Gong Ladder net: The biggest trap of star venture

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Absrtact: Explode a material, I a friend with Gong dozen 10 years dealings, he said gong biggest advantage is to discover business ability, very sensitive, the shortcoming is stubborn, do not understand product. Now, the biggest enemy of entrepreneurship and transformation is product power.

Wen/Jinguo knife (micro-letter public number Ijincuodao)

Because there are several micro-innovation students doing online education, I am also very concerned about the gong two-time entrepreneurship and online education, but also experience a few of their products. Feeling gong this setback, especially worthy of the entrepreneurs to heed the lesson, more worthy of traditional enterprise Internet transformation lesson.

Gong's Own reflection is: "The front is stretched too long." I think the key is the product does not give force, star entrepreneurship, as well as the star Halo of the traditional enterprise transformation, in fact, often jump into a trap:

1, on the first want to do the platform, rather than find a needle stabbed a few days of micro-innovation. There is a basic Law on the Internet: A must be done on the platform will die, but the star to start a business to do a tall platform, rather than from a specific product start.

2, product pain point. The first reason why century Jia Yuan can be deus, is because grabbed a female user's a pain point "serious marriage dating". We a micro-innovation students step by step high education is to do digital education, income is good, is the way through the learning machine caught a pain point "there will not sweep where." Gong has 3 products, one is 91 foreign education net, one is ladder net, one is that good net. 91 Foreign Network Pain Point index slightly higher, ladder nets and that good network pain Point index is very weak.

Focus on the product and focus on the user. Especially for entrepreneurial projects, it is important to find the most valuable first group of "Angel users". Experience ladder nets, it wants to take care of teachers, students, parents, but no focus, and finally who can not. Weekend in the "micro-innovation-into the Beijing-East special training camp", the beginning of the Beijing-East venture is to get rid of 36 "angel users", let them become fans.

3, gong the largest short board: Product strength. Explode a material, I a friend with Gong dozen 10 years dealings, he said gong the biggest advantage is the ability to find business, very sensitive, shortcomings are stubborn, do not understand products. Now, the biggest enemy of entrepreneurship and transformation is product power.

I am looking forward to Gong's product reverse attack.

= = = Gong Split line:

Source: Tencent Technology

Article: Hu Xiangbao

has successfully founded the first listed marriage and love web site century good edge of the "Little Dragon Girl" Gong, is now suffering from its life, "Waterloo", plunged into the cause of online education at the lowest point.

September 13, there is news that Gong founded the K12 (basic education Stage) education platform ladder nets and just launched 2 months of the good network was a massive layoffs, technical personnel annihilated, and gong will be the development of the center of gravity and then relocated to the 91 foreign Education network. In this respect, Gong admits that it is indeed cutting the ladder net part of the staff, and will turn the company Development Center to 91 foreign network.

"A circle back to the original point, decided to focus on 91 foreign teachers, hope to provide better online oral English teaching services." "Gong wrote yesterday in the micro-trust circle.

According to a network of Gong sent an internal e-mail message shows that the massive layoffs or because of the financial chain break. In the email, Gong claimed that he was "overly optimistic and aggressive and stretched too long to spend the company's financing a few months ago and has been working with his own money to support the company." ”

People familiar with the situation said that the ladder network funds depleted, in addition to improper operation, but also some internal executives use the authority to illegally obtain Baidu goods such as advertising rebates, the end of a large number of capital consumption of VC. But this claim has not yet been answered by ladder nets and gong.

According to Tencent Science and Technology learned the latest "91 foreign teachers network staff to the National ladder Network work station Webmaster" open letter is shown, this September 12 afternoon, Gong even encountered a ladder network staff Yong, such as internal sales joint ladder nets in the country 240 work station webmaster (equivalent to enter the school to push the team) "Tears book" Fange denounced.

"Ladder nets and that good network is in the downsizing state, all the technical personnel have been all cut, hope that you webmaster and we (Ladder Net sales team) together denounce", "we should defend the end, more can take legal way to solve." In the letter, Gong's telephone, the mailbox and so on contact way also was publicized.

According to people familiar with the situation, the reason for this scenario is mainly because of gong and the relationship between employees and investors is deteriorating gradually.

At present, the staff to be laid off the rights of workers is still in progress, gong not to respond, Tencent technology will continue to keep a close eye on the latest developments.

Failure: Strategic swing can't afford

At the end of 2012, gong from the century Jia Yuan "Jiliuyongtui". At the beginning of 2013, it began to engage in online education to launch online oral English 1 on 1 video website 91 foreign teacher network; six months after the same year November, Gong also launched the K12 stage of the entire subject of teaching resources sharing platform-ladder nets, Gong had proposed to use "3 years to burn 450 million" to promote ladder nets.

In July this year, Gong launched its new third online education Web site-that good net, the main K12 field "Interactive live", is essentially an "online lesson + online Tutoring" platform. Features three: Live interactive, personalized, almost cover all K12 disciplines and age groups. Gong said that the good network is not a transformation, but the extension of the ladder network.

At that time, Gong declared that 91 foreign Education network has realized the balance of payments has been split, the future will be independent of the company's way to operate, the introduction of the three websites for the exploration of the Chinese K12 online education market to draw a new "road map", the future, will be mainly in the field of K12 education.

Now, that good net and ladder net of big layoffs, mean Gong officially abandon K12 education field. According to Gong is to turn to do 91 foreign education net, this also means that gong a short time to eat back grass.

At the end of 2012, Gong began to transition from 91 foreign teachers to ladder nets. The main reason for the transition was that the foreign teacher market was too small and the price of competition was fierce. It is said that in 2013, when Gong invested most of the team to the ladder network (140 people's team, more than 120 people in the main ladder, only 20 people in the maintenance of 91 foreign Education Network).

An industry personage says, the reason that the ladder net has today's defeat, mainly is "the ladder net" although all-inclusive, and continues to burn the money, but it is difficult to establish the industry barrier.

First, the content, the ladder net boasts 10 million questions, but the internet is almost impossible to have exclusive content, other can completely take away;

Secondly, the teacher level, it has a large number of teachers resources, but become a high cost burden. Because, a large number of teachers produced a lot of content can not sell the price (free), nor enough students to spend;

Third, the platform scale advantage is difficult to form quickly, online education belongs to the slow-hot industry, and "system" solidarity, platform scale growth needs several sides to grow together, difficult, time is very long.

"Online education has a broad future, but it takes a long time to accumulate and build up users ' acceptance habits." Gong want to profit in a year or two, too difficult, from its two years for three business model to know that she can not afford to spend, if not the next injection of wind, soon finished. The above people are so feeling.

According to the investment circle Personage revealed that gong in the first half of this year has met the financial difficulties, in recent months, although has been trying to finance, but ultimately, no money can be burned, can only lay off themselves. Gong individual also said that the current company's front is not suitable for start-up companies, so the contraction front, focus on the possible project, forced to return to the 91 foreign teachers.

Or into the online education industry bubble burst precursor

"Next we will expand two foreign teaching centers abroad to further improve the quality of teaching." "In the mail, Gong said, will continue to exert 91 foreign education network, but left her the chance of successful reverse attack is very slim."

After the layoff door, not only the morale of the remaining staff will be affected, and the impact of resource strength. At the same time, the VIPABC, ape, and 51talk rivals have just been injected into the new round of capital, in the absence of funds for blood transmission, but also let 91 foreign network of the future look less optimistic.

Some industry observers to Tencent technology, ladder nets and that good network rout, but also the domestic online education industry bubble burst the precursor.

It is reported that online education in China is ushering in a new wave of virtual heat. According to Tencent Science and technology statistics found that in July this year, only the public online education investment cases reached 6. Since 2013, there have been more than 50 investment cases in China's online education sector, with a total disclosure of more than 300 million dollars.

An investment manager at Jiangsu High Tech Investment group told Tencent Technology: "There is a basic weekly investment online education program." Now is the capital boom, and those online education programs need to get paid quickly. Because the wave will continue until the end of the year, when the industry will become the whole, the number of capital cast out of the case will die a group, or forced to sell their own, just like the same year's buy. ”

Users ' acceptance of online education is less than ideal compared to the mania of the capital side. Because of the homogeneity of the serious, lack of interaction, the effect is not obvious, online education does not impress a large number of educational objects. An education and training researcher said the online education market this year was "not as big as tens of billions of," and that non-academic education was only billions of yuan.