Finding the right direction is more important than driving around the Big Bang Bang. Three years of experience in safety business

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"Fan Junjie/Titanium Editor" Mobile security is almost a battleground for internet giants. However, in the Red Sea of mobile security, there are still some vertical areas not covered by the Giants-for the security of the app is such a market. The mobile security startup's bang-bang network is quietly targeting the app developer group as the Giants scramble to grab users.

Bang Bang mainly provides services for Android application developers (i.e. transition business). For many applications are pirated, tampered with the Ad SDK and even decompile the situation, Bang Bang can carry on the channel monitoring to the Android APK pack (each channel downloads as well as the piracy situation), carries on the Security Reinforcement Service (tamper-proof, anti-compile, prevent data modification and so on), thus reduces the application piracy rate for the developer, protects the application the security.

Bang Bang was founded in 2010. Zhigang, the founder of the company, has been "dormant" in many internationally renowned companies: Since 2001, he has studied mobile IPV6 at the Nokia Research and Development Center, participated in mobile software development at Sony Ericsson Research Center, and later returned to Nokia as an investment unit and spent more than two years in Symantec's mobile security department.

This looks like a dream team: the founder of the company Zhigang, successful into the giant has not yet covered the vertical app security market, the initial venture to get IDG500 million dollars, B round again won 10 million dollars, and has been a good income. But three years later, around the giants of their, why see is still more detours, there is the risk of a break in the capital chain?

From mobile finance into app security

When Zhigang, with 10 years of experience, is ready to do well in the field of mobile security he is good at and believes to be promising, there is no broad road ahead. He had to be like most entrepreneurs, starting with the project, slowly to the mobile security market "bottom", slowly groping.

At the beginning of the venture, Bang Bang do is 2C mobile phone security products, such as Bang Bang optimization, Bang Bang program management. But more than six months later, Zhigang found 360, Net Qin, Tencent and other giants flocked into the field. Due to the low technical content of 2C safety products, the promotion ability and channel advantage can determine the success or failure of a product.

"Tencent will have their app pre-installed at 10 dollars per price." 360 also used a similar approach. Zhigang to the titanium media recalls the big influx of the 2C market. These giant's promotion ability and channel superiority, is not Zhigang small team can compare.

Zhigang can only find another chance. He analyzed that the mobile security pattern was divided into three blocks:

The first is mobile phone security, that is, terminal/user security (consumer). Representative products here is the Guardian category (such as 360 security guards, Tencent mobile phone butler, etc.), the main function is anti-virus, privacy protection, personal data information protection, anti-theft, program management, and so on.

The second is the operation of environmental security: virtual machine technology. The technology runs a virtual machine application on a mobile phone, dividing it into two areas, where work-related content is placed in a secure area. The representative manufacturer of this field is the veteran virtual machine software company VMware.

The third is the security of the app itself. Due to the openness of the system, many Android apps ' apk packages have security vulnerabilities.

In the 2011, although Android was not as popular as it is today, Zhigang believes Android is an inevitable trend. He chose to bet on Android and bet on the app security market.

2 B and 2C market is not their own advantage, Zhigang decided to start with the app security. At the time, there were not many companies in the field. He first saw mobile finance--mobile banking, mobile securities, mobile payments, mobile power, and so on. In his view, customers in this field have a natural sensitivity to safety and have rigid needs.

Bang Bang started a tough battle for customers in the mobile finance industry in May 2011, using a client resource from another partner who had worked on Symantec sales.

The Bang Bang approach is to help some bank applications do a free security assessment and submit the monitoring reports to them on a regular basis (weekly). "We visit each other, negotiate with them, and persuade them through development and product demonstrations to give them a focus on security issues." This process is longer, at least for half a year. ”

The mobile finance sector, for piracy and cracking is 0 tolerated. After many rounds of negotiations, Bang Bang first opened the gap from UnionPay. At the end of last year, the central bank issued the relevant standards for mobile payments, the security of mobile payment regulations. Zhigang also occasion their services.

According to Zhigang said, at present, the three major operators, UnionPay, Bank, CCB, wing of the wings to pay, are Bang Bang partners, Bang Bang has also been with Gome, Jingdong and when the mobile application of the security cooperation. In 2011, the revenue of Bang Bang mobile financial security services was divided into over 10 million, and 2012 year income exceeded 20 million.

December 2012, Bang Bang get the red point of the B-round financing. Plus the first round of investment in IDG, Bang Bang this round of financing a total of 10 million U.S. dollars.

Turn to game and read, expand to a full range app

The characteristics of the market in the field of mobile finance are comparatively stable. This market has gradually been unable to meet the need for Bang Bang. Zhigang wants to go to a wider area.

Bang Bang turned again. Zhigang this time with mobile gaming and cell phone reading: Both are one of the few areas in the mobile Internet that has a clear business model. Moreover, with a certain amount of users and revenue, developers will be particularly concerned about the piracy of the app. Turning to the beginning, Bang Bang selection from the game developers to start.

As the face of the new field, Bang Bang has to "Pioneer" again.

"In the beginning, we sorted mobile apps, picked the top 50 in each category, and found their address, contact, email." After a customer responds, our business people work with them. We also participate in the activities of the developers, almost every two weeks to participate in activities, to speak, to communicate with developers, into the circle. Zhigang said in an interview with Titanium media.

"Our report tells the developer how many of their games, in 1000 channels, are genuine, how many pirated, how much pirated downloads, and what the genuine number is." We provide monitoring reports every week. "Zhigang said.

At the same time, Bang Bang began to touch some of the same developers to serve the vendors.

"We have partners who provide services to developers, such as allies, Testin, AppAnnie, Talkindata, etc., and have worked with them before." ”

Channel business, Bang Bang and Jifeng, the cross Cat's cooperation has just begun, 91 and application sinks are being negotiated; The Advertisement Alliance aspect, Bang Bang and the AU, have you to achieve the cooperation; game publisher, Le Tease, papaya, ifree are all Bang Bang partner ...

"We were all directly visiting the company that developed the game. The next step is a lot, through channels and alliances will find a bunch of developers. "This approach to outreach and alliance Partners is starting to work," and we will provide monitoring reports at the outset, and no monitoring reports will be needed this January. ”

Bang Bang provides app channel monitoring and security enhancements for these mobile developers. Its product form is divided into three kinds:

The first is the website submission;

Second, for some often used, SDK more customers, Bang Bang will provide a client, installed in the customer's PC, called a key protection, including upload, strengthen, signature function;

The third is the black box server: Some large users or bank customers, because security considerations do not allow external networking, bang bang they provide a separate server to use.

The Bang Bang Service is free for the time being. Some large game agents such as fun, as well as China Entertainment, Palm Unlimited, and so on, Bang Bang have a cooperative relationship. Bang Bang chose to cooperate with the company: Zhigang revealed that at the end of April, Bang Bang has 1000 company customers, protecting more than 3,000 applications.

Next, the Bang-bang security service will consider charging: for large customers, for example, you can charge a VIP annual fee, and for small customers. After gaining customer trust, you can even charge for the flow of the app by monitoring its distribution ... Zhigang smiled and said, "(if) this (charge by flow) is very ideal."

According to the growth of similar 2D services like AU and AppAnnie, Zhigang expects that at the end of this year, Bang Bang will probably have 10,000 company customers.

"If the Giants are 10 times times smarter than us, they might be better than we are."

With the decision to turn to game developers and be armored by clients, Bang Bang started looking for B-round financing in the second half of 2012.

"How do you tell a story to an investor?" Titanium Media reporter asked.

"At that time we had our own technology and users. Moreover, the multimedia content of the future Internet may appear in the form of app. This time, the protection of the app itself must be a just need market. This market is very vertical, professional, technical threshold is relatively high. At least in the mobile security, our technology is precisely to do this, others can not do. Zhigang answered.

"Why are you so confident?" the security giants? Titanium Media reporter Cross-examine.

"We have fifty or sixty people to do it, but we have to do it for the Giants and they need so many people," he said. If the Giants are 10 times times smarter than us, they might do better than us. I have been in a foreign company, I know in foreign companies to create a new line of business is difficult, no six months of decision-making process can not be done. As for small companies, they have no money, no accumulation, and will not do it. Zhigang explained.

"In this field, they want to do such a big thing, it takes a long time to make a decision." We've got so much investment, and with so much power, he doesn't necessarily compete with us. ”

Zhigang that, in addition to technology, Bang Bang has a lot to do with app security: According to him, Bang Bang has deployed more than 100 servers around the world to collect mobile apps every day. So far, bang Bang has collected 3.5 million Android apps and issued thousands of monitoring reports.

The Giants are also changing – the recent trend of capital activity in the domestic Internet community has delighted Zhigang. "The wave of acquisitions is growing, and this is a step forward in China," he said. Now, instead of looking at the good, the Giants are doing it themselves, opting to use the way capital works. "Zhigang said," 70% of Silicon Valley's start-up companies have been bought, which would encourage innovation. What bat does now is becoming more and more like Silicon Valley. ”

Zhigang also spoke to people from the security giant's business and investment departments, and their answers confirmed his ideas.

Like many other entrepreneurs, Zhigang that these vertical areas are opportunities for Bang bang.

"The Big World is dominated by giants, like security guards, you can do it, but you don't have a market to push." "I think this space is accessible to our volume company," Zhigang said. In large companies, new projects start with a small number of people to do things that may continue to do, do not give up. But the domain of app security is just a few people can't do it, it takes a long time to make it. So, this blank market needs us to fill. ”

Three years lesson of Bang Bang

Thanks to the excellent CV of the founding team, Zhigang was fortunate enough to have a 5 million dollar investment in IDG at the beginning of his start-up. But by the end of 2012, the company's cash flow has been strained.

"We even borrowed usury. Because it's a light asset company, Banks don't lend you money. "The reason for this is the customer's armored behavior: China's cash flow is poor throughout the 2012."

"From last August to this April, none of our VP wages. "Zhigang said. In the second half of last year, Zhigang hurried to tighten finance and prepare for "winter".

"(B-round financing) signed term Sheet, to invest in the place also need 3, 4 months." Zhigang said, that period of time every afternoon began to send low-grade fever, "the mind is not practical." Later, b round money in place, bang Bang smooth through the cash flow crisis.

This let Zhigang tasted the bitter, also summed up the lesson: start-up companies, first alive! Zhigang said he tried every means to find cash flow to keep alive.

Now, Zhigang will have a good relationship with the lenders and the banks in advance. "Don't need money to contact them. For example, we have been dealing with them for a year, it is better to borrow when we are short of money. But if you suddenly borrow it, they won't lend it to us. We got through some relationships last year. In the future, they will lend to us soon if necessary. Zhigang the cash-flow break.

In addition, because there is no direction at the beginning of the start-up, Bang Bang also traversed many detours. "We can't find the direction, very confused, so everywhere to try, spent a lot of money, also did not find." "This experience tells Zhigang, the money bag wants to look tight," cannot find the direction time, do not blindly expand, wants to downsize. ”

Although Bang Bang by doing projects to get a lot of income, but Zhigang think should not be doing the project as the company's goal: "I feel no direction, do not regard the project as the company's goal." Although earning some money, this has no decisive influence on the development of the company. This is actually the lesson we give the bank to do the project. It's better to spend more energy on technology. ”

Titanium Media Reviews: Now, Bang Bang team in Beijing Haidian District Tiangong Building Office. Zhigang does not even have a separate office, which takes only a modest salary in the company. It can be seen that, despite a lot of funding, Zhigang remains vigilant: he is considering downsizing the team again, fearing that the cash flow will be broken and ready to "winter" ...