In Shanghai, as time enters November, there is already a slight chill in the air.
Zhou Dongsheng, who returned to the Magic City, completed his work and rest adjustment after a short sleep. For this energetic young body, such a trivial matter as jet lag was completely unworthy of mention.
At the same time, before Zhou Dongsheng took the initiative to come to the door, Yang Luyu had already come to the door impatiently.
The two met at a leisurely river-view restaurant on the bank of the Huangpu River.
Zhou Dongsheng admired the Huangpu River that never stopped flowing outside the window, and couldn't help but think of the poem "The endless Yangtze River rolls in".
Obviously, Yang Luyu, who was sitting opposite, was not in the mood to appreciate the beautiful scenery.
"Dr. Jay, you should have a pretty good understanding of the specific situation. The opponents are coming fiercely, and we have already done some internal research on the Ame software..."
"It can be said that the product concept is highly similar to ours, but on a technical level, it seems to be even better than us!"
After roughly learning about the Ame software, Zhou Dongsheng couldn't help but sigh.
The wheel of history is always rolling forward, but Rao himself has changed the direction of the music and science network in advance, introduced musical.ly into the country one step ahead, and completed the localization layout.
He even unceremoniously took the name "Douyin" into his pocket. It can be said that in order to block the path of Toutiao, this potential enemy, Zhou Dongsheng racked his brains and tried his best.
It is to enable Wenxue Network to "fly first" and make full use of its first-mover advantage to accumulate enough foundation for itself.
However, the objective laws of history tell us that the so-called first-mover advantage is not necessarily any better than late-mover advantage.
There are many heroes in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but the winner in the end is still the Sima family.
In the short video field, whether it is Kuaishou, Meipai, or Tenda, they have spent a lot of money on deployment, but in the end they were overtaken by Toutiao.
He has single-handedly established himself as the leader in short videos, and has become an upstart in the Internet industry. Even his company has become one of the top unicorn companies in the world.
The term unicorn is generally used in the investment industry to describe unlisted startups that are less than 10 years old and have a valuation of more than $1 billion!
And on this list, perhaps the only one that can be compared with Byte is that ant... ahem.
Naturally, for unicorn companies like this, it is not all the current events that create heroes. The so-called "right time, right place, right people," the importance of the latter two is naturally self-evident.
Zhou Dongsheng may be able to seize the opportunity in "Tianshi", but the Toutiao Department's own technology accumulation and talent performance are obviously beyond Zhou Dongsheng's control.
What Zhou Dongsheng can see may only be the fruit on the branch of the headline, but the deep-rooted foundation buried deep in the ground is obviously not something Zhou Dongsheng can pry into.
This is undoubtedly a major limitation of Zhou Dongsheng. He can only do his best and obey fate, but it is difficult to "change fate against nature."
But, this battle has just started, and I have no chance of winning. Although the first-mover advantage is not a victory, it is still a big advantage.
And when he thought about having the opportunity to compete with such a future giant on the same stage and compete head-on, Zhou Dongsheng couldn't help but feel his heart surge.
If you can't even understand the situation of "flying dragon riding on the face", then it can only prove that your virtue is not suitable, and you can only rely on temporary "opportunism" to take advantage.
This is also an opportunity for Zhou Dongsheng to recognize himself.
When I accomplished nothing in my previous life, I always liked to complain that I was born at the wrong time and that my talent was not recognized. I never doubted my talent.
Now that I have given myself a chance to start over, if I still can't do it, I can only accept it sincerely. I really don't have the ability.
Thinking of this, Zhou Dongsheng had already made a decision in his heart. The next step was to think about how he met this competitor.
Although in the short video field, Toutiao is not the only one, there are also two leading players, Kuaishou and Meipai.
However, to a certain extent, only the Toutiao series can be considered a true competitor of the same type.
Kuaishou, which is more focused on sinking the market, is quite different from them in terms of development route, and it feels like the well water does not conflict with the river water.
As for Meipai... don't worry about him, he will deliver it himself.
Although I don’t know why Meipai has become a "flying dragon riding on the face" and still loses miserably, Zhou Dongsheng believes that there must be a reason. As for whether it is a human problem or a route problem...
That's unknown.
Nowadays, Ame relies on the traffic generated by the Toutiao system itself, which is enough to survive and survive smoothly, and it has passed the incubation stage smoothly. Before changing its name, it is obviously not time to show its fangs.
I just don’t know which name Toutiao will choose as a replacement after I seize the opportunity of “Douyin”?
Zhou Dongsheng couldn't help but be a little curious about this, but a catchy name was just the icing on the cake.
The real product competitiveness is not only reflected in superficial things like the name, but also on the deeper technical level, which is the top priority.
However, according to the barrel theory, how much water can be held is often determined not by the longest piece of wood, but by the shortest piece.
Therefore, as long as Wenxue Network does not have fatal technical shortcomings, it will not be completely defeated and have no chance of winning.
"Mr. Yang, there's no need to be too hasty. No matter what kind of person you are, you have to eat, right? In the worst case, the soldiers will come to block it, and the water will come to cover it up. We don't have no chance of winning, so let's order the food first."
Zhou Dongsheng greeted him calmly, with a confident look on his face, and gave Yang Luyu a reassurance.
Especially when thinking of Zhou Dongsheng's series of achievements, how he started from scratch and reached the heights he is today step by step...
Yang Luyu couldn't help but feel reassured. If he hadn't listened to Zhou Dongsheng's suggestion, how could the product "Douyin" be flourishing like it is now?
If it were not for Zhou Dongsheng, I would probably still be struggling in the overseas market. I would be satisfied just with the product musical.ly, right?
It is precisely because of this that Yang Luyu mentioned Zhou Dongsheng to the level of a "strategic investor". At the same time, as the company's second largest shareholder, Zhou Dongsheng's status in Wenxue Network is not low at all.
"I feel reassured by Chairman Zhou's words. I believe that Chairman Zhou must have already taken countermeasures..." Yang Luyu said immediately and sincerely, and then he went to order his own dishes, looking completely relieved.
.
This actually made Zhou Dongsheng a little confused. Is it really so easy to comfort him?
If all the women in the world were so easy to deal with, wouldn't the world be at peace...
Zhou Dongsheng shook his head and put this unrealistic idea behind him. Then Yang Luyu ordered a large table of dishes, and the two of them laughed and filled their stomachs first.
After having enough tea and rice, Yang Luyu burped, and then said with expectation: "Dr. Jay, now that you are full, can you tell me what you think?"
Zhou Dongsheng wiped his mouth slowly, and then suddenly asked: "Is this software really similar to our Douyin?"
Yang Luyu nodded involuntarily, "Yes, but he is obviously better than us in terms of technology accumulation, and the experience of using it is also slightly better than ours..."
After all, Yang Luyu was a technician, so he subconsciously analyzed the differences between the two from a technical perspective.
But for Zhou Dongsheng, he is naturally a layman when it comes to technical matters, and he wants to gain an advantage in the competition with the Toutiao Department...
Naturally, we need to maximize our strengths and avoid weaknesses. Since there is a gap in technology, we should not go head-to-head on the technical level and instead focus on the first-mover advantage.
"Mr. Yang, I don't understand technical matters, but even in a highly competitive market, everything should be done on a first-come, first-served basis."
"Although everyone is a short video player, we are the first to try this branch of music short video, right?"
Zhou Dongsheng guided him in a persuasive way, but Yang Luyu shook his head in an extremely upright manner.
"In terms of the tool attributes of music short videos, we also borrowed from excellent software such as Dubsmash in overseas markets, but we added the social concept of community..."
"It greatly enriches the product experience and allows users to better socialize. It is with the help of social networking that we have opened up the market overseas..."
Yang Luyu said seriously, Zhou Dongsheng rubbed his forehead and continued.
"I mean, it doesn't matter who invented it first. Our products have performed brilliantly in domestic and overseas markets, and we are even more famous in the field of music short videos!"
"In this case, can we take this opportunity to counter Ame, accuse it of plagiarism, and occupy the high ground of public opinion first..."
Zhou Dongsheng said, "I'm going to blame you for it." Although he "plagiarized" the name Douyin, Toutiao is indeed suspected of borrowing from it in terms of first-come, first-served.
Regarding this issue, the Toutiao series in the previous life was also criticized for this, but after the anti-takeover was finally completed, there was no reference to plagiarism when we became a family.
But now, this is obviously a good opportunity to take the lead and seize the genuine concept in the minds of users.
"Although the concept, UI and other designs of Ame's product are very similar to ours, it is very troublesome to identify plagiarism on a technical level..." Yang Luyu said in a dilemma.
"Mr. Yang, don't get too carried away. It doesn't matter whether this matter is true or not. It doesn't matter even if we lose the lawsuit in the end, but we must give full play to our advantages first!"
"As long as users know that we are genuine and the other party is pirated, that is enough." Zhou Dongsheng said decisively.
Such nonsense as whether to copy or not, and how much to consider as copying, will naturally have to be argued in court, and Zhou Dongsheng's purpose is to win as long as he goes to court.
Even world giants like Apple and Microsoft once went to court and engaged in a lawsuit that lasted several years due to disputes over windowed operating systems.
Even so, this lawsuit ultimately did not affect the historical process and became a dust of history.
By now, the fact that Apple was once a computer company is trivial.
Therefore, winning or losing the lawsuit is not important, just like how many bowls of noodles Liu Zi has eaten, this is not the purpose of "Hu Wan".
As long as there is a commotion, the goal has been achieved. If the headlines are tied up first, if they can be dragged into the trap of proving their innocence, then naturally it will be the best.
After all, Douyin has relied on its first-mover advantage to accumulate more than 100 million users. At this most critical stage of development, as long as it can slow down Ame's incubation speed...
That is already considered a success. If it can be delayed until the dust finally settles and the industry's 80-20 law takes shape, then it will be great.
When Yang Luyu heard this, he thought about it for a while and suddenly came back to his senses. He couldn't help but look at Zhou Dongsheng with admiration again. He didn't expect that Zhou Dongsheng was so young...
He was so full of bad water!
However, friends are honey and enemies are arsenic. For people in the same boat, the more bad water the better.
"Gao, Director Zhou is really high! But this move alone seems a bit inadequate..." Yang Luyu said with unfinished meaning, wishing Zhou Dongsheng could continue to increase his efforts.
"This chess game naturally has to be played step by step. The opponent has just completed financing and is rich at the time. However, the short video is just an attempt by the Toutiao system, and the opponent may not spend everything on it!"
"So, let's express our attitude first. It would be best if we can retreat despite the difficulties. Otherwise, we can only use the bayonet."
Zhou Dongsheng said leisurely, and then continued: "But I think, with the ambition of the headline series, the former is basically unnecessary to consider, so we have to be prepared."
"Since we are going to fight, we must be prepared with guns and ammunition. Otherwise, if we don't have enough firepower, it will not end well."
"If the other party can raise funds, we are certainly not bad either. The next round of financing should also be put on the agenda."
Zhou Dongsheng said methodically. Under Zhou Dongsheng's guidance, Yang Luyu finally figured out his thoughts.
"I understand Director Jay. The most correct decision I have ever made in my life was definitely accepting your investment and making you a strategic investor of Wenxue Network..."
Yang Luyu said with sincerity, although Zhou Dongsheng is young, in Yang Luyu's eyes, he is a well-deserved Bo Le, and even more destined to be a noble person.
Today's Wenxue Network is no longer what it used to be in terms of market value. Originally, only musical.ly was a product that made a name for itself in overseas markets, but it had little reputation in China.
But now, not only does it still firmly occupy the overseas market, but it has also achieved unprecedented success in localizing its entry into the domestic market.
Douyin is catching up from behind, and its accumulation of more than 100 million users exceeds musical.ly in overseas markets!
For the Wenxue Network, it can be said to be both internal and external.
Although the Toutiao system has its own traffic system, Wenxue Network does not make any concessions in this regard, especially its advantages in overseas markets. Looking at other domestic competitors, it is definitely the only one.
Combining the two, the valuation in the next round of financing will only be higher, not lower!