Bought by the big three or become a new outlet for internet entrepreneurs

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Today's Internet investment Circle is more like an entertainment circle. From time to time, three big internet companies (Baidu, Ali, Tencent, English abbreviation for BAT) and who are close contact with the "gossip". Such gossip spreads quickly and touches the sensitive nerves of the practitioner.

March 22, the internet has been reported that Ali will be wholly-owned to buy the union. Even Ali, the League of Friends, but the official still do not admit, but Ali more than 70 million dollars to buy the league is already a certainty of the fact. In a round of financing in June 2011, the AU was valued at 50 million dollars. Now is the mobile internet financing low tide, by Ali acquisition There is a premium, in the eyes of many entrepreneurs, the union has been found a good home.

Recently, the investment Circle news that Baidu and Alibaba respectively have more than 1 billion yuan investment or holding acquisition. Although not yet officially disclosed, but Baidu Hao throw 350 million of dollars to acquire PPS has become a fact, the purpose is to use the PPS large number of users to divert Archie art video ads.

There are rumors that Baidu and Alibaba are in contact with the gold map to negotiate investment. The software has a map of the bottom of the mapping qualification, and has hundreds of millions of users, mobile Internet, some of the innovation is also attractive.

Rumours of an earlier investment merger will follow. Every break time, do not know which gust of wind, Baidu and UC "marriage", will be taken out to fry. This is a pair of people in the eyes of the business complementary, a perfect match of "beauty", but always missed hand. It is said that the two sides basically talk about acquisitions every year, but not every year.

No matter how much truth and lies, gossip and stories, the protagonist of the story is always they-Tencent, Ali, Baidu.

The hard way to start a business in the 10 is different now.

10 years ago, the dream of Internet entrepreneurs is the independent listing, at that time, everyone is small, who can not annex who. Now, this dream may be more distant from the entrepreneur, the best way out may be sold to some Internet boss.

Items SOLD

November 2012, entrepreneurship less than a year, "What To see Tonight", a personalized search for film content, Baidu was 2 million-3 million U.S. dollar price acquisition, two from the United States returned to the founder was recruited to Baidu under the company, the distance they got Xiaoping Angel investment only more than 1 years.

The 3-year alliance has accepted a more than 70 million-dollar takeover offer from Alibaba in the upcoming season of its own B-round financing. Public information shows that at present, the alliance has 30,000 app developers, 10多万个 app is using the Alliance's statistical Analysis Services, in the field of app statistics and analysis to occupy a leading position. And Alibaba also wants to build a platform, the developer gathers in among them. And those statistical tools that users are willing to form.

Such investments have been endless. An internet investment personage tells a reporter, Archie Art buys PPS, Tencent invests tick a taxi, have been basically OK.

As a result of the bursting of the mobile Internet investment and financing bubble, some mobile internet start-up projects have also suffered a "better than cherish" situation. VC also began to search for these projects in order to reduce their own losses, cost recovery.

Some of these "sad reminders" are typical examples of dim sum. In March 2011, when startups made mobile operating systems, Dim sum was awarded a 15 million dollar valuation for a-round investment by King Sha. The value of dim sum has shrunk sharply after the mobile operating system was proven not to be the first gateway to mobile Internet. The valuation has fallen to $10 million in November 2012, according to an Internet investment community.

The Internet investment community said that because of the decline in valuations, after the purchase by Baidu, Dim Sum's founding team did not get much revenue, and the Jinsha River, innovation workshop and other investors just recover the cost.

In the view of many Internet people, the purchase of snacks, Baidu as a "sucker", spent 10 million of dollars to acquire a proven no longer a mobile Internet entry level products.

An internet insider who declined to give his name, said Baidu's purchase of dim sum is more of a team's ability. In addition, although the OS has been proved no longer the portal of mobile Internet, but also not useless, it can with Baidu easy platform integration, access easy platform.

According to Hua, founder and managing Partner of innovation Workshop, Dim Sum's "Master of Optimization" Day active users in similar applications in the leading position. And from the level of mobile applications, "Optimization Master" on the importance of mobile phones after the application of security, such as 360 security guards. In this way, the user stickiness of dim sum is very strong. Not only that, but more and more ordinary users are starting to use smartphones, and there are opportunities for deeply customizable mobile operating systems.

"Those good mobile internet startups have basically received an offer from a big internet company for an investment," he said. "Hua praised, mobile internet entrepreneurship, after two or three years, the market has been washed round, the rest of the target, are very good, the three major internet companies to invest or acquire a strong will."

In the field of mobile investment, many projects are "wolf more meat Less". Baidu, Ali, Tencent's investment departments have been "secretly robbed" a certain entrepreneurial experience.

The majority of mobile companies have been acquired in several categories: fancy technical strength, such as "What To see Tonight", or as a useful platform, such as allies, snacks. More is the business level of investment, such as Tintin nets, tick-tock taxi services, the future can directly access the platform layer, play a rich role in the application.

These internet companies in the investment or acquisition, the value of the point is also mixed. "Some acquisitions are for the product, some for the technology, some simply for the people." An early internet investor told reporters.

"Now, these big companies have matured and are beginning to have a sense of acquisition. This kind of awareness of the surge in investment buying and the big internet companies will promote each other. But there are still too few acquisitions in China's internet sector compared to Silicon Valley. Hua, for example, in Silicon Valley, where an angel or a-round investment survived, 70% were eventually bought by big companies. and domestic Internet investment acquisition is far from such an active degree.

From the outside, a company that has a tens of millions of dollar investment, or an billion-dollar takeover, is a big expense. Because in China's internet history, there is no precedent. This is worth the effort, Hua said, compared to the future opportunities on the mobile internet.

"Now these internet companies are not going to have any chance to vote, they may have a chance." Hua said that the mobile internet broke out quickly, new applications are emerging, and now no one knows which segment will have the opportunity, so it is right to bet around. Now spend tens of millions of dollars to invest or buy, if not to do these things, then the future may lose a big market.

The choice under scarce resources

"A good application, we through the micro-Bo guide flow and a small amount of traffic to buy, the user from zero to do hundreds of thousands of of the scale, not difficult." After getting the financing, oneself more diligently, will the user from hundreds of thousands of achieves millions of, also can do. But it is a very difficult thing to do for a start-up company that has no resources. "A company that was bought by Baidu, the founder told reporters, the original, the company also received VC hair Term sheet (investment letter of intent), but after careful consideration, still feel want to this thing bigger, need more resources, so they finally choose to join the Giants."

He has said a lot about mobile internet entrepreneurs who need money and resources to gain an edge in the competition of their peers.

Millions of users and tens, is a mobile internet start-up companies have to go through the two hurdle. It takes a lot of effort to get through these two, and the vast majority of entrepreneurs fall on the road to the two goals.

2012, the mobile internet entrepreneurial cold wave, let the entrepreneur feel this winter exceptionally cold, basically is "the wind rustling XI easy water cold, the hero a Go XI no return". Reporter contact Many mobile games, app application developers due to lack of funds, many began to pick up short, flat, fast app outsourcing list, first to feed themselves. There are also a lot of entrepreneurial team simply jump to the collective, alongside the bat.

The cold of Internet capital also raises the alarm of companies struggling to survive.

From the entrepreneur's point of view, the basic mobile Internet projects require the promotion of offline services. Once the line is involved, a larger push team is needed. To the entrepreneur, it means that the company is no longer just a few technical cattle, a few servers of light companies, but need to invest more people, more resources. This is not easy for a start-up company. They generally only get the angel investment of millions yuan, and in the round a, they can get millions of dollars and billions of dollars of investment. If you become a heavy company, then the consumption of grain bombs will be very rapid.

Dessert CEO Zhang Lei said to the media: Mobile OS This road is too difficult to go, need to organize hardware, software and other relationships. Industry competition is also intensifying, and as Samsung, HTC, Huawei, ZTE and other mobile phone manufacturers began to use their own developed systems, he once said, "big companies to large investment, you give me tens of millions of dollars, I can not do them." ”

For these entrepreneurs, Baidu, Ali, Tencent's huge resources coveted. Baidu in Search, Ali in the electricity business, Tencent in the instant messaging, social networking are in a monopolistic position, the rich resources so that they can not be expected.

"Now, Baidu, Ali, Tencent is also generous, give the investment, the acquisition price relative to VC have some premium." "A person in the Internet investment community told reporters that from the perspective of financial investment, entrepreneurs are willing to accept bat investment or acquisition, some VC also willing to hand over the project to the bat."

and investment and acquisition is a thing you love me. Hua told reporters that a good entrepreneurial team to choose whether to be acquired, the management, the founding team, the company's development status can be a determining factor. From the current domestic formation of the Internet early investment atmosphere, investors generally more respect for the founding team.

Compared with the projects in the middle and late period, more attention is paid to early internet investment, investors are not so "utilitarian", often more fancy products and teams, but also hope that their projects can break out of a great company, so whether from the money gain, or personal fame, will be the maximum return.

But these investors also understand that, with the internet era from scratch, everyone is from scratch, the mobile internet era, the existing Internet giants have the Vanguard advantage, and the mobile Internet pay more attention to the combination of online and offline, the difficulty of independent entrepreneurship greatly increased. A company from the start-up to the final listing, the fastest also need to spend more than 5 years time, which will also experience a lot of difficulties, it is not easy.

"Some founders ' teams are not necessarily the right to be self-employed, go to a big company, and maybe have a chance. "As early as 1999 to resign to join the Internet entrepreneurship Hua will be based on the founder of the team's personality characteristics, give some advice." He felt that both lofty ideals and pragmatic practices were necessary.

Take advantage of the entrance

From the current investment of the three major giants, the investment methods and logic of each family is different.

According to reporters, the three internet companies are now responsible for investing in the size of 10 people-30 people. Baidu's Corporate Development department, which is responsible for investing about 10 employees. Tencent has offices in Beijing and Shenzhen, with an investment team of over 20 people. Alibaba in Beijing, Hangzhou has an investment department staff, the number of people close to 30.

Baidu now only makes strategic investment, Tencent, Ali is the financial investment and strategic investment at the same time. Baidu's big takeover strategy is "strength-enhancing", and it is more willing to buy the strength of the search and the extension of the map business. For example, the acquisition of "What to see Tonight" is to strengthen its personalized recommendation in the field of video vertical search.

Since 2012 is determined to do mobile internet Baidu in mobile internet than Tencent, Ali is late, the company is anxious to catch up with the pace of mobile internet, but also willing to "shot" some good projects, with money for time. At the end of 2012, Baidu issued a debt of 1.5 billion U.S. dollars through the capital market, and Baidu CEO Robin Li has publicly said that the money will be used for investment acquisition, basic technology research and Development, Baidu Research Institute and other projects, the company's 4 strategic direction, including search, Cloud, LBS, internationalization and so on.

Alibaba on the one hand to supplement their own in the electricity business, such as logistics, construction covers logistics, data services, generation operations, webmaster resources, E-commerce Ecological chain, more is to find wireless, social class projects in order to achieve strategic advantage in the future competition.

"Alibaba in Wireless, social investment in several projects are not bad, Tintin coupons, Mo mo, in Hangzhou do a good ' quick taxi '. "An investor close to Alibaba believes that Ali's investment is biased towards the middle and late, and that in general, the Angel Wheel and a round of financing are not involved."

Compared with Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent's investment play more aggressive, in addition to Angel investment, the early, medium and late investment and mergers and acquisitions are involved.

"Tencent's investment style is more like a VC agency, and its investment projects are in various segments of the mobile internet." "Tencent wants to invest in the search for a future growth engine," commented one early internet investor. ”

Among them, the game is Tencent investment most fancy field. In the domestic, hot cool, line cloud, Wisdom Star Pass, easy music NET, shun net technology and so on have accepted Tencent investment. In Silicon Valley, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Russia, Tencent is more generous, South Korea's Kakao (similar to the application of micro-letter), Riot Games, Epic Games, ZAM, Raptr and other well-known gaming companies have accepted the investment of Tencent. "Now, Tencent is playing the role of the game platform, it wants to extend this power to move, as long as there is a good game development company, so no matter how the future of the game form, Tencent can gather good game content, so that its game brought about by the revenue." "The Internet's early investment community analyzed.

At present, the investment style of bat is different because of the different executive level personnel. At present, the three companies in the investment and acquisition, did not appear large-scale "robbery" phenomenon. But "good projects are always scarce resources", in the future, in some projects, you may be competing for my pressure phenomenon.

"Baidu, Ali on the wireless did not find a killer application, their investment choice is not so clear, but just want to complement their own in the wireless side of the strength." Tencent's investment in wireless is bolder. "Hua that now all the investment is stones, do not know which subdivision of the future will become a key application, so all choose a wide net layout."

Baidu, Ali, Tencent behind the wireless investment, there is a mobile internet access logic. In this regard, Hua that the so-called "entrance" should have 3 characteristics: good products and services, the audience a wide range of users with high frequency. The application of these 3 features is many, but the mobile internet does not have an absolute, unified entrance, but from the application layer, tool layer, system layer and so on are some kind of entrance.

"The portal of mobile Internet is not static, but with the entry of new users, the use of mobile Internet features, habits will continue to change." The user's view of the mobile internet will also change. This brings a change in the portal from the demand side. "Such changes make it necessary for big internet companies to keep a wide net and invest more in looking for the future," Hua said.