Rebirth 2010: I taught Mr. Lei how to make a mobile phone

Chapter 125 Three Heroes vs. Gao Tong

During this period, Chen Mo only issued an order and sent a Weibo post. The rest was to pay attention to the development of the domestic situation. Everything was left to Huang Jiangji to execute. Now it seems that the effect is good and he is very satisfied.

I spent the rest of the time in seclusion in the hotel, meditating and compiling some management experience. I felt that my previous path had gone a little astray, but fortunately, everything was still in time.

Although Chen Mo did not fully understand, one thing is certain, his starting point was not wrong, and all that was left was a matter of implementation. Just like programming, you need to run it first and then solve it. When a bug occurs, look inside and out, trace the source, and solve the fundamental problem. Practice makes perfect!

But then he had to stop to summarize and think.

Because of the good news from Lin Bin, Qualcomm’s document contracts have finally been finalized!
A few hours later, Chen Mo, like Lei Lin, was looking at the Qualcomm contract with a worried look on his face because the conditions on it were extremely harsh.

After reading the entire article, they found that the charging method not only charged an upfront patent fee, but also a post-patent fee.

What does this mean? If you want to use Qualcomm chips, you have to pay a new amount of money for chip purchases. After the phone is released, Qualcomm will charge a patent fee for each phone sold, which is about 5% of the wholesale price of each phone.

From the beginning to the end, his eating manners were very ugly.

There are also a lot of additional clauses, and at first glance you would think that the Qing Dynasty is still here.

The three of them then discussed for a day and agreed on the negotiation strategy and external stance.

Chen Mo originally thought that the negotiations with Qualcomm would be a protracted tug-of-war.

Unexpectedly, it was a one-sided annihilation battle, and in less than an hour, it entered the stage of cleaning up the battlefield.

No matter what Lei Jun and Lin Bin said at the time, the person responsible for communicating was a vice president in charge of authorization. On the surface, he seemed to speak very politely, but his subtext was the same.

Qualcomm treats all mobile phone manufacturers equally. The terms are as follows. If you can accept them, you can sign them at any time. If you cannot accept them and want to modify them, you can do so.

However, according to Qualcomm's current application approval and review process, it may take one month at the fastest and three months at the slowest to complete the approval. As for whether it will be approved or not, he cannot give a guarantee at present.

The situation is stronger than people. When the conversation comes to this point, with the gap in strength between the two sides being too great, there will be no room or wiggle room for any negotiations.

So Lei Jun left Qualcomm headquarters with a sentence "Let's think about it".

Back in the hotel room, Lei Jun threw the contract onto the table, making a crisp sound, which showed his inner anger.
"Fuck! Qualcomm is a piece of shit. If you accept this price, I will write the word thunder backwards!"

"When will Qualcomm pass on the goods? Foreigners are all the same!" Chen Mo complained.

Then the atmosphere in the room fell silent.

After all, the chip price of $50 per piece is too outrageous. According to what they have learned, other major domestic mobile phone manufacturers charge Qualcomm between $20 and $30, which means that this is a blatant case of big stores bullying customers.

"There's nothing we can do. Xiaomi has no historical record. The previous sales data of other competitors are there, and we have the bargaining power. It's normal for us to start from scratch," Lin Bin explained.

That night, Chen Mo brought a copy of the latest MIOS installation volume and trend chart, gritted his teeth,

"I'll tell you tomorrow, Brother Bin, help translate it, and take this data to talk to Qualcomm again! I don't believe they're leaving such a huge potential user base alone. I don't believe foreigners don't value money. Let's try again!"

The next day, the three heroes fought Qualcomm again!
Chen Mo is responsible for output, Lin Bin is responsible for assistance, and Lei Jun is the mascot, responsible for saying ok or no ok.

Finally, when Chen Mo took out the MIOS data statistical analysis report and made an objective analysis of the pros and cons, he analyzed what kind of benefits Qualcomm would get in return. If Qualcomm still made concessions and Xiaomi gave up the negotiations, Qualcomm would lose a lot of profits.

After Chen Mo broke down the interests and data into pieces, Qualcomm finally had its first internal discussion.

After half an hour of internal communication with the other party, the originally harsh terms were modified, and there was no so-called one to three months approval cycle. It can be seen that it was just an excuse for the other party to adapt.

The chip price was eventually reduced from US$50 to US$40, and the estimated payment was changed from the full payment to a 50% prepayment. At Chen Mo's strong suggestion, two additional terms that were unimportant to Qualcomm but critical to Xiaomi were deleted.

The vice president finally specified that this was the last concession within his authority. He could agree to sign, but if he couldn't agree, he would have to go through the approval process, which this time would take more than a month.

Although they achieved a partial victory, the three still did not sign. When they returned to the hotel, they were still not happy because the price was too expensive.

According to the original plan, 30 pieces were purchased at US$40 per piece, which means US$1200 million. Even if 50% is paid in advance, it is still US dollars, which puts a lot of financial pressure on Xiaomi at present.

Chen Mo was the first to break the silence.

"Everyone has seen what happened today. The situation is very simple now. There are only two options before us: sign or leave! What do you think, bosses?"

Lin Bin picked up his pen and wrote on paper, analyzing the pros and cons of the two options at present, saying,

"If you agree to sign, based on the current price, I calculated that our costs will increase, the profit margin will be correspondingly lower, and the financial pressure will not be small."

Lei Jun asked a question, "Will the timeline for Series A financing be advanced to before the original plan for the release of Xiaomi mobile phones?"

"This possibility cannot be ruled out, and it is quite likely."

Originally, Lei Jun's financing plan was very clear, which was to use all the angel round funds to make the mobile phone first, hold a press conference to build momentum, then raise funds, and then increase production capacity, and continue the cycle.

From the current perspective, it is estimated that Xiaomi will have to consider the A round of financing plan before the release of the mobile phone.

Seeing Lei Jun silent, Lin Bin continued, "If you don't agree, then look for other chip manufacturers. The biggest problem is time! And everything is still unknown." Then he drew a question mark at the end.

The problem he is facing now is different from that of Lei Jun and Lin Bin. He is not considering whether to sign or not, but how to convince these two people to sign.

Chen Mo already knew the answer in his heart, but it would not have much effect if he said it out loud now. Good steel must be used on the blade, and it can have the final say at the critical moment. He needed to give Xiao Lei a push from behind at the critical juncture.

So among the three people in the room, Lin Bin was analyzing the pros and cons trying to find the best solution, Lei Jun was deducing the two possible outcomes for Xiaomi and was currently hesitant, and Chen Mo was just waiting.

The next day, the three of them stayed in the hotel, still without any conclusion, but they had already started to take action. Lin Bin began to explore the possibility of cooperation with other chip manufacturers, Lei Jun was deducing the success rate of the year-end financing plan, and Chen Mo was writing and drawing on a notebook.

Time passes quietly.
On the third day, a phone call from Zhou Guangping became the straw that broke the camel's back.

Their hardware team has not been making good progress during this period and are waiting for news from Lei Jun.

Recently, Zhou Guangping heard some employees whispering during their lunch break that there has been no progress in the hardware part. Is it true that the company can no longer move forward?

Today, an employee who just joined the company a week ago chose to resign.

He also received a piece of news that Meizu's M9 has entered the research and development and production stage, so he made this call. The core meaning is only one, that is, how are the chip negotiations going on your side?

After hanging up the phone.

Chen Mo felt that the time had come, and stared at Lei Jun intently.

"The situation is even simpler now. If you don't sign, you'll die. If you sign, you might live! Brother Jun, what do you say?"

Silence Silence is the Hilton Hotel tonight.

Chen Mo knew that the two of them actually knew what to choose, but they just needed someone to give a suitable reason. He didn't mind being a booster.

"I just want to ask you two a question. For Xiaomi's first generation of mobile phones, were you doing it for profit or market?"

"Profit!" "Market!"

The two people's answers were in unison, but the content was very different. The former answer was from Lin Bin, while Lei Jun chose the market, which shows the two people's vision.

Chen Mo flipped open the notebook he had written earlier, "Well, two big brothers, why don't you come and take a look, maybe you will know the answer after reading it."

Lei Jun and Lin Bin showed curiosity and came over. Then Chen Mo turned into a lecturer and began to preach.
"Now that we agree to sign, increasing costs will reduce profits.
Using Qualcomm's protocol and MIOS user installation report as a stepping stone, we are determined to fight with suppliers.
Xiaomi's past performance does not qualify it for negotiation.
Positioning focuses on cost-effectiveness.
Turning the chessboard over, redefining the smartphone market.
With a market, you have bargaining chips, and with bargaining chips, you can negotiate prices, which will ultimately generate profits! "

Lei Lin and the others raised questions from time to time.
"What you mean is that the goal of Xiaomi 1 is to completely give up profits and open up the market through cost-effectiveness!" Lei Jun's eyes were enlightened.

"With the market, we have everything. Even if we don't make any money, I think it's worth it! Brother Jun, Brother Bin, think about it carefully!"

Lin Bin has some doubts, "If we focus on cost-effectiveness, it will be difficult to enter the high-end market in the future."

"Ok ok, you're overthinking it. Now it's a question of whether you can survive or not. Your question is about whether you can live well or not. The first step comes first, then the second step. Brother Bin, let's not get the order wrong."

Lei Jun and Lin Bin fell into deep thought again, because when Xiaomi was first founded, they wanted to take advantage of the blue ocean in the field of smart phones to gain an advantage. There is no gain without hard work, so the ultimate goal must still be to make a profit. This is also the reason why they have not agreed to sign the contract yet.

After hearing what Chen Mo said, it seemed like all the hard work for a whole year was in vain. No, it might even be a loss. Normally, this statement was ridiculous.

“If you want both profit and market, you can!
But, not now!

Jun, have you forgotten the Fetion service mentioned above? It is only free, and then there is a fee!

There is still a lot of room for the Internet software to replicate its gameplay today.”

In fact, Lei Jun had been thinking along this line of thought these past two days, but before he could think it through he was stuck in financing.

After a few minutes of thinking, Lei Jun felt that the fog in his mind had cleared up, and he suddenly agreed with Chen Mo's opinion.

Lin Bin had no reason to object. It took him several months to get in touch with Qualcomm. How could he change his mind and contact other chip manufacturers? In the eyes of other chip manufacturers, who is Xiaomi? Food?

Lin Bin frowned and confirmed again, "Is it really the same as before?"

Lei Jun gritted his teeth and said, "Don't change a word! Sign it. The three of us will remember this moment and come back later!"

Chen Mo took two steps forward, came up to Lei Jun and said, "When we have money, we will make our own chips! Otherwise, we will always be controlled by others!"

Lin Bin was shocked when he heard this. As an industry expert, he was more aware of the difficulties because he was professional. Seeing Chen Mo's arrogant words, he couldn't help but pour cold water on him.
"Self-developed chips? Xiao Mo, do you know the technical complexity? How much investment is required? The investment is hundreds of billions of dollars, which is only the economic cost. There is also the time cost of several years. The final success is still unknown. Are you overthinking this time?"

"I know it's difficult, but in our business, there is no such thing as smooth sailing. Every step is difficult and someone has to take this step. If that's the case, why can't it be us? Are we at Xiaomi willing to be an assembly plant?" Chen Mo rarely insisted on his opinion.

Chen Mo's remarks were a little shocking to Lei Jun, and a seed was planted in his heart. He then nodded heavily, "Xiao Mo is right, why can't it be us? When Xiaomi mobile phones make money, we will have the capital to do self-research. Now it is just a stopgap measure. How about Qualcomm's vote?"

After voting, all three of them passed and agreed to sign.

Now that the decision has been made, efficiency has increased dramatically.

A day later, after nearly a month of efforts, the cooperation licensing agreement between Xiaomi and Qualcomm was finally signed in mid-September 2010.

The entire agreement has not been changed at all. This is the first time in Lei Jun and Lin Bin’s 20-year career!
Hardware and software are two distinct worlds. Software can be tried for free, but hardware costs real money.

And now Xiaomi is racing against time.

After receiving the Qualcomm cooperation agreement, Lei Jun immediately faxed it to Zhou Guangping.

According to the original plan, the three of them were going to return to the company after processing the chips, but the hardware team obviously needed them more at the moment.

Lei Jun originally thought that Dr. Zhou Guangping led the entire team with rich hardware experience and supplier resources, and was very familiar with mobile phone suppliers. He didn't need to worry about building the mobile phone supply chain at all. Now it seems that this is not the case.

After some discussion, Lin Bin returned to the company to take charge of the overall situation, and Lei Jun went to Zhou Guangping to continue to lead the team and conquer other component suppliers.

Chen Mo and Lin Bin went back to the company first and left a few iPhone 4s to Huang Jiangji as a control group for the MIOS system for reference.

Two of them are prizes for ranking first in the first two periods of the reward rank list, to stimulate everyone.

Later, following the recommendation of the test supervisor Zhang Wu, Chen Mo transferred a tester with good performance to the WeChat project team. WeChat officially entered the testing phase and finally set the launch date of WeChat as September 9.

After finishing all this, he said hello to Lin Bin and flew directly to Taiwan as planned to meet up with Lei Jun and continue to advance the research and development of suppliers.

After Chen Lei and Liu De successfully joined forces, Lei Jun first sent Liu De back to the headquarters and asked him to polish the design of Xiaomi mobile phone. Then he took Zhou Guangping's team and Chen Mo to the hotel to formulate strategies and take action after careful consideration.

After a day of discussion and summary, with the assistance of Chen Mo, the strategy of "Xiaomi must be strong" was put forward. Well, the plan was thought up by everyone, and the name was given by Chen Mo.

The entire strategy consists of three parts. First, Xiaomi's more than two million loyal users can be converted into potential purchasing power. Second, Xiaomi has reached a strategic cooperation with chip giant Qualcomm. Third, full cash payment, prepayment in advance.
Use three prongs as a stepping stone.

In terms of staffing, the hardware technology team provides technical support and analysis.

This time the formation was swapped, with Lei Jun responsible for firepower output, Zhou Guangping responsible for technical support and logistical coordination, and Chen Mo as the wingman providing cover and support, forming a trident of "Xiaomi must be strong".

In the following period of time, Zhou Guangping will go to battle with each of the suppliers on the list that had previously rejected them!
From then on, Chen Mo saw another side of Lei Jun.
(End of this chapter)