When Renren's internal employees heard that the company was preparing to go public, their faces contorted with excitement.
With Renren going public now, a whole host of billionaires would emerge among these people.
Back when Alibaba went public, it directly propelled over 40 people onto the Hurun Report, with countless other multi-millionaires.
There wasn't much external buzz, but many industry institutions came knocking.
These included management consulting firms, brokerages, law firms, and accounting firms.
Generally speaking, from initiating IPO preparations to successfully going public, it takes at least half a year.
The steps involved are numerous.
In the initial IPO preparation phase, an experienced IPO financial advisor needs to be found, an IPO plan needs to be formulated, internal and external teams assembled, and a timetable executed, to ensure efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and a successful listing.
The internal and external teams include lawyers, auditors, and so on.
This stage also involves due diligence to assess the company's financial and internal control status.
Subsequently, IPO materials are prepared, including documents such as the prospectus.
These documents require detailed disclosure of information such as the company's business, financial condition, management team, and risk factors.
Next, apply for SEC registration and stock exchange listing.
Submit the prospectus to the SEC for review, and select a suitable exchange to submit the listing application.
Further steps in the process include roadshows, pricing, securities underwriting, depositing, and settlement.
After a series of selections and comparisons, Chen Pingjiang chose China Renaissance Capital as the exclusive financial advisor for this US IPO and co-global coordinator.
The four co-sponsors, also known as underwriters, were Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Of these, Renren will allocate 1% of the IPO proceeds as the basic underwriting fee for the aforementioned four investment banks.
...
Is making physical products harder than the internet business?
Of course.
A good idea can give birth to a globally popular APP.
But physical products are different; they involve extensive patents and supply chain management.
Riding the wave of smartphones, getting started is much simpler.
The further along, once the market matures, small businesses will have no ability to survive.
Lao Luo's Smartisan phones are an example.
Lack of funds and channels for marketing and promotion, high production costs and low yield rates, resulted in frequent delays and stock shortages.
Talent was also insufficient, leading to issues in product quality and design, such as poor signal, short battery life, and so on.
Of course, the most crucial thing was a lack of funds.
Insufficient supply chain advantages, limited production scale, insufficient marketing methods, difficulty in building user reputation, and a poor ecosystem all constitute the difficulties for newcomers to make phones.
Chen Pingjiang had used so many different types of smartphones and was perfectly clear about the future direction of phone design, but currently, entering the mobile phone industry was like being completely blind.
Acquiring a company was out of the question; currently, the only acquirable ones were Meizu and HTC, but they wouldn't sell, and he didn't have the money.
Alright, then, find people!
...
Beijing, Google China Institute of Engineering.
While Li Kaifu was busy in his office, his secretary knocked and reported:
"Mr. Li, Mr. Chen Pingjiang from Renren is here and would like to meet with you."
Li Kaifu was stunned for a moment:
"Please invite him in quickly."
Li Kaifu knew about Renren, but as for Chen Pingjiang coming to find him, he was completely baffled.
Their businesses were almost completely unrelated.
What would Chen Pingjiang want with me?
When he saw Chen Pingjiang, Li Kaifu clicked his tongue in admiration:
"I've long heard that Mr. Chen is very young, and seeing him today, he truly is like the rising sun. Compared to him, we are like the setting sun."
Currently, Li Kaifu was still quite vibrant, and he was also one of the people Chen Pingjiang admired.
He successfully fought late-stage lymphoma through his own efforts, a completely different outcome from Steve Jobs on the other side of the Pacific.
"Mr. Li, you are in the prime of your life, you are too kind,"
Chen Pingjiang walked up and shook hands with Li Kaifu.
"Mr. Chen, is there something specific that brings you so suddenly to our company?"
Li Kaifu asked curiously.
"Yes, I want to make phones."
Li Kaifu suddenly realized:
"So that's it, welcome, welcome! Xiao Zhang, please call Dean Lin over."
As the Vice President of the Google China Institute of Engineering, Lin Bin's primary responsibility was the localization of the Android system, a task with a profound impact on smartphone development.
As soon as Li Kaifu heard that Chen Pingjiang wanted to make phones, he thought Chen Pingjiang's purpose for this trip was to discuss cooperation on the Android system.
If he knew Chen Pingjiang had come with the intention of poaching talent, he would surely have been furious and cursed loudly.
When Lin Bin arrived, he was still a bit muddled.
Only after Li Kaifu explained the situation did he ask Chen Pingjiang in puzzlement:
"Mr. Chen, are you also making phones? It's truly been a recent trend; Mr. Lei Jun is also making phones."
Chen Pingjiang's heart stirred upon hearing this, and he asked subtly:
"Oh? Is that so? Haven't there been rumors recently that Mr. Lei wants to invest in Meizu?"
The straightforward tech guy immediately said candidly:
"Yes, they do seem to be in contact. They even recommended me to talk to Mr. Huang of Meizu about Android system embedding."
After Li Kaifu chatted with the two for a few moments, Lin Bin took Chen Pingjiang to a Starbucks not far from the Google Institute.
The information Chen Pingjiang currently had was that Lei Jun hadn't started poaching Lin Bin yet, which gave him room to maneuver.
"If I may be frank, Mr. Chen, your Renren is doing so well, why would you suddenly think of making phones? As the saying goes, different trades are like different mountains; phones are very difficult to make."
After they sat down, Lin Bin directly expressed his curiosity.
Chen Pingjiang smiled and said:
"I am very optimistic about the future development of smartphones, and I'm also very interested in the online-offline integrated model."
After saying this, Chen Pingjiang changed the subject:
"Dean Lin, have you ever thought about starting your own business?"
?
Lin Bin was still a bit slow to react.
Weren't we talking about why you want to make phones? How did the conversation suddenly turn to me?
"Just small talk, Dean Lin, don't mind it."
Seeing him say that, Lin Bin nodded:
"I had thought about making a music website before."
Chen Pingjiang thought for a moment and asked:
"Is it the concept of a music community?"
Lin Bin was startled:
"How did you know, Mr. Chen? You're not planning to do something like this on Renren, are you? Then my startup idea would be dead in the water."
Chen Pingjiang waved his hand:
"We don't plan to do this, but the concept is good. It's just that such a thing is too small and wouldn't fully demonstrate your capabilities, Mr. Lin. You could totally invest some money and let others do it, while you need a bigger stage."
Looking at Chen Pingjiang's intense gaze, Lin Bin's heart stirred.
He felt that Chen Pingjiang's trip was probably not as simple as he claimed.
It seemed he was here for him.
"You're not here to poach me, are you?"
Lin Bin said, half-laughing and half-crying, yet also curious:
"Making phones requires strong financial support. This isn't a few hundred million, it could be billions. Do you have it?"
"Half a year after Renren goes public, I will cash out and reduce my holdings, using that money to make phones. And right now, Renren is already preparing for its IPO."
That single sentence demonstrated Chen Pingjiang's determination.
He'll make phones even if it means cashing out and reducing his holdings!
"Taiwan has HTC, Korea has Samsung, the US has Apple and Motorola, Japan has NEC, and there are also Ericsson and Nokia. What does China have? Meizu? Lenovo? Coolpad? OPPO?"
"To be frank, these products are truly too ordinary. More than half are small manufacturers, and their subsequent production and R&D capabilities cannot be guaranteed."
Lin Bin said:
"I just met with Mr. Huang Zhang of Meizu last week. Their new M8 phone is quite good."
Chen Pingjiang smiled and pulled out his own Meizu M8:
"It's quite popular indeed. It sold 100,000 units in two months, and now there are at least 200,000 units, and some even say it can rival the iPhone 3GS."
At that time, Meizu was still quite impressive.
It was hailed as "China's Apple."
"Meizu's success has a background. The Android system wasn't mature yet, and it wasn't widespread in China. Apple was a lonely master with no rivals. Furthermore, domestic phone manufacturers relied on telecom channels, so they didn't worry about sales. Their exterior design and system superiority were virtually non-existent."
"But how long can this situation last? Once other major domestic manufacturers react and decide to make phones, relying on software and powerful promotion, as long as their phones aren't too bad, they can easily dominate Meizu. And don't forget, Huang Zhang doesn't value talent much; many people in Meizu are even from his family."
"I ask you, if I make a phone similar to Meizu's, would consumers buy mine or Meizu's?"
Lin Bin smiled and said:
"If your products are really the same, then consumers would definitely buy yours, Mr. Chen."
Everyone wasn't stupid.
Chen Pingjiang had Renren and Weibo backing him, his promotional channels were extremely powerful, saving him money on advertising.
Most crucially, Chen Pingjiang currently held the title of "Nation's Husband," and his genuine fans were countless.
Chen Pingjiang's total followers on Renren and Weibo exceeded 30 million.
Even if only one percent of them supported him, Chen Pingjiang would not fail.
He had too many imprints and labels on him.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Bin asked:
"Mr. Chen, how do you view the future of smartphones?"
"They can replace computers in most situations. Mobile internet is becoming prevalent, every phone is a terminal. People can watch videos, sing, surf the internet, chat, shop, and play games through smartphones; they can do everything a PC can do."
Lin Bin was somewhat swayed.
Firstly, he himself had the inclination to start a business.
Secondly, Chen Pingjiang had resources and money.
Most importantly, Chen Pingjiang's vision for smartphones aligned with his own.
"But if it's just you and me, neither of us understands phone hardware. There's no way we can make a good phone."
Chen Pingjiang laughed heartily:
"If I can find you, Dean Lin, I can naturally also find someone responsible for phone hardware. You are the most important person to me, and the first person I sought out. I'll also be frank, only if you agree will I truly start making phones. If I can't persuade you to join, I might not even make phones."
"In this market, Nokia, which dominated for many years, has long lost its former glory. Apple, with its spectacular performance from the iPhone series, has surged far ahead. Samsung seized the opportunity to rise from being the perennial runner-up to a top-tier new entrant.
Meanwhile, Motorola, HTC, and Meizu each dominate their respective niches. In this market with no absolute leader, this is also the best time for us to rise. Miss this village, and there'll be no such shop again."
(End of Chapter)