bookrebus Chapter 194 Negotiations Failed
Chapter 194 Negotiations Failed
Lu Ran was stunned for a moment.
WeChat?
That WeChat with 700 million monthly active users?
Lu Ran was just wondering if other companies would remain completely silent given the huge commotion on Weibo.
Now WeChat has proactively contacted us.
"Hello, Mr. Chen." Lu Ran suppressed her surprise and delight. "I'm Lu Ran. Please speak."
"It might be difficult to explain over the phone. If it's convenient, I'd like to schedule a time to talk in person," Chen Mo said calmly. "I happen to be on a business trip in Shanghai, and I'm free tomorrow afternoon. I wonder if that would be convenient for you, Mr. Lu?"
Lu Ran glanced at the calendar; tomorrow was an auspicious day.
"That's convenient," Lu Ran replied. "I'll be waiting for you at Tutu Technology tomorrow afternoon."
The office erupted in chaos the moment the phone was hung up.
Although Lu Ran didn't turn on the speakerphone, his voice was still quite loud, and several people in charge who were nearby could hear what was going on.
"WeChat?! Is that WeChat?!"
"Holy crap, Mr. Lu, WeChat wants to partner with us?!"
"Seven hundred million users! We're about to take off!"
Lu Ran raised his hand and gestured for everyone to be quiet.
"Don't get too excited yet," he calmly reassured her. "Let's see what their conditions are first."
As the leader in social networking, Lu Ran didn't believe the other party would be so kind.
However, judging from their tone, they seemed to have come with some sincerity.
...
At 2 PM the next day, Chen Mo appeared at the entrance of Tutu Technology on time.
In his early forties, dressed in a suit and wearing frameless glasses, he would look more like a university professor to someone who doesn't know him.
Lu Ran received him in the conference room.
"Mr. Lu, it's an honor to meet you." Chen Mo smiled and shook hands. "I play Happy Farm myself, the kind where you get up in the middle of the night to steal vegetables."
Lu Ran knew Chen Mo was joking, and then smiled and said, "Is President Chen also a victim?"
"I wouldn't call myself a victim, but I was certainly impressed by your product design." Chen Mo sat down and got straight to the point. "So, I'm here today to discuss cooperation."
"I would like to hear the details."
Chen Mo took a document out of his briefcase and pushed it in front of Lu Ran.
"This is our draft cooperation proposal."
Lu Ran opened the document, and the first page had several large characters:
[WeChat & Tutu Technology Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement]
He continued scrolling down.
Page 2, Cooperation Model: WeChat invests in Tutu Technology, holding 70% of the shares, while the founding team of Tutu Technology holds 30% of the shares.
Page 3, Resource Support: WeChat nine-grid entry, official account traffic redirection, mini-program ecosystem support, WeChat Moments Google Play space...
Page 4, Financial Support: Initial investment of 50 million, with subsequent increases based on development progress.
Lu Ran's finger hovered over the line "70%", and he remained silent for a few seconds.
To be honest, WeChat is actually acting with great sincerity, after all, Tutu Technology is just a small company at present.
What WeChat is interested in is definitely the potential of TuTu Technology, but if WeChat gains control in the future, many of Lu Ran's ideas may be restricted.
Lu Ran is going to have to go back to being a wage earner.
Chen Mo observed his expression and spoke at the opportune moment: "President Lu may think 70% is a bit high, but given WeChat's scale and resources, this percentage is actually quite reasonable. Think about it, WeChat has 700 million monthly active users. Just by giving 'Happy Farm' an entry point in the nine-square grid, daily active users can instantly exceed 100 million. How much is that traffic worth?"
Lu Ran didn't reply and continued flipping through the pages.
Page 5, Performance-based clause: Achieve 300 million daily active users within three years, otherwise the founding team's equity will be further diluted...
Page 6, Exit Terms: WeChat has the right of first refusal...
Page 7, Non-Competition Clause: The founding team must not engage in any business that competes with WeChat...
Lu Ran closed the file, looked up, and looked at Chen Mo.
"Mr. Chen, what do you think of this proposal?"
"I think we've shown a lot of sincerity," Chen Mo said with an unchanged smile. "WeChat rarely invests in other companies, and even less often holds a 70% stake. This time, we made an exception because we valued Tutu Technology's product capabilities and user stickiness."
Lu Ran nodded and pushed the document back.
"Then thank you for your kind offer, WeChat," he said, "but I'm afraid I cannot accept this collaboration."
Although Chen Mo still maintained his smile, it was obvious that the confident tone he had at the beginning was gone.
"Mr. Lu, won't you reconsider?" His tone remained gentle, but his eyes held a scrutinizing glint. "70% is high, but what WeChat can offer is something no other platform can. TUTU's daily active users are only a little over ten million, and they're still being siphoned off by Weibo Farm. If this drags on any longer, it might..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear: if you don't latch onto a powerful figure, you'll be crushed by Weibo.
Lu Ran smiled.
"Mr. Chen, I understand what you mean. WeChat is indeed a powerful force, and it's certainly a good thing to be able to get on its good side." He paused, "But 70% of the shares is equivalent to selling TUTU. I don't want to sell what I've worked so hard to create."
"How much does Mr. Lu want?"
"At the very least, the founding team should retain controlling stake."
Chen Mo fell silent. It was clear that this condition was no longer something he could decide on his own.
He stood up and extended his hand.
"Mr. Lu, that's all for today. I'll take your feedback back to headquarters, and we'll contact you again if there are any adjustments later."
"Okay." Lu Ran shook hands with him. "Thank you, Mr. Chen, for making the trip. Let me see you off."
After seeing Chen Mo off, Lu Ran returned to the conference room and found Zhou Mingzhe sitting inside, looking at him with a complicated expression.
"You really refused?"
"I refused."
"That's WeChat, after all." Zhou Mingzhe pushed up his glasses. "700 million users, a nine-grid entry point, and 50 million yuan in initial funding... If you miss this opportunity, you'll never get another one."
Lu Ran sat down next to him and let out a long breath.
He knew, of course, that the other party would find it difficult to accept the conditions he set, but he was unwilling to sell his hard work so cheaply.
"Brother Zhou, I have a question for you."
"Go ahead and ask."
"If someone offered you 30 million for your most perfect code, would you sell it?"
"Sell it, why not? The most expensive code I've ever sold has only sold for a little over a million," Zhou Mingzhe replied woodenly.
Lu Ran shook his head speechlessly, then changed his words.
"Let alone 70%, even 49% would make me hesitate. Believe me, Rabbit's future won't be limited to this."
Zhou Mingzhe looked at Lu Ran with some surprise, then nodded heavily.
"Understood."
...