Public comment Zhang: Still a start-up company trying to acquire a team

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Public Comment Network CEO Zhang (data map)

Zhongchunhui ("Oriental Morning Post" financial reporter, commentator)

Chatting for a while, I asked him what constellation, "Sagittarius." Did you study? " --No, and I told him I didn't know much about him, but I've only seen it two times. The scene is a bit cold, instead of an angle, "What do you hate yourself?" And the man's answer was smile, and I thought to myself, whether I should have known about Sagittarius earlier, or knew him earlier.

Ten questions about Shanghai Economic Review (Weibo) CEO Zhang (abridged version):

1. In people's impression, the public comments network seems to be always associated with food and beverage information, do you think comments on the local life and consumption areas to expand the place? Have you considered the integration with overseas markets?

Zhang: First of all, the public comment on the network from catering started; the second reason, related to the survival needs of people, people's needs from the beginning of eating, improve life generally from eating began, and then developed to leisure pleasure. The higher the income area, catering consumption accounted for the proportion of total expenditure is lower, from PV (Page view, Page view), the Shanghai area of catering reviews about the total number of 50%~60%, Chengdu, the value of about 70%, and then to the three-tier city to see more is up to 70%~80%.

From catering, the public comments and expand the parent-child, beauty, etc., hotel reviews have been carried out for several years. Tourism reviews This piece is not dedicated to do, but there have been some comments on the attractions, the space is still quite large.

In overseas markets, reviews have touched on Taiwan, Europe and other countries, which is related to the improvement of people's living standards, more and more people go out to travel. This part of the content is still active to add mainly to the user, in addition, we will do some support from the foreign specialized database company purchase information import, more normative point. At present, the network does not come from overseas market income.

2. Nearly ten years since its establishment, do you think that the public comment network is still regarded as an entrepreneurial company? What events do you find to be a turning point if you are dividing a company's development course?

Zhang: The rise of the two or three-year mobile internet and group buying model is a great opportunity for the consumer services industry. From a certain point of view, the public comment on the network and stood on the new starting line, or a start-up company. More than two years ago, we have a "two entrepreneurship" in the reference, since then the company's scale has also expanded rapidly, the first 7 years to 2010, the network staff of about 500 people, the current comment on the network has 3000 people, only to use two years time.

The division stage, up to now there are about three:

One or 2003-2005 years, the company was founded, with almost two years of time to verify the "Content through online users ' comments" This model will work, and then copied from Shanghai to Beijing and other cities throughout the country, from catering to other industries. After the successful verification, 2005 company began to formally introduce the executive team, mainly financial, marketing and other fields, are my good friends.

Second, 2006 coupons also counted as nodes, and later proved to be a good model. The first round of financing was completed in the year, and more business models were started.

Third, 2009 mobile internet and the emergence of the 2010 group purchase, is the second largest node.

3. What kind of company would you like to acquire if the financial conditions permit?

Zhang: At present we are trying to acquire the team, we do not have no investment department, is the product leader and the CFO to see the project. The company has a lot of things to do, but through the recruitment speed is too slow, talent is the bottleneck of the current development. We hope that the product, technology, the life of the consumer field of interest in the team, such as the development of queues, meal and other small applications, may also feel that the other side of the application to big until the listing is more difficult, it can join us.

The acquisition team size in a few to dozens of people, the interval is the seed period or a round, but not to b round; the ideal price in millions of yuan, good will have shares.

4. Handle Nets founder Wu recently talked about the web, suggest your company "in the field of information SNS, how to turn information into the relationship between people is a great opportunity." --Do you think the user interaction on the vertical comment class site is really important? Or is the interaction between the user and the merchant more important?

Zhang: The main thing to do is the relationship between people and merchants-to consumer information and concessions to help businesses find customers. The relationship between people is not the core location of the network, but an auxiliary means, so we will be with Weibo, micro-credit and other existing social networks to cooperate. However, the provision of information is only our entry point, in the future, reservations, waiting, ordering, and so more in-depth relations will gradually join the comments network.

5. Please comment on: micro-letter and micro-BO, QQ food, Baidu side/Philharmonic Live, Taobao local life/cost, the United States, such as the group handle as a living consumer platform performance.

Zhang: Tencent's micro-letter two-dimensional code is good, can face merchants, but the future will not do too much, because it is essentially a communication platform. Sina Weibo has also done a micro-food, also did not, because the essence of Weibo is information.

QQ Food is not a success. Looks simple, but lets the user write the comment actually not easy, also does not have the benefit. The creation of community atmosphere is very important. QQ Gourmet now try to cooperate with micro-letter, try to do micro-letter two-dimensional code, now look at the development of early, contracted merchant volume is not, do not know what will be, we are monitoring.

Tencent is good at doing is related to human communication products, QQ micro-letter QQ mailbox, do one into one. In addition, Pat, Tenpay, QQ Food tour group purchase is not very successful. Or genetic problems, the flow of the past is not useful, the atmosphere is different.

Poly cost-effective, mainly in kind of commodity group purchase, more Taobao platform for business marketing tools. But to do the service, there is no strong sales team, there is no service gene.

Baidu's side, is also a genetic problem, its core in search, there are more important things to focus on. No big company can do anything, the core of the product boss personally stare at, non-core survival of the fittest. Google is big enough, the community is not good, a truth.

6. In the field of mobile Internet, what is the current strengths and weaknesses of the public comment? If the future can build up barriers, what would it be?

Zhang: One of the most important features of mobile internet is the "location", where the demand for local life, such as eating and drinking, is very random, so there is a natural fit between "move" and "Local Service". Comments on this type of content, is the most detailed one, into the mobile internet era, the equivalent of the original quality content through the "mobile" magnified.

On the other hand, because in the mobile internet age, there are also small mobile screen, slow speed and other restrictive factors, users make decisions more simple, such as wedding photography and other information on the basic mobile phone is not used, so the default list of mobile phone clients to hide this category. Conversely, the mobile phone client will push the gas station to the front.

When it comes to barriers, I think quality reviews and brands are barriers that we have built. In addition, the user on the phone is still used to buy and coupons, so the client behind a large sales team, the establishment, management and operation of the team, the general company is difficult to establish in a short time.

7. What is the most common use of your mobile phone?

Zhang: Of course, the public comments network, in addition to Sina Weibo, impression notes, the New York Times, Dropbox, as well as some tools: the default weather, Baidu and Google Maps, China Merchants Bank, Taobao.

8. What strange moments have you experienced so far in your life?

Zhang: (long thought) the child is born. I was watching and making videos around my wife. is the Caesarean section, looked from the mother's belly to take out he, the first time I also feared how did not cry? When the nurse patted his butt and cried, I was relieved.

He was dirty and yellow, his hands wrinkled and hard to see. But this is a very strange time. His eyes are open, may not see people, cry for a moment, or, just I feel he smiled at me.

9. Based on what you know about yourself, what is your attitude towards life?

Zhang: Life is a continuous self-learning, self-development process, so do everything to do their best to do the utmost to achieve excellence, but understand the results are not controllable, learn to enjoy the process.

Homeopathy, do the personnel, the destiny. In doing things, doing the right thing in the right way, generally speaking, the result will be good.

Sometimes I have anxiety and hope to do things better and faster. But fortunately, our team are all my classmates and good friends, some people can discuss, so other entrepreneurs said the sense of loneliness, I basically did not.

10. What characteristics do you hate most?

Zhang: Anyone's character is double-sided, your best character may also be the most bad place, or say, no one character has absolute right and wrong.

Jobs, his most hated place, made him successful. He was very attentive, but he was also a perfectionist who was dissatisfied with everything around him, like a politician, very tactful, and a man of words, but probably less reliable; some people have patience but make decisions slowly.

So, what is more important is a person's character, whether it is suitable for what he is doing now, the programmer and sales personality will not be the same, but not good or bad.

I am a relatively perfect person, on the contrary, I will sometimes show anxiety, always dissatisfied with the requirements of colleagues are also relatively high; my character is anxious, but like the public comment network This mode can not come fast, so I let myself slow down. There needs to be a balance between fast and slow. I'm a Sagittarius.

11. What's the most respectable thing about your competitors?

Zhang: He's really doing it, he'll call me respectable.

But I don't respect a competitor if he does something for financing or media exposure. The previous two years, the industry has too much discussion of financing, turnover, playing advertising, please star endorsement, these are the surface of the heat, too impetuous. Now the industry calm a lot, the environment is relatively good, we are gradually seriously doing things.

12. Do you like reading?

Zhang: I'm a "heavy reading enthusiast", and I need to see a little every day. Psychology, such as social psychology, management psychology, history, biographies, management, such as innovation, operations, strategy, and fiction.

I studied for more than 10 years, so I read more books abroad. I am interested in the study of Christianity and Judaism. If you look at Western history books or Western political systems, you will find that ultimately they are inseparable from religion.

Let me recommend two books? About entrepreneurship, there is a good (Chinese translation of "lean Entrepreneurship"), before we talked about creativity, all thought just to shoot the head of things, but in fact to stress methodology, this book is about a methodological way to do products and innovation.

There is also a recent look feel good, is to talk about Kennedy entered the Vietnam War book, Chinese name is not known for a while. (Reporter inquires, may be "Reflection Kennedy Dynasty: Kennedy, Vietnam War and American Political culture")

13. If you recommend a good place to eat in Shanghai, what kind of restaurant do you have?

Zhang: Should Shanghai dishes or characteristics for the first bar, may go to Su Zhe hui, seabed fishing or some Japanese barbecue and cuisine. I also like several Shanghai Xian on the road.

14. Do you like Shanghai?

Zhang: I'm from Shanghai. Shanghai in the Chinese city as a whole, municipal construction, management, standardization, contract spirit, the spirit of service is the best, the two months of good air quality (laughter). More than 10 years ago, Shanghai people are more exclusive, now much better, more inclusive, no longer as a big city of people to pose.

Not satisfied with the place also there, I hope the air can be a little better.

Also, Shanghai's innovative spirit is relatively weak, which may be related to the Shanghai state-owned enterprises, large foreign companies more relevant, as well as Shanghai's "mother-in-law culture"-to hear each other is a start-up company, they feel unstable, daughter not assured to him. Shanghai people to seek stability, the ease of life will tie him up, change the opportunity cost is high, he will be very indecisive.

Back to the personality problems, the best character is often the worst. The Shanghai People's standard is strong, causes his risk spirit to be weaker.

I hope the Shanghai municipal government will support and guide the innovation and nurture a good atmosphere.

Author Zhongchunhui authorized the "Genesis" published, for the "public comment on Zhang: Ten Years of foundation and future Barriers," a text not abridged version, reproduced please indicate the source of the author.