Live or Die? Mobile Internet Entrepreneurship Fork Junction

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Tencent Science and Technology Zong December 31 Report

Mobile internet startups have found it hard to live through the past two years of competition.

The mobile internet is seen as the biggest entrepreneurial opportunity for the next 10 years, but throughout the 2013, the gold industry's entrepreneurs have struggled to survive, and the internet giants have even quietly abandoned their acquisitions. It is found that the real smartphone standard and star applications are only a few, typically such as micro-credit, micro-blog. Also has the application to cut into a subdivision group can get a large number of users, such as singing, Mo and so on.

But most application entrepreneurs do the long tail applications that are just outside of the application, which generate revenues that are hard to produce, and need a lot of money to promote and operate, and it's one of the best ways to find giant acquisitions or strategic investments. Once acquired or invested, the application entrepreneur enters the security zone. But mergers and acquisitions are only a few, more entrepreneurs in the struggling to support, to seek transformation, it is not going to go on, can only choose to fail.

"Many entrepreneurial projects have become public welfare projects. So far this year, the early team did not have any good projects. Or say 10 a year, but there are 500 VC waiting there. "Bean Fruit Net founder Wang Yuxiang said.

VC days are also less than the former scenery. In the past two years, Sequoia Capital, Jingwei Venture, IDG and other institutions in the mobile Internet investment radical, but two years past, but it is difficult to exit. On the one hand, they are looking for new projects to invest, more focus on how to exit.

"Most of the investment in mobile Internet applications is not available through the application of profit normal exit, VC is nothing more than three paths, pull new investment into, look for the application of the buyer and the investment company of mutual mergers and acquisitions." "A senior investor described this year's investment path as such," In short, the project can not be rotten in the hand. ”

"The two-time start-up window of the mobile Internet is coming to an end, and the second generation of mobile internet start-ups is at an end." "UC Excellent view joint founder and president of He Xiaopeng to Tencent Technology summary said."

The dilemma of transformation and commercialization

The Mobile Internet Startup window is a demographic dividend for smartphones. The acceleration of the popularity of smartphones, both large internet companies and small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, are scrambling to turn their ideas and opportunities into mobile internet apps, as mobile terminals and data continue to push them higher.

Most entrepreneurs, even before the experience of big company executives, have been struggling to survive or be forced into transition after most of their startups.

"My current salary is not as good as a fraction of the CTO at Cool 6, and I feel like I'm living in a world of misery," said my friend in the CTO Circle. "Original Cool 6CTO, love of the founder of Zhao Liang to Tencent technology regrets."

In 2011, when the new wave of mobile internet entrepreneurship started, he chose to resign from Cool 6 started in the micro-video business, the initial application is "Love", did a period of time, he found that the Chinese users do not love to share, and subject to traffic and other reasons, the user original content (UGC) is relatively small and poor quality, So he transformed into a fan group, when the fan group for a period of time, the user reached 8 million. Recently in the launch of a new app application Mira, the main 30 seconds K song software.

To be realistic, there is an insurmountable mountain in front of this app-sing it. The app was released from May 2012, with more than 100 million users in November 2013.

But sing it now. The star applications that quickly grow up in such a short period of time also face challenges. Sing it. CEO Chen (Weibo) is more anxious than ever: how to commercialize and become like a mountain block in front of you.

Sing it like this, users as many as tens of millions of or even hundreds of millions of users of the application of the United States Mito, ink weather, MO and so on. Their problems are similar and the flow is large, but there is no good business model to cash in. For example, the U.S. Mito and ink weather revenue is mostly from the cooperation with other applications, through the application of the power provider and other applications to obtain revenue.

Chen is more interested in taking the path of virtual goods based on the fan economy. 2013, he online virtual gold coins, launched a member service, want to make the fan economy to go through. For now, he is in contact with a number of light gaming companies, hoping to do something in the center of the game.

Alongside The Godfather

In these already have a certain volume to seek independent development at the same time, those who have a certain size but do not have enough ammunition for their successor to choose the arms of the Giants, or strategic investment, or wholly-owned acquisitions, 2013 year round, looking for the godfather of the word in the Internet industry prevalent.

In the 2013, Tencent, Baidu and Ali, as well as the vertical field of the Giants began to frantically "enclosure movement." These mergers are driven by venture capitalists. For example, the vitality of the Fast Hotel butler, the investor is well-known Sequoia Capital, Sequoia Capital China fund partner Shen and Ctrip is very close, he in one of the strings, led to the final investment of Ctrip Inn Butler.

The internet giant is fast and aggressive in the mobile Internet enclosure movement. This year, Alibaba at the end of April to 586 million U.S. dollar stake in Sina Weibo, May to 294 million U.S. dollars to inject gold software, increased the UC excellent view. In the investment of these old internet companies in the mobile Internet products, Alibaba has also invested in Mo, on the road, Quick Taxi, Tintin concessions, poor travel network and other enterprises, and the acquisition of shrimp, friends, cool plate. Recently, there is news that Ali will invest in Lbe security master, is expected to invest in the mobile phone music site every day beautiful.

Although Baidu has no Ali "Pepper" merger and acquisition investment strategy, but also throw out big seek holding. July 16 This year, Baidu announced 1.9 billion U.S. dollars to acquire 91 wireless. August, Baidu Strategic investment in glutinous Rice net 160 million U.S. dollars, to obtain a 59% equity. The acquisition of the jailbreak software apple Orchard has also been near the end.

Tencent's investment in mergers and acquisitions focused on micro-mail and mobile phone QQ access to the underlying operating system and application platform, from 2011 to 2013, Tencent has a stake in Art Dragon, good buy, hot cool, tick-tock taxi, le Frog and other companies, 2013, Tencent to 448 million dollar strategy to invest in Sogou.

The small vertical internet giant is also an important buyer. For example, Ctrip, from the flight application is very accurate, holiday rental platform, home network, hotel booking application of fast hotel housekeeper and the introduction of the application of the Chan travels, its investment and mergers and acquisitions path covers almost all the online tourism industry chain. Recently, Ctrip to 60 million U.S. dollars to invest easy to use the car, but also spent 100 million U.S. dollars to the car rental company a hi car rental.

Interestingly, even if the Ali strategic investment in the UC plan three years to spend 3 billion to carry out a series of acquisitions, in the wholly-owned acquisition of PP assistant, UC gifted see found that 3 billion seems to have enough, the future will continue to invest in additional.

The giant seizes the entrance extrusion promotion channel

Pessimists see a wave of mobile internet start-ups likely to be over.

Sing it, CEO Chen frankly, it's much harder to start a business now than before. One reason is that, in addition to the large harvesting of start-ups, the bigger threat to startups is to grab a variety of portals through mergers and acquisitions and squeeze in a variety of promotional channels.

Bean Fruit Net Wang Yuxiang has similar feeling, "mobile internet is over." "He believes that in the 2013, after the awakening of the big companies, they occupied the various entrances, the application market, mobile advertising companies are being squeezed by big companies." Not only is it difficult to get new entrepreneurial projects, even the original good projects have been difficult to live.

One manifestation is that the cost of acquiring users from emerging applications becomes higher. "Channel resources are in the hands of the Giants, and social networks were previously less costly to promote, but now some media (such as microblogs) are declining, and social media such as micro-letters are restricted to the rules of the Giants. "Chen said.

Chen recalls that from 2011 to 2012, Sina Weibo's active became one of the preferred ways for developers to promote. At that time, Beauty said, Mushroom Street, pop and so on by Sina Weibo and other social marketing methods to obtain a large number of users. Now Sina Weibo's activity has dropped, and this free route has gone.

Micro-letter friend Circle is a viral marketing of the perfect path, such as work difficult rage crazy guess, Crazy guess song, the second half of the so-called 0 cost promotion of the magic Diffuse camera. But the circle of friends also has its own attribute limitations, friends circle are acquaintances socializing, it is easy to form aesthetic fatigue, the application to promote the fast, go fast.

Paid to promote the way also become more and more narrow, online channel promotion and mobile phone pre-installed also not optimistic. Online channels, the application of the shop-led online channels are also facing the test of commercialization, free promotion of the location of fewer and less, most rely on pay promotion. Mobile phone pre-installed, the policy has begun to strictly tighten the manufacturer pre-installed. Because the handset pre-installed does not bring the matching user group, as well as difficult to upgrade the question, the entrepreneur has abandoned this channel directly.

"Mobile phone manufacturers require a unified UI, high cost, and the product can not be upgraded, resulting in poor user experience, the operator of the mobile phone pre-installed software standards are also very stringent, we will be pre-installed this channel cut off." "365 Calendar founder Genan said.

Opportunities in the deep waters

But does the mobile internet really not have a chance for entrepreneurs? The big harvest, the squeeze entrance doesn't seem to stop the enthusiasm of mobile internet entrepreneurs. More applications emerge.

The 7-month-old Pet Circle, whose founder Wang does not agree with the idea that mobile internet startups are dead, even thinks the environment is better than it used to be.

"Online, now there is a big open platform, you can rely on entrepreneurship." Offline, the current integration with smart hardware is also an opportunity. We'll do pet smart wear next year, I think there's a lot of opportunities, but what developers think about it, but the pure app business must be pretty tough. ”

The open platform referred to by Wang refers to the open platform represented by Tencent. For example, "Tencent Micro-trust public platform, cloud platform and a wide range of communication and so on, developers are very useful, not to mention the micro-letter." ”

From the practice of Pet circle, the use of open platform to introduce users ' social relationships, using social sharing mechanism, can greatly improve the number of users and social viscosity products. "The cost is very low, very suitable for the start-up team." "said Wang.

"The Giants are doing a good job of the platform and really driving the mobile internet entrepreneur to the deepwater path." Platform-type companies occupy a lot of entrances, which means they have the infrastructure, educate the market, and get through the road, and it's better for the entrepreneur to do something quiet. Innovation Workshop founder Hua said.

Hua the opportunity to describe the future as a "sham Shui Po". For example, vertical groups of the needs of the application of segmentation, O2O, enterprise applications, software and hardware integration and mobile entertainment applications and other directions there are opportunities.

He believes that real change in mobile internet has not yet begun, and that real change may not begin until next year. One reason is that mobile internet penetration is still very low. "Over the next five to 10 years, the mobile Internet will control 50% or more of the national economy." “

Chen also agrees that mobile Internet entrepreneurs should choose the vertical domain instead of platform. He believes that the success of the platform is now less likely. But there are plenty of opportunities for vertical areas to do so. "Try to stagger the giant's sharpness, or you can achieve success."