The "anxiety" of Jingwei venture: The bottleneck of mobile internet

Hangzhou reported

One day in mid-April, the CEOs of more than 100 companies assembled in a closed-door meeting in Hangzhou's Xixi wetland for the first time in the history of China to gather and meet the CEO of all the projects it invests in.

Jingwei Venture is one of the largest dollar funds invested in the mobile Internet investment. Friends of the Union, Mo Mo, Camera360, Dolphin Browser, business card almighty Wang, pocket shopping, and many other well-known mobile internet companies, behind the fund's shadow flashed.

The common feature of these companies is that they have a huge user base, but the potential for revenue has not been released enough. The whole investment circle is talking about whether a company like Mo will become the next internet giant or become a new investment trap. Invest in these mobile internet companies VC, how will the future exit?

"Now I can't tell you clearly how big the mobile internet companies we're investing in, but most of the company's core data is growing fast and keeping it healthy." "In the face of this reporter's question, Jingwei founding management partner Zhang Ying explained," Although we have invested in many mobile internet companies, but we are more cautious about the mobile internet, it is clear that the mobile internet explosion has a long time. ”

Bet on mobile internet

Three or four years ago, when smartphones such as the iphone, HTC G1, and so on, began to sneak up in China, the investors of Zhang Ying and Jingwei began to lay the wave.

Zhang Ying rarely participates in the investment Circle party, seldom communicates with his peers, and receives very little media interviews. In the eyes of his colleagues, he is a workaholic, sometimes busy, he will sleep directly in the office, but sometimes he will squeeze out time to the African month to ride a motorcycle.

Mobile Internet in China may take three or four years to finish the PC Internet 10 years road. "Jingwei has never asked an entrepreneur how you think about making money." "Jingwei Venture partner Wan Haoki pointed out that the latitude and longitude of the investment idea of the continuation of the Internet's classic routines first users to consider income."

In terms of investment, the Fund is also full of American style. Almost every week, the interior of the U.S. market highlights recent key investment and entrepreneurial cases, and then quickly find in China's counterpart industry, after judging whether it is suitable for China, then to find the right entrepreneur.

According to this idea, Jingwei first invests in the Portal class mobile Internet application, for example Dolphin Browser, later invests the game, the social class mobile internet company, as well as the business card omnipotent King, the flight steward, Camera360 such tool class app company, most invests in the angel and a round such early investment.

In the period around 2010, Jingwei Investment mobile Internet project is crazy, now, its hand already has more than 50 mobile internet companies, on the mobile Internet investment volume, no other funds can be latitude and longitude of its right.

The layout of Jingwei on the mobile internet has formed a system which includes the portal class of app company, also has the most user-type app company, mobile Internet data Company, mobile game company and so on.

Wan Haoki pointed out that, but to this point in the mobile Internet and the development of the Internet has begun to sync, the Internet experience on the mobile internet has not been much value, the industry needs some new play.

There is another common feature of these mobile internet projects: There are few money-burning companies. For example, the number of users who broke through 30 million of the social application company, the most expensive marketing fee was spent on social media marketing early, only more than 1 million yuan.

In this respect, Wan Haoki explained, Jingwei's whole fund style is conservative, not too much like other dollar funds to hold up high dozen, to gamble some projects.

Liquidity problem

At this point in the early 2013, the mobile Internet is experiencing a bottleneck. Mobile internet companies, represented by app apps, are stuck in the lurch of traffic.

In previous years, Jingwei VC internal will be discussed at the beginning of the year's focus on investment direction, this year, the latitude and longitude of the internal relatively rarely set a clear investment direction.

"Although we have invested in many mobile internet companies, we are more cautious about the mobile internet," he said. "Zhang pointed out that he is very clear that the outbreak of mobile internet is still more and more in the game, as the Tools app, mobile social, O2O and other mobile internet branches when it is difficult to say.

The reason why he made such a judgment, I am afraid, is partly also from the deterioration of U.S. capital markets, as the Vie outbreak, the Chinese concept of integrity issues, the U.S. market for the Chinese concept stocks in a downward spiral, Chinese companies in the U.S. listing began to become increasingly difficult.

In his view, the value of 1 billion dollars is like a hurdle in the United States, many excellent level two market funds will not pay attention to 1 billion U.S. dollars under the market value of stocks, even if you are good. So he advised the company not to reach 1 billion dollars, do not easily go to the U.S. market.

Looking back at the dozens of of mobile internet companies that have invested in latitude and longitude, it is hard to see which one has the hope of becoming a 1 billion-dollar company. Jingwei early years of investment in mobile gaming companies, such as Ifree, Egls and so on, are now very lucrative. However, it is difficult for gaming companies to go public separately.

Jingwei Investment Flight Butler, Camera360 and other tools such as app, as well as the social type such as Mo Mo, although now has a large number of users, but did not find a good way to the flow of liquidity.

Tencent CEO Ma recently pointed out that mobile Internet traffic is difficult to become the world's problem, not only in China, in the United States, Japan, South Korea's mobile internet traffic is not smooth. In addition, the tool app also has to beware of Tencent, 360 and other giants of the impact.

In addition, Jingwei began to see a lot of mobile internet to transform the traditional industry projects, that is, people often speak of O2O. According to this kind of thinking, Jingwei invested in the mobile phone to find car driver's project easy to drive, and hope to replicate such experience to many other traditional industries.

But Zhang Ying told reporters that for the O2O category of projects, in fact he is more pessimistic, because it is difficult to find the right founder. The ideal founder, should be from the traditional industry out, but also the internet's mind, such people in China very few.

Wan Haoki told reporters that this year Jingwei focused on mobile internet-related enterprise applications, as well as mobile internet software and hardware combined with related companies. The former will devote more energy.

In the case of independent large listing in the foreseeable future, to sell the giant may be a better way, such as Jingwei investment in the Mo introduced Alibaba investment, valued as high as 200 million U.S. dollars, the recent circle in the vibe of the Union will be 80 million U.S. dollars to sell the price of Alibaba.

The pros and cons of mass

A lot of people in the investment circle will have the impression of "tactics". Jingwei has recruited a large number of investment managers and analysts in recent years, overwhelming access to all parts of the project, in the same occasion, met several dial Jingwei people, is very common things, using the latitude and longitude of the interior is "tactics, to quantity quality."

In this respect, Zhang Ying explained, Jingwei's 3 management partners Zhang Ying, Shao Yipo, David David relatively early realized the financial freedom, therefore, they do not take the fund management fee, also does not depend on these income, takes out the money to raise more below person.

Zhang Ying pointed out that, unlike other similar funds, Jingwei allows the following investors to try the wrong thing, if the project investment failure, Zhang Ying and Shao Yipo, David David willing to take responsibility, and will not blame the failure of the following people.

Wan Haoki points out that one reason for adopting tactics is that Chinese people are much cheaper than the U.S. Jingwei in the interior is very particular about the coverage of the project, that can accept the discovery of a project and finally decided not to invest, but can not allow a good project they have not seen.

A Jingwei staff told reporters that one of the benefits of people is that they can spend more energy to help their already-invested entrepreneurial team. After the investment management, is the domestic many VC fund weakest Link, at present Jingwei has invested more than 100 projects, needs the sufficient manpower to manage.

For example, Jingwei from the media to dig a number of journalists as investment managers or analysts, these media-born investors even formed a media group, specifically to help their investment in some projects to do PR, dissemination of work. In addition, Jingwei also has a special person responsible for helping its projects to do government public relations, legal advice and other services.

Jingwei Investment company 36 Krypton founder Liu Chengcheng talk about this matter deep feeling, there was a period of time, 36 krypton inside a little problem, Jingwei send people to the company and staff meeting every day, until the company back on track. By contrast, many of the same funds are smaller and less sophisticated to serve the businesses they invest in.

But the tactics is also fraught with controversy in the industry. A senior headhunter in the VC industry told reporters, and Sequoia, IDG and other similar funds, Jingwei's overall investment team is relatively young. But the real good project, needs the senior investor to be able "the town to Live".

In addition, an investor familiar with the Jingwei venture has told reporters, latitude and longitude of Zhang Ying, Shao Yipo, David David Three management partners and the same early investment of Kai-Fu Lee formed a sharp contrast to Zhang Ying, Shao Yipo and other people usually reclusive, and Kai-fu Lee is very active in various activities, make various resources.

And in China to do early investment, the company to sell their investment, is also a very important ability to embody the investment of innovative places, such as friends, snacks and other projects, the last can always find the Giants to take, the circle is generally believed that this and Kai-Fu Lee's connections are inseparable. A familiar investor told reporters that Jingwei has to prove himself in this respect.

Now, Zhang Ying and the whole Jingwei the most anxious thing is, Jingwei has not produced a very successful, representative exit cases. Zhang Ying revealed that there has been a good opportunity to invest in millet, jingdong and other major projects, but for a variety of reasons to pass by. Jingwei Interior has been reconsidering, oneself is not too conservative some.

Look at the past few years to invest in Friends, MO, Camera360, Dolphin Browser, pocket shopping and other mobile internet companies, can grow a real benchmarking company?