45: Chapter 45: Holding the absolute center position in the venue!

A few minutes later, the time on the LED screen at the front of the venue ticked over to exactly 3:00 PM.

The venue quieted down.

Accompanied by a round of applause, the Deputy Mayor ascended the stage from the backstage area and walked to the podium.

The first half of the conference focused on the core topic of "Standardization and Regulation of the Same-City Delivery and Logistics Industry."

The Deputy Mayor pointed out.

With the budding of the mobile internet, the definition of "delivery" was no longer limited to traditional postal express services.

Instead, it was extending to food delivery and same-city courier services.

For Shen Du, who was sitting in the front row.

These regulations were the authorities helping Meituan clear out non-compliant peers at the grassroots level.

The tone for the industry had been set.

The second half of the meeting pivoted to future development directions.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this year marks the tenth anniversary of our country joining the WTO."

The Deputy Mayor's voice echoed through the microphone across the venue:

"Over these ten years, foreign capital has flooded into the domestic market. To prevent local private enterprises from being swept away in this torrent of capital."

"Starting next year, the Municipal Committee will introduce a series of support policies for local enterprises."

Shen Du, sitting in the audience, narrowed his eyes.

As the PowerPoint slides flipped on the big screen, one policy dividend after another was laid out on the table.

From special financial subsidies and tax exemptions for high-tech enterprises to preferential promotion for key industries.

The authorities were presenting resources directly to these entrepreneurs.

At the end of the speech, the Deputy Mayor emphasized one term: "4G Network."

"The replacement of communication infrastructure is already in preparation. The city anticipates that in the near future, the popularization of 4G networks will overturn the existing internet landscape."

"The era of text and images is about to pass. How to grasp the changes in future network forms is a proposition that everyone present needs to think deeply about."

This long-winded speech laid out the important trends for the coming years.

Many traditional entrepreneurs in the venue were still staring at those tax exemption figures.

Shen Du, sitting in the front row, let his gaze sink.

"4G Network..."

Shen Du leaned back in his chair, his fingers rubbing against his cufflinks.

These four words from the Deputy Mayor illuminated the breakthrough point for that system task.

After listening to the tone set by this policy direction, Shen Du cleared his thoughts.

From 2011 to 2012, it was the carnival period for domestic online games and social software to expand their territory.

At this time, most netizens were still addicted to stealing vegetables, grabbing parking spots, or socializing on Tieba and Weibo using text and low-pixel images.

Shen Du was clear.

Once the 4G network infrastructure was rolled out.

In the coming years, the true overlords dominating the public's fragmented time would be "Short Video" and "Mass Live Streaming," which were about to see explosive growth.

"Opening up a new market, a market value of 500 million, a 30% market share..."

Shen Du chewed on these metrics in his mind.

To create a business with a market value of 500 million in a short time and capture more than 30% of the market share, if he went into e-commerce or group buying, he would only fall into a red ocean of burning money.

The only path was to cut in from the dimension of "Video Social Networking," which was currently a vacuum.

Once social networking came to mind, one naturally couldn't bypass Tencent.

At this point in late 2011, QQ was already a national-level infrastructure, and "WeChat" had also already launched.

There was no fear in Shen Du's eyes; instead, ambition ignited.

"Tencent is indeed a mountain, but at this moment, WeChat is just getting started."

A curve appeared at the corner of Shen Du's mouth.

At this time, WeChat Moments could only post images and text.

Mobile video social networking, limited by 3G speeds, was viewed by the giants as a tasteless chicken rib—high cost and poor experience.

It was unrealistic to attempt a frontal assault on the social barriers of WeChat and QQ among acquaintances.

But if he used the "Short Video" method to cut in from the flank of entertainment and stranger social networking.

Shen Du knew.

As long as he pulled the starting gun in advance, on the eve of the giants noticing, he could gain a firm foothold in this new track.

The meeting ended. Shen Du did not linger at the venue.

Inside the venue, entrepreneurs and investors tried to crowd toward the front row, wanting to chat with this boss of Meituan and hand over a business card.

"General Manager Shen, I am..."

"General Manager Shen, can we speak for a moment..."

Facing these faces, Shen Du's expression was cold.

A sense of alienation that refused conversation radiated from him, causing those trying to approach to stop in their tracks.

"Let's go." He instructed Xu Hao in a low voice.

The two passed through the crowd and left the conference center. The black off-road vehicle drove out under the gaze of a crowd of luxury cars, disappearing into the twilight of Lujiazui.

Returning to the flat, Shen Du didn't even take off his coat before sitting down at the computer in his study.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the waters of the Huangpu River surged. Shen Du's fingers tapped on the keyboard. He was writing a business plan.

According to the task requirements, he had to create a market value of 500 million in a short time. Doing business step-by-step would be impossible to complete.

He had to use the three trump cards in his hand: Technical Expert Su Hua, Operations Manager Zhang Nan, and General Manager Chen Shengqiang.

Since he had to break the deadlock on the eve of 4G, he would push the whole board directly: Short Video + Social + Live Streaming, a three-in-one platform.

In 2012, a vacuum period when online social networking had just become popular, netizens had a strong thirst for social interaction.

"Current WeChat Moments can still only post images..." Shen Du stared at the logic diagram on the screen.

"If a piece of software appeared at this time that not only allowed ordinary people to show off in their circle of acquaintances but also allowed them to film videos and display themselves in front of netizens nationwide."

That would be an explosive pool of traffic.

The 90 million in cash flow he held in his hand was the chip to throw into this deep sea.

He didn't need restraint, nor did he need stability; what he wanted was rapid expansion.

Not only did he want to do Short Video, but he also wanted to introduce a live streaming function. Although the current internet speed was still straining, as long as he seized the user's mind, once the 4G base stations were completed, he would be able to control the traffic entrance.

The light of the screen shone on Shen Du's face. He clicked on a financial folder on the desktop, looking at the 90 million RMB cash flow in the account.

At this juncture in late 2011, 90 million in cash was enough to smash through the moat of a startup track.

Shen Du did not intend to take small, fast steps or iterate through trial and error; he wanted to roll it out directly.

"Short Video, Social, Live Streaming..." Shen Du typed on the keyboard, hitting these three words at the top of the document. Binding them together: a three-in-one platform.

Picking any one of these three directions would be enough to drain a company of several hundred people.

But in Shen Du's deduction, they were an inseparable closed loop of traffic.

Why do a three-in-one? Because in this era where the internet had just developed, netizens not only needed to watch, but also had needs for social interaction and self-display.

Currently on the market, although there were prototypes of PC-end show stages, the functions were rudimentary and limited by scenarios. On the other hand, the newly launched "Moments" function of WeChat could only post images with text, and the form of expression was single.

"The underlying needs of human nature, besides survival, are self-display." Shen Du stared at the screen.

If a piece of software appeared on the market at this time, it would not only be able to display in front of acquaintances like Moments, but also show one's face in front of strange netizens through Short Video and real-time live streaming.

When ordinary people who could originally only garner a few likes in a small circle experienced the thrill of being watched by the whole network, they would know how to choose.

Not only would he do stranger social networking that broke circles, but he would also use carriers like video and live streaming to overshadow the trend of image-and-text social networking.

Shen Du finished typing the core logic. A business plan titled "Spark: Next-Generation Panoramic Social Video Platform" took shape in the Lujiazui flat.

With 90 million in funds as fuel and this business plan as the spark, Shen Du wanted to use this fire to burn open this wilderness of technology.

Accompanied by the humming of the printer, the business plan was pulled out by Shen Du from the paper exit. He tossed these few pages onto the desk.

No matter how good the idea was, it needed people to implement it. And the trump cards Shen Du held in his hand now: Technical Expert Su Hua, Operations Manager Zhang Nan, and General Manager Chen Shengqiang.

In this era when the mobile internet was still in the pioneering stage, bringing these three people together to fight a battle would allow technical and operational barriers to be established rapidly.

"Xu Hao!" Shen Du spoke, leaning back in his chair. Xu Hao, who was guarding outside the door, pushed the door open and entered, standing in front of the desk waiting for instructions.

Shen Du tapped his finger on the business plan, his tone decisive: "You go contact General Manager Chen Shengqiang. You two don't need to do anything else today."

"Go to Lujiazui or Zhangjiang, rent an office building, and set the headquarters address of the new company!"

Xu Hao's heart skipped a beat. He knew the boss was about to set up a new venture again.

"After the office building is set..." Shen Du pushed the business plan in front of Xu Hao, his gaze sharp: "Give this to Technical Expert Su Hua." "Tell him not to worry about funds. Let him go out and poach people to build a technical team. Get the underlying architecture of this software hammered out at the fastest speed."

The 90 million cash pool opened up. The machine of capital began to operate.

"Understood!" Taking the plan, Xu Hao sensed the weight of it. He didn't ask another question and turned to walk out of the study.

As the door was closed by Xu Hao, the study became quiet again. Shen Du turned his boss chair, his gaze piercing through the floor-to-ceiling windows, looking at the bustling Magic City beneath his feet. A technological blitzkrieg had officially begun.