But no one expected that the food delivery industry would explode just after it started.
Just very bald.
In the scenes reported by the media, those glamorous catering stores packaged on the app turned out to be dirty and messy family workshops offline, and their sanitary conditions were truly disgusting.
I almost vomited out the last night’s meal.
Along with these takeaway restaurants, the gutter oil incident was also exposed, affecting the entire catering industry.
There was a rumbling sound for a while.
Even Qingcheng Xiaozhu, which has always had a good reputation, will inevitably be affected.
“No dogs eat takeout!”
Overnight it became the loudest slogan on the Internet, turning into a roar to beat workers.
What a bully!
"Sure enough, there is no free lunch in the world. If there is, then the price must have been marked in advance."
“What’s expensive is not necessarily good, and what’s cheap is not necessarily good.”
"Is this the food delivery service promoted by the three giants? Is there any lower limit?"
"The Big Three: My lower limit is the abyss."
"It's really disgusting. Is there any basic trust between people anymore?"
Although after the incident was exposed, safety inspections were carried out in various places, but in the final analysis, the food delivery platform failed to implement its supervision responsibilities and infinitely lowered the entry threshold for merchants.
And this can't help but remind people of Qingcheng takeout, which has always been unique.
“I used to think that Qingcheng Takeout’s high threshold was seeking death, but now I see it is simply the conscience of the industry.”
"The cute king still has some moral integrity."
"Let me go, the cute king is simply the last fig leaf of the Internet industry, okay?"
“The uninstalled Qingcheng app needs to be downloaded again (Gotou)”
"Fortunately, I kept it, loyal!"
In this wave of trust crisis, Qingcheng Xiaozhu has offline physical stores, and they are all in the CBD area. Even the kitchen is open to the public, allowing customers to visit at any time.
It really gave me a wave of goodwill.
As a result, on the day the news came out, the orders of Qingcheng Xiaozhu on the four major food delivery apps, namely Dacongdianping, Mituuan, Ali Dianping and Qingcheng Takeaway, more than doubled.
It’s a win!
The most depressing thing is that even though the three giants know that Qingcheng Xiaozhu’s model may be the best choice for the food delivery industry, they are unable to imitate it, or even pretend not to see it.
Because they are simply unwilling to increase investment in this area and just want to be a platform charterer.
This is the original sin.
………
Sprout Building.
"Mr. Zhang, the current situation is very good. Can you consider accelerating the opening of Qingcheng Xiaozhu stores in first- and second-tier cities?" Pei Weiping was very excited.
I even admire Zhang Shuo’s foresight in the field of food hygiene.
"I think so too, but it's a pity that the group doesn't have any extra funds to inject into Qingcheng Group." Zhang Shuo showed his hands, he was also powerless now.
I can't even come up with a small goal.
"Is it possible to consider the franchise model?" Pei Weiping was already prepared. "In the past few days, Qingcheng Group's phone calls have been flooded with requests to join."
"Do you think we can do a good job in quality control after opening up franchises?" Zhang Shuo asked back.
"Uh, this..."
Pei Weiping didn't dare to vouch for it. He obviously knew that once franchises were opened, there would inevitably be mixed results. "But now is the time when users have the highest recognition of Qingcheng Xiaozhu. It would be a pity if we don't do something."
"Then let's raise money."
Zhang Shuo finally made up his mind and "took out 20% of Qingcheng Group's shares for Series A financing."
"Wha, what?"
This time, not only Pei Weiping, but also Jiang Yue was shocked.
The sun comes out in the west?
All sprout managers know that Zhang Shuo, the big boss, has always been very resistant to financing. Sprout Group has not raised any external financing so far.
"Don't look at me like that."
Zhang Shuo himself is very calm, "I used to oppose financing. First, I really have a bad sense of capital, which is nothing to avoid. Second, I opposed financing in the start-up stage of the subsidiary. Not only would the valuation be low, but it would also be easy to lose the right partner.
The company’s dominance. Hasn’t the situation changed now?”
Since its development, Qingcheng Group has become half a giant.
It happens that there is a lack of development funds, so it is acceptable to give up part of the equity appropriately.
Zhang Shuo was able to change his thinking because he felt that the Sprout Group had limited hematopoietic capabilities and limited funds, and was unable to take into account the development of all subsidiaries.
There is only one choice to be made.
By concentrating its own funds on the research and development of core technologies, Qingcheng Group, which focuses on local life services, can make an appropriate opening.
There is no expectation of how much profit Qingcheng Group can generate.
"The key is to ensure that the group still has a controlling stake in Qingcheng Group, and at the same time ensure that investors will not interfere with the daily operations of Qingcheng Group."
Although he agreed to the financing, Zhang Shuo still drew two red lines.
These two red lines are to ensure that Qingcheng Group’s business model is not subverted, its business conscience is not tarnished, and it continues to practice Zhang Shuo’s “worker ideal.”
It won’t change its color immediately after bringing in investors, and it won’t go hand in hand with capital.
That goes against Zhang Shuo’s original intention.
If you dig deeper, this is actually a foreshadowing laid by Zhang Shuo.
According to the current business philosophy, Qingcheng Group is following the route of "environmental protection, sanitation, and high cost performance", which is destined not to be a highly profitable enterprise.
Quite the opposite.
In terms of food hygiene, social security for delivery workers, and environmentally friendly tableware, huge amounts of security funds will continue to be invested to further weaken Qingcheng Group's profitability.
This is obviously contrary to the original intention of venture capital.
There will really be disagreements in the future. With Suiya firmly controlling the controlling stake of Qingcheng Group, investment institutions that enter through financing will either accept the reality of low returns or withdraw on their own.
maybe.
Qingcheng Group can also take advantage of this financing opportunity to use a wave of investors' money for free.
Of course, if you are an investor who pursues stable, long-term value investment, getting involved in Qingcheng Group at this time is definitely a very cost-effective deal and will not really cause any loss to the investor.
If Qingcheng Group really becomes an investment black hole, that would not be a good thing.
"Where's the valuation?"
Pei Weiping is concerned about how much liquidity can be obtained through this round of financing.
"The specific valuation needs to be calculated by the group's investment and mergers and acquisitions department, and it also depends on which assets will be merged into Qingcheng Group. My opinion is that all the two assets of Haode Map and Qingcheng Building should be injected into Qingcheng Group
Group, in order to increase the valuation of Qingcheng Group.”
Injected into Qingcheng Building, the corresponding mortgage loan will of course be transferred to the name of Qingcheng Group.
It can be said that it kills two birds with one stone.
"In this case, the valuation of Qingcheng Group will reach 10 billion no matter what."
Pei Weiping was very excited.
The simplest thing is that Qingcheng Group has shops worth more than one billion in Binhai City alone. Together with Haode Map Holdings and Qingcheng Building, the value of these alone is close to three billion.
It’s strange that the overall valuation is not high.
"Ten billion? That's too low."
Zhang Shuo's heart was even bigger, "Have you ever thought about the development potential and value of Qingcheng Coffee, Qingcheng Milk Tea, Qingcheng Bicycle and Qingcheng Power Bank in the future?"
"Well, this is really hard to evaluate."
Pei Weiping was also a bit confused. The development potential of Qingcheng Group really cannot be controlled by common sense.
In fact, the most important thing is that Qingcheng Group has a strategist like Zhang Shuo behind it. In addition to these new businesses now, it will also develop its efforts in taxi-hailing, community group buying and other fields in the future.
The potential is immeasurable.
Of course, these new businesses, without exception, are money-burning machines.
In the original time and space, even in 2021, the local life service sectors of giants such as Ali and Mituan are still suffering losses due to investments in new businesses such as vegetable selling and community group buying.
The road to profitability is far away.
It is precisely because of this that Zhang Shuo agreed to Qingcheng Group's liberalization of financing and could not continue to suck the blood of Germination.
"The valuation of Qingcheng Group must be upwards of 15 billion no matter what."
Zhang Shuo set a tone.
It wasn't because he was greedy, the original time and space Qiandu spent more than 13 billion to acquire Jiuyi Assistant.
Is it expensive?
Not expensive at all.
Whether Qingcheng Group's valuation is high does not depend on its current value, but on investors' future expectations for Qingcheng Group. With its budding golden brand name and current popularity, it is normal for the valuation to be high.
It's not normal to be tall.
"Also," Zhang Shuo looked at Jiang Yue, "Contact Binhai City Entrepreneurship Fund, Industrial Fund and Urban Investment, or urban investment in Yangcheng, Magic City, Jingshi and other places to see if these investment institutions are interested. If they are
If we are interested, we will give priority to cooperation with these investment institutions."
Even though Zhang Shuoshi was so open-minded and quoted a valuation of 15 billion right out of the gate, with the future development potential of Qingcheng Group, investing at this time is definitely a profit.
In this case, of course it is necessary to rely on investment institutions with official background.
Don't let the rich water flow to outsiders' fields.
As for venture capital firms such as Scarlet Capital, their relationship has become such that even if Scarlet Capital gives a premium valuation of 20 billion, Zhang Shuo has no interest in cooperation.
"You might be interested."
Jiang Yue also understood it.
She knew very well how much pressure and criticism Mei Ya was under, both covertly and overtly, because of the company's refusal to seek external financing. Now that she was opening her mouth, it could be considered a relief from the pressure.
Naturally, he raised his hands in agreement.
………
This is also true. After the news that Qingcheng Group was about to launch a round of financing was released, it immediately set off a huge wave in the investment circle, and countless investors came to the news like evil wolves.
The threshold of Qingcheng Group is about to be breached.
"The sky has eyes, the sprout is finally enlightened." Some investors cried with joy.
"It's okay, it's okay. The cute king is stubborn and has finally returned to rationality."
“I don’t know if other subsidiaries of Buya will open up.”
Capital is indeed greedy.
Before Qingcheng Group has even eaten this fat piece of meat in its mouth, it has begun to worry about the other subsidiaries of Shangya. Qingniao Interactive Entertainment, Qinghe Technology, Qingyun Data, and Maili Technology are all high-quality investment targets.
Greedy!
Facing the swarm of investors, Pei Weiping was not at all afraid and calmly put forward three conditions.
1. Only 20% of the equity is transferred in the A round of financing
2. It only accepts financial investment, not strategic investment, and cannot interfere with the daily operations of Qingcheng Group.
3. In this round of financing, Qingcheng Group is valued at 16 billion
Since Zhang Shuo, the big boss, has made bold statements, Pei Weiping naturally doesn't mind continuing to increase the investment. With the advice of the Investment and M&A Department, he comprehensively considered the green orange coffee, green orange milk tea, green orange bicycles and green orange power banks.
The development potential has raised the valuation by another billion, reaching an astonishing 16 billion.
This has discouraged many investors.
It is unacceptable for a large organization like the Pirate Saint Group to be unable to interfere with the operations of the Qingcheng Group. If the management team of the Qingcheng Group is left to their own devices, then why would they invest in it?
Small and medium-sized investment institutions cannot accept the high valuation of 16 billion.
The result is of course a joy in vain.
Gu Xuan
As soon as the three conditions are announced, more than 70% of the investors will be screened out at once, leaving only investors with both strength and sincerity.
These include institutions such as Binhai City Investment.
………
“Junior, can Fenglei Fund participate in Qingcheng Group’s A-round financing?”
Because it was so popular, even Chen Lu was tempted.
"Forget it, let's keep the funds from Fenglei Fund and invest them in other projects. Qingcheng Group's project is too big, and Fenglei Fund's size is too small, so we can't grasp it."
Zhang Shuo injected 1 billion into Fenglei Fund, 100 million invested in stocks, and 200 million purchased corporate bonds discovered by the Germination Group, leaving only 700 million left.
I invested in Bubble Mart before.
Qingcheng Group's A-round financing requires a huge one-time investment of 3.2 billion. Even if it only subscribes for 1%, it still needs to spend 160 million in real money.
Indeed, it is not something Fenglei Fund can do.
………
"Grudge, Zhang Shuo!"
Tan Chairen, vice president of Scarlet Capital, gritted his teeth and felt very depressed recently.
First, he was publicly humiliated by Zhang Shuo at an Internet conference, then his investment in Blue Silk Technology was abandoned, and then he attacked the Particle Fund, each time ending in failure.
Lu Kai is not just bragging.
As the former head of the Thieves Group in China, in terms of connections and skills in the investment circle, Tan Chai Ren was indeed not as good as the one who wanted to flatter him, and was tricked around by Lu Kai.
It has become a joke in the venture capital circle.
On the contrary, under the personal command of Lu Kai, the Particle Fund frequently conquered cities and made great contributions to the upstream and downstream industrial chain layout of Maili Technology.
It's very eye-catching.
Recently, the Qingcheng Group's A-round financing incident broke out. There are senior executives within Scarlet Capital, and they shamelessly signed up, thinking that Sprout Group might use this to ease its relationship with Scarlet Capital.
Come and let go of grudges with a smile.
Unexpectedly, Su Ya didn't show any respect at all and refused directly.
Let Scarlet Capital be unable to step down again.
"This knot is really getting bigger and bigger." Tan Chairen's eyes were dark.
"Since the sprout doesn't know how to praise, don't blame us for getting things done. Doesn't Qingcheng Group want to make a big splash in the field of local life services? Then we'll see."
Scarlet Capital is not without its trump card. It has investments in Moutuan and Dacong Dianping. It is also an investor in Dolphin Travel and Camel Travel. Its investment layout in the field of local life services is definitely larger than what the outside world imagines.
deep.
I really am not afraid of competition with Qingcheng Group.
………
Tenda Building.
The second master is really having a headache recently. Tenda has just completed its layout on the game live broadcast track. Before it had time to celebrate, the local life service business has been hit hard again.
That's so weird.
As a result, before Erye could wait for Dacong Dianping’s crisis public relations plan, news came out that Qingcheng Group was going to conduct a round of financing.
It’s really adding insult to injury.
Although Mr. Er has shown great interest in investing in Qinghe Technology before, from Tengda's perspective, the budding group that liberalizes financing will only be more dangerous than it is now.
It’s obvious!
The Germination Group fighting alone is already enough of a headache.
Now I have realized it again. To liberalize financing and introduce investors is to expand the circle of friends and fight with investors' money.
Wouldn’t that be more difficult to deal with?!
If possible, Er Ye hopes that Zhang Shuo can stick to the principle of not accepting investment.
"You really don't follow common sense."
Facing this young opponent, the second master actually felt a little helpless.
He personally approached Zhang Shuo about investment matters before, but Zhang Shuo ignored him. Now the outside world has not exerted any pressure on the Germination Group. Instead, it has suddenly opened up its financing channels.
What is the logic?
Even though he was studying Germination carefully, Erye still couldn't understand it.
But after calming down, Erye still saw through Bu Ya's plan, which was simply to use this food delivery crisis to accelerate the layout of the local life service track.
"What an opportunist!"
However, it can be seen through that Tengda currently does not have enough funds and chips, so it is really difficult to attack Qingcheng Group in the local life service field.
All I can do is watch.
"I just don't know how the two competitors, Ahri and Qiandu, will react."
………
Ahri Headquarters.
In fact, it's not just the second master who has a headache, the uncle also has a headache.
He had gloated before, saying that Moya was just competing against Tengda and had no direct business competition with Ahri. Moya’s layout in the local life service industry was also very conservative.
Where did you think of it?
In the blink of an eye, Sprout turned around and accelerated its layout on the track.
"Young people don't have martial ethics!"
This move really caught Ahri off guard.
Ahri first invested in Moutuan, then fully acquired Wowo, Ruishou, and established Ahri-Dianping in a high-profile manner. This shows that it attaches great importance to the local life service track and will never give up this business easily.
Then there will inevitably be a head-on conflict with the Qingcheng Group.
"What is supposed to come, will come."
The uncle had thought about the day when he and Mo Ya would end their honeymoon period, but he didn't expect that this day would come so quickly and suddenly.
The only good thing is that Ahri seized the opportunity and controlled Haode Map.
This gave him an advantage.
Otherwise, facing the Qingcheng Group after financing, it is really hard to say what advantage Ahri can have, and its momentum will inevitably be lowered.
"Tell me, is it possible to cooperate with Qingcheng Group?" The uncle suddenly had a whim.
Ren Xiaoyao, who was sitting opposite, thought for a moment and replied: "Judging from the three conditions proposed by Qingcheng Group, it is obvious that they will not give up the initiative. Cooperation will probably be difficult."
"Give it a try."
The uncle is a determined person. His investment philosophy is actually very simple. When deciding whether to invest in a company, you only need to consider three conditions.
1. Whether the founder of the target company is trustworthy;
2. Whether the target company can succeed;
3. What benefits will it bring to Ahri after it is completed?
If these three conditions are applied to Qingcheng Group, they actually meet the requirements.
First of all, the uncle admires Zhang Shuo's talent.
Secondly, Qingcheng Group’s performance against the trend in this crisis has proven its strength.
That last point is a bit debatable.
"Maiya holds the trump card of Weixin. It does not need local life services to divert traffic. There is no fundamental conflict of interest with Ahri. This is one of them."
It is even said that Weixin can attract traffic to Qingcheng Group in the future.
Change the angle.
In fact, it is to divert traffic for Ahri.
"In terms of map navigation, Ahri and Moya have a cooperative relationship. This is the second one."
"After Weixin Pay went online, the games of Qingniao Interactive Entertainment, including the stores of Qingcheng Group and the Qingcheng app, did not block Zhifubao. It can be seen that Zhang Shuo is a very well-organized person and does not know how to
Engage in exclusivity. This is the third one."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! But the more the uncle thought about it, the more he felt that this matter had a clue, "In the local life service track, if Ahri and Moya can join forces to complement each other,
, then you will basically be in an invincible position.”
"this."
Ren Xiaoyao also hesitated. It had to be said that although this idea was bold, it was also very tempting.
"In this way, you first arrange for someone to tentatively contact Mengya. If necessary, I can personally come forward to talk to Zhang Shuo." The uncle was very concerned.
"All right."
Ren Xiaoyao also felt that there was no harm in getting in touch.
………
Qiandu Headquarters.
Facing the chaos in the food delivery industry, the third master will only have more headaches than the first and second masters.
"What a troubled time!"
In the office, Mr. San was pacing back and forth irritably, as if he was having trouble making up his mind about something.
"..."
Gong Juren's eyes flickered across from him. He wanted to say something, but he held back.
Because there are so many things to complain about.
It is because of Master San's indecision that Qiandu faces the current embarrassing situation in the food delivery industry, and is even at risk of being kicked out at any time.
If Qiandu had decided to enter the market earlier, he should not have waited until Tengda and Ahri had finished before deciding to acquire Nomi, passively creating a three-game tie-in.
In essence, they have become consumables.
Apart from being passively involved in internal friction, Nomi has not brought substantial benefits to Qiandu.
If you were hesitant before about whether to quit, you should make an early decision and simply give up the local life services business after Tengda and Ahri quit.
No more playing!
But the third master was unwilling to give in. When he saw what others were doing, he wanted to do it too. He seemed to be saying: "Tengda, if Ahri can do it, there is no reason why Qiandu can't do it."
I just want to compete and have a strong desire to win.
It’s really hard to put into words.
With similar saucy operations and Qiandu’s acquisition of Zhongheng, at least now, and even for a long time in the future, Gong Juren can’t see the hope of Zhongheng challenging the Singularity.
Because Qiandu’s own management is difficult to describe.
Except for its outstanding performance in the search business, it has not done any other famous business. Even if some good projects were incubated internally, such as Tieba, it was still half-dead in the end.
There is no such gene.
But if you look at it from another angle, you can’t blame San Ye entirely. It’s actually because after its biggest competitor withdrew from the Chinese market, Qiandu’s search business has been soaring and has hardly encountered any decent challenges.
Success comes too suddenly and too easily, and problems of one kind or another will inevitably arise.
It's already good without floating.
If calculated in terms of market value and profit, Qiandu is now ahead of Tengda and Ahri.
It is normal not to admit defeat.
"What do you think about us cooperating with Mei Ya?"
Sanye suddenly had an idea, "As long as Qingcheng Group is willing to give up using Haode Map and switch to Qiandu Map, then we can make a promise not to interfere with Qingcheng Group's daily operations."
Qiandu is interested in local life services. In the final analysis, it is also to promote Qiandu Maps.
If you can't do it yourself, then let others do it.
"I think it's okay too."
Gong Juren was very surprised. Unexpectedly, the Third Master suddenly had an idea, "We only need to do the core business of search and map, and the rest can be left to our partners."
"Then go talk to Mei Ya."
Mr. San is also a little tired. He is actually more concerned about artificial intelligence and autonomous driving.