Shao Yipo: Success in business is very important

Is luck important when it comes to starting a business or investing?　　I think it's important. Let's tell a story first. ebay had no money in 2000 and needed financing. Now I'm talking to the founders of the company I'm investing in, saying that the financing must be early, at least 6 months before the money is out. In my 2000 years, no one told me these words.　　Fortunately March 2000 is the peak of the internet bubble, Nasdaq around 5,000, and ebay has done a good job (at that time is almost the largest Consumer-to-consumer e-commerce site in China), there are many interested in VC. Remember that there was a French company called Lvmh-, the one who made the handbag and the wine-the following investment company was particularly active, and met with an offer of more than $200 million, to invest 50 million dollars. Unfortunately, in March the Nasdaq began diving at 5,000, and fell to 3000多 points in just 2 months.　　The investment firm's investment intentions dropped from 50 million to $20 million, and valuations fell to more than 100 million dollars, but at least they were moving forward. By July, one day I read in the Wall Street Journal that the investment company had canceled its own listing plan. I think something big is wrong: will their parent company not be optimistic about the Internet? Does the investment company have no money to invest in others?　　So I started to prepare, what if they don't invest in us? I made a draft and prepared a story carefully. Sure enough, 1 days later, I was at the lobby of the Shangri-La Hotel, Beijing, and my cell phone rang. Although this phone call only a few minutes, but I still remember. The man at the investment company told me that they decided not to vote. I started to tell him that I had turned down other investors and now if I had to start talking again, I'm afraid it would be too late for us to survive. Then I gave him a workable suggestion and asked him if he could make 5 million dollars, and I would go and scrape up the remaining 15 million dollars. Why say 5 million, not 2 million or 10 million? This is because ebay investors accounted for more than 20% of the shares, if the round of financing 20 million dollars, if the existing shareholders to maintain the proportion of shares, then they have to invest at least 5 million dollars. If the French investment company invests less than 5 million dollars, that would be the equivalent of not being able to make this round of the cast (the biggest investor in a single financing) so that not only other potential new investors will not follow, but also existing investors may lose confidence and stop putting money in. On the other hand, if I have too much money with the investment company, I can get it, but I'm afraid they have no money. In the end, I didn't ask this person on the spot because I knew he was not the final decision-maker and decided to come down from above at this juncture.　　As long as he says, "I'll go back and think about it and give you an answer", my goal is to reach it. After I hung up the phone, I immediately tried to start all the relationships through aA friend found the big boss of the French investment company's parent (also the richest man in France) and finally got the 5 million dollars, plus the existing investors and other new investors, and made up 20 million dollars.　　This is the 2000 China's largest internet financing. In retrospect, no luck is absolutely impossible. But it's not enough to rely on luck.　　Read the report, did not go into detailed thinking strategy, did not do enough preparation, ebay may not be a few years ago the success. Tell a story, what is the truth? First, the entrepreneurial success of the people do not be too conspicuous, luck is important, be humble. To know that there are many people who have the ability, bad luck, so did not succeed. Second, there are no successful people, do not be discouraged, do not blame bad luck, the most important thing is to seize every opportunity given by luck. Third, investors should be humble, not to be judgmental on board, and to feel smart. The same company, the same pattern, the good entrepreneur seizes the destiny to give the big and small opportunity every day, will succeed, the bad entrepreneur, cannot grasp these opportunities, will fail. Investors do not work in the company, do not see these opportunities, let alone guide entrepreneurs to catch them.