Chapter 287 Monthly loss of 1.2 billion? Crazy showdown! Didi's Qiandu era!
"Cheng Wei is a loser! Didi Dache's market share has not increased but decreased, and it has lost 200 million yuan but has no output at all!"
On the sixth floor of Qiandu Building, Li Yanhong glanced at the business and financial weekly reports sent by Cheng Wei and became furious.
In the past two weeks, Qiandu's business development has been going against the flow. Zhou Hongyi brought 360 Search to disrupt the situation, snatching nearly ten points of market share from the group's search business, causing Qiandu's stock price to plummet.
The online car-hailing market is also not going well. Didi Dache's business scope in the northern market is now on par with that of Kuaidi Dache, except for the three cities of Luzhou, Jinling and Hangzhou. However, the average daily orders differ by 1.5 million to 1.6 million.
Li Yanhong regretted it!
He should have agreed to the proposal of Legend Capital and Capital Today earlier and kicked Cheng Wei out of the position of Didi CEO.
"Huagong Iron Army? He is not worthy of it!"
Li Yanhong cursed angrily.
Ali CEO Lu Zhaoxi, Lashou.com CEO Shan Jiawei, and Dianping.com COO Lu Guangyu, these people also came from the Huagong Iron Army. Which one of them is not more capable than Cheng Wei?
Thinking of this, Li Yanhong leaned back, took out his phone and called Xu Xin: "Mr. Xu, I think Cheng Wei is no longer suitable to be the CEO of Didi Dache."
"Mr. Li, do you have any suitable candidates in mind?" Xu Xin did not delve into it further. All investors had seen Cheng Wei's performance.
Given her understanding of Li Yanhong, it is not easy for her to endure until now.
Today Capital holds a 12.2% stake. Although it is the third largest shareholder of Didi Dache, Today Capital is just an investment fund company. Naturally, it cannot compare with Qiandu in terms of talent reserves.
The implication of Xu Xin's words was also very clear. Today Capital supports the change of personnel, but will not interfere in specific operational matters.
"Wang Jin and Xiang Hailong, one of them is responsible for technology and strategy, and the other is responsible for commercialization and traffic."
Li Yanhong was not polite at all and laid out his plan in full.
Wang Jin is good at technology-driven business. He has led the research and development of Qiandu mobile operating system. He can provide LBS and order scheduling algorithm support for Didi Taxi, making him suitable to be a CTO.
Xiang Hailong is a veteran employee of Qiandu. He is good at traffic monetization and business operations, acts calmly, and is suitable to be a CEO.
"Okay, I have no objection." Xu Xin replied.
Although she knew that Legend Capital seemed to want to promote its own eldest daughter to the top, she did not remind Li Yanhong.
After hanging up the phone, Li Yanhong called Zhu Nanli, the head of Legend Capital.
"Mr. Li, Legend Capital can vote in favor of removing Cheng Wei from the CEO position, but for the new CEO, I would like to recommend Ms. Liu Yiqing, the executive director of Goldman Sachs Asia."
After hearing Li Yanhong's purpose, Zhu Nanli agreed without hesitation, but he took the opportunity to make a request.
Liu Yiqing?
The eldest daughter of the Liu family?
Li Yanhong looked embarrassed. Qiandu holds a 36% stake in Didi Dache, making it the de facto largest shareholder.
Legend Capital only holds 10%, but the Lenovo Liu family is behind them. If Liu Chengzhi's idea was to nominate Liu Yiqing as the CEO of Didi Dache, he would have to consider it carefully.
"Is this what Mr. Liu meant?" Li Yanhong asked tentatively.
Zhu Nanli frowned and immediately understood the subtext of Li Yanhong's words: If Liu Chengzhi instructed him to do so, he might consider it, or even make certain concessions.
Otherwise, forget it! "Mr. Li also has a candidate?" Zhu Nanli asked.
Li Yanhong sneered, isn't this nonsense!
The combined equity of Legend Capital, Suisse Asia, Hillhouse Capital and Capital Today is not as high as Qiandu.com's shareholding ratio.
Why should Liu Yiqing be the one to make the decision? Maybe the other party has good abilities, but how can it be as comfortable and reliable as using one's own people? "Yes." Li Yanhong replied concisely.
He had already gotten the answer from the tone of Zhu Nanli's voice. Since it was not Liu Chengzhi's idea, there was no need for him to give him too much face.
After all, it is a business worth billions, and we cannot be careless.
Zhu Nanli looked embarrassed. After a long pause, he replied, "Mr. Li, Ms. Liu Yiqing has worked at Goldman Sachs for more than ten years. She is definitely qualified for the position of CEO."
"I can reserve the position of CFO for her." Li Yanhong did not say anything final, giving some face.
Alas, it's a pity that the eldest lady wants the position of CEO! Zhu Nan immediately realized that there was no way to communicate, and after the greetings, he hurriedly hung up the phone.
Li Yanhong didn't care. The combined shareholding ratio of Cheng Wei and Wang Gang was only 38.08%, while the combined equity of Qiandu and Today Capital was 48.2%, which was enough to convene a shareholders' meeting and kick Cheng Wei out.
In order to prevent any accidents, he then contacted Zhang Lei of Hillhouse Capital and Wang Qiong of Overseas Asia respectively.
Zhang Lei agreed readily, but Wang Qiong's position was ambiguous, neither opposing nor supporting.
Li Yanhong didn't take it seriously. Together with Hillhouse Capital, his shareholding ratio has exceeded 50%.
Therefore, the overseas Asian vote is not important.
The next morning, Li Yanhong, Vice President of Today Capital Li Guangping, and Zhang Lei of Hillhouse Capital went to Didi Dache headquarters together.
Although Zhu Nanli of Legend Capital and Wang Qiong of Overseas Asia did not attend, they also sent representatives.
Early in the morning, Cheng Wei sat in the office in a daze. He had been in a state of uncertainty since he received the message last night.
He was still too naive in front of these big capitalists! Twelve hours ago, he didn't even know what the AB equity structure, the agreement on concerted action, and the voting rights delegation agreement were.
I understand now, but it's too late.
"Mr. Cheng, how about we build another online car-hailing platform and start a new business?"
Didi Chuxing CTO Zhang Bo looked at Cheng Wei's tired expression and said indignantly.
“There is no chance. Domestic venture capital institutions willing to invest in the online car-hailing track are either on the Kuaidi Dache side or the Didi Dache side. This project is too expensive and few investors dare to pay for it.”
Cheng Wei smiled bitterly and shook his head.
From May to August, Didi Chuxing burned through 430 million yuan in funds and lost more than 100 million yuan a month. The entry threshold of this industry is too high.
Zhang Bo was slightly startled, then he sighed, and stared out the window in a daze. A few cicadas landed on the broom tree downstairs, making bursts of chirping sounds, which sounded a little mournful and a little sad.
Cheng Wei stood up, pushed the door open and walked out, leaning against the glass door wall, staring blankly at the office area in front of him.
The company that I worked hard to build for half a year is going to be handed over to someone else in the blink of an eye. It would be a lie to say that I am not sad.
At this time, Li Yanhong walked in with his men and bumped into Cheng Wei head-on. The two looked at each other.
From Li Yanhong's perspective, there is nothing wrong with what he did. Qiandu invested more than 200 million yuan in Didi Dache, and since Cheng Wei is not capable, of course he has to give way.
But in Cheng Wei's eyes, Didi Dache is his project, and Li Yanhong and others are just investors. However, they want to kick the founder out, which is too unfair.
However, such people are common in the investment circle. Cheng Wei is not the first entrepreneur to be kicked out by capital, nor will he be the last.
"Mr. Li!" Cheng Wei smiled reluctantly.
"I am also doing this for the stable operation and long-term development of the project. I hope you can understand." Li Yanhong said lightly.
I understand your mom!
Cheng Wei snorted coldly, and for a moment he couldn't help but cursed in his heart.
But he knew that Li Yanhong and others were determined to replace him, and no matter how hard he tried, the result would not change.
"Mr. Li, this is Zhang Bo, CTO of Didi Taxi. He has solid technical skills and is familiar with LBS and search algorithms..."
Cheng Wei tried his best to maintain his last bit of dignity and introduced Zhang Bo, hoping to save Zhang Bo's position.
"I know that Zhang Bo used to be a search engineer at Baidu. It seems that Mr. Cheng trusts you very much."
Li Yanhong said with a smile, looking at Zhang Bo.
Although Zhang Bo is a former employee of Qiandu and can be considered a "traitor" of Qiandu to some extent, the fact that he was recognized by Cheng Wei after leaving Qiandu is also a compliment to Qiandu's talent training system.
Zhang Bo smiled awkwardly, not knowing what to say.
"I have another candidate for the CTO of Didi Dache. If you don't mind, you can stay and be the technical director. The salary will remain the same."
Li Yanhong patted Zhang Bo on the shoulder and asked for his opinion with a smile.
No matter what, Zhang Bo is half of our family, so there is no need to replace everyone.
Zhang Bo opened his mouth and was about to speak when he was interrupted by Li Yanhong.
He knew in his heart that Cheng Wei was still standing by and Zhang Bo's reply was most likely insincere.
"Mr. Li, please come in!" Cheng Wei took a deep breath, forced a smile, and led Li Yanhong, Li Guangping, Zhang Lei and others to the office.
Next, the two sides communicated very 'pleasantly'.
Cheng Wei resigned from the position of CEO of Didi Dache and became the strategic development consultant of Didi Dache.
Li Yanhong originally wanted to take the opportunity to acquire the shares held by Cheng Wei, but Cheng Wei was not stupid. Less than four months after Didi Dache was launched, its valuation increased from 10 million to 4 billion.
If you sell it out of anger at this time, you will be a fool.
On August 15, Qiandu’s management team officially took over the operations of Didi Dache.
Founder Cheng Wei retreated to the second line, and former CTO Zhang Bo was demoted to technical director and continued to work for Li Yanhong.
When Cheng Wei left Digital Valley, he was still thinking about Zhang Bo's words: "Mr. Cheng, I will stand with you through thick and thin!"
When interests are at stake, there is no point in talking about friendship.
In an instant, Cheng Wei's ideas on business operations matured a lot, but the price was that he lost control of Didi Dache.
At two o'clock in the afternoon of the same day, the specific content of Kuaidi Dache's Series B financing quietly appeared on the hot search list.
The search terms "Kuaidi Taxi 3.5 billion US dollars", "Series B financing of 500 million US dollars" and "Recharge 399 and get 520 free" are scattered in the sixth, seventeenth and thirty-sixth positions.
"Recharge 399 and get 520" is a marketing campaign launched by Kuaidi Taxi at midnight on August 15. Users pay 399 yuan and can get 520 yuan in taxi money, plus 5 12 yuan coupons with no threshold.
The more you recharge, the more you get. There is no limit to the number of times you can participate, and refunds are supported at any time.
The top ten top-up users in each period will receive a 64GB version of Orange C2 smartphone.
As soon as the activity went online, the number of participating users exceeded 100,000.
The recharge was 399 yuan, and the actual amount received was 580 yuan, with a discount of about 6.88%, which is equivalent to saving 181 yuan.
Although Kuaidi Taxi offers instant discounts for new customers and subsidies for old customers, for users with high-frequency travel needs, such discounts are simply a drop in the bucket.
Within 24 hours of going online, the number of users participating in the recharge activity reached 461,000, and the revenue from the activity alone reached 440 million per day, with an average of 2.6 participants per person.
Cheng Weixing's operation can improve user stickiness and bind long-term consumption.
Secondly, it can quickly recover funds, ease cash flow pressure, and reduce dependence on venture capital funds.
Third, reduce customer acquisition investment and use the method of giving taxi money to relatives and friends to enhance the social fission effect.
As expected, on the second day, the number of orders from old customers of Didi Taxi in Yanjing, Tangcheng, Tianjin, Anci and Changshan dropped by 30%, and these users all recharged their accounts on Kuaidi Taxi.
Although user loyalty is extremely low, recharge activities are indeed a good way to deeply bind users.
Why do supermarkets, barber shops, KTVs and restaurants like to use recharge cards?
There is no other reason, it’s just so damn easy to use and the effect is outstanding!
Wang Jin and Xiang Hailong, who had just taken over the Didi Taxi business, subconsciously chose to follow the operating strategy of Kuaidi Taxi.
But in Li Yanhong's view, this behavior is too passive. Didi Taxi should take action instead of being led by Kuaidi Taxi.
So on August 16, Didi Taxi changed its response measures. It first launched the Qiandu Map Travel Edition, which combined online car-hailing and map navigation.
Subsequently, the subsidy strategy was adjusted, and the new customer activity was cancelled. New and old customers were treated equally, with the opportunity to get a 10 yuan discount twice a day.
Most passengers' normal commuting needs are only two to three times a day.
As soon as the Didi Taxi activity was launched, the number of participants in Kuaidi Taxi’s recharge activity immediately dropped to freezing point.
"Idiot!" Cheng Weixing cursed loudly, but he could only adjust his playing style.
He did not cancel the new customer activities, but instead sent two 10-yuan red packets to users every day. After taking a fast taxi and completing the order, the money can be activated and deposited into the Orange Payment balance.
Just think of it as a revenue data! For a time, the competition between Kuaidi and Didi Dache entered a bayonet stage, with more than 40 million yuan burned every day.
1.2 billion a month! While Li Yanhong was fighting the subsidy war head-on, he was also actively looking for financing opportunities.
Internet users in Yanjing, Beihe and Tianjin areas post screenshots of their free taxi orders on Weibo, BBS forums and Moments every day, sparking envy from netizens in southern regions.
People on the Internet are speculating how long the subsidy war between Kuaidi and Didi can last?
at the same time.
The direct search war between 360 and Qiandu is getting more and more intense. 360 unscrupulously grabs Qiandu's website data and blocks all of Qiandu's products.
Qiandu added 360 search products to the "anti-virus software list", and when users use Qiandu to search for "360 search official website", they are unable to jump normally.
It's a lose-lose situation.
As for user experience?
What is that? 360 and Qiandu are completely treating their users as if it were a piece of cake, making everyone miserable.
Lingxi Search, which has been watching the entire process, has seen its market share steadily increase.
At 9 a.m. on August 17, the Yanjing Industry and Commerce Association and the Industry and Information Technology Association jointly warned 360 and Qiandu by name, and summoned Zhou Hongyi and Li Yanhong for a talk.
(End of this chapter)
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