Mushroom Street Chen: Always good at

Summary: All in is the play in Texas Poker, the idea is to take the initiative to put all the chips. Born in 1981, looks like a college graduate, always a smiling face Chen says he has always been good at all. 2013, he completed the largest since the start of the enterprise in: Order Shopping Network

All in is the play in the "Texas Poker", the effect is to take the initiative to put all the chips.

Born in 1981, looks like a college graduate, always a smiling face Chen says he has always been good at all. 2013, he completed the largest since the start of the business in: Mushroom Street shopping center from Taobao side of the well-known "supporting" (shopping site) to become the protagonist-a female apparel online shopping platform.

Women's clothing is one of the most profitable gold mines in the electric business sector. Four years ago, Mushroom Street rely on Taobao platform for its crazy mining, and then become the most well-known Taobao guest. Four years later, it pulls Taobao's small businesses into their own platform, and harvested a set of Taobao, for the new play platform.

It has long been predicted to the transformation of Mushroom street, but did not expect such a "hero broken wrist." All in meant to do a big opening EAPC, Chen got 200 million dollars in sky-high financing and 1 billion dollar valuation, wrapped up an entire office building, employees expanded one times, and even set aside the new building of the 9~12 layer for future expansion.

From Taobao to go it alone, to the independence of the platform from Taobao, Chen two times major all in are related to Taobao. This time, can he win the bet?

Refused Ali 200 million dollar takeover behind

Compared with the beauty of a rival, the story of Mushroom Street is even more grim: all the way to close contact with Taobao, and the founding team of more than two-thirds members from Taobao.

At the beginning of 2013, Mushroom Street nearly 4 million UV per day, PV nearly 200 million. As a focus on women's clothing shopping Guide website, from here to import Taobao traffic has been very impressive, from Taobao platform to get the daily Commission can also reach 500,000 ~60 million yuan.

The team is sufficiently intelligent and astute enough. Chen after graduation came to Taobao, 6 consecutive years, and promoted to Senior Manager (M3), CTO Yeu Xuqiang was Taobao's chief architect, recognized Technology Daniel; Coo Wei Yi is Chen's university classmate, after graduating from work in ZTE, he is also the Chen first to pull out the entrepreneurial partner; But before the transition exit before the former Taobao veteran staff Yan beads.

The so-called sharp enough, that is, Mushroom Street in the Pinterest when the most popular with its waterfall flow to display goods, destroyed the other women's website "An article divided into 10 pages" rule, but also in the rise of Sina Weibo, with the help of the official micro published a few "mushroom cool" favorite psychological test and soul chicken soup, Boost flow by attracting fans.

However, the shopping guide model is born to face a danger: your seven-inch, always in the hands of the platform.

Shopping Guide The nature of the community, plainly is Taobao guest, one hand to draw a variety of web site play traffic, the other hand based on Taobao selected products. Early Mushroom Street has also been introduced to every guest, Pat, Dream Bazaar, such as women's clothing website products, but the user end of 90% of the traffic point to Taobao, Taobao a shop size and a company like the same. "(this) is the result of the user selection. "Chen said.

Mushroom Street has begun to take shape has appeared the phenomenon of businessmen cheating. Cheating businessmen Click on the ads of competitors, the opponent's advertising point down, let their ads float up. Mushroom Street to make judgments, if it is the same IP click no longer deduct advertising fees, and then cheat merchants changed across the various machines to click. Villains, outsmart.

The best way is to look at the conversion rate. The conversion rate of the electric business industry is a fair and valuable data, only the amount of clicks and conversion rate is proportional to be considered reasonable. But the ultimate problem comes: The final deal data in Taobao there, will not be open to Mushroom street, Mushroom Street can not make the most accurate judgments.

And in the client, because it is from the mushroom Street here to go shopping, once the commodity problems, the user first thought is to find Mushroom street to complain. Mushroom Street tried to offer conditions to the merchant, was rejected, to Taobao feedback, get no deeper data. In the gap between merchants and users, Mushroom Street has no say.

"It's all ' symptoms '. "The joint founder Wei Yi said," often colleagues from different departments come to me to discuss some things, I scold a meal, and then they wronged to say, this is because they can not get the data from Taobao. "At the beginning of 2013, despite a satisfactory income situation, all fronts on Mushroom Street were in fact being met with bottlenecks." "Entrepreneurship to this time, by quantitative change is no use, need to be their own genes." A few of us can feel it clearly, just as God used an invisible finger to go in one Direction-to make his own trade. ”

In fact, the data is not open, the business can not produce control, these are shopping for the old problems of the website. The first year as a shopping guide, the entire team of Mushroom Street in the category, picture display these basic movements are very busy, and these actions do not need Taobao support. Once you want to get things going deeper, the support of the Taobao end becomes particularly important.

Internal concerns and external questioning are almost at work at the same time. Chen to talk about financing, investors mentioned the most problem is: if Taobao to kill you, you still OK?

"To be honest, our team is willing to accept the challenges of the marketplace, to challenge our intelligence and executive power, but we are unwilling to accept that there is another company that wants you to live, that you live, that you die if you want to." This feeling is not good. "Wei Yi Bo said.

Taobao is like a series in each episode will appear in the ultimate boss, it is difficult to ignore its influence. March 2012 "Entrepreneurial State" magazine "Alibaba pioneering help" a article mentioned, relying on Taobao shopping guide site Taobao has a hint of preparedness, was ushered in the peak of the shopping guide Chen to such a statement does not agree.

And the truth is grim. 2012 Taobao began to tighten the interface, although it was first promulgated is no longer support Taobao station shopping back Taobao Guest mode, and deliberately put forward will not affect Mushroom street, beautiful said.

The second year, the real influence came. Although the Mushroom street is unwilling to formally respond, but this is a public secret: at the end of 2013, Taobao began to prohibit the use of Mushroom Street Alipay to pay, later also through technical means to make Mushroom street products can not directly link to Taobao merchants.

And Taobao also online their own shopping platform "Love Taobao", click on other shopping Guide website products, and even first jump to love Taobao, and then go to Taobao page. This lets the user mistakenly thought the real shopping guide party is loves Taobao.

After some action, Alibaba found Chen and talked about a 200 million dollar takeover of Mushroom Street. The news was soon disclosed. Chen simply refused. "Alibaba did come to me, but I (refused) was purely financial because it gave me too much money." I am very clear about what I have done, and when I can prove myself, the valuation will not rise several times. Now you want to buy me at a discount, I'm sure I won't. ”

In the tangle of the period, Mushroom Street also tried to open the sea to buy channels, but only 4 months after the offline. Now in retrospect, the biggest significance of the sea-buying channel is to verify that users are willing to pay on Mushroom Street.

The team finally made up his mind. After 3 months of development, recruitment business, Mushroom Street officially become a network shopping platform.

Lee is the first investor in Mushroom Street, he will regularly his observation of Taobao feedback to Chen. "If the change of Mushroom street is active or passive, I think the passive ingredient is more." If Taobao is open enough, if it doesn't make those moves, Chen may still be shopping today. "he said.

That's true, but Chen has taken an important step in the end.

Chen this transition into all. He once described entrepreneurship as "release", releasing his knowledge, abilities, connections and financial resources. Just left the business, he and Wei a beat each sold a set of houses, but also with several others from Taobao founder together gave up the option. Recently he has all been in, always open "sharp" he bought a Tesla.

"I'm not one of those little rich people. I can have no money, but also to do a big thing, I can not accept for money to do a very small things. And since to pull a large group of people to do business, but also to find a market big enough market. "Chen said.