Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 44 E-commerce
Feeling the time was right, Song Ci eloquently explained the main purpose of his visit to Liu Xiangdong: he wanted to invest in JD.com, a future Fortune 500 company, and persuade him to transform JD.com as soon as possible and fully enter the online e-commerce market.

"The internet is developing rapidly, and online e-commerce is a major trend for the future. Taobao and eBay are at the forefront of the industry. Online platforms will inevitably become the future trend. Mr. Liu, have you considered changing offline sales to online and letting JD.com enter the e-commerce market?"

Liu Xiangdong was quite surprised by Song Ci's suggestion. He had indeed been thinking about getting into e-commerce recently and was just about to test the waters with a JD.com multimedia online store in Tianjin. Song Ci's suggestion coincided with his own.

"We do have the idea of ​​getting into e-commerce. I wonder what Mr. Song's opinion is?"

Song Ci didn't mince words and got straight to the point: "Our company, Tengda Technology, is an internet company and is also interested in e-commerce. However, our company's funds and energy are limited, so our main focus is on portals and games."

However, it would be a real shame not to get involved in e-commerce. I think Mr. Liu is a man of great ambitions and intends to invest in JD.com and fully support its development of online e-commerce sales. I wonder what Mr. Liu's thoughts are?

A complex look appeared in Liu Xiangdong's deep eyes. His goal was actually to build JD.com into a company like Gome.

The unknown territory of e-commerce left him somewhat bewildered, but since Song Ci had said he was willing to support JD.com, he was still willing to give it a try. "Mr. Song, what kind of investment plan do you intend to pursue?"

After a moment's thought, Song Ci revealed his thoughts: "Please have a professional organization assess the value of JD.com. Tengda Technology will invest in JD.com and acquire a 20% stake, thus establishing a strategic partnership. Tengda's advertising resources, such as Toutiao.com, will be tilted towards JD.com."

Although Song Ci's offer was good, Liu Xiangdong shook his head and refused, saying, "Thank you for your frankness and optimism, Mr. Song, but I'm sorry, I refuse this kind of investment."

If JD.com wants to develop its e-commerce business, it will inevitably need to raise funds multiple times to dilute its equity. Giving up 20% of its shares in the first round of financing means that it may lose control of the company in the future, which is something that Liu Xiangdong, with his strong personality, absolutely cannot accept.

After a moment's thought, Song Ci understood Liu Xiangdong's concerns, so she dropped a bombshell, offering Liu Xiangdong an incredibly attractive deal that he couldn't possibly refuse.

"Mr. Liu, if you are worried about the excessive dilution of your equity in the future, then I am willing to sign a legal authorization document with you."

During your tenure at JD.com, all voting rights of the 20% stake held by Tenda Technology will be exercised by you. This right will remain in effect indefinitely unless you leave JD.com!

"President Song, are you serious?" Liu Xiangdong asked slowly, his pupils shrinking. He hadn't expected Song Ci to be willing to give up his voting rights.

Song Ci nodded and affirmed, "I believe that one of the core values ​​of a company is having a spiritual leader who understands it and knows how to develop in the future."

"Mr. Liu, you are the founder of JD.com, and only you can lead JD.com to a higher level. A person should know their own limitations, and e-commerce is not my forte. Therefore, I am willing to relinquish the voting rights of my shares to you." His sincere tone was deeply moving.

Liu Xiangdong stared at Song Ci, as if trying to see through the young man's heart. After a long while, he said seriously, "Welcome to JD.com, Mr. Song. I believe that with the support of Tengda Technology, JD.com will be able to make a name for itself in the e-commerce field."

"It's a pleasure to cooperate. I believe that the strong alliance between Tengda and JD.com will lead to a bright future. I also have a gift for Mr. Liu and JD.com!" The eighteen-year-old boy was full of vigor and vitality.

Song Ci planned to give the JD.com domain name to Liu Xiangdong as a gift for his investment in JD.com. Jack Ma had spent 300 million yuan to acquire the Taobao domain name years ago, so this gift was quite substantial. Zhang Yong witnessed the entire negotiation between Song Ci and Liu Xiangdong. He couldn't help but recall that summer morning in Donghai, when Song Ci had so confidently and calmly persuaded him to join Tengda Technology.

My boss is indeed a young man with extraordinary charisma. He can always use a few simple words to point out the future, arouse the passion and youth in people's hearts, and make people want to follow him to fight and strive to achieve something great.

After reaching a consensus and seeing Liu Xiangdong off, Song Ci instructed Zhang Yong, who was standing beside her, "Old Zhang, you need to keep a close eye on the investment in JD.com."

"President Song thinks so highly of Liu Xiangdong?" Zhang Yong was a little puzzled. It was completely against common sense that Song Ci would attach so much importance to someone he had just met.

Song Ci naturally couldn't directly tell Zhang Yong that JD.com, under Liu Xiangdong's leadership, would become a Fortune 500 company in the future, and that a 20% stake would be worth tens of billions of US dollars after dilution.

Then he smiled mysteriously and said with high spirits, "Some people, like me, you, Lao Zhang, and Liu Xiangdong, are destined to be the trendsetters of this turbulent era, born to do great things."

Zhang Yong nodded. His boss must have an exceptional ability to recognize talent to have built such a successful business at such a young age. Perhaps he recognized that Liu Xiangdong possessed the qualities necessary for a successful entrepreneur, which is why he valued JD.com so much.

"Since you value Liu Xiangdong so much, Mr. Song, I will contact a professional agency as soon as possible to conduct an evaluation of JD.com and negotiate with Liu Xiangdong to finalize the investment."

Song Ci silently calculated in his mind that JD.com's current valuation would not exceed 30 million, and 20% of the shares would be enough for 6 million. "Given the company's current financial pressure, I estimate that investing in JD.com would require 5 to 6 million."

"The company currently has ample funds in its accounts, mainly because Minecraft has brought a large amount of cash flow to the company."

With the 30 million yuan low-interest loan you applied for from Peking University to support student entrepreneurship, Mr. Song, it should arrive in our account after the holiday. The company can easily invest 6 million yuan in JD.com.

Zhang Yong knows the company's financial situation like the back of his hand, and he is quite competent as the head of the company.

Seeing that no one was around, Song Ci quietly told Zhang Yong the idea that had been brewing in his heart for a long time: "I'm worried about everything in the company. I plan to merge Tengda Technology and Tengda Culture into a group company next year."

The employee stock option issue also needs to be finalized. Old Zhang, as the company's CEO, you're in charge of everything. You can start thinking about how to structure the group's future organization.

Zhang Yong was overjoyed. He had chosen to follow Song Ci to start a business in Beiping, and this was the moment he had been waiting for. "The company is being reorganized into a group. I'll prepare an initial plan for you to review."

"No rush, take your time to consider it. Make sure the group operates efficiently and quickly. Also, keep this to yourself, don't spread it around yet."

After finishing his speech, Song Ci returned to the chairman's office, where he browsed the news online while waiting for Wang Jing to come and report to him.

(End of this chapter)