2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 159 Exploiting Capital

"What are you laughing at? You look so sly." During dinner, Gu Qingqing looked at Tan Jincheng with some confusion.

Tan Jincheng stared at Gu Qingqing and said, "I'm laughing at myself for having both wealth and beauty."

That's right, she's good-looking and comes from a good family. When I saw my uncle during the Mid-Autumn Festival, they were praising her too. My aunt even secretly took a picture, saying she wanted to send it to Tan Jincheng's mother.

"Hmph, I've noticed you're getting more and more outrageous with your words these days."

"Really? Am I wrong?"

"Yes, you weren't like this before. Was your gentle and refined demeanor just an act?"

"So which one do you like?"

I like both, but I like you more now, because it makes us feel closer.

Young couples experiencing their first love always have endless things to talk about. Gu Qingqing also showed a different side of herself than before, which was cute and playful. After the relationship was revealed, she seemed to become more carefree.

"You just said you'd invest in my business in the future, do you already have a plan?"

Tan Jincheng nodded. This was probably what he liked most about Gu Qingqing. She always understood him so well. The feelings between men and women were sometimes so wonderful, able to guess each other's thoughts.

"There is a bit of that, but it's not feasible right now. Let's talk about it later. The conditions aren't right yet, and besides, I don't have the ability to get involved in those money-burning internet industries right now."

Besides working on a certain book, Tan Jincheng has another project, which is Meiyou.

While both involve making money off women, Meiyou requires less investment and has a more niche market. Once smartphones and 3G networks become widespread, it can be used to practice.

This purely functional app for women, although it later ventured into e-commerce, seems to have made little impact. However, it still holds a certain market position in the field of purely functional apps that track women's menstrual cycles and pregnancy.

Any young man who isn't single, has dated for a few years, or whose wife has been pregnant should know about this app, and may even have downloaded it.

Coincidentally, Tan Jincheng had used both Xiaohongshu and Meiyou in his previous life. Although he was born in the 80s, Tan Jincheng's acceptance of new things was not much lower than that of the 90s generation. He could even chat with girls born in the 00s about the "Poop Scooping Boy".

Although its e-commerce business is lukewarm, it doesn't mean the app isn't profitable. As one of the most popular apps among female mobile internet users, it's doing quite well thanks to its tool + community + e-commerce model.

Around 2020, they seemed to have attempted an IPO, but for some reason, they withdrew it later. I remember media reports at the time said the valuation was 50 billion yuan. This project was definitely worth using for practice.

The initial investment doesn't need to be too large, a few million yuan is enough. Hire a few senior programmers to build the basic framework, and then gradually add its functions to develop the tool's effects.

Once the Android and iOS clients are developed and listed on app stores to gradually penetrate the market, investors will come knocking. Oh, by the way, app stores can also be developed; it doesn't seem too difficult.

In the early days of Android, there were many different kinds of app stores. Those with a large market share but no background were eventually acquired by the major giants, and the acquisition price was not low.

In the early days of the smartphone era, the mobile application market was quite lucrative. The chaotic market order was not a good thing for entrepreneurs who couldn't see the direction, but for Tan Jincheng, it was an opportunity.

Learn from Ajax and Dortmund's approach of developing young players and then reselling them. Think of all the apps I used in my past life; the ones I remember are definitely those with market potential. Develop them one by one, and once you've gained market share, sell them off directly when a major player enters the market. Otherwise, just play it safe and develop quietly.

Once capital makes a move, it is quite generous, often involving acquisitions of tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. For an investment of a few million, it is still quite considerable.

Develop the app, make the interface look beautiful and impressive, then sell it to big investors, fleece them, and use their funds for research and development in lithium batteries and automobiles.

App development cycles are short, and the market is quick to emerge. Giants don't hesitate to invest heavily in order to seize market share, so monetization is not a problem.

For some promising apps, this can also be used to exchange for resources. Making cars isn't just about having money; you also need connections, such as acquiring technology companies.

Once this path is successfully established, it could be a promising route. The entire vehicle manufacturing industry is enormous, requiring at least tens of billions of dollars in investment.

Tan Jincheng once read several interviews in which the founders of Wei Xiaoli and the other two companies said that an electric vehicle company needs at least 200 billion yuan to reach mass production. Chery also has a plan to invest 1000 billion yuan within 5 years.

It is not hard to see from these reports that in order to gain market recognition, at least 200 billion yuan of funds need to be prepared in advance. Where does this 200 billion yuan come from?
The first promotion of new energy vehicles should have been in 2009-2010. During this period, the government introduced a number of policies to vigorously develop the production of new energy vehicles and provided many policy incentives.

Unfortunately, during this period, in addition to the public's lack of acceptance of new energy vehicles, the main problem was the inaction of companies. Most companies were only interested in obtaining government subsidies and had no intention of developing technology or actually manufacturing cars.

This includes some state-owned enterprises; of course, many were later found guilty and fined.

After a round of reshuffling and market planning, new energy vehicles began to enter a phase of rapid growth in 2013, and production capacity exploded at the end of 2014. Therefore, 2014 was hailed by the industry as the inaugural year of new energy vehicles.

With less than 10 years until 2014, earning 20 billion yuan in less than 10 years and catching the boom period of new energy vehicles would be a continuation of Tan Jincheng's five-year plan.

You could call it a ten-year plan, since the real entrepreneurial journey started in 2004.

Earning 200 billion in 10 years is not impossible. Go public with Flash, raise enough funds, and then take advantage of the changes over the past decade to make some extra money. Haha, that seems like a viable option.

200 small goals – it's a long and arduous journey!

"Hey, I'm asking you a question, what are you thinking about?" Gu Qingqing tapped Tan Jincheng's head.

Before he could react, Tan Jincheng blurted out, "I'm thinking about how to earn 200 small goals."

Gu Qingqing was somewhat taken aback and asked, "What is a small goal?"
"Huh? What 200 small goals?"

Tan Jincheng smiled and said, "That's not important. What did you just ask me?"

"Oh, could you tell me about your startup direction first? Even if you can't do it now, just let me hear about it."

"How should I put it? Let me think about it," Tan Jincheng said, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

How should this thing be explained? There shouldn't be any such thing as an app back then, right? I don't know if it existed or not, but he certainly hadn't heard of it. The first-generation Apple phone hadn't been released yet either, otherwise, he could have bought two parts to refer to for an explanation.

"Just like the games on your phone, I want to make this kind of pre-installed software in the future. With the promotion of mobile phones, this kind of pre-installed software should have a good market prospect."

This explanation should be about right. After all, they're all mobile apps, and they're all for fun, so there's not much difference.

"Oh, that's true. Phone prices are dropping more and more drastically and rapidly these days, and more and more people can afford phones. You might actually make money doing this."

"Yes, but don't rush. Focus on your studies first. If you have the opportunity, you can take the postgraduate entrance exam. Our family needs someone with a higher education."

Gu Qingqing blushed and pouted, saying, "Who said you're my family? You're my family, and I'm your family, hmph!"

Her adorable appearance made Tan Jincheng unable to resist reaching out and gently pinching her nose: "You, you're from my family."

Although they are officially dating, their relationship is currently limited to holding hands, and Gu Qingqing still finds it a bit overwhelming to handle such intimate gestures.

So he quickly changed the subject: "Aren't you afraid that I'll become a superwoman in the future by talking about all this?"

"Don't worry, even if you become a strong woman, you'll still be my strong woman."

Encouraging your girlfriend to pursue a career is certainly not a good idea. Gu Qingqing is now full of curiosity about everything, and she trusts and even admires Tan Jincheng. It's not impossible that she could really embark on the path of a strong woman.

A career-driven woman is bound to have difficulty taking care of her family, which may affect family harmony. However, Tan Jincheng believes that she can handle these issues well, and that's another story.

Firstly, in terms of the internet, he was definitely the one who devised the strategies behind the scenes, and he also provided the funding. This means that the company's lifeline was on his side, and Qingqing appeared more as a manager.

In a family, if the wife is a strong woman, the man's life will naturally not be easy, but if the wife is just a pretty face, then it's not very interesting either. Tan Jincheng does not want his future wife to be just a pretty face.

Why get married if you're just looking for a pretty face as a wife? It's better to live a carefree life and cultivate Gu Qingqing's management and financial skills so she can better support your career and take care of things at home.

Think about it, which of those big shots' wives is just a pretty face? Even if they don't appear in the media, Tan Jincheng doesn't think they are just simple housewives. Even Dong Ge's later wife is very capable.

That memorable moment from the future press conference went viral online and is frequently brought up for jokes.

Women are not appendages of men. A real man has the ability to conquer a capable woman, not to suppress her abilities because he is afraid of her becoming a strong woman.

"Oh, stop talking, stop talking! Hurry up and take me home, it'll be dark soon."

It's getting increasingly cheesy, and Gu Qingqing is finding it hard to take it anymore.

"Then call me 'brother' and I'll let you go."

(End of this chapter)