Shen Nanpeng came quickly and left quickly, finalizing the investment on the same day.
Renren Group Buying and Food Delivery's first round of financing was valued at 1 billion RMB, and everyone in He Zhiyu's small circle invested, raising 50 million RMB for a 5% stake.
Since its launch after the Lantern Festival at the beginning of the year, after more than half a year of development, Renren Group Buying has already accumulated 25 million registered users, and its team size has reached 1,500 people.
Excluding operations and customer service, there are over a thousand field promotion staff.
They have captured three of the four first-tier cities, and five other second-tier cities.
In Shen Nanpeng's view, these are all decisive advantages, and even more crucial is Chen Pingjiang himself.
Especially since Renren Group Buying also has a mature food delivery system, which is the next track.
Considering the above favorable factors, both parties unanimously negotiated and confirmed Renren Group Buying's valuation at 500 million US dollars.
In this round, Chen Pingjiang released 10% of the equity, raising a total of 50 million US dollars, equivalent to 380 million RMB.
When the news was released, He Zhiyu's small circle was the happiest.
These people truly made a fortune.
Based on a 500 million US dollar valuation, their 5% stake is worth 50 million US dollars.
In just half a year, although both figures are 50 million, RMB was converted to US dollars, appreciating 7 times.
Even robbing money might not be this fast!
What was astonishing were the media and internet professionals who had previously disparaged Chen Pingjiang.
Has Sequoia Capital gone mad?
How dare they bet so heavily on Chen Pingjiang winning?
There are so many group buying websites on the market now; even if Chen Pingjiang has a head start, he faces the problem of an overextended battle line!
It's still unknown who will win or lose.
Just a few days later, Renren Group Buying officially changed its name to: "Renren Go".
It's more concise and clear, with good meaning, and most importantly, it avoids confusion when the food delivery project is promoted nationwide in the future.
"Mr. Chen, I won't say much; everything is in the wine. I toast you."
Zhang Fu, from the Taiyi chain hotpot, delightedly raised his glass and respectfully toasted Chen Pingjiang.
Chen Pingjiang also drank it all.
He's a god of wealth, confirmed.
The dozen or so people present followed Chen Pingjiang and got to enjoy a lot of "meat" (benefits).
Take Zhang Fu's hotpot restaurant as an example.
In the early days of Renren Go's launch, with crazy discounts, good taste, and excellent service, it quickly became an internet-famous restaurant with the boost from Renren Go's traffic.
Queues would start at 4 PM every day and last until 7-8 PM.
Each table would turn over at least three times.
In this short half-year period, Zhang Fu made a fortune.
Afterward, Taiyi Hotpot followed Renren Go's footsteps; wherever Renren Go's business expanded, Zhang Fu's hotpot restaurants would open in that city.
Without exception, business was excellent.
And these merchants are also Renren Go's future resources.
"Now, the group buying war is gradually heating up, and it won't be over in two or three years. You must also seize these two or three years to expand rapidly, because these two or three years are when the company's subsidies will be the largest."
Chen Pingjiang paused, then continued,
"But I must say this first: expansion is one thing, but service quality and product quality are indispensable, and even need to be stricter. I wouldn't want a 315 anti-counterfeiting campaign to expose you and implicate the platform."
"No problem, we know what's important and certainly won't hold you back."
"We even decided to retain customers even at a loss; all customers who come through Renren Go will receive gifts from us."
These people aren't foolish; they certainly won't incur actual losses, just make a bit less profit.
But as long as Renren Go grows and strengthens, their benefits will not be small.
Firstly, they can expand to multiple cities through Renren Go's promotion.
Secondly, Renren Go's valuation will also rise.
Even if they only hold 0.5% of the shares, once successfully listed, this 0.5% could be worth 50 million US dollars, or even more.
......
Without Chen Pingjiang's Renren Go, Lashou.com would have been the most flamboyant player in the first half of the group buying war, highly favored by capital.
This startup received 3 rounds of funding totaling 166 million US dollars in 10 months, with a valuation of 1.1 billion US dollars.
At the time, this was called a new record for the highest valuation in the shortest time in internet history.
Even with Chen Pingjiang being so impressive now, he couldn't surpass that.
If calculated by the standard of "highest valuation in the shortest time," Pinduoduo, founded by Huang Zheng in 2015, also couldn't surpass Lashou.com.
Even capital personally stepped in to support Lashou.com, and Zhu Xiaohu's "endorsement" for Lashou.com involved so much investment.
Unfortunately, in November 2011, Lashou.com failed to go public due to competitors reporting financial fraud, marking the first shattered IPO dream, which was a significant blow to founders Wu Bo and Zhu Xiaohu.
Later, Lashou also attempted to go public in December 2011 and April 2012, but ultimately all attempts fizzled out.
Lashou.com's failure was due to: extensive operations, lax management, and blind expansion.
Lashou's CEO, Wu Bo, after a Lashou regional manager defected to Wowotuan,
"he almost didn't trust anyone, he almost suspected everyone around him would betray him. Although power was decentralized, he still wanted to intervene and manage."
Even more daring, he introduced a "commissar system," which put immense pressure on many regional managers, while regional employees didn't know who the actual leader was.
Wu Bo used people around him to supervise the work of various regional managers, nominally sending them to assist the regions, but in reality, he arranged many informants around the regional managers.
This caused the originally relatively harmonious regions to never have peace again.
After Wu Bo received the first wave of 5 million US dollars in investment, he began a frantic expansion.
As the economic center, how could he let Shanghai slip by?
Unlike Wang Xing and Chen Yizhou, who subconsciously avoided Chen Pingjiang after suffering losses at his hands, he eagerly plunged in.
Just on his seventh day in Shanghai, Cen Lijian, the regional manager leading the team, heard the news of Renren Go raising 50 million US dollars, and his mouth turned bitter.
They are local strongmen, now especially rich, and an internet giant. How can this battle be fought?
Want to retreat?
Can't retreat anymore.
Office space has been rented, and personnel recruitment has begun, no turning back.
Can only brace themselves and push forward.
The first thing Cen Lijian did was to frantically recruit people, which was in line with Lashou.com's consistent style.
Real estate agents, recruit!
Car sales, recruit!
The main focus was high cost-effectiveness.
These people generally had low educational backgrounds, so their salaries were not high, but they were able to endure hardships, had a wolf-like spirit, and were not constrained by principles in their work.
Gao Songbin, who had arrived in Shanghai a step ahead to take charge, watched all of this.
Renren Go, operating in Shanghai for about half a year, had almost completely covered the business districts, leading in both consumer numbers and merchant store numbers.
Now he only needed to wait at ease.
While Cen Lijian was recruiting people, Gao Songbin, on the other hand, launched a vigorous "rectification" campaign internally.
He frantically trained the field promotion staff with the Renren Iron Army's methods.
From corporate culture, corporate mission, corporate vision to desperately painting a rosy picture, not a single aspect was missed.
"Brothers, we absolutely cannot fail in this battle. The company just raised 50 million US dollars, and Chairman Chen has spoken; the first battleground to be supported is Shanghai. The opponents have just arrived, tired from their journey, and their team is still forming, while we have been deeply cultivating the Shanghai market for half a year, and both merchants and consumers favor us. I truly don't know how we could lose."
"This time I went back to Dongjiang headquarters for a meeting, and Chairman Chen has arranged for other sister companies to give us sufficient support, with no upper limit. Even if you don't trust me, you should at least trust Chairman Chen.
I want you to understand that Renren Go is not something just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can step on. Other group buying websites avoided us, but Lashou actually charged in. Tell me, are they looking down on us?"
The large conference room was packed with people, and the aisles were full.
Gao Songbin, having undergone long-term training and frontline work, had accumulated considerable personal charisma.
As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd below shouted in unison: "Screw them!"
Compared to Lashou.com's hastily assembled makeshift team, the field promotion staff present were like regular soldiers.
In over half a year, Renren Go only had a total of a thousand field promotion staff.
If it were Lashou.com, they would probably have increased the number to tens of thousands.
Chen Pingjiang's principle for field promotion was quality over quantity.
The three hundred field promotion staff in Shanghai were all trained and selected by the Renren Iron Army step by step, and their combat effectiveness was outstanding.
Even after starting their positions, they still faced various assessments and training.
The lowest educational attainment among these people was a junior college degree, and their salary levels were significantly higher than those recruited by Lashou.com.
Chen Pingjiang naturally knew the role of field promotion in group buying but was quite resistant to blind expansion.
If this thing expands too quickly, it cannot guarantee the team's combat effectiveness and integrity.
Even more critical, once the group buying war is over, these field promotion staff would be forced to transfer positions or resign.
Chen Pingjiang did not want to see that day, so from the very beginning, he consciously pursued quality over quantity.
These field promotion staff trained by the Renren Iron Army are fully capable of handling other positions.
.........
Chi Weijie is the branch manager of Renren Go's Shanghai Xuhui district.
He has close to twenty people under him, responsible for field promotion work in Xuhui district.
As one of the first batch from the Renren Iron Army training camp, Chi Weijie is quite capable.
It's just that Renren Go hasn't started an all-out war yet; otherwise, with his qualifications, he would be sufficient to serve as a regional manager in other districts.
"Hello, are you Manager Chi?"
Cen Lijian stood up and extended his right hand with a smile.
Chi Weijie looked at him somewhat warily, nodded:
"Yes, how should I address you?"
"My surname is Cen. I am currently the regional manager of Lashou.com's Shanghai region."
Chi Weijie smiled:
"How did you get my contact information?"
Cen Lijian said:
"It's not that difficult. I just casually asked merchants in Xuhui district and easily got your contact information."
Chi Weijie gave a dry laugh:
"You're right. But why did you ask me to come here?"
Cen Lijian didn't speak immediately, instead, he twirled his teacup, and after a moment, said:
"I am amazed by Manager Chi's capabilities. During my visits to stores, many merchants gave you a thumbs up. To be honest, our company is very interested in you. Although Renren Go is a big company, there's a saying, 'better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix.' As long as Manager Chi can join our company, I extend a warm welcome."
"Mr. Cen, aren't you being a bit too presumptuous? It's good to be the head of a chicken rather than the tail of a phoenix, but what makes you think Lashou.com can be Renren Go's opponent?"
Cen Lijian raised an eyebrow:
"Lashou.com might not seem like Renren Go's opponent right now, but it's only just begun, who knows what the future holds? Manager Chi, why don't you listen to my conditions?"
"Tell me."
"When you come over, you'll take the position of deputy district manager, and your salary will be three times your current one."
Chi Weijie was stunned:
"That's a generous offer. My current salary is fifteen to sixteen thousand."
Now it was Cen Lijian's turn to be dumbfounded.
He hadn't expected Renren Go's salaries to be so high; a branch manager like Chi Weijie at Lashou.com would at most earn ten thousand.
After a moment of stupor, Cen Lijian smiled:
"Three times means three times, no problem. If I may be frank, Manager Chi, if you come work with us for two or three years, you'll immediately be able to buy a house in Shanghai. How many years would it take you at Renren Go, at your current salary level? Housing prices have been rising sharply recently; if you don't earn more, your salary might not even keep up with the increase in house prices."
Seeing Chi Weijie remain silent for a while, lost in thought, Cen Lijian thought he had been swayed and immediately continued:
"In a big company like Renren, the hierarchy is already solidified, and it's very, very difficult to climb up. But Lashou is different. As a startup, we are in great need of talent. Manager Chi, as long as you prove your abilities, deputy district manager is far from your limit."
"Besides salary, you'll get stock options after six months. We founded Lashou with an IPO in mind; once successfully listed, you could even achieve financial freedom directly. By then, you're free to stay or leave as you please, haha, if it were me, I'd probably just travel the world."
As if seeing the fervor in Chi Weijie's eyes, Cen Lijian's heart rejoiced, it seemed promising.
"You're not just interested in me, are you? Also the people under me."
"If Manager Chi can bring over the brothers from your branch, that would be best. I can promise that their salaries will be doubled."
Chi Weijie suddenly laughed:
"Is Lashou.com that rich? Poaching people like this, can you afford the salaries in the end?"
Cen Lijian waved his hand:
"We're paying top dollar. Lashou is about to start its second round of financing, so funds are not an issue."
"If you can truly deliver on your promises, I can certainly help you ask around, but I can't guarantee anything."
"Ask the people you trust; don't let Renren Go find out about this,"
Cen Lijian reminded.
After leaving the restaurant, Chi Weijie took a taxi back to Renren Go's Shanghai headquarters.
In the conference room, Gao Songbin was already waiting.
As soon as they met, Gao Songbin smiled:
"Did they promise you triple your salary?"
Chi Weijie asked suspiciously:
"How did you know?"
Gao Songbin said mysteriously:
"Do you think they only poached you?"
After finding a chair and sitting down, Chi Weijie nodded:
"Lashou seems very generous. I dealt with their regional manager as you instructed, and he directly told me to bring as many people as I could."
"Were you tempted?"
Gao Songbin asked casually.
Chi Weijie scoffed.
"I say, Boss, you underestimate me too much, and you underestimate our brothers from the Renren Iron Army too much. Triple salary seems very tempting, but it only sounds good. Not to mention how long Lashou can last in Shanghai; if they run, I'd be forced to follow.
With their poaching methods, I don't think it'll last long. I bet that once I go over, either they'll sideline me and then force me to resign after some time, or their old employees will be unhappy."
"Besides, I'm one of Renren Go's first employees. If I endure another six months, I'll have stock options. It's not worth losing my head and running over there."
Gao Songbin nodded, appreciating:
"It's good that you understand. I'm just afraid some people might not think this way."
Chen Pingjiang was well aware of Lashou's penchant for poaching.
Those who poach will always be poached from.
It was precisely Lashou's style of poaching people but failing to retain them that stirred up greater conflicts, and then Wowotuan followed closely behind, poaching them daily.
Therefore, Chen Pingjiang had Gao Songbin guard against this move from the start, which is why Gao Songbin launched the "rectification" campaign as soon as he returned to Shanghai.
However, it is foreseeable that not everyone would be as clear-headed as Chi Weijie, and some would inevitably be swayed by high salaries and incentives.
Regarding this, Gao Songbin could only wish them good luck.
(End of chapter)