Sohu pioneering State Series one: Yu QINGMU and Koalas FM

Intermediary transaction SEO diagnosis Taobao guest Cloud host technology Hall

This is my plan to record the Sohu entrepreneurial story of one of the series, but also the opening.

Sohu people have entrepreneurial genes. Whether the senior executives come out, or ordinary employees come out, there are some disturbing factors in the blood flow. At least I know a lot of people are like this, it is difficult to explain why.

It is recognized that Sohu's first generation of entrepreneurs are concentrated in the video field. Youku founder Koo, the original cool six net founder Shanyou, Archie Art CEO Gong, and even included in my music network as CEO of the Jianjun, have plunged into the media properties as the representative of the video industry.

This is the first wave of success, I boil down to the PC Internet age of the entrepreneurial representative. Their stories have been seen in countless newspapers and networks, the reader is too familiar with the new feeling. So I look to the second generation of Sohu entrepreneurs.

I give the second generation of Sohu entrepreneur description is, before leaving more than the middle of Sohu, a few years experience, is now an independent venture.

This wave of people I define as Sohu pioneering state. I hope to be able to chat with 10 or so Sohu entrepreneurs, perhaps can draw some interesting conclusion.

First out of the mirror is Hu Qing wood, on the last Sunday afternoon meet to chat. Original Sohu Auto channel editor, the current digital audio content operator-vehicle language media chairman and CEO, as well as mobile voice content platform-the founder of the Koala FM.

Hu Qing a bit like host Yiwei Wei, face beard stubble. Sometimes in the Sohu building 12 floor often can see both hands on his hips, we said Yiwei Wei began to host the program.

Both the car channel and the IT Channel were formerly part of the center of production, and our offices were adjacent.

Yu Qingmu from Sohu in May 2007 to start a business. Entrepreneurial project is the vehicle language media, positioning is the digital audio content operators, industry and automotive, traffic radio-related.

The vehicle language media investor has three, completed the first round of financing in 2010. One is June Lian, the original Lenovo investment. One is Bertelsmann, Europe's largest media group. One is DCM. A second round of financing is underway.

I simply summed up what the drop-off language was for.

The first business is traffic radio advertising agency business. The beginning with a "car every day" car program in the country nearly 200 radio broadcast, and then extended to the agency throughout the Traffic Broadcast advertising agency business.

The second business is the whole frequency operation of traffic broadcast, including Sichuan traffic, Guangzhou traffic, Hefei traffic, Xi ' an traffic and Nanjing echocardiography. Simply put, the whole frequency of payment contract, responsible for broadcasting content and advertising agency, each year to pay the relevant agencies a certain fee.

What did you do for over five years? Yu Qingmu said that in the traditional broadcast advertising industry, quickly rushed to the top three position. If the backstage has the traffic advertisement profession friend, may leave a message to say is not true.

Rely on these two business, now the vehicle language media annual revenue can do 7, 800 million yuan. According to Hu Qing Wood, do this thing just accumulate some resources, cultivate talent.

The implication is that the traditional agency business has not been challenging, the traditional FM broadcast expansion and breakthrough Limited, and advertising agency business is not high technical content of the industry, so, looking for the next exciting point has become Hu Qing any vehicle language target.

To put it simply, the traditional business of relying on advertising agency has accumulated some resources and capital, and is now pondering the incubation of some new projects.

"I like to do big things, small patterns of things boring." Hu Qing.

What is the big picture? Everyone wants to do business, big business is not so easy to bite. Every entrepreneur would say that the project in his hand is a big deal, and that there is a natural theory of what it is to be a big business.

This theory needs to be used to prop up the entrepreneurial and team dynamics, and to tell investors that this is a big business, and that users perceive it as a good product.

The big pattern in Hu Qing's mouth is that the mobile voice content platform is a test-pull FM.

What is a koala fm? In my words, this is a personalized application to provide all kinds of audio content, you can listen to the intelligent terminal.

The traditional FM broadcast what you listen to, Koala FM provides you with a variety of audio content, you can point to praise can point do not like, Koalas FM after the operation according to your preference to provide the content that may suit your taste.

Hey, listen, do you think this thing has nothing to do with the car language media?

That's what it is! This is the product of mobile Internet, the vehicle language media is counted as the incubator that provides cash flow at most. Yu Qingmu said that the vehicle language has been preparing the mobile Internet layout since 2008, which is logical.

How did he explain the product would be the big picture in his eyes and see the dialogue. A long, patient reading will certainly have a harvest.

Q: How did this project occur?

Hu Qing Wood: We put forward in 2008 years, to do the audio media of the network age. With the development of 3G and WiFi technology, network radio stations for the future mobile internet era will certainly rise, and now the network environment and car market has not fully developed into place. In the next 35 years, it is a general trend for us to listen to mobile Internet radio in the same way that we listen to FM when we're driving by 3G and WiFi.

Q: How do you describe Koala FM?

Hu Qing Wood: June 8 launched the first edition, first of all, this is a good program platform. Each of the programs that you hear is chosen from the national radio and Internet podcast, and of course our homemade. We hope it makes you feel good and interesting, this is the first step. The second step, we have to gradually achieve personalization. Through your personal operations to the end we will have a set of algorithms to figure out what kind of program you like.

The Koala FM has several positioning:

First, it is a good program platform for Global Mandarin. As long as it is a good program in Chinese and Mandarin, it is on the platform. Backstage has a very large good program copyright library, database, including future children's books, crosstalk, storytelling, English textbooks, sound things you want to hear we have here.

Second, it is personalized radio. We will listen to your favorite things according to your personal preferences, or we can recommend something you like to listen to. You can even listen to something different in your mood. The traditional broadcast has the classification, has the traffic station, the news station, the music station, the music station may divide the finer, in China has not been very fine, is according to your different preferences you may listen to different radio stations.

Third, minimalist design, this is a very simple thing, you use it very comfortable, do not need to think, but feel good. This is the goal we are pursuing. Although the background is very complex and complicated, but to give you the presentation of the product feeling is very fun, very simple.

Q: Where does the content come from, purchase or self-control?

Hu Qing Wood: We mainly take the main procurement, will probably account for 60%, 70% or more. Why do you have to make it? Traditional Chinese radio programs are still unable to meet the needs of all. Talk shows, for example, are very hot abroad, not at home. We will work with some hosts and traditional radio stations, which is our resource advantage, and we will also work with many copyright dealers to buy some good programs, copyright we have made full preparations.

At present the audio category market piracy is very serious. We have about 90% or more copyrights. Audio copyright This is a lot of apps, the car is very early, we started in 2010 to do copyright preparation, such as in the preparation of podcasts, as well as the national radio to comb and research. The top 40% of ITunes TOP100 are here.

Q: Introduce the team.

Hu Qing: I'm a media man, and I know my long boards and short boards clearly. Our CTO is a graduate of MIT Business School. For the CEO, if you have feelings, the technology, products are understood, this is versatile, of course, very good. But the CEO's most important thing is to do five things. First, the strategy, the future strategy is what the direction of our development. Second, find funds. Third, the team to find the right talent. Four, solve the difficulties, such as they can not solve the problem, I will solve. Five, communication.

Q: Is the team's Internet or mobile Internet property heavy?

Hu Qing Wood: I think it should be heavier. We also need to recruit more talent, if we want to be bigger, the talent reserve is needed. When we take this step, we may think about the next step, think of the second and third steps, which is also my style of doing things. The general media people start a business very easily big and improper, puny. But I think it should be structured well. On the one hand to look to the sky, on the one hand to down-to-earth.

Q: What about mobile apps that are very demanding on product experience and technology drivers?

Hu Qing Wood: Yes. Car to do Koala FM, we think the first is technology-driven. Because this is unprecedented. To create technology, create a platform of your own. Second, the content is king. Third, the channel for Pa. If your channel is doing very well, the content is good, the technology is very good, I think it is difficult to succeed. We now belong to the technology drive and channel for the PA stage, content we are doing accumulation.

Q: Do you have any technical reserves?

Hu Qing: We have a technology called audio alignment, simply called sound search. For example, if you want to search for an ad or if a program is broadcast on national radio, you give me this audio, and I can find out how many radio stations broadcast this thing at what time. This technology we have in the global ownership, is in the lead. We have a research and development team in North America, a postdoctoral fellow in the two Princeton audio-video research, and a scientist at MIT. In both Beijing and North America, there is a team doing this stuff. This piece of technology will be closely integrated with the audio media platform next. We have developed a strong and mature system in technology research and development, content and channel construction, which is the advantage of our integrated operation.

Q: How does Koala FM make money?

Hu Qing: Advertising is a very important part of our sales channels are very mature.

Q: Are there similar products abroad?

Hu Qing Wood: there is. June 8 This year launched the koala fm,19 days, the United States pushed a software, swell, very similar to us, from product design to the concept and all the same. Their first round of 5.4 million dollars, including Google to vote for him. All interface operations, left-sliding, right-sliding, top-down, these things are the same as ours. At that time I saw laughter and thought our product designers were not having any infernal ways behind. This is very similar to us. A friend of the French embassy after watching the Koala FM, said swell and you are too alike, but you are earlier than it. This shows that the design of the least of the two sides to go, think alike, I would like to understand.

Q: Entrepreneurship six or seven years, what experience?

Hu Qing: I always think that the pattern is important, not that you have to know anything in particular. I have a feeling for the content, I have been doing this thing; product technology, you are always with the first-class people, you certainly have enlightenment. You will certainly develop in this ecological environment. By the way, a job posting is launched to recruit industry elites worldwide. A mobile internet company should have innovative genes. In the office environment, our office area has sleeping bags, sleeping beds, sofa chairs, also do not object to having pets, especially want to create a symbiotic culture, let them bold to try, to do things. Speaking of culture, our company's culture is simple, happy, responsible.

The conversation is over.

I am looking for more Sohu Business State series of chat objects. If you think that something is interesting, you can recommend it to me.