“First of all, users don’t like it because they have to remember to bring their membership card every time they go out; secondly, they have to show this card every time they eat; finally, not every restaurant cooperates with you Dianping.
In short, it is too cumbersome to use and unfriendly to the user experience.”
Lin Fan looked like he had seen through everything and said with a smile: "After talking about the user side, let's talk about the merchant side. The points system will increase their understanding cost, work cost, and the connection with the cashier system. There will also be a lot of problems.
inconvenient.
To sum up, the problem is that users and merchants cannot synchronize information. Users query and use Dianping.com on their computers, but membership cards must be connected and used with offline merchants."
This problem is actually easy to solve. As soon as smart phones are launched, everyone carries a mobile phone, and the physical membership card is turned into an "electronic membership card".
But in the current PC era, it is still a long-standing problem.
Seeing how awesome Lin Fan was and how he pointed out problems "to the point", Zhang Tao couldn't sit still, "Mr. Lin, you are really amazing. You haven't even seen our company, but you know so many of our problems.
Oh, did Yelp also encounter such a problem?"
Lin Fan crossed his legs and glanced at the ceiling first, then sighed and shook his head: "No, Yelp has not launched a physical membership card. Their gameplay is much more novel, such as..."
Zhang Tao looked at Lin Fan eagerly, hoping to get a solution from Lin Fan and solve the problem that had puzzled him for a long time.
But Lin Fan stopped talking when he mentioned "for example", which made Zhang Tao so anxious that his heart was scratching like a cat's claws.
You said it, but stopped talking even halfway. Who are you?
Zhang Tao only dared to slander in his heart and did not dare to force or threaten Lin Fan.
When he saw the investment tycoon looking at him with a smile, he immediately understood everything. The following words had conditions and a price.
He had heard from a friend before that when Lin Fan was still an entrepreneur, he created two venture capital kings, John Doerr of KPCB and Michael Moritz of Sequoia, and paired them up together.
At first he didn't believe it, but now he finally believes it.
Rao Lei watched this scene quietly from the side: Lin Fan, calm and calm, with a smile on his face, and Zhang Tao, who was completely inversely proportional. The latter's face was red and he was scratching his pants with his hands.
Rao Lei smiled. Faced with these entrepreneurs who came to ask for investment, Mr. Lin always hit the mark with his words, and this time was no exception.
Zhang Tao adjusted his mental state and forced a smile on his face, "Mr. Lin, if you accept the investment from Lin Capital, does that mean that you will give us some advice in the future?"
"of course!"
Lin Fan also made it clear directly, "Lin's investment in a company does not mean that he pays the money and then does nothing else.
We will provide you with the best possible help in all aspects such as R&D, operation, and promotion.
Take Yelp as an example, I can also arrange for you to chat with their founder, Jeremy Russell."
"Ah, we are competitors, can they agree?"
Zhang Tao is interested in seeing how Americans play, which is also very beneficial to Dianping. In particular, Lin Fan also said that Yelp has many innovations that are different from their Dianping.
"There is a competitor across the Pacific. They have just established a foothold in San Francisco. Let alone China, they have not won most of the American market."
Lin Fanxian teased Zhang Tao and said, "Do you have the idea of expanding Dianping to the United States?"
"No, no, no, no~"
Zhang Tao waved his hand, said "no" several times, and then smiled and said: "As long as they are willing to chat together, I will naturally not have any thoughts of working behind closed doors."
"Well, that's no problem, everything can be arranged."
After saying that, Lin Fan stopped talking. He was waiting for Zhang Tao to take the initiative to speak.
Zhang Tao was already well aware of Lin Fan's idea of lowering the price.
The other party showed capital and various resources that it could bring to Dianping. The purpose was to get him to take the initiative to make concessions.
He had contacted several venture capital investors before, but the investment willingness of each institution was not very strong. After a brief chat, nothing happened.
Judging from the investment in Yelp, Lam Capital should not refuse to invest in Dianping.com.
However, in the first round of financing, too many concessions were made on the valuation, which resulted in too much dilution of shares, which was quite disadvantageous for him as the founder.
After thinking about it, Zhang Tao fell into hesitation for a while.
Zhang Tao was heartbroken and simply asked tentatively: "Mr. Lin, tell me, how much do you want to give the public an evaluation value?"
"With a pre-money valuation of US$5 million, we invested US$2.5 million in Dianping."
As soon as Lin Fan finished speaking, Zhang Tao shook his head, "This is too much. We only plan to raise US$2 million in Series A."
"you sure?"
Lin Fan shook his head and laughed, "For entrepreneurs, the first round of financing is very important, no one will complain about too much money.
Having enough money in hand means that you can quickly recruit talents, improve your team, accelerate expansion, rapidly grow your website, and then enter the next round of financing.
At the same time, having enough money also means more trial and error costs.
Starting a business is inherently a process of trial and error, and you may encounter obstacles along the way.
Take your physical membership card as an example. It is a trial and error and hitting a wall.
If a certain trial and error fails, all the money in the company's account will be spent, which means everything will return to zero.
If you have enough money in your hand, it means you can come again for a second or third time.”
Zhang Tao still shook his head and said with a firm face: "I still stick to my and the team's ideas and only raise 2 million US dollars. At present, we also have a certain amount of revenue and we don't need that much money."
Seeing that the other party was not moved at all, Lin Fan knew that he was determined, nodded and said, "Okay, let's talk about valuation again."
"Mr. Lin, the most we can accept is a pre-money valuation of US$8 million."
Lin Fan shook his head and said in an unquestioning tone: "It's only 6 million. If you think it's acceptable, we can sign the contract today."
Zhang Tao hesitated for a moment, raised his head, and opened his mouth several times, but every time he saw Lin Fan's cold expression, he swallowed his words again.
After countless struggles in his heart, Zhang Tao finally sighed, "Okay, then 6 million!"
Lin Fan's expression remained unchanged and calm, but he was actually quite happy because with just a few words and a straight face, he got five more points of equity.
Worried about the long nights and dreams, Lin Fan immediately called Rao Lei to get the investment intention agreement template, modified it on the computer, and printed it out.
A signature pen and a somewhat hot document were placed in front of Zhang Tao.
After reading the agreement carefully, Zhang Tao signed his name with a "swish".
Once you sign the investment intention agreement, you are one of your own.
Lin Fan did not try to pick on Zhang Tao anymore, but opened up and chatted with the other person, so as not to make the other person feel uncomfortable.
That's how investing is, you look the same before you invest and you look the same after you invest.
A qualified investor must have actor-level acting skills.
“...Don’t get any more physical membership cards, you can stop it directly.
To connect a large number of users with a large number of merchants, the simplest way is to directly tell users the discount information of these merchants, and this can be achieved by using electronic coupons.”
Zhang Tao was a little disappointed at first, but when Lin Fan started to give instructions, he immediately put aside his disappointed mood and began to listen carefully.
“Electronic coupons, as the name suggests, are coupons provided to users’ designated restaurants.
You can get a code number for the coupon. After the user arrives at the store, he can report the code number and confirm it with the merchant.
On the merchant side, a backend system needs to be developed and the corresponding code number can be entered to pop up discount information.
At the same time, it is also necessary to design a ROI return-on-investment backend for merchants, which means how many coupons have been issued, how much discounts have been made in total, how many customers have been added, and how much sales have been made..."
Zhang Tao's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he no longer hesitated about Lin Fan's identity, and kept asking questions.
Lin Fan smiled, waved his hand, indicating not to be anxious, and continued to impart his valuable experience.
“For restaurant businesses, discounts and promotions are a common thing.
In the past, in order to let more people know about discount and promotion information, they had to spend manpower and material resources to produce leaflets and distribute them along the streets. The emergence of electronic coupons solved this problem for them.
You have to discuss the discount with the merchant. If their profit margin is 50%, and you ask them to discount by 10% or 20% to expand profits by increasing sales, they will definitely be willing.
For merchants, this electronic coupon is a one-time purchase and sale. It is simple and crude enough. It comes back to the point I just emphasized. The cost of understanding is very low.
For the user side, the same is true at the same time. If you get a coupon, you can go to eat at 10% or 20% off on a big meal. How happy that is, and the meal becomes more delicious.
Users have spread word of mouth that before going to a restaurant to eat, they can go to Dianping.com to get a coupon. It’s hard not to see a surge in your website’s traffic!”
Lin Fan spread his hands and said, "This is not for you, but for me. How are you all?"
Zhang Tao was attracted by the scene described by Lin Fan. Seeing Lin Fan stop, he asked again: "Then how does Dianping make money?"
"Why!"
Lin Fan sighed, "You sell coupons!"
"Oh, Mr. Lin, you mean that the restaurant not only has to provide discount coupons, but also has to pay our website a fee?"
Lin Fan shrugged, "What if, they usually want to give out coupons but can't!
We will deliver it to him, and we will deliver it online. Do you think we will charge him or not?
But don’t charge money at the beginning, let Dianping subsidize it, and the website will pay for the difference in discount.
After a week of trial, the restaurants will make their own accounts, and after they taste the benefits, they will take the initiative to accept this payment method."
Zhang Tao raised his thumb and said, "Mr. Lin, what you said is better than the three years I have been running Dianping!"
Lin Fan smiled and said, "The current Internet strategy is to use this free method to absorb traffic. When the platform becomes bigger, users and restaurants will be inseparable from you. Please be more aware of it."
"Well, I'll think about it seriously when I get down!"
Zhang Tao nodded and gave this advice. The estimated price of 2 million US dollars would be enough to recover the capital.
He is not a fussy person. He knows how to look forward and asks with a shy face: "Mr. Lin, do you have any other advice?
Dianping and Lam Capital are now considered a family, and I need you to mention more later."
"What do you think of Baidu's business model?"
Zhang Tao is not stupid, and he quickly reacted, "You mean keyword advertising?"
Lin Fan nodded, children can be taught.
“The goal of Dianping is to gather traffic and become the Baidu of the catering industry, catering search.
For example, if a user searches for hotpot, and Haidilao Hotpot wants to get a good ranking, it has to spend money to buy advertising positions.
Of course, don’t lose sight of money. Position, reputation, evaluation and other weights should also be considered in the ranking to avoid user resentment.
There are also brand advertisements that can also be introduced, but this should be reviewed more so as not to damage your own reputation."
Zhang Tao nodded, and Lin Fan's guidance paved the way for their development in the next few years.
After chatting for another two hours, Lin Fan saw Zhang Tao off with his gratitude and reluctance.
"Okay, that's it. Goodbye, Mr. Lin!"
Zhang Tao waved to Lin Fan and walked into the elevator with a full smile.
Lin Fan also waved to the other party and withdrew his gaze.
He looked at Rao Lei, who was standing beside him, "Brother, Dianping's subsequent due diligence and post-investment management services will be left to you."
"I?"
Rao Lei pointed at himself first, then shook his head, "I'm still studying, I'm afraid I won't do well."
"It doesn't matter, you learn by doing!"
Lin Fan led Rao Lei back and said, "As you just heard, Zhang Tao is an entrepreneur with great ideas, and he is also very good.
When we work as venture capital investors and stay with outstanding entrepreneurs for a long time, we will learn a lot and even light up Xiaotian Dog’s innate skills.”
"The innate skill of Xiaotian Dog?"
Rao Lei was stunned for a moment, then asked with a smile: "Is it the nose?"
"Yes, smell!"
Lin Fan sniffed and said, "You will know if you are an excellent entrepreneur by smelling it with your nose."
Rao Lei laughed "haha", but he also understood Lin Fan's metaphor.
After meeting many outstanding entrepreneurs, senior venture capital practitioners can basically discover what the outstanding entrepreneurs have in common.
If you chat with an entrepreneur casually, you can learn a lot of information, including whether this person has the qualities to succeed.
In the venture capital industry, why do we prefer people with experience? The big reason is that senior people have the ability to understand people.
And students who have just graduated from college and are sent to work as investment managers are afraid that they will be fooled by experienced entrepreneurs.
"Okay, then I'll try to practice."
Rao Lei feels that experience is something that cannot be gained without practice.
Although I still feel that I have some shortcomings, I can only bite the bullet because time waits for no one.
Lin Fan walked into the room, took out his cell phone, and dialed Chen Hong.
"The deal is done, invest them two million US dollars!"
A hearty laugh came from the other end of the phone, "Okay, I knew you would definitely like this project."
"How many points will I charge?"
"The old rule is five o'clock, what's wrong?"
Lin Fan smiled and said, "Okay, I understand. Please hurry up and complete the due diligence. Once the money has been transferred, you can go to Dianping."
"Well, I'll go say hello later. I'm sure I'll be interested in your business."
Just as he was about to hang up the phone, Lin Fan thought for a moment and asked: "Help me find out if there are any star fund managers who are planning to run away for private lives recently."
"Damn it, you don't even let go of A-shares! Let me tell you, it's been a bear market recently.
A-shares are very evil, and institutions such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have all suffered.”
"I'm a little short of money recently, so I'm going to withdraw some money from the A-shares."
"Mr. Lin, what I admire most about you is that I don't know if others can use the stock market as a cash machine, but you can definitely do it."
