[ByteDance] accounted for 1/3 of all venture capital returns in China over the past years.

This is the original words of Zhu Xiaohu, founder of venture capital firm GSR Ventures.

At that time, ByteDance had reached a market value of 3 trillion yuan, becoming the top three giants in the mobile Internet era.

There is no way, ByteDance has too many things.

Toutiao, Douyin, tiktok, Xigua Video, Fanqie, Dongchedi, Qingyan, Jianying, Pipixia, and the banned jokes.

These applications cover a wide range of areas, including news information, short videos, long videos, cars, etc., directly spanning multiple fields, leading to the subsequent business empire.

But all of these were actually within Yang Xiao’s plan.

However, he did the opposite.

Zhang Yiming first built the platform and channels, and then created the content.

Yang Xiao has not considered the former for the time being.

Because no matter what field the platform is in, he can start it at any time as long as he wants to do it.

It's just that I'm a little overwhelmed and can't take care of everything.

So, he directly creates content first, or high-quality content!

We have said before that the current Internet is still relatively chaotic.

Users will see what the platform provides.

But if you really want to retain users and make them sticky, you still have to produce high-quality content.

High-quality content is generally produced by a group of "big Vs", "big UP masters" and self-media bloggers, including anchors and so on. They are the so-called weather vanes!
Any platform that wants to grow and develop must have such people as its "pillars".

And Yang Xiao had already made preparations for this in advance!

As early as a year ago, Shiguang Culture Media Company began to discover and cultivate various big Vs on platforms such as Weibo, Tieba, and Douban.

For example, the previous "horoscope blogger", "auto media person", "emotional story writer", "new media writer (clickbait headline stuff)" and so on.

Yang Xiao has signed countless people of this kind!

Among them are some big accounts that already have millions of followers!
Moreover, at this point in time, the price for signing a contract with such a self-media person is extremely low!

Yang Xiao is not Huang Shiren. He has already offered a signing fee higher than that in the industry!

Of course, the high signing fee is also conditional.

It’s just that the signed contract is a little longer and the penalty is a little higher.

Many big V accounts are not owned by the individual content creators, but by Shiguang Culture Media.

Now Shiguan Culture Media has a special department similar to the "guild" of later generations, which manages most of the mediocre creators.

Yang Xiao is now like a manufacturer who controls the supply of goods.

Even [Time Music Group] is taking this route.

Although he has not yet achieved complete monopoly, he can be regarded as a "tycoon" who has the right to speak.

Therefore, what Yang Xiao said to Zhang Yiming before was not groundless, nor was it a threat.

It can be said that with Yang Xiao's foresight and the large number of people he has trained, if they could just create an APP that could rival "Toutiao", they would be able to crush Zhang Yiming in minutes!

"Boss Yang, now that you've come and taken over ByteDance, I have to shamelessly ask you for some people."

"Haha, that's right. Whether it's a celebrity or a group of self-media people, we can let them in and the price is negotiable."

Thanks to Yang Xiao’s strong investment, he has now become the largest shareholder of ByteDance with 45% of the shares!
The second largest shareholder is Zhang Yiming's team with 40%, and the third largest shareholder is Haina Asia Venture Capital Fund. Wang Qiong, as Zhang Yiming's angel investor at the time, invested 300 million yuan, which has now been diluted to only 15%.

In fact, with Yang Xiao’s current strength, it is not difficult to acquire his ByteDance.

But Yang Xiao had no intention of taking complete control, so he let Zhang Yiming handle the AB shares.

The purpose is to stabilize the morale of the troops and maximize Zhang Yiming's potential.

Even with the help of the channel resources in his hands, it would not be difficult for Zhang Yiming to take off faster!
Zhang Yiming also faced the reality at this time.

There is no way, he has to bow his head. Although he has little contact with Yang Xiao, Yang Xiao still has a good reputation in the circle.

He can be considered an excellent investor who "rarely complains and hardly interferes with management."

Therefore, he might as well join forces with Yang Xiao to continue his business.

In order to show his hospitality, Zhang Yiming said, "Boss Yang, please don't leave tonight. I will welcome you back."

"Not tonight, I have plans with other people."

"Excuse me, who is it?"

"If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten that he is also your old friend, Chen Rui. He was the one who gave me your contact address. I have to go over and talk to him about another company. How about we go together?"

Hearing this, Zhang Yiming's expression suddenly changed, and then he immediately recovered: "It's him. Since you want to talk about something, I won't go."

"Okay, I have to go. I'll have someone contact you about the follow-up matters." Yang Xiao said.

Zhang Yiming sent Yang Xiao out of the elevator upstairs in the community again.

Yang Xiao looked at another advertisement board in the elevator and suddenly asked curiously, "Hey, [36Kr]? There's another company in this building?"

"Well, we [ByteDance] are on the top floor. This company is called [36Kr] and has been here since 2010. They are doing everything, including technological innovation, media economics, etc. It's very diverse."

"Haha, your community, Jinqiu Garden, is really blessed with outstanding people and beautiful scenery."

Yang Xiao knew about this company and its subsequent development momentum was very strong. Its founder was received by the Prime Minister in 2015.

It is also the first Chinese technology-based online publishing company to be listed in the United States, with an estimated market value of over US$160 billion.

When I walked downstairs, I met a few middle-aged and elderly people carrying bags of vegetables back.

Yang Xiao was used to staying in the office building, so he was a little uncomfortable for a while.

"Brother Zhang, my suggestion is to rent an office building. It's no use staying in a residential building like this all the time."

"Alas, there is no way. I don't want to do it either. Yanjing is a place with very expensive land. ByteDance was founded with only 500 million yuan in funding. Whether it is renting servers or building content channels, it is a huge expense. Naturally, we have to be frugal."

Zhang Yiming also looked helpless. The group of employees under him now lived in bunk beds in a room with more than a dozen people!
Another convenient thing for residents is that they can cook!

This saves a lot of rent!
"Now that we have your financing, the most we can do is improve the accommodation for our employees. We still have half a year's rent left, so we'll wait until it's full. Besides, [Toutiao] is about to go online, and it would be terrible if the market response is not good."

"Okay, you decide everything yourself. If you need money, just tell me."

He smiled. ByteDance and 36Kr were born in the same community. The housing prices here will probably be raised a lot in the future.

After saying this, Yang Xiao left.

Zhang Yiming watched Yang Xiao leave with a complicated look. In fact, he was not short of money. [Today's Headlines] As long as he succeeded, it would be easy for him to raise funds.

But the situation was such that he had to bow his head in front of Yang Xiao. When he thought of what Yang Xiao had just said about Chen Rui introducing him, he immediately cursed inwardly:
"You damn fat bastard, you let the wolf into the house!"

The place where Chen Rui invited Yang Xiao was a high-end Japanese restaurant, whose main dish was high-quality Wagyu beef.

Yang Xiao approached him, so Chen Rui took the initiative to host the party.

"Mr. Chen, I haven't seen you for more than a year. You are getting healthier and healthier."

"Although I haven't seen you for more than a year, I have always heard of your reputation, Mr. Yang. I am still struggling in Jinshan. To be honest, with your current status, it is my honor to have dinner at the same table with you."

"Mr. Chen, you don't need to belittle yourself, but next time there is a chance, I need you to help introduce me to Mr. Lei to see if there is any chance for cooperation."

"sure."

Chen Rui was a little confused about Yang Xiao's intention in contacting him this time. They were just shareholders of Bilibili.

Since the last round of financing, apart from some courtesy text messages during festivals, we haven’t had much interaction at other times.

During the process, Yang Xiao did talk to him several times on the phone, just to ask him to get rid of Cheetah Mobile and encourage him to "usurp the throne" of Xu Yi and take charge of Bilibili.

However, he has always rejected these proposals on the grounds that Cheetah Mobile has not yet gone public and the company needs him.

Yang Xiao didn't say much, and after a few words of small talk, he got straight to the point:
"Mr. Chen, you should be keeping an eye on the situation at Bilibili, right?"

"Well, thanks to your operation strategy, Mr. Yang, the domestic animations of Year Hare Affair and One Hundred Thousand Bad Jokes have achieved remarkable results over the past six months, and the number of users has also increased linearly. Everything is stable and improving."

Chen Rui answered truthfully and he didn't mention a word about the founder Xu Yi.

In his eyes, Xu Yi was just a little brat, and he and Yang Xiao were responsible for many things.

To be honest, he really admires Yang Xiao for having so many companies under his control and being able to coordinate them in several aspects.

The acquisition of [YouYaoQi Animation DreamWorks] is simply a brilliant move!
From this, he could see that Yang Xiao had big ambitions.

In addition, after several copyright acquisitions, Yang Xiao and Chen Rui's investment more than a year ago had already hit bottom.

The copyright fees for these animations were purchased by Yang Xiao at a huge cost!
Yang Xiao has invested several million more, and now he has become the second largest shareholder of Bilibili!

The equity structure of Bilibili is as follows: Xu Yi's team holds 46%, Yang Xiao holds 35%, and Chen Rui holds 19%.

Xu Yike doesn’t have such a good brain to play the AB stock game.

Logically speaking, the combined current shares of Yang Xiao and Chen Rui are enough to achieve complete controlling stake, so kicking Xu Yi out would be an easy task.

"Boss Chen, I won't keep you in suspense. I came to Yanjing this time just to invite you to come out."

"Boss Yang, I have never been into the mountains, so how can I talk about leaving them?"

Chen Rui rolled his eyes. He wondered why there was no sincerity at all.
You said you wanted to invite me out of retirement, so why did you go to Zhang Yiming first?

Yang Xiao looked at him with a smile without explaining.

Chen Rui felt a little scared by Yang Xiao's gaze, and pretended to be stupid again:

"I am a person who is not very smart. Can you elaborate?"

Haha, are you out of your mind?
Just pretend, and wait until the Mongolian top laner ganks you and then you will be obedient.

Yang Xiao smiled, complained in his heart, and then got straight to the point:

"Xu Yi is not a good manager. You should know this better than anyone. Bilibili is growing stronger now. He is not managing and operating the company based on his hobbies and emotions like before. Someone like him who is too emotional will ruin the company."

"Yeah, I agree with this." Chen Rui didn't dwell on this issue. He pushed his glasses on the bridge of his nose and nodded.

The size of Bilibili is not small nowadays, and it is almost catching up with some well-known video websites. Management and operation are indeed the top priorities, but Xu Yi is not good at this, and most of the time it is him and Yang Xiao who make the decisions.

This is also what annoyed Yang Xiao.

For example, when those two Chinese cartoons were introduced before, Xu Yi was actually opposed to it.

Faced with the high copyright fees from You Yao Qi, he even thought that Yang Xiao was suspected of abusing his power for personal gain.

Yang Xiao was speechless when he heard these rumors.

At that time, I persuaded Xu Yi for a long time and said all kinds of good things to him before I encouraged him to develop the path of Chinese comics.

How could he not be disheartened when there were still these speculations?
He thought that there was a reason why Chen Rui in his previous life disappeared.

If it weren’t for the good subsequent broadcast effects and high user retention rate of these two domestic cartoons, Bilibili would have gained a certain reputation among video websites.

Without these achievements to back him up, Xu Yi didn't know how long he would blame Yang Xiao!
In fact, Xu Yi is well aware of his own shortcomings, but he just can't change them.

The dilution of equity was also due to Yang Xiao’s “tyranny”.

Who would have thought that Yang Xiao would develop so fast?
For example, the market value of [Qingsong Internet Technology Co., Ltd.] can currently buy dozens of Bilibili!

Including the [Food Benefit Group] that was launched half a year ago, it was also valued at 20 to 30 billion.

The fact that Bilibili has such a brilliant record now is mostly due to Yang Xiao!
Of course, the most important reason is that Xu Yi’s equity was diluted. He lost absolute controlling rights and began to feel a little uneasy!

This is why he is unhappy with Yang Xiao!
Although the two did not communicate directly face to face, the rift and estrangement had already existed.

Of course, Yang Xiao now feels that there is no need for the two of them to communicate anymore.

He is here to do business, not to tease children.

Things are different now.

Even without Zhang the Butcher, Yang Xiao can still eat pork!
And ever since Yang Xiao exchanged equity with Shanda Capital and acquired the YouYaoQi Animation Factory.

What a great opportunity this is!
Excellent Chinese comics complement Bilibili.

The best result is the rise of Chinese animation and the expansion of Bilibili!
Now Xu Yi is holding him back, and Yang Xiao doesn't want to allow this to happen!
Yang Xiao smiled and said, "I am now the second largest shareholder, and Mr. Chen, you are the third largest shareholder. How about you give me some ideas? What should we do with Bilibili? Should we just let it go on like this?"

"How about hiring a professional manager?" Chen Rui said after hesitating for a moment.

“The idea of ​​hiring a professional manager is a good one, but in my opinion, it still lacks something.”

Yang Xiao shook his head at this time and said, "Bilibili is fundamentally different from other video websites. It is rooted in the two-dimensional culture, which is why it has so many fans. It is easy to find a professional manager, but it is still difficult to find someone who agrees with the culture of the website. Even I can't do it."

"Well, Mr. Yang, what you said makes sense." Chen Rui agreed.

"Mr. Chen, do I need to explain myself? This position belongs to you. At present, there is no one more suitable than you."

Yang Xiao is a fake 2D character, or his 2D concentration is relatively low.

For Bilibili, Chen Rui may be more suitable than both him and Xu Yi!
Yang Xiao smiled and continued, "How about we just hold a shareholders' meeting and remove Xu Yi from the position of CEO. You will be the CEO and let him be the COO?"

"Mr. Yang, please don't force me. I'm doing well here at Cheetah Mobile. Mr. Lei treats me well and has been very kind to me." Chen Rui looked embarrassed at this moment.

"I know that Mr. Lei is a good person. Just listen to what I say and I will personally give you 5% of the shares. How about that?" Yang Xiao said.

Hearing this, Chen Rui's eyes lit up:
"Uh, when are we going to hold the shareholders' meeting?"

(End of this chapter)