The term "information age" is no exaggeration today, as communication technology can cover the vast majority of the globe.
The 2020 Wuzhen Summit was held via remote video conference.
However, why has the technology become more advanced in the last few years? The brain-computer interface VR developed by Kechuang Bio in collaboration with Tencent and Xiaomi has already realized people's rudimentary fantasy about the metaverse.
In today's technologically advanced world, is it still necessary to communicate and exchange ideas through offline exhibitions?
This is because there are differences between online and offline communication; offline interactions between people are more personal and warmer.
The annual Global Internet Conference held in China is not only a summit for exchanges, but also a summit for project signing.
Of course, it's a pipe dream to expect to sign a contract for a large project in just three days; it's only after a long period of communication and negotiation that a decision to cooperate is made.
They simply scheduled the signing of the cooperation agreement at the Global Internet Conference.
In recent years, the total investment amount signed at the Wuzhen Summit has exceeded RMB 50 billion annually. This was obviously pre-arranged and deliberately scheduled to take place in Wuzhen during these few days.
However, exchanges between companies at the Wuzhen Summit can create cooperation intentions.
It's difficult to have direct, face-to-face communication with top-tier investors like Shen Nanpeng, Zhang Lei, and Guo Yihong in other settings.
However, it is possible at the Wuzhen Summit.
You never know, a random person you meet might be an angel investor.
Many investors value people more than projects.
Take Luckin Coffee as an example. If the actual founder behind it hadn't been Lu Zhengyao, it would have been absolutely impossible for it to have received such favor from investors.
Lu Zhengyao is the founder of Shenzhou Zhuanche (神州专车), which went public in Hong Kong in 2014.
Luckin Coffee's Series A funding was entirely secured through connections, while its angel round funding came from Joy Capital and Lu Zhengyao himself.
Joy Capital is backed by Liu Erhai, who participated in the angel investment of CAR Inc. when he was leading TMT and innovative consumer investments at Legend Capital.
Fun fact: Legend Capital was formerly known as Lenovo Capital. Lu Zhengyao's first entrepreneurial project was United Auto Club, which failed before he switched to CAR Inc.
The capital backing of Lenovo has remained steadfast in its support for Lu Zhengyao, or rather, for the car rental industry.
Following Shenzhou Car Rental, Didi Chuxing emerged, and coincidentally, Liu Qing officially joined Didi before Shenzhou Car Rental went public.
That's a different storyline, so I won't go into detail here.
If Luckin Coffee's angel round was secured through Lu Zhengyao's connections, then its Series A round was also primarily driven by Lu Zhengyao's connections.
The Series A funding round was primarily funded by Centurium Capital, Joy Capital, and Legend Capital.
The name Centurium Capital might sound unfamiliar. Similarly, when CAR Inc. attempted to list on Nasdaq, it failed and its cash flow became precarious.
Lu Zhengyao approached Li Hui, who immediately transferred 200 million US dollars to Lu Zhengyao, which was the largest single equity investment ever received in the domestic car rental industry at the time.
Luckin Coffee later secured investments from a series of top investment institutions, including CICC and BlackRock.
If Lu Zhengyao hadn't used his connections to secure initial investment, the Luckin Coffee project would never have succeeded under someone else's leadership.
Especially after Luckin Coffee was exposed for financial fraud, its major shareholders Centurium Capital and Joy Capital not only did not pursue the matter, but also raised an additional 250 million US dollars in financing.
They even promised to invest another 150 million US dollars if needed.
Judging from this project, it is clear that people are more important than the project itself. Without Lu Zhengyao, this project would not have been able to survive to this day.
Of course, Lu Zhengyao later broke with Li Hui, and Li Hui ousted Lu Zhengyao and his entire team from Luckin Coffee's board of directors.
Centurium Capital became the actual controller of Luckin Coffee, while Lu Zhengyao started a new round of entrepreneurship.
That's another story.
In equity investments, people are more important than the project in the early stages; once the project is established, the project itself becomes more important than the people.
Zhu Xiaohu started as a consultant at McKinsey & Company before joining GSR Ventures as an investor, where he invested in projects such as Ele.me, Didi, and ofo.
The biggest project he missed was ByteDance. He had the opportunity to invest in ByteDance back then, but after talking with Zhang Yiming, Zhu Xiaohu gave it up.
In his own words, he couldn't sense any aggression from Zhang Yiming.
This is the early mindset: people are more important than projects.
Meanwhile, Shen Nanpeng and his Sequoia Capital reduced their holdings in Meituan and increased their holdings in Shein. It should be noted that Shein's market value was 100 billion US dollars during its Series F investment.
This is why, in the later stages of a project, the project itself becomes more important than people.
To add a point, Shen Nanpeng also rejected Zhang Yiming back then.
Therefore, the significance of offline summits lies in providing entrepreneurs with a channel to meet investors offline.
If you know an investor who is optimistic about you and your project, you can secure angel investment or a lifeline of funding.
If Lu Zhengyao hadn't received 200 million US dollars in financing from Li Hui back then, Shenzhou Car Rental would never have been able to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Of course, Lenovo might save him.
State-owned enterprises face many constraints when making equity investments, while private capital has an inherent advantage in angel rounds and early-stage financing.
Back then, Kechuang Bio was able to secure Series B funding from Bank of Communications Capital because its business model and business path were so clear.
"Zheng Li, I didn't realize you weren't nervous at all. You did a great job."
"I was prepared for you to be nervous," Li Miaomiao teased after Zheng Li finished his opening speech.
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