Six months to obtain millions investment: the scratch to tell you that age is not a problem

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Preface: The Enterprise is a new business, but the entrepreneurial failure has various reasons, and entrepreneurial success of the experience is mostly similar, you just grasp the factors of success, whether you are, after the 00, there is the possibility of success. This article is another chat network founder Zhang Linxuan published in Renren a diary, share his entrepreneurial experience, although the author is a, but experienced a lot of things, although the age is small, but also familiar with the business of that bit of the way, no impression of the kind of impetuous, also thanked him very generously allow us to share this article with you.

My name is Zhang Linxuan, 20 years old this year, is the founder of the chat net. The website is dedicated to providing a platform for Chinese students to learn English and gain more visual angle, and is currently in beta debugging stage. Registered from the company to now have half a year, has been millions investment, valued tens of millions.

Recently many friends have asked me, as a is how to start a business, the process of what difficulties, how to solve some of the problems, and then I want to simply write a log, you can have more friends who have the same dream to do a reference, but also to sort out their own ideas for the past year's efforts and growth to make a summary.

I know certainly not all kinds of entrepreneurs and investment in Daniel many, but I think every era has unique opportunities and circumstances, sometimes the most help you see the road is not already ahead or reach the end of the people, but a few steps ahead of you. So I hope that we can discuss together, if there is something wrong with me, or if you have different views, please do not hesitate to spray hard, so that everyone can grow together.

Before we go into this, I'm going to introduce my project a little bit, because it's often referenced later.

My project is called in the chat net, is an online English teaching platform, the United States elite school students or graduates registered to become teachers, and fill out very detailed information, Chinese students according to their own needs, to find different schools, professional and experience of teachers, choose different courses, through the online video dialogue to complete the study, Then pay the fee set by the teacher, and grade the teacher's course, to urge the teacher's teaching performance.

Because of cultural differences, American parents basically do not pay their children full tuition, 60% of college students graduate with an average of 15,000 U.S. dollars (interest from the date of graduation), they have very pressing pressure to earn money in class, so they are willing to earn 5 to 20 dollars per hour to do video tutoring. In China, teachers of the same quality are about 5 to 10 times times the cost.

Although video teaching in some aspects than face-to-face, such as interaction has been bound, but the teaching effect will be the teacher's English level and comprehensive quality to make up. In addition, when you learn English anytime and anywhere, you also have friends from abroad who are congenial to you, and gain more perspective and even resources.

The first step: Know Yourself

Entrepreneurship must have a core competitiveness. Core competence is not about ideas, but about why you can do better than others if they know your ideas to copy you. Core competencies are intrinsic, your ability and expertise, for example, your technology is particularly strong, and in a field has been studied for a long time, the level of domestic TOP10, and external, your resources and channels, such as your brother brother-in-law is a big company executives, and then can become your first big customer ( Bill Gates ' mother was a director of IBM and helped gates sign the first big bill.

External core competitiveness is often short-lived, because if you develop a good, then your original resources will not meet your needs, but you can rely on his fortune. Internal core competencies generally require a longer period of time to explore and accumulate, but also need constant progress. If you are missing the core competencies, even if you are the first in the market, your company will soon be copied and cleared out.

Some young entrepreneurs will have an idea (especially easy to appear in the returnees), feel that entrepreneurship is to prove themselves, if they are good enough, gold will always glow, so do not care to "go" or use the resources around, excluding external competitiveness. In fact, I was also this idea at the beginning, and later found that it was very wrong. Entrepreneurship has only one purpose, is success, only success can prove yourself, no one will remember that Bill Gates used his mother's resources in the start-up, but everyone knows Microsoft's success and Gates last 13 years of the world's richest man.

I remember a previous experience of starting a business in the United States. At the age of 17, he was doing the school newspaper. The school does not give us sponsorship, printing to raise their own money, they do advertising investment, the entire version of the advertising price is 400 U.S. dollars, and then we will have one in each period. But in fact, the circulation of the school newspaper is not so high, 1000 per issue, the number of people who get the newspaper are directly thrown away, most readers just look at the cover story.

Businessmen know this, but they will be willing to give 400 knives. This is because public schools, as the U.S. government to protect the object, can not post any advertising, so the independent school newspaper has become a lot of companies can usually advertise in schools the only way. Is there a more efficient way to advertise in schools? Then I thought of a way, many American high school entrance is next to have parking space, our school has three entrances, each entrance to each side very close to have parking space, these are mostly for students (American students are many 17 years old to start independent driving). I contacted them, promised them 50 knives a month, renting their "wagon", that is, they drive to school 15 minutes early every day, I put a big poster in the car when they arrive, and then take the posters away before they get out of school and rent the poster. I put this idea into a simple page of documents, sent to a nearby company, and within one weeks, driversed.com, a local marketing department at a very famous Internet driving School in the United States, found me and signed an ad-cooperation contract for the next one months. The contract says they will give me 2400 knives, and my cost, to the driver's cost and printing costs together only a little more than 300 knives. Later, this thing did not continue to do, because in driversed to give me money when I found that I did not have a green card, not legally in the United States to do the company, but I believe that if you continue to do, perhaps the result will be good.

The reason I mentioned this is to say, I do not have any qualifications, the company has no formal registration, no visible products, no cases, even the logo is not, only a page of documents, you can let a complete strange big company willing to cooperate with me, and give me a small sum of money. This is the benefit of starting a business in America.

In China, it's almost impossible. I came back home with this American attitude to try to do things: I believe that as long as the best solutions and products, it will be accepted. But as a result, I touched a lot of walls. I remember very well that one time I was in China and a marketing executive in New Oriental discussing sponsorship options, the man said: "I believe your plan will be helpful to the company and indeed the best choice, but doing things in China is not necessarily the best to be chosen, there are too many other factors, this is China."

In fact, I think a lot of my friends may be more aware of this than I do, I just want to say to my friends who may be as idealistic as I was at the beginning, these are just rules of the game, you want to win, you want to stand at the highest point, you must follow the rules.

Return to the subject. After you decide to start a business, you need to first choose your entrepreneurial direction based on your internal and external core competencies, and these two points are best to coincide. If you can't imagine the intersection, then think again. Because the success rate of young people's entrepreneurship is very low, the second is very small, so we must do at any point to do our best. And the more backward the more difficult to achieve the ultimate, so in the beginning to choose the general direction, must be a little perfectionism, to find the real best for yourself to do things.

My personal example, the intrinsic advantage: I study in China to graduate from primary school, study in the United States to graduate from high school, so I have a dual language and cultural background; After returning home, I did several major training company lecturers, including training director's position, to the English training industry has a certain understanding; I love designing products, Two newspapers and two companies have been created before, and the products are my own, and internet companies are the most expensive and low-cost industries.

External advantages: I have a lot of friends at prestigious universities in the United States, and through the United States before the establishment of a Sino-American cultural exchange non-profit organization, led by a Harvard, Stanford, the famous university students of the part-time team.

In fact, it is easy to see, the combination of these conditions, my entrepreneurial direction has come out: an English training industry, focusing on the use of American elite team and resources of the Internet products.

Step Two: Select the most appropriate project

After you've identified the general direction, think of one or two options that you think are good, and then try to talk to friends who understand these areas as much as possible. Every time you talk to a friend about your project, your understanding of the project will be clearer, which will help you make decisions or see the investors in the future.

A company exists must be able to solve a need, so your plan must be very clear: how do you solve who problem. What, who, what, want to be very specific.

For most young entrepreneurs, I think the best thing to take advantage of is your own circle. As an entrepreneur, the needs that are really noticeable are all around you (many entrepreneurial stories are like this: someone who thinks it's a hassle to do something that they usually need to do). Therefore, only after 90 will have the demand, few traditional entrepreneurs will notice that nature also contains a lot of creative space.

This includes the parking advertising business I mentioned above, which may really be the only thing that students will think about. Or for example, my two friends at Tsinghua, have just graduated, and have taken Angel investment, a project called "Senior Help", by the university's Young "sister" release task, and then "Senior" to complete the task, aimed at building a Chinese campus culture of the social platform, another project called Infobox, A website that collects information about university lectures and events. They just look at their own side of the market environment, grasp the needs of people around, but also seize the business opportunities.

Don't be afraid of people knowing your idea. The most outstanding products are basically not the first to come out, often the second and third, or even more than 10 out, but better than others do (after MySpace after the facebook,altavista out of Google, such examples abound). If you are looking for a friend around you, believe that they will not betray you, and that they do not have the time and ability. If you see the big boys through the introduction of friends or family members, you can be assured that they really do not make it.

I've been talking to people for 50 times before I've done the full time, and then I'm getting to know what I really should be doing.

Another point to note is that the project must do the most appropriate: do not do the best products, you can do the best products, do not make the most profitable products, you can do the most profitable products. You may have a good idea, but you have to think about whether you can do it. Halfway through a big project is really far better than a small project. Especially for the first-time entrepreneurs, our psychological quality is not mature enough, we more than traditional entrepreneurs need to prove themselves, secure their own that is always floating self-confidence; a failure can be fatal to you.

Step three: Assemble the team

All of the above talk about core competencies are personal, but when you have a team, they become your biggest bargaining chip, the most important part of your core competencies.

In the case of starting from scratch, you will not have too much money to provide money for everyone, so generally use shares. Shares give your team a sense of engagement, feel respected in the company, and have long-term benefits if the company develops smoothly. Do not be stingy about the interests of others, but to control the company as much as possible, preferably in the angel before the investment to maintain absolute holding.

It says that to solve a need, you have to figure out what, how, and who these three questions are. But when you want to assemble a team, you want to understand the fourth thing, is "why."

For example, Dell's computer is good, they say: We have the best hardware, the most beautiful industrial design, so you should buy our products; Apple said: We are a group of crazy innovators, we are only content to change the world, let everyone use the best products, we also do computer, and then happen to have the best hardware, The most beautiful industrial design. When you hear these two paragraphs, who would you rather buy? When Apple said it was going to launch icar, everyone was looking forward to it, assuming that one day Dell said to launch a new MP3 player, what would we think? People buy your stuff, not just because of what you do, but because of why you do it. This is especially true when you call a team.

The network hopes that students who have no access to quality English education in China are now given such opportunities and that all Chinese students can gain more perspective and become more international citizens of the world.

The person you want to find must be someone you believe in, and it may be that you want to improve the educational environment in China, or to make the most perfect electronic products, and so on. Only in this way can you lead them.

But note that although it is important to lead, but in the early days of enterprise, they must be in the company to play a very specific and important task. People like Liu Bang do not exist in modern society, at least in the entrepreneurial circle I know. Good people have a lot of opportunities, if you can only lead the team and not in a certain aspect of expertise and make direct contributions to the company, you can not grasp the heart, your team will feel that you do not have the strength.

Finally, in the initiation phase, do not set the job for the person, but for the job to find someone. Many times we are willing to do things with friends, so ask several people to start a business together, and then work together. This is very happy, but compared with the real business, this can only be called House.

My own example, after deciding to start a business, I took the smartest and most capable people around me into the company, and the core team started with six of them. In more than half a year, six walked four, then new four, or six. At the very beginning, I and three other people also tears worship brothers, now these three people are not in the company.

At first it might be for a good opportunity, or a bunch of friends to do one thing, and I'm sure most of the young people who think about starting a business together think so. However, entrepreneurship is very realistic, every really good person will consider their choice: I invest in these time, is not able to learn things, to grow, in my field to go farther. So the biggest guarantee for a partner is that even if the company is yellow, he will not lose because he has grown up. If a person is just doing a task to accomplish a task, not because he likes it, then his work will never be long, after a period of development, he would start to feel that he is wasting time, then there will be inevitable contradictions. In time to solve the short-term contradictions, the root of the problem is still, long time he will eventually opt out.

Now, my relationship with my partner is very good because what they do in the company is what they love to do. We usually also play a Hero league lol (I am a small grasshopper Freldrod, id call in the chat net, haha, welcome to play).

Fourth step: Product and technical completion degree

After the specific programmes have been identified, plan for implementation and determine the degree to be achieved before the angel investment is made. Any project needs money, from nothing to find investment ... So you're really not playing. Based on your knowledge of your project, determine the best possible level of resources, manpower, and funding available to you.

Generally speaking, and then rough demo are strong on paper, and the demo is certainly the more perfect. But the problem is that the perfect and need a lot of human and financial resources, so how to choose, it is necessary to test an entrepreneur's judgment and decision-making power. You have to choose a goal that can be achieved, and the degree of completion of this goal will be enough to attract future investors. Because the project and the situation are very different, where is this balance, I can not give a solution to the snake, but one thing I want to say is that for the first time, your plan will always be worse than the actual situation, so at the beginning of the formulation of the plan, must let oneself conservative conservative and conservative. Our advantage is passion and can-do, disadvantage is lack of experience, do not sedate, easy to overly optimistic. Now that you know your disadvantage, you must find a way to make up for the relatively prudent and conservative choices in some decisions.

The implementation plan will always change in the start-up phase, but it must not be an excuse not to plan, because you have to learn to develop more and more reliable plans, and implementation will be more and more able to keep pace with the plan.

Like myself, when I was a kid, the plans I made were basically never executed, this includes a variety of exotic ideas, read a set of books Ah, learn Photoshop, and even follow the video to learn dance and so on; at the age of 14, the plan must be to do a second newspaper (the first in Chinese primary school). , then the time of the sophomore did, a year later, six months ago in the chat network planning, think of April finished rough products, then June completed, late two months.

Don't think the plan is useless because you've had procrastination before, or if you haven't finished making a plan, and then quit making a plan. There are really few people in the world who have been able to complete the task according to the plan, even the Chowa master in the development of new Apple products are repeated after the plan, and sometimes the release date even after more than a year.

About the process of making products, due to the different industries in a lot of products, so I do not do a comprehensive analysis, only talk about my own in the process of chatting nets. I decided to do this last November, and it was 7 months until the June website completed the beta.

First of all, from the project you think of the general direction of the fine wisp, decide the main function of the site, this time for me longer, I think it should be longer, after all, in the start-up period to change direction is very painful things, one is that you do not have enough resources and manpower to change, the second is if changed, The team and the investor will have doubts about your ability to judge, and therefore have no confidence in the project. I spent about 3 months at this stage, identified a number of sites need to focus on the design of the major items, such as students to search for the teacher's use of the Granville map are the conditions (this will affect the teacher registration needs to fill in the information), students and teachers between the appointment and payment process, as well as student achievement and curriculum system.

Then I summoned 6 of my friends who I thought were more careful around me to do a part-time product team. You see 2, 3 times a week, I work with this team to make the detailed structure of the product, decided how to achieve some specific functions, as well as the basic style and style of the site, this stage spent 2 months. Then, here is to praise Liu, our designer, he is great, we together to the Site page one page of the discussion design, of course, the design is all he did, I just mention the idea. It took 2 months to design the site, and then a outsourcing team was found to write the front end of the site.

and product synchronization is the technology. For internet companies, technology is as important as a product (it is even more important at the beginning than the product, because the initial importance is that the product can be used rather than perfected).

Because I do not know a bit of technology, so here is not about the progress of technology. Technical CEO is very popular to do internet entrepreneurship, because can save a lot of costs in the start-up period, and the product-type or network-type CEO must not be stingy with the technical staff shares, compared to other members of the team, technology is most likely to remain in the company. Once you get into the fast-growing period, the company itself is likely to grow faster than the core team, and then you have to replace it. Marketers are the most likely to happen because the market is a very eating experience and resources, you may soon find 8000 yuan one months to hire people than the core team in charge of the market is more reliable. Products and technologies are more inspired and gifted. So if you are not a technical entrepreneur, and then have the right to the technical staff, be sure to catch ta. Yes, the good people must be like love chasing girls (or men) like, cottage what is actually weak burst.

In the chat network technology is mainly made by two friends, the initial period is mainly Zhang Yiyi, now in the Apple internship, the medium to now has been Chen fly, they are I very appreciate and admire the people, technology is great, is also a good friend.

Finally, there are some steps that may not have anything to do with other entrepreneurial projects, by the way. After the website product finished is to look for the teacher to register. Here is a special American team, from the full award from Berkeley, graduated from the German-American hybrid beauty responsible for leading a 5-member U.S. team, within two weeks we have 300 registered teachers, and then stopped recruiting new. In addition, there are some network teaching materials development, by some former teachers in the large training institutions to help complete.

When I have a visible demo,300 several registered teachers from TOP20 University in the United States, I can find an angel to invest.

Fifth Step: Angel Investment

Getting an angel investment is a crucial step in helping the project, which allows the company to move into a fast-growing period, giving the company a good valuation and a strong entrepreneurial mentor, as well as giving yourself and all your team members the best possible boost.

Angel Investment has two steps, the first of course is to find angel investors, the second is to persuade them to invest.

Find angel investors.

The Angels are usually busy and busy, finding them and letting them see you will be a difficult project. An investor once said that you can't find me. It actually proves that your project is not good enough. I don't fully agree with this remark, but since it is the investors ' money, their ideas are not unreasonable and we must respect them. Indeed, because we are entrepreneurs, we have a responsibility and obligation to let others know about our projects and ideas, rather than waiting to be dug up.

The easiest way to see an angel is by an acquaintance referral, if you particularly want to see the investors, may wish to understand their own side have no who know him. Or upside down, ask people around you who know any investor. Even if you see the angel is not the way, he will not pay you in the end, your hour-long conversation is still a very valuable lesson to help you better understand your project.

If you don't have a good relationship, I think the easiest way to see investors is by doing PR. Our core team is only 6 people, but one of them is dedicated to PR. PR involves participating in some competitions and receiving interviews to get more people to know about your project. Entrepreneurial popularity is important, some investors do not fully understand the scope of their projects, but because the project is very hot, will also vote.

Our team is responsible for PR people is Xu De dust, Xu is a person is very sincere, PR do also very good, good base friend one.

So far, in the chat network participated in three competitions, respectively, is the Intel Tsinghua University Business Plan competition, the two sides of the four college student Entrepreneurship competition, as well as demo China Innovation Chinese Entrepreneurship Competition, the first two games we are champions, the third final has not yet begun, the Beijing division we are also the best results in the final There are always some investors in these competitions, and if you do well enough, they will be willing to learn more about your project. In addition, every time you participate in such a game and get a certain score, the media will have a certain interest in you, any media coverage will be your future to find investors when the stepping stone.

In addition, in the Chat network team has been in the guest status of CCTV two sets of debate program "opponents", as the affirmative debate "the sooner the better" this proposition, has done the Southern Metropolis newspaper and the entrepreneurial state of the interview, and by the China Radio, Sina, Tencent Network and other large media coverage.

As a undertaking, if you are starting a business now, you may actually be the first wave in China: A new venture in China is a novelty. So in fact, it is not difficult to have a certain media coverage. But note that, too often, too much reporting can make us lose ourselves as a person, because being famous makes a subtle difference in mindset. Early business is more of a need to work behind closed doors, in the media show a show is just a step to start a business, and not your ultimate goal. PR do a good job, if you do not pass the project, the higher the height of the fall of the more miserable, the end will be lost face.

Back to the point, generally speaking, if you send an angel to invest in the organization e-mail, simple to explain your project (of course, relatively reliable), and with a number of media reports objectively reported articles, they will be willing to see you on the first side.

If you think the steps above are difficult, the next step is to persuade them to vote.

We have seen a total of more than 10 investors, this is not a lot of, but also I do not place, because I really do not like to see strangers. Have seen the professional angel investors, such as Xiaoping teacher, there are still their own success in the company entrepreneurs, such as the Grass set CEO Lu Great Wall. Their tastes and styles are very different. You need to go online to collect information before meeting an investor and try to get a sense of his preferences and habits. He has been in the company before, what projects he has voted, what he has said classics, all of which are at his fingertips.

In general, all the investors have some common, on the internet also has a lot about how to impress investors, should be written more than my comprehensive, so recommended that we go to Baidu to find more. The most basic is to introduce a promising, large market demand, have a clear profit model of the project, and a team with the ability to successfully complete the project.

So I'm going to talk a little bit about what I think a big entrepreneur should pay special attention to.

One of the characteristics of the group is creativity, we are young, dare to think, so often can come up with some strange ideas. Know that many of the world's greatest scientists have accomplished their most important achievement (Einstein or something) at the age of more than 20, so don't underestimate your abilities. But for investors, the greater the risk of a new project, the more experience investors have, but they really don't have the ability to fully understand your new ideas within one hours. The best way to do this is to find a company that can compare to your project. Find a successful, investor-understood model and tell how your project differs from it, so that the angel will understand you more quickly and will be more confident about your project.

Investors say to you praise, do not listen to, if from the beginning he kept scolding you, then you have succeeded half, you have seen the market to buy things in the bargain when the people praised things good? The investor is the bargain master, if he really wants your thing, he will put your project to say is useless, That's what's best for him.

If an investor is coming up to underestimate your project (which is really happening to us) because you are a senior, then you should politely listen to his words to show respect for the elders, but don't lose faith because of what he said. To judge by age that a team is not reliable does not give you any chance of the person should not be a wise person, you have to believe that you will certainly be more successful than him.

China has no real angel, this is a I and many entrepreneurial friends often discuss the topic, until now has not discussed a more satisfactory answer. But remember, whether it's in China or America, if you don't have enough power, and you don't expect others to be trying to help you out, Angel investment is not charity. In fact, Xiaoping is very famous in this point, there are many people say he is a true angel, there is a story that he felt a project is not reliable, but out of enthusiasm to help entrepreneurs finally cast money. This story has nothing to do with you, want to find such an investor this is tantamount to waiting for.

General Angel Investment, according to your needs and completion, will give you 1 million of your 10% to 25% of the shares. If you're a new venture, don't get too tangled up in shares, it's important to have the opportunity to do things, but don't sell yourself before you see enough investors.

The state of Mind

Don't take yourself too seriously.

More than a year ago, in order to have a better chance, I gave up at the Beijing Global IELTS 450 yuan per hour of the TOEFL lecturer work went to Guangzhou, in Guangzhou because the work similar to entrepreneurship, so little wages, there is a period of time to live 400 yuan a small bungalow, and sometimes there is no money to buy rice to be hungry, thin a lot. Later, there is no shortage of money to eat, but the opposite happened, from last year's venture to now 30 pounds, this is because I was a special love sports people, every day fitness, and then began to start a business there is no time, immediately fat up. But there is no way, this is the path of their choice. For the new entrepreneurs, most of us have a better living conditions, but hardship is a compulsory undertaking. If you really want to start a business, now make up your mind, as long as you do not hurt the body, what bitterness to endure, as long as you can insist, waiting for you must be successful.

Don't be a genius.

Self-confidence do not old floating, on TV magazine to get awards or anything is false, the pursuit of their own unrestrained dream is true.

Don't give up easily.

The most missing is not passion, perseverance. I remember when I was in the United States to do the newspaper, the school told me that even by advertising to pay printing fees, but also must find a supervision of teachers to ensure that the content of the health of the publication. This is not a job that a teacher is willing to take, because it equals free labor. I was in line with the class, sweeping down a line, a teacher asked, they all declined me. But when I was rejected 30 times, I finally had a promise, a new sociology teacher. Later, the newspaper received the Free Information award awarded by the powering of Professional journalists, the largest news agency in the United States, and was reported by the National radio and various mainstream media. I want to say is that there are many investors refused you, can not represent your project is not a good project, as long as the entrepreneurial is your own love, you should stick to it.

Good luck with your business!

In fact, each of the above can be written a lot, but that no one can see the end, so I picked some of the most important to write, if there are any questions, welcome to ask questions or share their experience!