highly of us. Do you have to make a special trip to get back with such small arms and legs after traveling thousands of miles? Factory A's heart is really as big as a pinprick."

But his question is: "Although Factory A is regarded as the Big Three in the industry, this is the United States. Is it their turn to talk?"

Liu Jianni immediately answered his confusion: "Cai Chongxin told those institutions that anyone who invests in Wanli Travel cannot get the IPO share of Factory A."

Forget about it.

The B2B business of Factory A was listed in Hong Kong City before, but the stock price has not been satisfactory, so it was privatized in 2012.

In addition to Zhifubao, which was divested this time, Hong Kong City was the first consideration at the beginning for the overall listing of Factory A. However, due to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's adherence to the principle of "same shares, same rights", this opportunity was missed.

Because the real major shareholders of Factory A are Softbank in the neighboring country to the east, and Yahoo in the United States.

If the standard of equal rights for the same shares is strictly followed, Jack Ma and his Eighteen Arhats will immediately lose control and be kicked out.

However, technology companies have to absorb a large amount of financing in the early stage, and there is no way to avoid the sale of equity. The conventional method is to design it as AB shares to ensure the rights of the founding team and financial investors.

When dividends are paid, the two can enjoy the same economic rights and interests, but in terms of internal management, the shares held by the founding team enjoy the so-called "super voting rights" that exceed ordinary shares.

Many well-known technology companies have adopted this kind of equity structure, so the proportion of equity held by founders is only a single digit, which can also guarantee absolute control.

Wanli Travel will be listed in the future, and there is a high probability that it will also engage in AB shares.

The situation of Factory A is not the same. They have created a unique partnership system, so there is no need to elaborate.

In short, they chose NASDAQ in the United States as the listing location this time, and it is now in the final stage. If there is no accident, they can ring the bell soon.

"Cai Chongxin should be in the United States now. The IPO of Factory A will break the historical record of the largest fundraising scale in the US stock market, and it is the focus of the market during this period."

"Furthermore, the listing price of Factory A is relatively low, leaving enough profit margins for investors, so the share is very sought-after, and all financial institutions want to enter the market to get a share."

It can only be said that it is worthy of being Factory A, and it still has the familiar arrogant and domineering appearance.

With the current size of Wanlixing, Lin Yi couldn't think of challenging Factory A at all.

Lin Yi is not particularly envious, now is the harvest time for Factory A. From 1999 to 2014, they have walked this road for a full 15 years.

If Wanli Travel is still there in 15 years, Lin Yi will not mind meeting Shanshui with Factory A.

At this moment, he can only sincerely ask his own CFO: "What can we do now?"

"No need to do anything."

Of course, Liu Jianni did not want to give up, but still analyzed very calmly: "Factory A is strong, but it is just a period of time before the listing, and it is not their turn to call the shots in the US capital market."

"Although we already know about it, we don't need to take it too seriously. There will always be organizations outside of Factory A's control who will be interested in us."

"The worst result is nothing more than waiting until Factory A goes on the market before we can improve, but this period of time will not be too long."

"Because the IPO of Factory A is not worrying about money at all, but it is an attractive meat and potatoes. There are too many hands from all parties to balance the interests."

"I'm even a little skeptical that if Cai Chongxin said that he would not give any shares to those who invested in Wanli Travel, did he deliberately reject some unwanted funds in our name."

Well, Liu Jianni couldn't help but make a cold joke at the end.

Lin Yi adopted Liu Jianni's suggestion. Although he encountered an inexplicable attack from Factory A, he did not change his plan because of this.

After wandering around the east coast, they returned to San Francisco again, because the venture capital institutions they had contacted before sent them investment intentions, and they had more in-depth contacts with each other.

It's normal to talk about real money for several rounds, and it's rare to see a stupid big money who pays for a disagreement.

Just as Liu Jianni guessed, the listing of Factory A is certainly a major event in the capital market recently, but the taxi-hailing industry is also a particularly popular target in the venture capital circle this year.

Lin Yi and Liu Jianni flew back and forth in the United States and stayed for about two weeks. When they left, they still took a few investment letters of intent.

"Although it is worse than expected, we still have time. After returning to China, I will look for a group of investors from other backgrounds. The last round of Tudu Taxi was found in China..."

It may be because she brought her boss to the U.S. but failed to achieve her original goal, and directly put together the platter of this round of financing, so Liu Jianni kept talking about her next plan when she went back.

But Lin Yi didn't really listen to her very seriously. He was sitting in the departure hall of San Francisco International Airport, looking out the window at the behemoth taking off.

Large aircraft is also a high-end manufacturing category known as the crown of industry, but Lin Yi is not concerned about that.

He looked at the shadow of the plane falling on the ground, and thought that BAT was like these big steel birds, and the shadows under their wings were everywhere.

There is no escape.

Chapter 446 The Airport is a Place with a Story

At airports in the United States, especially in San Francisco, where there is a relatively large concentration of Chinese, a man and a woman with two faces of yellow race appear in an unremarkable combination.

And when two such pairs appeared in the same space at the same time, they found and recognized each other almost immediately in the crowd.

The pair are naturally Lin Yi and Liu Jianni.

The other pair also knew each other, but it was the first time they met these two people appearing together in this way openly.

It was Cheng Wei and Liu Qing.

Among the four people, two men were the first to discover each other, that is, Lin Yi and Cheng Wei, but they hesitated at the same time and did not greet each other immediately.

On the contrary, after seeing each other, Liu Jianni and Liu Qing, their respective partners, greeted each other without any hesitation, and walked towards each other without any hesitation.

"Hi, Jenny."

"Long time no see, Jean."

Jean is Liu Qing's English name. Obviously, even if the relationship between Wanli Chuxing and Tutu Taxi is not considered, the two have known each other before.

Now that the two very professional ladies had already set an example, they chatted up like real old friends in this foreign country, Lin Yi and Cheng Wei did not hesitate, and shook hands in unison.

"When did you come?"

Lin Yi didn't ask Cheng Wei why he appeared in the United States, because this question was redundant, and of course it was the same reason as theirs.

"Just here, how about you?"

"We've had it for a while, and we're getting ready to go home."

Lin Yi didn't lie about his itinerary, and Cheng Wei didn't doubt it either.

Now that Lin Yi and Liu Jianni have left, it means that their financing trip in the United States has been completed. Cheng Wei is of course very curious and concerned about their results, but he will not ask.

On the other side, Liu Jianni and Liu Qing also completed the greetings between the ladies. The four of them got together to talk, and Lin Yi first expressed his congratulations:

"Congratulations, Boss Cheng. I was very surprised when I first saw the news for gaining such a heroic general like Mr. Liu."

"Of course, I also want to congratulate Mr. Liu for finding a home like a taxi ride. I haven't forgotten Mr. Liu's previous teachings. This can be regarded as setting an example and leaving a multinational company to do my best for the revitalization of the national industry."

Before Lin Yi and Liu Jianni went abroad, the news that Liu Qing joined Dudu Taxi had already spread, and it was not an accident to see him and Cheng Wei here.

However, Liu Qing, who was born in Goldman Sachs, held the position of COO instead of CFO in Dudu.

Cheng Weixin said, I believe you ghost, obviously when they met last time to discuss the private car business, Lin Yi had a mysterious look of knowing everything.

It was still Liu Qing who answered impeccably: "Are you burying me? Jian Ni has known me for many years and is one of the best investors I know. I don't even know how Boss Lin persuaded her. "

There was no need for Lin Yi to speak, Liu Jianni replied by herself: "As an investor, I see too many projects, and I can't help but come out to try my hand. Lin Yi and his whole team have a special vigor that infects me very much. Reminds me of what it's like to be young."

"What about you, Jean?"

Liu Qing smiled slightly: "I also think that Will's team is very loving and the atmosphere is very good, but what impresses me the most is their persistence and dedication to their dreams, which makes people unable to resist joining them."

It was impossible for these two groups of people to get together to talk about any useful truth, so they had to politely say haha.

Lin Yi and Cheng Wei looked at each other, and they already understood the common opinion of each other:

In terms of hypocrisy, they are really inferior to these two women.

Then the situation among the four quickly evolved into that Liu Jianni and Liu Qing chatted non-stop cordially and enthusiastically, while Lin Yi and Cheng Wei had a relationship.

"Have you experienced Uber's products and services in the United States?"

Cheng Wei finally thought of a topic that both parties could talk about, and he thought the answer to this question should be taken for granted.

It is said that Cheng Wei himself does not even have a driver's license, and after founding Dudu Taxi, he will always only use his own app to go out, which can be regarded as a product experience.

When he came back to the United States this time, whether it was because of "learning advanced international experience" or thinking about "exploring the enemy's situation", he absolutely must not miss the experience of Uber.

Well, but Lin Yi didn't.

"Jianni is very familiar with the United States, and she arranged the itinerary very well, so we didn't use Uber to call a car, and it was not good for investors to see."

Of course, this is just a theory, and investors will not be standing at the gate waiting for them. Normally, there is no chance to find out whether they arrived by Uber.

Cheng Wei was quite surprised that Lin Yi didn't try out the products of his rivals. You must know that he himself often uses taxis for thousands of miles, and when he finds that there is anything better than taxi taxis, he will go back to Zhang Bo to discuss improvements.

He guessed in his heart whether Lin Yi was a little swollen because he temporarily occupied the No. [-] position in the industry. After all, this guy is young. If so, it would be good news for him.

"The way Uber is used in the United States is still different from that in China, because mobile payment is not so developed here, so they bind credit cards."

"However, compared with the traditional taxi-hailing mode, the advantage is still obvious. You can walk when you get off the car, and you don't have to worry about things like getting change."

"In addition, we all take high-end luxury cars, and the fare is higher than that of ordinary taxis. This is a bit similar to our special car."

Cheng Wei shared some of his experience in using it. Of course, he had some reservations, and he didn't intend to exchange information with Lin Yi.

The private car business they promoted together has actually come to fruition, and Lin Yi already knew about it from his senior sister, so they didn't talk on this occasion.

Lin Yi didn't use Uber because he underestimated the enemy?

of course not.

Cheng Wei used Uber because he had just met Kalanick and didn't know much about this new opponent. He hoped to accumulate some experience for his future confrontation with Kalanick.

But for Lin Yi, he knows better than Kalanick himself the development of Uber in the next few years, and there is no need to try so hard.

There is another reason.

He said without hesitation: "That guy Kalanick is really annoying. After seeing him once, I never want to see him a second time. I decided to give up when I thought of using Uber to send him money."

Cheng Wei was not only surprised by these words, but also attracted Liu Jianni and Liu Qing from the other side.

Although this is a private occasion, it is relatively rare for the founder of such a star start-up company to complain about being another founder of a competitor.

But Cheng Wei's surprise lasted only for a short while, and then he actually joined.

"That's right, that guy is so awesome. I don't know where he got his energy from. When he ran over and said he wanted to buy me the other day, if I didn't have poor English and worried that I wouldn't be able to scold him, I would have fucked him long ago."

Liu Jianni and Liu Qing were a little dumbfounded. They found that their two bosses still had some things in common, for example, they both had a lot of resentment towards the domineering Kalanick.

Like a little childish.

When we talked about Kalanick wantonly at the airport that day, it was probably the moment when Lin Yi and Cheng Wei were most like friends.

Chapter 447 The Scumbag's Gift

Lin Yi didn't tell Cheng Wei that they were disturbed by Cai Chongxin when they were discussing financing in the United States, otherwise they could still complain about Ma Jack together.

Dudu was not invested by Factory A, so of course this kind of "care" was unavoidable.

Let him and Liu Qing find out this surprise by themselves. Presumably Cheng Wei is also mentally prepared. After all, no one knows the style of his former employer better than him, a veteran who has been in Factory A for many years.

You're welcome.

This encounter ended with Cheng Wei and Liu Qing leaving first. Lin Yi didn't ask where they were going to fly, but just said with emotion after they left:

"Is the airport so small? When I came here, I met a high school classmate, and when I went back, I met a competitor."

Now there is only Liu Jianni by my side, so she is naturally talking to her. This one seems to be very experienced and shared:

"If you've ever lived a life of flying one or two hundred times a year, you'll find that it's not unusual to see anyone in the airport."

As a code farmer in his previous life, Lin Yi had almost no need for business trips. In his current life, although he ran around because of starting a business, he did not have such an intensive itinerary.

Only the consulting companies and investment banks where Liu Jianni and Liu Qing started their careers are the real "flying trapeze" and high-frequency customers of airlines.

Liu Jianni then asked: "Can't you see that you and Cheng Wei can get along so well? Just now, Liu Qing and I worked so hard to ease the atmosphere, just because I was afraid that you two would fight on the spot."

This is of course a joke, but Lin Yi also admits that he and Cheng Wei are no match for these two professionals in terms of proficiency in social skills.

"You're mistaken. Cheng Wei and I have nothing else to talk about. Perhaps scolding Kalanick is the only common topic we can find."

Liu Jianni reluctantly accepted this explanation, and they didn't go further on this topic, because before Lin Yi left, he suddenly remembered that he almost forgot the task that Gu Caiwei had given him.

Before going abroad, he promised to bring Gu Caiwei a gift. Fortunately, they still have plenty of time to board the plane, and there are many shops in the airport.

Lin Yi really didn't have much experience in buying gifts, so he decisively sought professional help.

Although this is not an official business, Liu Jianni did not refuse: "What kind of gift you choose depends on who you plan to give it to."

Lin Yi said succinctly: "Young girl."

Liu Jianni had some guesses in her mind, and continued to ask: "You definitely don't want to send some simple tourist souvenirs, so is there a budget limit?"