PNB Chapter 41: A Young Man's First Venture Capital Investment?
Chapter 41: A Young Man's First Venture Capital Investment?
The afternoon presentation was held in the library's lecture hall.
Chen Che arrived early to do some preparatory work such as debugging the projector and distributing materials.
The meeting was nominally called a "report" or "discussion," but in Chen Che's understanding, it was actually a very early-stage venture capital investment.
An entrepreneur with an idea finds an investor and asks for money and resources. The difference is that some entrepreneurs have already put their ideas into practice and completed the most basic business model verification, while others only have a PowerPoint presentation, and some don't even have a PowerPoint presentation. Like Western Electronics King, they simply say, "I have a really cool idea."
Whether investors will believe you or not depends on your business model, abilities, personality, and network.
Apart from a small number of nouveau riche whose intelligence doesn't match their wealth, and those who just happened to be riding the wave of success, most people's wealth is positively correlated with their intelligence. It's easy to imagine how difficult it is to get these people to pull money out of their pockets.
The failure rate of starting a business is over 90%, but the return on success is far beyond imagination.
Instead of trading stocks in the secondary market, studying company financial statements and long-term development, fighting against all sorts of true and false insider information, and sometimes even if you do a lot of research, a single policy can ruin an entire industry, it's better to trust your own judgment and sift through the sands of the primary market to find the real gems.
When every legendary company stands at the forefront of the times, people not only praise the courage and strategy of its leader, but also marvel at how, many years ago, at the beginning of the story, there was always someone who paid for the dream, providing the first investment and becoming the discerning patron who found this exceptional talent.
Just like when you mention Jack Ma and Alibaba, you think of Masayoshi Son of SoftBank.
When you mention miHoYo, you think of Song Tao, who acquired 15% of the shares for one million.
As for those who will be present today, Teacher Zhu had given them a rough notification in advance. They are the deputy secretary of the college and a teacher from the Youth League Committee, who is also her nominal mentor.
Although they won't be involved in the specifics of their own entrepreneurial journey, if they ever succeed, it will be a brilliant achievement in their student work.
It was a small event, and there were no special arrangements like place cards.
A short while later, Zhu Jingdong led two leaders over. When they sat down, Chen Che was still looking down at the PPT. It wasn't until Zhu Jingdong called out that he looked up to see who had come over.
"Chen Che, let me introduce you. This is Gong Cheng from the Youth League Committee, Teacher Gong."
Gong Cheng was a young male teacher wearing thin-rimmed silver glasses. He was expressionless and exuded a capable aura. Upon hearing Zhu Jingdong's introduction, Chen Che bowed slightly and said, "Hello, teacher." The other party nodded in response.
"This is Yan Zhengsheng, the deputy secretary of the Youth League Committee of our college. Secretary Yan."
Just as Chen Che was about to bow slightly in greeting, he froze when he saw the other person's face.
Isn't that the same air force officer I encountered that night who was still being stubborn?
Fortunately, Chen Che was professionally trained and wouldn't laugh easily unless he couldn't help it.
However, when he said "Hello, Secretary," his voice still trembled slightly.
"Hmm, hello." Secretary Yan was a middle-aged man. He squinted his eyes and smiled, responding to the greeting he had just given. It was unclear whether he was amused by the memory of their first night together.
"Let's begin," Zhu Jingdong said, pointing to the projector.
"Oh... okay."
Chen Che wasn't nervous at first; he'd been through countless similar situations. But perhaps because he'd run into someone he knew, he started to become overly relaxed.
After a brief self-introduction, Chen Che began, "Uncle... cough, Secretary, strictly speaking, our team currently has two members: one is me, and the other is a senior from our college named Xu Zhen..."
Next, Chen Che broke down and explained the entire model.
On the online mobile app, students can place orders through the "Zhengdian Fries" platform. After receiving the order, the student agent in each building can respond quickly within five to ten minutes and deliver the goods to the door, forming an online cloud supermarket within the school. Students can have the experience of shopping in a supermarket without leaving home. At present, "Zhengdian Fries" has basically completed the coverage of the male dormitories within the School of Engineering, and the weekly active users can reach about 10,000.
In the offline warehousing环节, if the platform can obtain venue and financial support from the school, connect with external channels, purchase in large quantities to reduce costs and increase gross profit, and expand new product categories, it has the opportunity to grow into a brand-new large-scale retail terminal. It can then further distribute to student agents, which actually forms a "large warehouse" plus "micro warehouse" model, which is also the cornerstone to ensure that orders can be responded to quickly.
Most importantly, this is not an ideal theory or an empty PowerPoint presentation, but a business model that has been basically verified, passed the trial phase, and has the value of replication and promotion. The market potential is still huge, and the next step is the sister school next door, followed by universities throughout Nanjing and even the whole country.
Throughout the process, Chen Che spoke fluently and confidently, not at all like a college freshman who had just graduated from high school. His composed attitude and smooth, natural answers made Yan Zhengsheng nod in approval frequently and raise almost no questions about the process. The only point that could be considered a problem was that hoarding goods in the dormitory was not in accordance with the dormitory management regulations, but it had not been explicitly prohibited. It was more like a gray area, which was not really a problem when it came to the highlights of his future resume.
"That concludes our discussion for now, Chen Che. The college will inform you of the results later." Gong Cheng, representing the school's Youth League Committee, announced the end of today's meeting, and Chen Che dutifully did not linger.
Yan Zhengsheng called out to him only when he passed by the judges' table.
"Xiao Chen, come here for a second."
"Oh, Secretary Yan, what can I do for you?" Chen Che asked.
He initially thought it was some kind of guidance or advice, but Yan Zhengsheng didn't say anything extra. He just patted him lightly on the shoulder and said, "Keep it up."
"Okay, thank you, Secretary." Chen Che respectfully shook hands with Yan Zhengsheng, feeling much more at ease. It was both an encouragement and a guarantee; with Yan Zhengsheng's words, the matter was basically approved at the college level.
After Chen Che and Zhu Jingdong left the lecture hall one after the other, only Yan Zhengsheng and Gong Cheng remained.
"Secretary Yan, what are your thoughts?" Gong Cheng asked, adjusting his glasses.
"I think Xiao Chen's plan is quite comprehensive and has been tested in practice, proving its feasibility and operability. I'm quite satisfied with it. What's your opinion?"
Gong Cheng remained silent for a moment before replying, "I agree with what you said, but..."
No matter how eloquently the preceding statements are presented, the real key point is what follows the turning point.
"From what I understand, it seems that Chen Che doesn't have many people backing him up. His family members are either CEOs or senior executives of companies, and he doesn't seem like a graduate student starting a business with professors' projects. I think I haven't missed any information in this regard," Gong Cheng said.
"Teacher Gong, I don't think this is a big problem. We should have faith in our students' abilities. In this era, if we seize opportunities and work hard, the future is limitless. This world will ultimately belong to the young people." Yan Zhengsheng thought for a moment and spoke from Chen Che's perspective.
"That's true, but without someone to pave the way, the road will always be much more difficult." Otherwise, Gong Cheng himself would not have chosen to seek stability and become a teacher at a university back then. Sometimes when he talks with his old classmates, some of them have changed to luxury cars and mansions, while others are burdened with debt. His choice to seek stability was just another option, and there is no difference between them.
"We will give it serious consideration to the school," Gong Cheng said with a soft sigh.
"That's all for now. See you later, Secretary Yan."
"Okay, Teacher Gong."
......
the other side.
Chen Che, who hadn't heard the conversation, felt much better. He had done all he could, and there was no point in worrying about what was beyond his control. He hoped for a good outcome, and if not, he would find another way.
Every obstacle is difficult, but you'll overcome them all.
The most important thing now is to go to the cafeteria to get a meal, then go back to the dorm and play on my phone and computer until lights out, and then sleep until I naturally wake up.
While waiting at the window to get his food packed, Chen Che happened to run into Chen Sui, who was also there to get her food.
"Chen Che, how did it go?" Chen Sui asked, looking at him expectantly.
"I don't know, I think it's pretty good," Chen Che replied.
"By the way, you have my clothes, right? When are you going to return them to me?"
Chen Sui blushed slightly: "It was a little dirty, so I washed it."
There was still his saliva on it; how could he give it back to him without washing it off?
"It's not machine washed, is it? That's too dishonest, I won't accept it," Chen Che teased.
"No, why would I use a washing machine for a piece of clothing? I wash it myself."
......