129: Chapter 129 Spending 1 Billion to Build a Nest

Regarding Wang Sicong's invitation to so many celebrities to join Panda Live,

Li Xiang Technology, as a major shareholder of Panda Live, was naturally very perplexed.

After seeing the Weibo post, Xue Haixin immediately called Wang Sicong.

He called Wang Sicong at the first opportunity.

"Little Wang, listen, our live streaming platform's target audience is gamers."

The target audience consists of those game players.

"You could say that because our platform lacks cohesion,"

"it's one thing to poach some big game streamers from other platforms to drive traffic,"

"but why invite all these celebrities?"

However, before he could even finish speaking,

Wang Sicong said coldly, "Is 'Little Wang' a name you should be calling me?"

"Call me Young Master Wang!"

Xue Haixin's mouth twitched a few times. "Fine, fine, fine."

"Young Master Wang, I'm asking you, what are you doing inviting those celebrities?"

"You can't just throw money away just because our angel round funding was substantial, right?"

"The subsequent Series B and Series C rounds are still unknown quantities."

"If you want to go the distance,"

"we need to be a bit more frugal with these funds!"

Wang Sicong shook his head. "Xiao Xue,"

"you're just a phone manufacturer."

"What the hell do you know about live streaming platforms!"

The world was turning upside down!

Hearing those three words, "Xiao Xue,"

Xue Haixin felt a surge of fury rushing to his heart.

When had he ever suffered such an indignity!

He was many years older than Wang Sicong, after all.

While he wasn't allowed to call him Little Wang,

this kid had the audacity to call him Xiao Xue!

Wang Sicong completely ignored Xue Haixin's petty emotions.

He continued, "Let me ask you,"

"do you usually watch live streams?"

"Do you know what's popular with users?"

Xue Haixin still didn't say anything,

so Wang Sicong went on: "This is my first serious entrepreneurial venture."

"Of course I'm not going to just mess around."

"I'm considering this very seriously."

"My ambitions are very grand."

"Since we have ample funds,"

"then let's do something big."

"What I'm building is not a live streaming platform in the traditional sense."

"I'm going to create a pan-entertainment, cross-cultural media platform!"

"Currently, these celebrities are my good friends in the entertainment industry."

"Inviting them to join doesn't cost much money,"

"but the promotional effect these stars bring will be massive!"

"When other celebrities want to join Panda Live in the future,"

"Panda Live will then consist of three major segments: gaming, amateurs, and celebrities."

"Each segment will feed into the others,"

"ultimately achieving monetization."

"I believe the live streaming platforms of the future will definitely look like this!"

Xue Haixin forgot about being angry.

Listening to Wang Sicong's explanation,

he couldn't help but stroke his chin in thought.

It seemed Wang Sicong wasn't just some foolish son of a wealthy landlord;

he did have some insights of his own.

According to Xue Haixin's understanding,

what Wang Sicong wanted to build

was a live streaming version of Douyin.

Everyone could start a broadcast and make money.

There would certainly be amateurs who would leap to become top-tier streamers earning millions a month.

Combined with the leading effect of top celebrity streamers,

other amateurs would surely dream day and night of becoming big streamers,

which would lead to more and more people starting broadcasts.

Over time,

the platform would take a cut of various gifts and transaction fees,

which would ultimately all end up in Panda Live's own pocket.

Panda Live would also become like today's Douyin,

becoming a massive platform that encompassed everything!

As long as the funding was in place,

he might actually be able to pull it off!

After thinking it over, Xue Haixin

decided to let Wang Sicong do as he pleased.

Anyway, if Panda Live really couldn't make it,

Wang Sicong's father, Wang Jianlin, was rich.

He certainly wouldn't just sit by and watch.

The financing process for a startup generally goes through several stages:

The earliest stage is funded by the founders themselves or their immediate family and friends,

preparing to create a product.

At this point, there is basically only an idea,

known as the Seed Round.

Subsequently, once an initial product is created,

or because the founder has a unique concept or specialized technology,

they gain the attention of angel investors.

The financing obtained at this stage is the Angel Round.

By the time it reaches Series A funding,

the product has basically been proven viable,

and only needs capital to scale up.

Then comes Series B funding,

where the product scales rapidly,

and its business model needs to be validated,

meaning its ability to make money.

Next is Series C funding,

once the business model is successfully validated,

capital is further increased to crush competitors.

Of course, not every company goes through all these rounds of financing.

In actual operations, one can skip the traditional sequence of investment and financing,

depending on the project's different operational stages and investment value.

Panda Live has now completed its Angel Round.

Next, it needs to validate its business model,

which means seeing if it can make money,

in order to secure Series B funding.

Only if the one billion is used properly

and creates a significant splash

will it be possible to obtain more Series B funding.

After all, one billion might seem like a lot,

but in an early-stage cash-burning industry like live streaming,

it can be burned through in just a few days.

For instance, a streamer's multi-year signing fee could be over ten million.

One billion really isn't much!

So, this current one billion in startup capital is merely being used to bait the water.

Xue Haixin made up his mind

to let Wang Sicong do as he pleased.

Let him make as big a splash as possible;

it was all preparation for subsequent financing.

While the domestic live streaming industry was in an uproar over the sudden rise of Panda Live,

the mobile phone market in the distant continent of Africa was also in a state of flux.

After Huayao announced its official entry into the African continent,

Samsung quickly fired the first shot in response to Huayao:

All Samsung phones sold directly in the African region were discounted by about 200 RMB!

Two hundred yuan might not seem like much compared to the Ideal phones that sold for over ten thousand,

but for the African mobile phone market where prices were already low,

it appeared very sincere.

It wouldn't even be an exaggeration to say

that Samsung was selling at a complete loss!

But they weren't afraid.

Because they had the capital

and could afford the loss.

This was also one of the main reasons why many local African mobile phone manufacturers failed to take off.

When it came to comparing capital and supply chains with the wealthy and powerful Samsung,

no one could compete.

Ding Kuan, the general manager of Huayao Communications in Africa, was worried upon hearing this news.

He reported to Bai Jingqing with concern,

asking him what they should do

and if they should lower their prices as well.

The funds Bai Jingqing had allocated to him weren't particularly large.

If they tried to match the price cuts,

they probably wouldn't be able to outlast them.

Bai Jingqing shook his head. "There's absolutely no need to lower prices."

"Just sell at the prices we previously scheduled."

The previously scheduled prices

were determined after investigating the market conditions of the African mobile phone industry.

The highest price was equivalent to 1,999 RMB,

while the cheaper ones were 1,299 or 1,399 RMB.

"If we sell at these prices,"

"I'm afraid it will be very difficult to compete with Samsung!"

"I think if we want to grow big and strong in Africa,"

"the most important task at this stage is to survive first."

"So, Little Boss Bai,"

"how about we set a relatively lower price for now?"

Ding Kuan simply couldn't understand why Bai Jingqing would do this.

Bai Jingqing pondered for a while

but ultimately refused. "No need to lower the price."

"Just sell according to the prices we set before."

"As for how to gain a firm foothold in the African market,"

"I have other methods."