The darkness before dawn is still darkness, and it is completely dark.

In recent years, the number of Internet users in China has been growing at a multiple rate of "power of 2". But what can be done, the Internet winter is coming, even if it is Yinghaiwei, which has raised hundreds of millions of dollars, and Meishang.com, which has raised $50 million, these well-known Internet companies have died or are dying.

The well-known Amazon will fall from more than $100 to single digits in the Internet winter.

Now the pages of the domestic and foreign media are unceremoniously publishing a five-word headline - the Internet is dead!

Winter has arrived, but at this moment, it is not the coldest time, but there are some frost flowers, and next year it will be truly called Ten Thousand Miles of Ice.

"Boss Song, please go inside. Gu Yongjiang looked tired, but still squeezed out a smile, he was smiling all the time.

Song Weiyang pushed the door in, and Zhang Chaoyang was lying on the conference table, as if he was too tired to do the questions and fell asleep.

Gu Yongjiang reminded in a low voice: "Lao Zhang, Boss Song is here." ”

Zhang Chaoyang woke up in a daze, immediately rubbed his face, got up and shook hands with Song Weiyang: "I'm sorry, I just came back from the United States yesterday, and the jet lag hasn't been reversed." ”

"Sit down. Song Weiyang patted him on the shoulder.

The computer has been turned on, the software has long been opened, and the display is full of boxes.

As the time of the meeting approached, the avatars of these boxes appeared one after another, all of which were the shareholder representatives of Sohu. This kind of international video call uses ISDN technology, which is the kind commonly used in Internet cafes at this time. Due to transoceanic communication, the network speed is very slow, and the image is stuttering every second.

Zhang Chaoyang breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Gentlemen, I am Zhang Chaoyang, President of Sohu. The Internet winter has arrived, and I am very happy that Sohu's stock price has fallen less than Amazon's. ”

This slightly humorous opening sentence did not achieve any effect, and the members of the video call all had serious expressions.

Zhang Chaoyang continued: "I firmly believe that the cold winter will eventually pass, and what Sohu has to do is to survive the cold winter. Ladies and gentlemen, the number of Internet users in China is skyrocketing, at least doubling every year, and China's Internet is about to usher in a golden age. So, although we have entered the Internet winter, China and the United States are different. Sohu's current strategic thinking is one, to increase its own profitability, achieve balance between payments and tenaciously survive. I believe that in three years at most, the spring of the Internet will come, Sohu's stock price will grow again, and your investment will be rewarded. ”

No one applauded, and the representative of the shareholder MAC asked directly with a calm face: "When will Sohu be able to break even, and what are you going to do, I need to be specific, not vague." ”

"Sohu is about to buy another Chinese website, ChinaRen, and the investment has been negotiated for a long time, but the general environment has changed, and we have lowered the purchase price a lot," Zhang said. ChinaRen, also known as 'alumni' in China, is an online community for young people, and Sohu is confident that the site will skyrocket traffic and earn a decent amount of advertising money. In addition, Sohu also intends to launch an online SMS business, which can also obtain sufficient profits. My plan is to make Sohu break even within two years......"

A representative of the shareholder OIM interrupted: "Why doesn't Sohu consider doing e-commerce?"

Zhang Chaoyang was stunned: "The market environment of e-commerce in China is not yet mature, and this also violates the established development route of Sohu. ”

These shareholder representatives have probably communicated with each other a long time ago, and the MAC one said: "I think we should do e-commerce, and the relevant market in China is sprouting, and the 'Chinese Amazon' has not yet appeared." What kind of online community you are talking about, there are people in the United States who do it, but it will not generate much profit. And the network SMS business, it's just a joke, Sohu is a network company, not a communication company. ”

"I support Sohu's proposal to do e-commerce. ”

"I support it too!"

“……”

More than sixty percent of the American shareholders all asked Sohu to do e-commerce, and Zhang Chaoyang was confused, subconsciously looking at Song Weiyang.

Historically, Sohu originally did a good job of making alumni records, but if it insisted on deep cultivation, it would not have been able to make China's Facebook, and it was established much earlier than Facebook in the United States.

Zhang Chaoyang invested a lot of money in advertising, attracting countless students to register, and even his influence far exceeded that of the school intranet (Renren) at that time, but he was pressured by shareholders again and again and was forced to change careers to do e-commerce. As a result, e-commerce is a mess, and the alumni directory is also halfway through, and they don't get anything from their busy work.

As for the network SMS business, this thing is a lifesaver for Chinese Internet companies in the cold winter of the Internet.

At the end of last year, Huawei's GSM was in a desperate situation and launched Huawei's intelligent network. This is the world's first intelligent network based on new international standards, and the price offered by Western companies is $300 per household, while Huawei only charges more than 100 yuan, and the price has dropped to one-twentieth.

As a result, China became the first country in the world to open the CAMEL Phase 2 intelligent network, and Huawei also sold this technology to third world countries such as Thailand and Kenya, making a lot of money.

Due to Huawei's low price, China Mobile generously ceded 85% of its value-added business revenue to content and service providers, and companies such as Sina, Tencent, Sohu, and NetEase relied on this business to survive the most difficult moments. Even Alibaba once considered making a living from this, but Ma Xiaoyun and his subordinates did not understand relevant technologies, so they could only go all the way in the field of e-commerce.

"What about Mr. Song's opinion?" asked Zhang Chaoyang.

Song Weiyang asked rhetorically: "What do you think yourself?"

Zhang Chaoyang looked at the foreign devils in the video call software again, and said stubbornly: "I think we should still be an online community, and at the same time rely on network SMS to make money." As for e-commerce, Sohu doesn't have any experience and doesn't have a related team, so everything needs to be done all over again. ”

"No, Sohu has to do e-commerce. ”

"I also think so, the current situation of the NASDAQ in the United States proves that there is no future for portals and online communities. Although Amazon's stock price has also plummeted, Amazon's profitability has been very good, and only e-commerce can survive the Internet winter!"

"Zhang, this is not a request, but a request from many shareholders!"

“……”

If it were Li Yanhong, it was estimated that he would directly slap the table, and it would be absolutely impossible to compromise with shareholders.

If you change to Ma Xiaoyun, it is estimated that you will go directly to the United States, communicate with those shareholders face-to-face, persuade if you can, and ignore it if you can't.

But Zhang Chaoyang is a good man with a soft personality, so he chooses to delay time perfunctorily: "I'll think about it again." The acquisition of the alumni directory has been negotiated, at least make this investment, and see the actual situation first. ”

Song Weiyang, however, did not give face to the foreign shareholders at all, and asked with a sneer: "Do you know about China's Internet market? You don't know? More than half of you have never even been to China or browsed China's website. Of course, there are prospects for doing e-commerce, but with Sohu's current financial situation, once you do e-commerce, you must throw all the funds into it, and the company's other businesses can not be done? A year ago, I also supported doing e-commerce, because there are people who invest while doing it, and the question is who is willing to invest now? If any of you promise to make additional investment, it is very good, I immediately support Sohu to do e-commerce!"

The representative of MAC said, "Mr. Song, please don't get excited. We are only helping Sohu find revenue points, otherwise it would not be possible to break even with portals, online communities and communication services. Since we have invested in Sohu, of course, we also hope that Sohu can grow, after all, we also want to make money. ”

"Bang!"

Song Weiyang slapped the table directly, startling Zhang Chaoyang and Gu Yongjiang.

Song Weiyang said: "The six-month deadline is approaching, and according to the regulations, shareholders can already sell some of their shares. Shareholders who signed a repurchase contract at the time of the IPO can come to China directly after the expiration date, and Sohu will buy back the shares in your hands according to the agreement! So, shut up all of them, you know a fart!

Twenty minutes after Song Weiyang left the Internet phone conference room, Zhang Chaoyang ended the meeting and chased him out and said, "Boss Song, you were so excited just now, why bother?"

"Otherwise, it is the bad idea of those shareholder representatives?" Song Weiyang asked rhetorically.

Zhang Chaoyang said with a bitter face: "If you really buy back shares according to the agreement, there won't be much money left in Sohu." ”

Many repurchase agreements are equivalent to VAM contracts. That is, when investors subscribe for the IPO, they first set a stock price, and if the target cannot be achieved by expiration, the listed company must repurchase the shares at the agreed price, rather than at the real-time market stock price.

In other words, Sohu must buy back its shares at a price higher than the market.

Song Weiyang said with a smile: "Don't worry, it's only half a year, and there aren't many shares that those shareholders can sell, and not all of them are willing to sell." Even after the one-year period, Sohu is really at the bottom of the funds because of the repurchase of shares, and I can make additional investments. Remember, don't be led by the nose by these foreign shareholders, you have to keep doing what you want to do! ”

"Boss Song, thank you for your support!" Zhang Chaoyang suddenly relaxed, because Song Weiyang had the bottom line.