Chapter 825 I'm Going Back to China Next Week! 3.5 Billion Yuan Deposit, 900 Million Yuan in Payment? BrainShield's IPO and Insurance!
That afternoon, a user posted a video on Douyin (TikTok's Chinese version) complaining that their deposit refund request for Ofo bikes had not been received for a long time.
The video quickly broke through the initial traffic pool, and with the help of precise algorithm-driven push notifications, it reached even more Ofo bike users.
Many users panicked after seeing the video and immediately opened the app to request a refund.
What terrified them even more was that the deposit refund process, which used to take only a few dozen seconds, completely failed today, and there was still no progress for several hours after they submitted their applications.
As online discussions continue to heat up, the number of users applying for deposit refunds is also expanding.
"Contacting customer service only delays things; I called the market supervision department, and if they don't refund my money by tomorrow, I'll just go out and take two of those shared bikes home!"
"Damn it! That was a hat trick!"
"Are you guys stupid? Two years ago, Ofo had problems with deposits, and you still believe in this app? Aren't Ofo bikes and Didi bikes any good?"
"I just checked the Weibo account of Chang Wei, the CEO of Ofo, and found out he's in the US. Could he have run off with the money?"
Netizens raised a barrage of questions and complaints.
In fact, Ofo has had its moment of glory in the past two years, deploying 1.4 million shared bikes nationwide by relying on financing and misappropriated user deposits.
However, since Cheng Wei sold Didi Bike to Ali, and Senlian Group reached a settlement with Ali, the industry landscape has become a "two against one" situation.
Under the combined pressure from the industry leader and the second-largest competitor, Ofo's business situation became increasingly difficult, eventually leading to its complete collapse.
Others might be wary of Chang Wei's family background, but Chen Yansen and Ma Liyun had no such concerns.
In the business world, survival of the fittest is the norm. If a company goes bankrupt due to its own lack of ability, who can it blame?
At first, Chang Wei was able to barely make ends meet by robbing Peter to pay Paul.
However, this model is like illegally manipulating credit cards. Once the total amount of deposits requested for refund by users exceeds the company's available funds, a crisis of financial collapse will erupt instantly.
Immediately, netizens flooded Chang Wei's social media accounts, demanding a refund of their deposits.
"Please rest assured, this is just a temporary malfunction in the bank system, which is expected to be fixed by tomorrow morning. Ofo will never misappropriate users' deposits."
Chang Wei solemnly assured this on social media.
When netizens questioned why he was in the United States, he replied confidently: "I'm investigating overseas markets. Ofo will be launching in Times Square, New York in August, and Wall Street capital will also participate in the company's next round of financing. I'll be returning to China next week!"
Some users actually believed this explanation.
However, many savvy users rushed to Ofo's branches in various locations overnight, blocking the entrances and demanding on-site refunds of their deposits.
Is this method useful?
The answer is yes, but only for the first batch of users to arrive.
Those users who reacted a little slower, by the time they saw the video and rushed to the branch office, the site was already packed with people, and only staff members were there to maintain order.
As for a refund?
Absolutely impossible!
The company's meager remaining funds had already been claimed by the first batch of users.
This completely enraged all the users!
Even the most oblivious person would realize that Ofo is really going to fail this time!
"Listen to me, brothers! Hurry up and go to the street to grab a car and take it home. First come, first served!"
"Isn't this illegal?"
"Ofo (the bike-sharing company) breached the contract and violated the law first!"
"Is it worth risking stealing a car for 199 yuan? It would be troublesome if the staff caught you."
"Just show him the deposit refund page when the time comes!"
With no hope of getting their deposits back, users could only gather online to vent their frustrations.
However, when faced with suggestions from others to move their vehicles, most people have many concerns and dare not take action.
To put it bluntly, this group of people still harbored a sliver of unrealistic hope for Chang Wei.
But reality often delivers a harsh slap in the face!
The following day, affected by the public opinion storm surrounding Ofo, other shared bicycle brands were also implicated.
Panic is highly contagious, and a large number of users flocked to various bike-sharing apps to apply for deposit refunds.
In a short period of time, several shared bicycle brands, including Xiangqi, Xiaolan, Dingding, and Xiaoming, experienced difficulties in refunding deposits, broken capital chains, and even the absconding of their founders.
Following the mass collapse of P2P platforms, the booming sharing economy has also been hit by a wave of closures in the shared bicycle industry.
Only now have users realized that while shared bikes are convenient, they must be backed by a large, powerful company.
For example, Didi Bike is backed by Alibaba, while OFO Bike's parent company is Senlian Group, and it has long implemented a deposit-free policy.
After the Orange Credit Score was launched, OFO bikes immediately linked it. As long as the user's credit score exceeds 500 points, they can enjoy the benefits of permanent deposit-free riding and pay-later.
at the same time.
Ofo's suppliers also came to their door demanding payment for their goods.
To their astonishment, the Ofo company's accounts were already empty, and they were completely unable to settle payments.
When faced with suppliers pressing for payment, some bike-sharing company owners pretend to be calm and stall for time, while others simply fly to Hong Kong first, then travel to North America, leaving behind a mess and running away.
Two days later.
Users got tired of complaining and realized that their complaints and rights protection efforts were ineffective. That's when they realized that they might as well go out and carry a bicycle home, at least they could recover some of their losses.
Of course, more than 90% of users still have concerns and dare not take action rashly.
Chang Wei's responses on Weibo gradually changed from the initial "we are discussing financing", "the payment channel will be restored soon" and "I will return to China next week" to empty promises such as "we will definitely refund, we guarantee to refund, and we will refund in a few days".
But netizens aren't stupid, and they still didn't believe him, so the comments section was filled with insults.
"Damn it, give me my money back!"
"Not only did I not get my deposit back, but I also can't get back the 100 yuan balance I deposited into the app!"
"I was feeling pretty bad at first, but seeing that the people upstairs were even worse off than me, I don't know why, but I felt a little better."
"If you haven't gotten your deposit back, just push one of those bikes home on the street, isn't that simple?"
"That combination lock has a flaw; it can be pried open to get a free ride."
"Ofo bike: Hey bro! You're eyeing my interest, but I'm eyeing your principal."
"P2P: What a coincidence, that's what I was thinking too!"
As the conversation progressed, the topic gradually shifted to Cheng Wei.
It's worth noting that several bike-sharing platforms have gone bankrupt in the past few days, while Cheng Wei had already cashed out Didi Bike for over a billion dollars and is now a senior executive at Alibaba.
His strategic foresight is evident in this high-level cash-out maneuver.
However, to the users' surprise, Ofo (the bike-sharing company) persisted, using various excuses to delay refunds.
Even more outrageous, the company also introduced a so-called "refund queuing" mechanism.
Some users discovered after checking that their refunds would take up to twenty years to arrive!
Isn't this just being a scoundrel?
Screenshots showing a 20-year wait for refunds have gone viral on major social media platforms, sparking outrage among netizens.
"Twenty years? By then my grandson will be old enough to run errands. Am I supposed to let him use my refund screenshot to collect the money?"
"That son of a bitch Chang Wei, is he treating users like idiots or like韭菜 (a metaphor for being exploited) to be harvested?"
"I suggest turning the headquarters of Ofo (the bike-sharing company) into a nursing home, so that when we users retire, we can just line up at the door to collect our deposits!"
Amidst the ridicule and angry outbursts, someone uncovered an even more shocking inside story.
The so-called "New York Times Square Landing Plan" of Ofo was nothing more than Chang Wei renting an electronic screen overseas to take a photo for publicity.
The so-called Wall Street financing is a complete fabrication and a lie.
His true state in the United States was that he used the misappropriated user deposits to buy luxury homes and yachts, posted beach vacation photos on his social media every day, and turned a blind eye to the public opinion storm in China.
What's even more disheartening for users is that a lawyer has come forward to explain that users who take away Ofo bikes from the street without permission are committing misappropriation of company property, and if they are sued, they may face fines or even detention.
Ofo's misappropriation of users' deposits constitutes a breach of contract. Users seeking redress must go through the litigation process, which is not only lengthy but also extremely difficult to enforce even if they win the case.
"So, we paid a deposit, and not only can we not get it back, we can't even use the car as collateral; we're just supposed to watch him run off with the money?"
"What kind of logic is this? His cost of breaking the law is so low, but our cost of protecting our rights is so high?"
The anger quickly found an outlet in reality.
In multiple locations, users have been loitering outside Ofo bike-sharing company branches to file complaints. Some are holding signs that read "Refund my deposit," while others are playing videos of Chang Wei's previous confident interviews. The situation at these locations has become chaotic.
Meanwhile, the ripple effects on the industry continue to intensify.
Several bike-sharing companies that were barely surviving collapsed completely under the dual pressure of user deposit withdrawals and debt collection from suppliers.
The headquarters of Xiangqi Bikes has been deserted, and its office equipment has been taken away by suppliers to pay off debts.
The founder of Bluegogo absconded to Southeast Asia with the remaining funds, leaving behind deposits from tens of thousands of users and tens of millions of yuan in payments to suppliers.
The owner of Dingding Bikes has disappeared, and the company's accounts have been frozen, leaving behind a mountain of broken bikes piled up on the streets with no one to deal with them.
On city streets, the once neatly arranged shared bicycles have now become an eyesore of "urban litter".
Abandoned yellow and blue bikes are randomly discarded on roadsides, in green belts, and even in waterways. Some bikes have their seats removed and tires taken off, becoming the most direct microcosm of the bursting of the sharing economy bubble.
In this industry crisis, the biggest winner is undoubtedly OFO bicycles.
OFO has become a "safe haven" in the industry thanks to its "no deposit required" policy.
It absorbed a large number of users who fled from other platforms, and at the same time took advantage of this to eliminate many small and medium-sized competitors.
Chang Wei single-handedly carried out a major industry cleanup before his company self-destructed.
Currently, the market is dominated by Didi Bike and OFO Bike, which avoids industry monopoly and allows the leading companies to meet all market demand.
After two years, the bike-sharing war has finally reached the MVP settlement stage, where the winner takes all and the remaining platforms either run away or are struggling to survive.
After the market structure stabilized, Hu Weiyi submitted OFO bicycle's listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Although the gross profit margin of the bike-sharing industry is thin, once economies of scale are achieved, the annual revenue and net profit can still be quite considerable.
For other companies, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange might have had some concerns, but OFO is backed by multiple investors such as Senlian Group, Tencent, and Goldman Sachs. It has deployed a total of 3.1 million bicycles and e-bikes in 17 countries, with stable performance and a positive revenue growth trend.
As soon as the news broke, a financial blogger immediately questioned: "The gross profit margin of the shared bicycle industry is less than 5%, and it also faces problems such as vehicle depreciation and high maintenance costs. How much of OFO's so-called stable performance is just hype?"
However, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's response quickly dispelled some of the market's doubts.
According to its prospectus, OFO's revenue exceeded 5.7 billion yuan in 2014, with net profit reaching 390 million yuan, of which overseas markets contributed 39% of the revenue.
In Southeast Asia, Europe and other regions, OFO's e-bikes have quickly captured local market share with their "no deposit + localized operation and maintenance" strategy.
More importantly, its cash flow is extremely healthy, with cash reserves exceeding 2 billion yuan, which is more than enough to cover vehicle procurement and maintenance expenses.
This is an anomaly in the bike-sharing industry, which once relied on misappropriating user deposits to stay afloat.
Of this cash reserve, 20% comes from company profits, 50% from unused financing, and the remaining 30% comes from the sale of OFO Mall's peripheral products, such as customized bicycles, cycling protective gear, and e-bikes.
After all, OFO has a price advantage when purchasing DeepBlue batteries, and it hires a professional team to design products that balance battery life, appearance and functionality, so it is reasonable that it can make a profit.
The industry's popularity has fluctuated, but the topic of Ofo (the yellow bike-sharing company) has remained consistently popular.
According to reports from Huxiu.com and 36Kr, approximately 16 million users have not received their deposits back, involving more than 3 billion yuan. In addition, the company also owes a large amount of money to its suppliers.
More than 3 billion yuan in deposits are hanging in the air, and 16 million users are trapped. These figures are like a boulder, crashing heavily into the center of a media storm.
Some media outlets have calculated that with an average deposit of 199 yuan per person, plus the unrefunded balances of some users' recharges, Ofo's actual user funds tied up are close to 3.5 billion yuan.
Behind this lies the helplessness and bitterness of 16 million families.
Some of them are recent college graduates, and 199 yuan is half a month's food expenses.
Some of the victims were retired elderly people who only occasionally rode their bikes to buy groceries, but they were still ripped off by Chang Wei.
Some people saved up their pocket money for six months to buy cycling cards for their children, only to be left with an app icon that couldn't be refunded.
What's even more disheartening is the plight of the suppliers.
The owner of a bicycle parts manufacturer in Tianjin posted a long article online complaining: "In order to supply Ofo bikes, I mortgaged my factory and took out a loan to purchase raw materials. Now I am owed 8 million yuan in payments, and I can't even pay my workers' wages. My whole family can only live in a rented room."
Below the post, dozens of suppliers echoed the sentiment, with some posting yellowed supply contracts and others posting densely packed payment reminders, totaling over 900 million yuan in overdue payments.
They went to the headquarters of Ofo (the bike-sharing company) to protest, but all they found were locked doors and security guards blocking their way.
Chang Wei's extravagant lifestyle of owning mansions and yachts overseas stands in stark contrast to their miserable situation.
...
...
On August 1, NeuroGuard finally received its marketing authorization a week after starting its Phase III clinical trial in North America.
In fact, Chen Yansen did not push this matter much; instead, a group of bigwigs in North America took the initiative to help speed up the approval process.
The demand for this drug is enormous, but not everyone can afford to spend $100 million like Bill Gates and Benson.
Therefore, they are eager to expedite the approval process so that NeuroGuard can enter the market as soon as possible.
What outsiders are most curious about is Orange Healthcare's pricing for NeuroGuard.
After all, the efficacy of this drug is evident to all. Bill Gates' father, who had been bedridden for more than a year, was able to stand up again after taking it and was even able to play golf.
In North American wealthy circles, this is undoubtedly the most convincing living advertisement.
However, to the surprise of outsiders, Orange Healthcare did not announce its pricing standards first.
On the contrary, Semir Online launched an "Alzheimer's Disease Prevention Insurance" with a premium of 2,999 yuan, which includes special purchase benefits from NeuroGuard.
At first, not many people bought it, but soon people discovered that the document review process on the claims application page was extremely lenient, and sales immediately soared!
(End of this chapter)
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