Losing Money to Be a Tycoon c1-883

by Inebriation-seeking Blue Shirt, 青衫取醉

  Xi Hao was stunned. “Huh? Why isn’t it a good thing to be efficient?”

  Qiu Hong explained, “According to conventional thinking, it would definitely be better if the work efficiency is higher. However, pure efficiency might not be a good thing in some artistic and creative works.”

  “Game design is also a type of art creation. Sometimes, it relies heavily on inspiration. Most of the time, a person’s mind would be stuck at a dead end. When one is stuck at a dead end, a person’s mind would be highly focused and their work efficiency would increase significantly. However, the final product might not be good.”

  “Take these game designers for example. They are very invested and efficient in their work, but it is precisely because of this that they might fall into a state of stubborness. They would focus all their energy on their own game, blindly believe that their current approach is the best, and ignore some better possibilities.”

  “The mandatory requirement for everyone to play more games is for everyone to be able to walk out of their own little circle while maintaining their efficiency. They would be able to see how other games are done and learn from the masses. They might be able to inspire others.”

  “I think that’s what Little Tang meant.”

  Realization dawned on Xi Hao. “I see, I understand now! I’ll start organizing everyone to play games together to gather inspiration and material!”

  Tang Yishu could not help but nod after hearing Qiu Hong’s words.

  So that was what Senior meant!

  Senior is so awesome! He had predicted and planned everything in advance!

  The inspection of the incubation base was finally over. Qiu Hong took out his cell phone and glanced at the time. He said to Tang Yishu, “Let’s call it a day then. We’ll go to Lady Cold Face’s place tomorrow at 9 AM.”

  …

  …

  December 9th, Friday morning.

  Meng Chang instructed the employees and the cleaning auntie to do their own jobs in the flagship store of the Cold-Faced Lady. The entire store, including the kitchen, was cleaned. At the same time, the tables and chairs in the store were neatly arranged.

  The long term ‘Cold-Faced Lady’ was a Chinese fast food brand. Of course, they also sold breakfast.

  It was five in the morning. While they had already done a round of cleaning after the closing last night, Meng Chang was still worried. He arrived early in the morning and checked the shop one last time before opening it for business. He wanted to ensure that the shop was in its best state.

  Meng Chang did not know that Tang Yishu had come to the capital. He did not clean for her today, but for the few investors who were here for inspection.

  Tang Yishu had coincidentally bumped into these investors.

  It started from the time when Meng Chang received six million yuan from Dream Realization Ventures.

  Meng Chang did not dare to divulge that the six million yuan had been obtained from Tengda because of Boss Pei’s request. However, Meng Chang was very smart. Naturally, he had other ways to pass this information to the investors.

  Many investors had already extended an olive branch to Meng Chang before Pei Qian decided to invest six million yuan.

  However, Meng Chang rejected all of them. That was because the terms of the investment were too harsh on him. They were either valuation adjustment mechanism agreements or locked up the founder’s shares. It was very unfriendly to him.

  The investors did not insist nor give up immediately after Meng Chang rejected them. Instead, they maintained a neutral attitude and continued to observe.

  They were waiting for the Cold-Faced Lady to run into financial problems.

  Now, all investors could tell that Meng Chang was a founder who was passionate about burning money for marketing. It would not be able to sustain Meng Chang’s speed of burning even if the Cold-Faced Lady could turn its losses into profits.

  Of course, this was not a bad thing because Meng Chang was good at marketing. He had indeed burned money to forcibly instill the Cold Faced Lady brand into his customers. Not only was this money not a loss, it was very profitable.

  This was in line with internet marketing in the eyes of many investors. Meng Chang had done it beautifully.

  Meng Chang and capital were both needed by each other.

  In order to maintain the popularity and money chain of Cold-Faced Lady, Meng Chang would definitely continue to think of ways to finance it. Once the Cold-Faced Lady’s brand became successful and its valuation skyrocketed, the capital would also reap rich rewards.

  Therefore, these investors thought that Meng Chang’s temporary rejection was just a bargaining tactic.

  Meng Chang would naturally let go of his pride as long as they waited for the Cold-Faced Lady to run into financial problems. He would have to accept the investment agreements that included terms such as valuation adjustment mechanism and shares lockdown.

  There was no problem with their plan. In fact, if Dream Realization Ventures did not continue to invest, Meng Chang would really be caught in a dilemma.

  However, Meng Chang, who had the character of a gambler, placed his bet on the right horse once again.

  After getting the bullets from Dream Realization Ventures, Meng Chang had a perfect chance to counterattack even though he could not flaunt it.

  He started to burn money at an even faster rate. He even spent hundreds of thousands of yuan to rent a venue. He started to organize his own speech, and used his excellent eloquence and business sense to endorse the brand ‘Cold Faced Lady’.

  On one hand, it was to continue expanding the influence of the cold-faced lady. On the other hand, it was to send a very clear message to the investors.

  Aren’t you not investing? Did you think that I won’t be able to get any investments from other places?

  Sorry, not only did I get it, I also got a lot of it!

  Are you still going to stick to that agreement and not take a step back? If you don’t invest, if you don’t invest now, you might not even have a chance to invest in the future.

  These investors could not help but panic when they saw how the Cold-Faced Lady was burning so much money without any problems with the capital chain. Meng Chang still looked like he had everything under control.

  That was because the company’s valuation would grow faster and faster with more capital.

  The price of investing one month earlier versus one month later was vastly different because of the difference in company valuation.

  Therefore, it was now the investors’ turn to lose their cool. They wanted to inspect the place before deciding how much to give in with regards to the investment agreement.

  Meng Chang planned to get everything done in one go. Today, he would try to hoodwink these investors and continue to push up the valuation of the Cold-Faced Lady so that he could prepare for the next step.

  Even someone with a huge heart like Meng Chang could not help but feel nervous. That was because if he were to mess up today and the investors continued to observe, the amount of money he had on hand would not allow him to continue burning for too long. There was a risk that the capital chain would break at any time.

  Of course, even if there was a small problem with the capital chain, the Cold Faced Lady brand would not die on the spot. Meng Chang still had many ways to find money.

  However, in such a situation, money would be more difficult to obtain.

  Therefore, Meng Chang was actually continuing to show off his muscles to the investors on the one hand while showing the good prospects to the investors through good eloquence and business models. On the other hand, he was proving to the investors that he had the ability to turn good prospects into reality through clean and popular stores.

  After confirming all the details of the shop like a paranoid maniac, Meng Chang began to rehearse what he had prepared to say to the investors today to ensure that the morning’s presentation was foolproof.

  …

  10 in the morning.


  Qiu Hong and Tang Yishu went to Lady Cold Face’s shop and found an inconspicuous corner to sit down.

  It was not lunch time yet but there were still quite a number of people in the Cold-Faced Lady’s shop. About 60% of the seats in the shop were taken. It looked like there would definitely be a queue during the afternoon peak period.

  Tang Yishu looked around curiously, her eyes filled with confusion.

  Everything was good, she could not see any problems.

  Before coming, Pei Qian had specifically instructed her to keep an eye on the Cold-Faced Lady and report the situation to him when she returned. She did not have to worry about not being able to understand it. There was no need for her to study it on purpose. She could just observe it based on her first impression.

  However, Tang Yishu realized that she had not observed anything weird when she first arrived at the shop.

  The restaurant was quite clean and tidy. It looked like business was going well. The waiters were not as formal as other fast-food restaurants, but they still had faint smiles on their faces. They were very attentive to their customers and even had a better attitude than traditional fast-food brands.

  In Tang Yishu’s eyes, this was just a normal, very profitable restaurant.

  The two of them ordered some of their signature dishes and were served quickly.

  Tang Yishu fretted as she ate. She could not sense any major flaws or problems in the restaurant.

  Of course, it was not perfect. It was a fast food brand after all. They could not count on much on its taste, but it would definitely be passable.

  At the same time, Meng Chang was waiting for investors in an inconspicuous corner of the shop.

  Meng Chang looked calm on the surface, but was in fact, a little anxious. That was because they had agreed to meet at 10 PM. These investors were already a few minutes late.

  All of a sudden, Meng Chang’s eyes lit up. He immediately stood up and walked towards the door.

  Before long, Meng Chang and a few other investors walked into the shop, chatting and laughing.

  “Boss Meng, I’m really sorry. There was a traffic jam on the way and I arrived a few minutes late. Sorry for making you wait.”

  “It’s alright, it’s alright. I’m honored that you’re willing to come to my restaurant. Please don’t stand on ceremony.”

  Meng Chang appeared calm and collected, as if he had everything under control. After a simple exchange of pleasantries, he began to explain the Cold-Faced Lady’s situation to everyone.

  That included the results of the Cold-Faced Lady’s recent marketing plan, the preparation of the new restaurant, feedback on the new dishes, details of the various services of the restaurant, and so on.

  The Cold Faced Lady brand was also continuously developing. The management model and taste of the restaurant were also continuously improving. Even if these investors had been here before, they could see obvious improvements now.

  Meng Chang was burning more money after all. It wouldn’t make sense if the shop remained the same.

  Tang Yishu, who was sitting in a corner, sipped her roasted cold noodles as she pricked up her ears to listen to the contents of their discussion.

  However, Meng Chang did not speak very loudly. Tang Yishu could only listen intermittently even if she concentrated. She could not help but feel anxious.

  How was she going to report to her senior if she could not tell anything from her visit to the Cold-Faced Lady?

  Meng Chang began to enthusiastically introduce the shop to the investors.

  “The decoration style of our shop has been slightly adjusted. There are some new embellishments, mainly to create an atmosphere that combines tradition and modernity. Everyone, look, this is an element of traditional Chinese style. There are also posters with a bit of artistic aura. These are all part of the cultural heritage of the brand Cold Faced Lady.”

  “With a mix of different styles, customers’ dining environment would be unique. These styles would become material for customers to happily share on Weibo or social circles. That would make customers become our free promoters.”

  “These details are also reflected in all aspects. For example, our dining tables and chairs were specially custom-made by factories. They are also fashioned in between new trends and nostalgic old fashion. Moreover, they are both beautiful and practical so in theory, there shouldn’t be any problems for about 10 years…”

  Meng Chang was casually playing with the swivel chair as he introduced. However, he suddenly heard a soft creak as the swivel chair was stuck.

  Meng Chang: “?”

  He thought that he had made a wrong turn. He tried to turn it back, but it was indeed stuck!

  The atmosphere was extremely awkward.

  Meng Chang was puzzled. What was happening?

  He was not lying. These tables and chairs were indeed custom-made that were made with top quality materials. In theory, they should be good to be used for a few years.

  However, something went wrong!

  It wasn’t a big problem, but the axis of the dining chair was stuck for some unknown reason and couldn’t continue spinning. However, the feeling of being slapped in the face still made Meng Chang feel very awkward.

  The investors gave him face and did not say anything but Meng Chang knew that these investors would definitely have some thoughts in their hearts. The accumulation of these minor flaws would affect the evaluation of the Cold-Faced Lady in the hearts of the investors. The investment agreement terms that he could obtain would be even harsher.

  However, Meng Chang had a strong mental fortitude after all. This little episode was not enough to make him panic. He smiled and said, “It looks like there are still some minor problems with the quality control of this furniture factory. It’s just as well. The problem can be corrected as soon as it’s exposed. That might not be a bad thing.”

  “We’ll definitely ask them to improve their quality control.”

  “Apart from the dining environment, the recruitment and culture of our waiters are also different from other restaurants…”

  Meng Chang quickly changed the topic. He did not want to continue arguing about this to leave an impression on the investors.

  However, just as he was speaking, he saw a customer stand up impatiently. He walked to the front desk and said, “Why isn’t my cold noodles ready yet? Didn’t you promise to serve the food in fifteen minutes? It’s been twenty minutes!”

  The receptionist said embarrassedly, “I’m sorry, I’ll rush the kitchen.”

  The customer returned to his seats speechlessly.

  The investors had obviously noticed it as well. Their expressions changed subtly.

  Meng Chang’s heart dropped as he silently cursed the people in the kitchen a hundred times.

  Weren’t they normally fine? What’s more, he had just instructed for the food to be served fast many times in the morning. Why did they have to cause trouble at such a time?!

  This was really messed up!

  However, he knew that he could not dwell on this now. The more he struggled, the more flaws he would have. Thus, he pretended that nothing had happened and continued to explain it to the investors in high spirits.

  However, less than half a minute later, something happened again.

  A burly man who looked like he had been waiting for too long said from his seat, “Why hasn’t the side dishes been served yet? The noodles are almost finished! Aren’t they cold side dishes? Why, are you only starting to grow them now?”

  A waiter hurried over and comforted him in a low voice.

  The corners of Meng Chang’s mouth twitched slightly. It was impossible to ignore it this time. Happening once could be said to be a coincidence, but what about two times?

  The Cold-Faced Lady’s identity was a fast-food brand, which required the meals to be served within 15 minutes, the faster the better. Now that there was a problem with the timing of the meals being served, the impression on the investors wou
ld be that the kitchen management was in a mess. That could directly affect the Cold-Faced Lady’s brand and reputation.

  What’s more, it was not the peak period for lunch yet. No matter what, there should be no delay in serving the food.

  There was no way he could fool them.

  Meng Chang adjusted his mentality and maintained his poise. “I’m sorry, there seems to be a small problem with the kitchen. Please wait for a moment, I’ll go and settle it.”

  Meng Hao walked to the kitchen briskly and whispered angrily, “What’s going on?! Why are the dishes being served so slowly today?!”

  The waiters were busy with their work. When they saw Meng Chang, they quickly explained, “Boss Meng! I don’t know what happened today, but my luck was a little bad. I accidentally burnt a pot of noodles just now. Then, I accidentally tripped when I was serving the main dishes. I missed out on the side dishes…”

  Meng Chang gritted his teeth in anger. Why did this have to happen at such a critical juncture?!

  However, at this point, Meng Chang did not have any good solution. He could only curse at them and ask them to serve their meals as soon as possible.

  Meng Chang resumed his calm expression after he left the kitchen.

  He walked to the center of the store and clapped his hands lightly. “I’m very sorry, customers. There was a small problem in the back kitchen today. However, don’t worry, I guarantee you that anyone who doesn’t serve food within 15 minutes will be completely exempted from paying the bill!”

  At a time like this, he could only pour out money to extinguish the customers’ anger.

  If there was a problem, he had to solve it quickly. These investors were still keeping an eye on him. If he did not solve it in time, he would have to deduct points again.

  The customers who were waiting anxiously finally calmed down when they heard that the bill would be waived.

  Qiu Hong was a little puzzled. He said softly, “Eh, the dishes were served quite quickly when we arrived. Did something go wrong with their kitchen?”

  Tang Yishu continued to eat her roasted cold noodles, pretending not to hear him.