Facing Gu Kun's concern, Ma Feng smiled self-deprecatingly:
"Hi, I thought being an official was not bad at first. But after broadening my horizons, people will change. To be honest, I would like to thank the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Affairs for providing me with the opportunity to gain insights over the past year and let me know
How fast is the cutting-edge technology outside developing?
At the end of October and November last year, I went to Oceania with an inspection team. In Seattle, I saw something called the Internet. I felt that that thing was really a big opportunity and could change the world. I thought I
Do something.
Gu Sheng, this is the business card of my colleague Xiao Wu. If you need consulting services from the foreign trade authorities in the future, you can do the same to him."
Ma Feng said and handed a business card to Gu Kun.
This is very decent and nice.
You must know that under normal circumstances, entrepreneurs don't like officials to come to their door when they are out of shape. After all, when you are in your position, the power at hand is the reason why entrepreneurs respect you. Why bother to fight after you are gone?
Autumn breeze?
But when Ma Feng said this, it seemed that he and his former business contacts were visiting the dock one by one and had no other intentions.
It's just out of a "server mentality" that he tells others who he should contact after he leaves his job.
Those who are admired will not feel disgusted. This is called high emotional intelligence.
"Chief Ma is really a thoughtful person. Even if you are leaving, you still don't forget the beginning and the end. I admire you as a person. With your serious attitude towards work, I believe you will achieve great success no matter what you do." Gu Kun said
When he said this, he spoke from the bottom of his heart,
After saying that, he did not forget to turn the turntable on the table so that Ma Feng could pick up the dishes on the other side, and advised:
"Come on, don't just talk, eat, let's have a good time together, don't be formal. I won't respect you for drinking. I can't pour five pounds of Maotai. You are not an alcoholic, so you don't have to drink with me."
"Brother Gu is such a happy person, I won't be polite." Ma Feng immediately picked up the bowl and ate casually as if he were at home.
Gu Kun didn't follow Ma Feng's lead, so he just put on plastic gloves to deal with the beggar chicken, and then started tearing it apart.
Tear the two chicken legs and put one in Ma Feng's bowl, while he holds the other one and gnaws it directly.
This relaxed atmosphere further lowered Ma Feng's alertness, and while eating, he said something more and more sincerely:
"Brother Gu, what you said just now is really too much. I don't know how to do business, and you don't know that? It's nonsense to say that I can succeed in anything. The reason why I am so determined this time is not because I believe
My own ability, but I believe that the opportunity of the Internet is really great - you are engaged in traditional industries and may not know about the Internet, so you don’t feel it.”
"Then you are looking down on me. How come I don't know what the Internet is?" Gu Kun smiled proudly, "I also went abroad for two months last year. I know the latest trends very well. Although I can't do Internet business.
, but I believe this is another media marginal cost revolution.
All virtual content industries around the world can be combined with the new platform of the Internet in the future to create giants with a higher degree of monopoly. The same is true for the tourism industry that I am about to get involved in."
Gu Kun's words really surprised Ma Feng.
He patted his thigh and sighed: "Have you really understood the Internet? I didn't expect that I still underestimated you. This opinion is really... coincident! I also feel that the Internet has just emerged in Oceania for a year.
, but everyone is a little fanatical.
If the Internet really wants to make a difference, it should be integrated with traditional commerce. It should position itself on 'services' rather than drawing a pie in the air. Kun, you are the one who started it all on your own. I think.
is more specific than me."
Gu Kun didn't want to waste any more time. He pretended to have heard the flaw in Ma Feng's words and asked: "You didn't expect me to understand the Internet, so why did you find me in the first place? Brother Ma, you don't
Like someone who would waste time with someone who doesn't expect to talk to them.
Let’s get straight to the point, are you having difficulty with the funds to realize your idea? Don’t be polite. The business opportunities you helped me contact last year, in this year alone, earned more than 5 million for my foreign trade business. I’m looking after someone.
He is a cheerful person who knows how to repay kindness, so just ask, but if you don’t say it, you don’t regard me as a friend!”
Gu Kun told the truth. In April and May last year, around the time of the Spring Canton Fair, he met his friend Ma Feng by chance and got him as his advisor. Gu Kun subsequently started a business of importing Chinese goods and reselling them in Lanzhou, and he made a lot of money.
In the early days, there were hundreds of thousands of net profits every month. However, in the first three months of this year, the profits gradually became thinner, mainly because it has been a year since the RMB exchange rate has been aligned, and there was arbitrage caused by "the cost of RMB-denominated goods was underestimated"
The space is completely closed.
From now on I can only make hard-earned money.
Gu Kun said these words in the hope that Ma Feng would not feel any psychological burden when he asked him to borrow money.
Because Gu Kun vaguely remembered that Ma Feng's first entrepreneurial capital in history was just borrowed from relatives, and it was enough.
If Ma Feng is not allowed to let go of his psychological burden, the other party may be embarrassed to lend him money, so how can Gu Kun set the hook?
Seeing that Gu Kun spoke so forcefully and even talked about "distrusting my vision", Ma Feng naturally had to take advantage of the situation and step down:
"Akun, what you said is right! When have I ever doubted your vision? At most, I just didn't think about it for a moment. In all conscience, I have been working in the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Affairs for more than a year, and you are the most successful foreign businessman I have seen.
——I'm not talking about the size of the family business, but the acceleration of business growth..."
"Don't talk about these things. Just tell me if you have any financial difficulties! Otherwise, you won't treat me as a brother!" Gu Kun pretended to be unhappy.
Ma Feng spread his hands: "When I came to you during the Lantern Festival, there was indeed a shortfall of three...two hundred thousand in starting capital, but that was because I hadn't figured out the details of the business model at that time. Later I raised the funds myself, and now I
That’s almost enough.”
Gu Kun: "200,000? Who borrowed it from you? You have to think clearly about this kind of thing."
Ma Feng smiled bitterly and sighed: "I borrowed it from all my relatives at home, even my wife's relatives from her natal family."
Gu Kun smiled and said: "Business is risky, so how can you get a dowry and wife's capital? Let's do this, I'll lend you 300,000."
Ma Feng immediately declined: "How can this be done? I don't have anything to give you as collateral. You don't understand the recently popular venture capital in Oceania... My brothers are still settling the scores.
Ah Kun, you can't do this. You are a friend I made at work. If I take money from you just after resigning from public office, it will appear that I am using my power for personal gain and waiting for someone to repay me in the future. Wouldn't that ruin my reputation?
."
Gu Kun: "What do you mean by waiting for you to resign before repaying me? Do you think I'm giving you money to play with? I believe you will succeed, so I can lend it to you with confidence."
Ma Feng: "Business is risky... The Internet is a good opportunity, but it may not be my turn to succeed."
When outsiders see this scene, they will definitely say that they cannot understand it: the person who borrowed the money tried his best to express his belief, but the person who received the money kept reminding the other person that "lending to me is risky."
Gu Kun didn't want to be entangled anymore, so he cut through the mess quickly and said: "Stop talking nonsense, I believe you have at least a 80% chance of winning. After you win, remember to return the capital to me with interest. If you don't make much money, you won't come out, and we will calculate it later."
I've invested in the shares - I'm investing in 'convertible bonds' for you."
Convertible bonds, as the name suggests, are still just debts when profits are made. However, when losses are incurred and the debts are insolvent, they will be converted into shares.
This is an extremely favorable condition for borrowers, and it is a decision made only when the lender has great trust in the borrower.
The reason why Gu Kun was so eager to enter the game in this way was because based on his superficial knowledge of history, he knew that Ma Feng's first entrepreneurial venture was not very successful, or at least it was absorbed by others——
In his previous life, after Ma Feng resigned in March 1995, he started a Chinese Yellow Pages, which was acquired by China Telecom more than a year later. After that, Ma Feng started a new business and started Ali Baba, but that was all after 1997.
It's a matter of.
Therefore, Gu Kun did not want to take a stake in Ma Feng's first entrepreneurial project.
What he hopes more is to further strengthen his friendship with Ma Feng so that Ma Feng will be the first to think of him when he is short of funds next time.
Of course, because of Gu Kun's capital involvement, it is not ruled out that due to the butterfly effect in this life, Ma Feng's first project was directly successful and was not targeted by official capital.
But in that case, Gu Kun had nothing to lose. At least he still gained a deeper friendship, and he believed that Ma Feng would still need financing after his business grew, and it could not be done with 300,000 yuan.
At most, he will lose one seed round. If Gu Kun wants to make friends with him in the subsequent angel round A, he will still have more priority opportunities.
Gu Kun saw it clearly: for him, the growth rate is not critical, the key is capital capacity.
Let 300,000 multiply a thousand times into 300 million. It sounds very beautiful and is very suitable as a story gimmick for the myth of wealth.
But from a financial perspective, Gu Kun would rather choose to multiply 30 million a hundred times into 30 billion.
The multiples after successful early-stage investments are indeed high, but the scale of funds required in early-stage rounds is too small.
He can't force the other party to give him 3 million when he clearly only needs 300,000.
"This, how can this be so embarrassing? Ah Kun, this is too..." Ma Feng was really embarrassed by this condition.
Gu Kun interrupted the other party's modesty: "I actually don't know much about investing. I only know one thing about Silicon Valley's routines: venture capital invests in people, not specific businesses. 300,000 is nothing to me.
Just think of it as throwing stones to sharpen your eyesight. Just take it if you are told."
It was only 300,000, and Gu Kun didn't bother to write a check.
He casually rummaged into his wallet and took out four stacks of money, all of which were green Franklin's with 100 denominations.
Who knows that he is a foreigner, and in the 1990s, immigration inspections did not check cash very much, so Gu Kun could withdraw hundreds of thousands of US dollars in cash at any time in China.
"Here is 40,000 U.S. dollars, let's call it 320,000 U.S. dollars. Work hard."
The exchange rate fluctuates frequently, and it is difficult to calculate the one or two cents after the decimal point.