Ordinary Road 2010

Liu Qing has been in Dudu for more than half a year. In addition to taking office alone, he is not completely alone when he talks about the heavy financing of 7 million US dollars and the merger of Dudu and Kuaidu.

She has been advocating "regularization" and "professionalization" within the company. Specifically, she recruited a group of "elites" from investment banks and consulting companies to form her own team.

Dudu's CTO, Zhang Bo, is very experienced and reports directly to Cheng Wei, so she, the president, is out of control for the time being.

Cheng Wei affirmed: "We are all ready, this time we must make a blockbuster, make a big turnaround, and let everyone realize that traveling thousands of miles is out of date."

Liu Qing doesn't have such a strong obsession with this, as she has shown, she has always been a person with a strong sense of "cooperation".

If Cheng Wei could convince Lin Yi last time, she would be happy to see it succeed. Wouldn't it be good for everyone to make money together? Why must we compete?

It's useless to think too much, now she and Cheng Wei have the same goal.

"Whether it is Wanli Travel or Uber, the current subsidies are very large. If we want to open up the situation as soon as possible after the launch of our express bus business, we must have greater investment."

"Considering that the financial strength of Wanli Travel is not as good as ours, Uber has previously announced that it will invest 10 billion US dollars in the region. In fact, we have an advantage in this regard, so there will be a lot of room for choice."

"If we want to make a big splash this time, I suggest that we just do it in one step, and it's free."

This tone is really not small, but Cheng Wei was not surprised, obviously this is not the first time they have discussed this matter, and it is a serious plan.

"I think it's okay. If you spend 10 billion yuan and can increase the business volume of Express to millions in a short period of time, it's totally worth it. What do you think?"

When Cheng Wei said these words, he also felt a little emotional. He spent a winter in the capital in order to attract [-] drivers.

Only half a year after the launch of the private car business, there were only 40 drivers. Although the positioning of the express business is quite different, this attempt itself proves that the tuk-tuk taxi service is no longer what it used to be.

Of course Liu Qing had no objection, they perfected the plan.

In terms of cities, they selected 12 key cities across the country, basically covering all major areas, and can further sink after being rolled out.

In terms of time, they choose once or twice a week, that is, "Orange Monday, free express train rides for all". Kilometers, basically meet the needs of commuting.

In addition, Monday is the first day after the weekend. For office workers, they generally feel irritable. Getting a free ride at this time will make it easier to get their favor.

In short, this activity has been widely welcomed after it was launched, after all, no one would dislike free things.

Dudu Kuaidu prepared for one month, that is, four weeks, but in fact it only took two weeks to complete the goal, that is, to increase the order volume to one million.

They noticed Cheng Wei's actions as soon as they left Linyi, because Wanli Travel always regards Dudu as its biggest competitor.

"It's completely free. Although it's only once a week, it's already a lot of money. It seems that the current speed of spending money is too slow."

Lin Yi said with emotion, Liu Jianni is much more pragmatic than him:

"We can also come up with a budget of one billion yuan, but the matter of the next round of financing will be more urgent in this way, and you have to be prepared."

"Sister, what do you think?"

Lin Yi asked her opinion habitually.

Li Moyan replied clearly: "Dudu started to increase the subsidy, which is actually a kind of persecution. We don't have much choice."

"But under the current circumstances, we can't spend money following their ideas. I think we can do more explorations in diversified businesses."

"After all, it has been more than half a year since the last time we took out the private car business. Except for the express car in front of us, everything else has stabilized."

Lin Yi understood what she meant, so he made a decision on the spot:

"I understand what you mean. We have to follow Dudu's 10 billion. The senior sister will decide how to use this money."

"How much money is needed, we will figure out a way."

Chapter 492 "Father's Love Like a Mountain"

Who can Lin Yi ask for money?

So far, Wanli Travel is considered to be the go-getter of the Xiongchang family, so his number one beneficiary father is naturally the middle-aged handsome Li Robin.

Robin hasn't been having a great time lately.

At the macro level, by 2015, the gap between Xiong Factory and Goose Factory, which had successfully transformed into the mobile Internet, became more and more obvious.

As for the specific business level, the O2O business that Xiongchang placed high hopes on has not improved.

It cannot be said that there are no achievements at all. Xiongchang has invested a lot in the field of group buying and food delivery, and other competitors have not paid attention to it at all. Apart from the top two in the industry, it firmly occupies the third position.

But the embarrassing thing is that the top two in the group buying market are each group and Dianping, and the top two in the takeaway market are each group and hungry? They are all closely related to Factory A and Goose Factory.

Another change is that Dianping.com has received a new round of financing of 8.5 million US dollars, which has exceeded the D round of each group three months ago.

Coupled with the 3.5 million US dollars obtained by Hungry.me, Goose Factory has the upper hand in this round of financing.

Somewhat embarrassingly, they didn't seem to regard the rich and powerful Xiongchang as their first target, but rushed to encircle and suppress every regiment.

Ignoring is the greatest humiliation.

Li Luobin still welcomes Lin Yi's arrival. Wanli Travel is the only non-staff member in Xiongchang's 020 team, but it is also the only one that has ever occupied a leading position in the market.

Now temporarily lagging behind Dudu, strictly speaking, it can be said to be a non-war crime. After all, the key step for Dudu to achieve overtaking is to merge Kuaidu.

"How is your side now? I think the subsidy war for the express train business has started again recently?"

When Li Robin mentioned the subsidy war this time, his mentality was much calmer, because it was the first time he encountered it at the beginning of last year, and he had never encountered it with his years of industry experience.

However, since the taxi-hailing industry took the lead, the group-buying food delivery industry soon realized that the subsidy was very powerful, so they have followed suit in the past year.

This is also the reason why their financing amount is higher round by round.

This time, because he didn't need to pay half of the price from Xiongchang's wallet, Li Luobin didn't know the details so clearly, but he still read the briefing.

Having said that, Xiongchang Wallet ushered in the peak of development during the first subsidy war, but it is now showing a decline due to the usage scenarios. Li Robin can fully feel the drag of the payment business on the entire O2O strategy.

"Yes, although the momentum of this round of subsidy war is not as good as last time, it's because consumers are used to it. In fact, as the business scale continues to expand, our expenditure will be higher than last time."

"I came here this time because there are many places to seek help, and only Xiongchang can help thousands of miles to travel."

Li Robin was mentally prepared for this, he waved his hand: "Say it."

Lin Yi also prepared for a long time before he came: "The first thing, Dudu has launched an enterprise version of the business, which is to allow those users who can return to the company with a receipt for reimbursement after taking a taxi to use it directly in the name of the company. .”

"The advantage of this is that it can save them from the cumbersome process of handling bills and reimbursement, as well as the financial pressure that they don't need to advance their own money, and it can also facilitate fund management for the company."

"It's not very high in terms of business proportion, but it is an attraction for large corporate customers with strong payment capabilities."

"In this case, the company's choice will replace the choice of individual users, so Wanli Travel is planning to follow up. I think Xiongchang should be the first customer we serve besides ourselves."

The number of employees of Xiong Factory itself is not too large, but this is an action with obvious symbolic meaning, which can demonstrate the "special relationship" between the two companies internally and externally.

This is just a trivial matter, Li Robin nodded simply: "No problem."

In fact, this matter is just a foreshadowing, Lin continued to work hard: "The second thing is that we want to borrow the resources of Xiongchang."

"When we established the safety committee, we had an idea to introduce artificial intelligence technology to ensure travel safety."

"In addition, our technical department still has many directions for continuous research and improvement, such as how to maximize the overall efficiency through the matching between vehicles and passengers, and how to choose routes to achieve the optimal itinerary."

"In fact, these problems have been solved in the process of our cooperation with the LBS business department, but I want to continue to deepen the cooperation on this basis."

"Specifically, I hope that Wanli Travel and Xiongchang will jointly establish a smart transportation research institute, not only to tackle the problems I mentioned just now, but also to research all technologies that can improve traffic conditions."

Xiongchang's strong technical reserves are naturally Lin Yi's coveted for a long time, and Li Luobin also has the heart to support this issue, because the data generated by Wanli Travel every day is also very important to Xiongchang.

Of course, the investment made by Xiongchang cannot all be used as wedding clothes for Wanlixing, so they still discussed carefully about the research direction and how to use the results.

In terms of name, because it was jointly established by two companies, Lin Yi suggested not to name it after any one company, but to call it "Smart Mobility Joint Research Institute".

Li Luobin didn't have any special obsessions in this regard, and he didn't intend to overwhelm him with his status as a shareholder, so it was settled so simply.

"Who is in charge of this research institute?"

Li Luobin's original idea was that Lin Yi didn't have enough technical masters at all, and even the CTO was dug from his own hands.

Because in the IT industry, such people are too expensive to be hired by thousands of miles, so most of them still have to be hired by Xiongchang.

But he miscalculated, although Lin Yi didn't have anyone with him, he still knew someone.

"I suggest that Professor Li Feifei from Beijing Electric Power Co., Ltd. be the chief scientist of this research institute. She is an expert in this field in China and has a certain international reputation."

These are the basic conditions that Lin Yi said, and this female professor may not be the only one who meets them. Of course, the key factor he considers is the love between them.

Li Robin himself really attaches great importance to technology, so he has heard of these well-known professors in the academic world, including Professor Li Feifei.

He knew that Lin Yi was born in Jingdian, and the choice of Professor Li Feifei may be due to some relationship between the two, but at least this person is not an insider who has traveled thousands of miles. It would be an exaggeration to say that she is from Lin Yi.

In the cooperation between the two parties, Wanli Travel is of course in a relatively unfavorable position, so it is understandable that there are certain demands on the candidates.

Li Luobin did not rush to agree, he proposed: "How about this, please invite Professor Li Feifei to come over another day, together with our respective technical personnel, the three parties will discuss the affairs of the research institute in detail."

This matter cannot be settled with a slap on the head, and Lin Yi has not discussed it with Professor Li Feifei before, and he plans to go to the school to find her after leaving Xiongchang.

"There is one last thing. In view of the fierce subsidy war, we urgently need the next round of financing to supplement it. I hope Xiongchang can also provide financial support."

Chapter 493

Li Luobin had expected that Lin Yi came to ask him for money, and he also understood the intention of Lin Yi to say the other two things just now.

Whether it is the introduction of Wanli Travel’s enterprise version or the joint establishment of a research institute by the two companies, it can be seen as a sign that the two companies have deepened their relationship and Wanli Travel has moved closer to Xiongchang.

Now that he is the leading brother, it is right for the younger brother to contribute money and efforts, but he should ask clearly in advance.

"When will your current funding situation be used, what is the plan for the next round of financing, and when will it be in place?"

For Lin Yi, if he had a choice, he would try his best to take other investors' money instead of Li Luobin's.

But under the background of the restart and intensification of the current subsidy war, there is no room for him to pick and choose. No matter who gets the money, he must take as much as possible.

Lin Yi couldn't stop talking at this time: "The company's current financial situation is expected to bottom out in June, so a new round of financing must be in place before then."

"We hope to mobilize the original shareholders to make an additional round of investment to show their confidence in the company's development. On this basis, continuing to raise funds may be a relatively smooth plan."

"Among them, Xiongchang has always been our strategic investor and the most important cornerstone of the development of Wanli Travel, so we hope to set an example."

In fact, Lin Yi can have a lot of arguments. For example, as far as he knows, Dudu Kuaidou will receive strong support from both Factory A and Goose Factory during this round of financing.

Obviously, they hope to end the long-standing war in the taxi market as soon as possible, and this is why the two major manufacturers originally agreed to merge.

However, Lin Yi is still very particular about propriety. Although he and Xiongchang have a mutually beneficial relationship, it is a bit too low-key to say that he wants to ask for help from others, but there is no doubt that Li Robin is his beneficiary father.

"We'll vote."

Li Robin simply gave an affirmative reply, and he should have thought about it a long time ago: "How much do you want to get?"

Lin Yi said: "Based on the scale of the business, the valuation of Wanli Travel this round should be between 80 billion and 100 billion, but we don't seem to be too entangled in this, because investors have other targets to choose from. "

"The primary goal of this round of financing is the amount, and we will try our best to absorb all the funds that are interested in it, in case the need for further continuation and escalation of the subsidy war."

Lin Yi actually has a goal. According to the current valuation, he can get financing of about 20 billion US dollars at most. If possible, he is willing to sell more shares.

But he didn't say anything about this matter, it still depends on the financing situation, he didn't want to disclose it to Li Luobin prematurely and affect the other party's expectations.

Li Robin nodded: "Now is a critical moment for the industry. Judging from the situation of the last subsidy war, the industry may change at any time. You just let go and do it."

"I will give you a detailed answer to Xiongchang's investment amount after internal discussions within the company, and it will definitely not delay your round of financing."

Lin Yi knew that Li Luobin was too optimistic again. In the round of subsidy war in early 2014, apart from his own premeditated plan, Dudu and Kuaidu were caught off guard to varying degrees.

But this time, everyone, including the newcomer Uber, has come prepared, and has already made sufficient budgets in terms of funds.

Judging from the current progress of this financing arms race, the fire cannot be stopped unless it burns billions of dollars.

Of course he wouldn't say these words. In short, after getting Li Robin's verbal promise, today's trip was not in vain.

……

Leaving Xiongchang, Lin Yi's next stop was back to Beijing University of Electronic Science and Technology, where he had been away for a long time.

Although today was a temporary visit and no appointment was made in advance, Lin Yi was no longer what he used to be, and he still saw his target immediately.

"Long time no see, Professor Li."

"Boss Lin hasn't come to school for a long time. It shouldn't be a coincidence that he passed by today, so he came to see me?"

The relaxed tone of the female professor was obviously just a joke, but it is true that Lin Yi has almost forgotten that he is still a college student.

"Professor Li, don't bury me. No matter how much I have, no matter what outsiders say, there should be no one in this school who knows better than you."

"Come on, let's talk about it."

Lin Yi also became serious: "It's like this. Our Wanli Travel has developed to a large scale, but we often feel that there are many goals that cannot be fully realized in technology."

"So we hope to join hands with Xiongchang to establish a smart travel research institute to provide business support for both parties in certain specific business directions."

"I'm not going to hide it from you. My biggest concern is that Xiongchang bullied others and took control of this research institute, but doing so would be contrary to our original intention."