Losing Money to Become a Tycoon: Starting with Games
Chapter 323: We Are All Dreamers
Pei Qian fell silent for a moment. "The goal is good, but I think modern society is a win-win society. Always thinking in terms of zero-sum games makes the overall vision a bit too small."
"Besides, I think we should look a little further ahead. Shenhua's mobile phone business is indeed doing well, but its influence is still mainly limited to the domestic market."
Chang You was taken aback. "Then, President Pei, what do you mean?"
Pei Qian replied, "The ultimate goal should definitely be set higher. Instead of taking down Shenhua, why not acquire Pineapple?"
Chang You instantly became solemn with respect.
What was this?
This was the feeling of finding a kindred spirit, like meeting someone who truly understood you!
In fact, Chang You knew very well that this meeting was a two-way selection.
President Pei was considering whether to hire him, and he was also considering whether to work under President Pei.
Chang You had always been this kind of person: he said whatever was on his mind and never held back.
That was why he often made shocking remarks on Weibo and at press conferences, earning himself the nickname "Big Mouth Chang."
Many tech company bosses disliked him because of this, thinking he was someone who loved bragging and didn't do real work.
But even so, Chang You had never once thought about changing his way of doing things.
He would only sneer inwardly—how could sparrows ever understand the ambition of a swan?
He believed that one day, he would meet a boss who could truly understand him!
And now, President Pei casually uttered the four words "acquire Pineapple." Without a doubt, this perfectly aligned with Chang You's own thinking.
And the level was even higher!
Yes—why insist on taking them down? Wouldn't acquiring them be even better?
Chang You nodded thoughtfully. "President Pei, truly insightful!"
Pei Qian thought for a moment, then asked, "What kind of style do you have in your day-to-day work?"
Chang You answered immediately, "I'm relatively authoritarian. All my subordinates must completely obey my orders. I'm also a perfectionist and don't allow any imperfection to exist."
Pei Qian nodded. "Good! A leader must have their own ideas and can't be easily swayed by others. I completely agree with your view!"
"Then what is your attitude toward phone design? Do you support imitating Pineapple phones?"
Chang You rejected it outright. "Absolutely not! Appearance is a very important part of brand image, so of course we can't imitate other phones. A phone we design ourselves must be truly unique!"
Pei Qian asked again, "Then what about pricing? Should we make low-priced phones?"
Chang You thought for a moment. "I believe only high-end models can truly reflect a tech company's real strength. Personally, I'm inclined not to make a 'beggar edition' at all—only true flagships. Spending big money to charge into the high-end market is what an entrepreneur with ideals and ambition should do!"
Pei Qian asked once more, "Then what's your view of Shenhua, a representative of domestic brands?"
Chang You said proudly, "They're doing very well, but one day, I will surpass them!"
Pei Qian couldn't help giving a thumbs-up. "Very good—that happens to be exactly what I think too!"
As for this Chang You, Pei Qian was extremely satisfied.
He fit his own ideas perfectly!
As for what kind of phone to make, Pei Qian already had a rough plan in mind.
As an emerging phone brand, the most likely path to success would undoubtedly be the value-for-money route—lowering profit margins to make the phones appear more cost-effective than those of some well-known major manufacturers, thereby seizing the mid-to-low-end market.
In the coming decade or so, the domestic economy would continue to develop, but overall, regional disparities in economic development would ensure that there would always be a group of consumers who cared deeply about cost-performance in smartphones.
In other words, phones that are easy to use and relatively affordable will always have a market.
Since Pei Qian's goal was to run this phone brand into the ground, he naturally had to do the exact opposite.
He absolutely could not target the mid-to-low-end market or take the cost-performance route.
Instead, he had to decisively set his sights on the high-end market!
At present, the domestic high-end market was essentially split three ways among Pineapple, MSC, and Shenhua. Even Shenhua only dared to price its flagship models at around the 5,000 price tier.
As for those who had tried to force their way into the high-end market, they had basically all died off completely.
This made it clear that the "safest" approach was still to make high-end phones!
And this Chang You was obviously perfectly aligned with his thinking!
During their brief conversation, Pei Qian also realized that Chang You's image differed slightly from what he had imagined.
Originally, Pei Qian had only thought of Chang You as someone with a big mouth who liked to talk big and boast—perhaps just a marketing tactic.
Like many people who say one thing but do another, whose words are meant to fool fans while their actual actions go in a completely different direction.
But this Chang You seemed to truly believe in his own convictions…
Some people speak very loftily, yet the moment there's even a small chance to make money, they abandon all principles and jump right in.
This Chang You, however, clearly had opportunities to make easy money by doing suitcases or cheap consumer goods, yet he stubbornly insisted on continuing to make phones. That was something Pei Qian hadn't expected.
And upon closer observation, Pei Qian also discovered that Chang You had a few rather commendable qualities.
For example… he didn't treat all competing companies as idiots, but could objectively acknowledge Shenhua's achievements.
Moreover, in real life, Chang You spoke politely and courteously. Although he carried a trace of arrogance, the impression he gave was completely different from the "big mouth" persona on the internet.
He didn't seem to be someone quite as stubborn or authoritarian as rumored.
However, these minor flaws didn't affect Pei Qian's judgment of him.
No matter what, since this man was dead set on going after the high-end market, he was perfectly aligned with Pei Qian's own thinking and well worth putting to important use!
Just as Pei Qian was about to shake Chang You's hand to signify a pleasant cooperation, he suddenly thought of a few more questions and hurriedly sought clarification.
"If you don't mind, could you briefly talk about what actually happened when you were at Hongcheng Technology?"
Pei Qian needed to confirm whether bankrupting such a large company had been Chang You's doing, or the company owner's.
Chang You shook his head helplessly. "Sigh… It's not appropriate to criticize a former employer after leaving, so I can't go into details."
"All I can say is that the two of us had huge differences in direction."
"I always believed that Hongcheng Technology should take the high-end route, but in reality, Hongcheng Technology kept making low-end phones and loved doing price-cut promotions. Cash flow was tight for a long time."
"The boss of Hongcheng Technology also had… a few small personal spending habits, which only made the problem worse."
"Later… the capital chain broke, and things spiraled completely out of control."
"Of course, I must be honest: the projects I was responsible for exceeded their R&D budgets but failed to produce sufficiently good results. That was also one of the reasons the capital chain ran into trouble."
Pei Qian nodded. "I understand!"
It seemed this wasn't something that could be pinned on any single person—both bore some responsibility.
Hongcheng Technology had always followed a low-end phone strategy; Pei Qian knew this well.
Aggressive price cuts and promotions had boosted Hongcheng Technology's sales, but cash flow had always been poor—which was exactly what the boss had said in interviews: "Hongcheng Technology has never truly made money."
Yet, Chang You insisted on taking the high-end route and spent huge sums on R&D, which caused the company's capital chain to snap, and it went straight to GG.
As for the claim that the boss of Hongcheng Technology had "small spending hobbies"…
Pei Qian felt that this was most likely Chang You passing the buck.
No matter how much of a spending hobby a boss had, how much could he possibly spend? Could it really affect tens or even hundreds of millions in cash flow?
Although Chang You was clearly shifting the blame, Pei Qian wasn't angry at all.
In this enlightened and prosperous age, President Pei had finally caught himself a great traitorous minister!
Seeing the trusting smile on President Pei's face, Chang You couldn't help but smile back.
A true kindred spirit!
In truth, Chang You had always been deeply troubled by the matter of Hongcheng Technology.
The bankruptcy of Hongcheng Technology actually had very little to do with him.
On the surface, the products released by Hongcheng Technology were all under his responsibility, but behind the scenes, the boss had always been pointing fingers and interfering.
The goal of entering the high-end market had been set long ago, yet the boss wavered on the strategy—there wasn't enough money, nor enough people.
In the end, because of the boss's "little hobby," twelve billion yuan was squandered in one go, directly breaking the capital chain and announcing Hongcheng Technology's bankruptcy.
Chang You had no choice. This news was currently being tightly suppressed and hadn't broken out. Out of moral obligation, he couldn't jump out and bad-mouth his former employer—and doing so would only make him look petty.
As a result, he inexplicably became the scapegoat.
Onlookers would naturally think: Hongcheng Technology had been doing just fine—how did it go bankrupt the moment Chang You became vice president?
Coupled with the fact that Chang You often made eye-catching, grandiose declarations at product launches, he naturally became the one who was scolded the most.
Thus, when Chang You wanted to make phones again, the road was full of obstacles. Whether it was other manufacturers or consumers, everyone thought he was a fraud and simply didn't believe in him anymore!
But here, with President Pei, Chang You felt a warmth and trust he hadn't experienced in a long time.
He could tell that every word President Pei said came from the heart—there was absolutely no deception. And that gentle, kindly smile of President Pei's was something that could never be faked!
At that moment, Chang You made up his mind: even if President Pei couldn't put up much money, even if this was currently just a small phone manufacturer, he would still grow together with this company and never abandon it!
Chang You asked, "President Pei, may I ask—at what price tier are we positioning our first phone?"
Pei Qian thought for a moment. "The first phone… we should be a bit conservative."
Chang You was slightly disappointed, since he wanted to make a high-end phone.
But after thinking it over, this was, after all, a startup company. You couldn't expect to bite off more than you could chew right from the start.
It was understandable to be more cautious with the first phone—test the waters first, then charge into the high-end market later.
After all, President Pei was a kindred spirit. For a small grievance like this, Chang You felt he could endure it.
Chang You nodded. "Alright. I'm willing to make an exception for you this once!"
Pei Qian looked at him and continued, "When making products, you have to seize the gaps in the market. I think our first phone should definitely be positioned in a price tier where there's currently a market void."
Chang You thought for a moment. "Below 1,000 yuan, or around 3,000 yuan?"
At present, low-end models were mostly hovering around the 2,000-yuan range, while high-end phones generally ranged from 4,000 to 6,000 yuan.
Even Pineapple phones, at their highest configuration, only went up to around 7,000 yuan.
Pei Qian shook his head. "Neither."
Chang You looked somewhat stunned. "Then… there aren't any other gaps left."
Pei Qian said, "There are. Isn't the tier above 7,000 completely empty?"
"Let's directly release a phone in the 8,000-yuan tier. That way, we'll absolutely have no competitors!"
Chang You froze.
For the first time, he felt that he had met a dreamer who was even better at dreaming than himself.
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