The sun was like fire, and the air conditioning in the conference room of Yanjing Dancing Bytes was turned on properly.

Several people were smiling, waiting for the legal side to finally confirm the terms of the investment agreement before they could sign it.

Although Chu Zhuang also smiled, he still couldn't help but have some regrets in his heart.

If you analyze it rationally, giving up 30% of the shares is too much for this round, although it is the so-called A+ round.

Today, Toutiao's commercial monetization has not yet started, and there is no more impressive data.

What's more, time is of the essence.

Admittedly, he is very confident in his product and strategy, but his opponent still has the lead and will get more money this time.

If you want to catch up, in addition to the efforts of the company, it is better to have enough ammunition.

Money for time.

"Mr. Chu, come to Yanjing next week, I will form a bureau, and when the time comes, I will call Mr. Sha and Mr. Wan together, you will know each other first, and then communicate how to cooperate and develop together. ”

Chu Zhuang smiled and nodded when he heard this: "Thank you, Mr. Ye." ”

"We are all invested in enterprises, of course, we hope that you can cooperate with each other to achieve a win-win situation, and you can both develop and grow. ”

Listening to the meaning of his words and looking at the smile on his face, Chu Zhuang remembered the terms of the agreement.

As a catch-up, the pressure is a lot greater.

The performance VAM and exit clauses proposed by the other party put a lot of pressure on Chuzhuang.

Of course, in order to take a larger share, the other party also gave a valuation that exceeded his expectations.

I heard that when Bit Spring and Autumn was in the A round at the beginning of the year, the valuation was more than 50 million yuan. From the time Toutiao was launched today, the amount of data accumulated was about the same amount as they should have been at the time.

Chuzhuang hopes that the valuation can be 60 million, and give up 25% to get 15 million.

As a result, the other party asked for 30%, and put forward several node goals for Chu Zhuang to choose, different goals, corresponding to different valuations.

Chu Zhuang thought he could do it.

He agreed to close a Series B funding round by the end of '13 and value the company at $100 million. In this way, you can get 24 million at a valuation of 80 million yuan.

That's quite a lot of money for a Series A round of funding.

As long as the goal is successfully achieved, the other party will follow suit, otherwise, he needs to find the next company to take over their 30% stake according to the expected return target of the other party.

There is still a little more than a year left for him.

Chuzhuang estimates that the number of users is now 3000 to 50 million. At such an order of magnitude, the rate of growth will begin to slow down, and the shortcomings of the opponent's strategy will slowly erupt.

Given more than a year to Dance Bytes, Chu Zhuang felt that the number of users on his side could explode to more than 50 million.

The valuation of more than 10 yuan for 1 user is not high.

After all, his own business monetization potential is greater than that of the other party.

The lawyer partners of the legal affairs departments of both sides read the text of the contract, and as both sides signed it, there was a round of applause in the conference room.

The two hands were clasped together, and Mr. Ye was very happy.

This single will not be lost. The fact that the other party can sign such a letter shows that he is indeed bold and confident.

After many discussions, he also recognized that Chu Zhuang was an unusual person.

Perhaps, this company can really grow to the level of 100 billion market capitalization.

Thinking of the proportion of shares that his side would own at that time, he felt a little hot in his heart. Even if there are only single digits left after a few more rounds of financing, it is still a billion or more value.

Therefore, in the face of the other party's arrangement to take pictures as a souvenir, Mr. Ye smiled happily, and then shook his hand and said: "Speed up the due diligence, finish it within 1 month, speed up and pull the bit spring and autumn down!

"I made an appointment with a friend and arranged an hour-long interview in the afternoon. ”

"When I return to Huhai that night, I will be able to see the report on your round A. ”

Chu Zhuang nodded and began to invite them to move to the celebratory luncheon that had been arranged.

The cooperation is reached, the future can be expected, and the guests and hosts are happy for a while.

When he returned to the company in the afternoon, a media friend he had made an appointment with Yu Xiao had arrived.

"It's so early?" Chu Zhuang greeted, beckoned him to sit on the sofa in his office, and asked with a smile, "It's good that you jumped ship and went to 36 Krypton, I often watch it now, focusing on professionalism." ”

"I'm also bullish on the idea that the company is new in this area, not just the media. Yu Xiao took out a pen and paper, and also took out a small recorder, "I have a lot of problems today, and there is a temporary situation, I also want to hear your opinion, record it and go back to sort it out." ”

Chu Zhuang didn't care, since it was a special interview for the appointment, this was the proper meaning: "Then this starts?"

"Let's get started. Yu Xiao turned on the recorder and asked with a smile, "Seeing that Mr. Chu is relaxed now, Toutiao's financing has made great progress today?"

Chu Zhuang smiled: "Relax for a short time, and then you have to devote yourself to the next stage of development even more difficult." It can only be said that our products, team, and strategy have been affirmed by investors, and the valuation given has exceeded expectations, which is a great encouragement for us. ”

"Oh, so today's interview with Chu is always prepared?"

"Of course, exclusive interviews, the latest news. The agreement has just been signed, and it's still hot. ”

Yu Xiao's eyes lit up, and he immediately asked, "Then Chu always has to introduce it well." ”

"I don't overstate numbers like two or three times. Chu Zhuang stretched out his hand and gestured a figure-of-eight, "It's real, with a valuation of 80 million." ”

"80 million? Congratulations to Mr. Chu!" Yu Xiao was indeed surprised. No matter how you put it, this number is really surprising, after all, the start of research and development of this product can be regarded as a matter of this year, and it has not been online for three months until now.

When this report goes out, it will be very sensational.

But Yu Xiao's expression surprised Chu Zhuang a little, because the other party didn't seem very excited. Chu Zhuang said: "When we are not happy, there is a big mountain above us." Of course, the team is very good, polishing the product very well, and the user data is very beautiful after the launch, which is why investors recognize this valuation. ”

Yu Xiao looked at the notes made in his notebook and asked: "Since Mr. Chu mentioned the mountain above, can you talk about the similarities and differences between the product thinking of today's headlines and daily headlines?

Chu Zhuang smiled bitterly: "This is not a secret of words, of course there is an impact. We've known each other for a long time, so I won't say this to outsiders, but I can talk to you. Toutiao is a product that I have been preparing to make since last year. It can only be said that there is no shortage of talents in the circle, and everyone's ideas are very close, and the other party has landed this idea a little earlier, so that we are more passive now. I also know that some people in the circle say that we are copycats, and in fact, I would like to take this opportunity to talk about my differences in the target users and product positioning of the two products......"

Chu Zhuang wanted to say this for a long time, but it was not the right time before, he was also busy with product development and launch, as well as the most important financing, so he didn't have this time.

Now, the A round has been negotiated, and Dancing Bytes should also make its voice heard.

To this end, Chu Zhuang was very well prepared, and took out the scattered ideas and the most original product design documents that he had recorded before the products of Bit Spring and Autumn were launched to support his statement.

Yu Xiao listened with relish.

Such stories are common. After the emergence of a popular product, a variety of similar products have appeared one after another, and everyone has a similar product name or even a very similar Logo, each with their own thoughts.

But it is not excluded that it is really like what Chu Zhuang said, two people who are not in line at all have the same idea, so one set off first and put the other person in an embarrassing situation.

Yu Xiao asked with a smile: "So, Mr. Chu still doesn't know Mr. Yu of Bitchunqiu?"

"Yes, I'm also wondering when I'll get to know him, after all, I've been friends for a long time. It's just that everything is busy now, and I haven't even been connected to the Internet. ”

"Then Mr. Chu should be very concerned about the dynamics of Bite Chunqiu, right?"

"Of course, it's a mountain we need to climb over. Chu Zhuang's words were quite sincere.

"Mr. Chu is very confident. Yu Xiao smiled meaningfully, "But this mountain is not easy to climb. ”

Chu Zhuang smiled confidently: "I remain optimistic. ”

"So since we've talked about it here, I don't know if Mr. Chu knows anything about their B round of financing?"

"Of course, I heard that it was a tough conversation. Truth be told, our investor talked to them, but in the end he chose us. ”

Chu Zhuang felt that this would be a surprise news, and after the same fund looked at two very similar projects, he chose the one that is still relatively weak, and it sounds like there are a lot of stories in it.

However, Yu Xiao was not particularly curious about the twists and turns, but put on a smile that made him feel a little unaware of the meaning.

"It's a coincidence. Yu Xiao glanced at him, "A friend of mine is very familiar with their CMO who used to work on Weibo, and just got their internal news. Bit's Series B financing has just been signed. ”

"Oh, is it?" Chu Zhuang looked at him and paused and asked, "Don't sell it, this is the temporary situation you said, right?"

"That's right, after all, I also heard him tell me on the way here, and it was indeed a coincidence. Friends said that the B round of investors in Bit Spring and Autumn are Hongsong! The valuation is 100 million!" He paused and emphasized, "Dollars!"