The founder of Time Pictures: How my company fell

Intermediary transaction http://www.aliyun.com/zixun/aggregation/6858.html ">seo diagnose Taobao guest cloud host technology Hall

Huai Mei, founder of Time painting

Organize/print reporter Shi Haiwei

On the evening of August 25, 2012, I received a long letter from my partner, and the last sentence was "I withdrawal it." I was in the wrong. Just the day before, I pictured the company's future with young employees and planned to open a three-person "shareholder meeting" the next morning. This is less than one months from the official operation of our team, all just to be properly prepared, the company developed. Anyway, I didn't expect to receive such a little letter the night before the shareholders ' meeting. Yes, not even a phone call, just a little letter.

Actually I am a person who is afraid to bring the team. I have always felt that they are suitable to do products, as long as the supervision of the company in the general direction of the problem is good, but it turns out that a product from the birth of your personality and genes, others to do is bound to be made into others. Entrepreneurship, a lot of things you can not avoid the carry.

Starting a business, I just want to do a small and beautiful career, we sell some of the works of young artists, focus on limited reproduction of paintings, hope that Chinese people can afford to buy original contemporary art. In 2010, I even sold my own house in the second year of my venture. The reason is very simple, I think my project is very interesting, it start-up funds small, expansion scale does not need to be very big, I firmly believe that this is a can have fun and can generate continuous cash flow of the art project.

I was working as a physical store from 2009 to 2011. At first, at a friend's gallery, our paintings were relatively cheap and the business was very good in 798 of the galleries. Later my friend's gallery changed, and I started working with photosynthesis. We (the decorative painting) in the photosynthesis before and after the 8~10 shop, painting sales are very good. The cost of doing decorative painting is not high, coupled with our early (input) capital pressure is very low, the revenue has been good. But it never occurred to me that photosynthesis suddenly collapsed when I planned to extend the decoration to Hangzhou and Shanghai. I was traveling in Datong that day, and I saw the collapse of photosynthesis on Weibo and the looting of goods by suppliers. The next day I hurried back to Beijing and found that the partners had already disappeared.

Although the failure of photosynthesis in arrears of my a hundred thousand of yuan payment, but because the profit of decorative painting is fair, so I did not lose money. These two years I did in my own project to hit a lot of money, there is no fat profits, but it made me strong entrepreneurial confidence, at least I know, decorative painting market is good.

Recall two years ago, although a little lonely, but the mentality is not impetuous, my company initially registered funds only 30,000 yuan, no money, no resources and no channels. At that time my appetite is very small, always think if one day to achieve the annual revenue of 2 million yuan, then I am very powerful! Does this figure look ridiculous in today's cast? So "small" target, which investors will watch? In the call to be listed to generate billions of dollars in the creation of the circle, you have the nerve to say so "small" Goal? Even though the pie was called to do billions of dollars in revenue, in fact I did not achieve the original "small" goal.

After the photosynthesis incident, I began to realize the drawbacks of the physical shop: its limited display channels, will face the turnover cycle and inventory backlog, and so on, so I have the first time to do the idea of the electric business. At first, I bought Taobao system to build the official website, and then Taobao did not support this system, my official website was also forced to call a halt.

Taobao and photosynthesis two things let me sober, rely on any platform is passive, entrepreneurial must build their own channels. I decided to build my own system and look for a knowledgeable person to be CEO.

Also that summer, a famous American venture investment in the Big Brother failed to start a business, suddenly said he would like to cooperate with me "Time Map" project. Since then, "venture capital", "listing", "the turnover of billion", "stock equity" ... The glittering words began to spring up in my ear. It was then that I first heard from his mouth that "decorative painting" is a business with a market size of hundreds of millions of yuan. Also through that cooperation, I understand that some people start a business not because they love their own projects or optimistic about a certain area, they start a business only "listed." Or the kind of "success" that people see.

Soon, we terminated our cooperation because of differences in product positioning and ideas. But when we tried to cooperate in a loose way, terminating the cooperation had little impact on my career.

But after his "brainwashing", my goal is no longer the annual revenue of 2 million yuan so small, I began to be dissatisfied with their past performance, began to have no more funds to expand the size of dissatisfaction. I began to revise my business model, and I was eager to be helped to change it. I am still pinning my hopes on others rather than myself.

I haven't given up on the idea of being a dealer until this June, and my second partner showed up. She came to me and said she wanted to do it with me and she would not only invest money, but she would also be involved. At first we agreed on the general direction of the company's development, and we were friends for many years, she was a decoration engineer, I used to be her supplier.

Our assumption at the time was that the company would eventually increase its capital to 1 million yuan. In fact, the first time to account only 300,000 yuan, we each out of 150,000 yuan, shares 55 points. She thought that as long as the project is good, about half a year, 300,000 yuan can have cash flow running up, and promises will never let the money off the chain, she said: "You rest assured that the capital chain will not be broken, I can take out at any time 2 million-3 million yuan." "All of this, we're all just verbal engagements.

After talking, we began to set up our own official website. It was then that I realized that our understanding of the so-called "participation" was quite different. At first she was in charge of the company structure, and the most she thought was to recruit more. But in my opinion, electrical business is hard work, as long as you continue to play, constantly let people see you on the line. What's more, for a small company like ours, if we want to match people, it's not enough money to burn.

At the same time, I want her to be part of the company's business, not to draw up some big, empty plans. She might have been in the position of a senior executive in a previous company and had been reluctant to participate in "trivial matters". It is not a concept to do engineering decoration and electric dealer. She probably didn't expect it to work so hard. In the beginning stage, the boss does not understand the electric dealer and is unwilling to carry out, how to do? There are indeed problems.

300,000 yuan of funds in the team built after the obvious tension, only one months time, we spent nearly 70,000 yuan, mainly used in rent, manpower and new website construction. This figure may not be called money for many electric companies.

Later, I communicated with her, "The electrical business is really not what you think of", or she came as an investor, first take 1 million yuan, accounted for small stocks; or she worked hard with the team. Although we share the same, but she refused to down-to-earth in-depth team implementation, and let her once put the money in place (1 million yuan) accounted for small shares, she also did not do. This contradiction could not be solved, and directly caused her retreat.

After receiving her micro-letter on the evening of August 25, I thought about two hours to reply to her. Later I said, I understand your current mood and decision, but even if you want to withdrawal also don't be so hasty, at least not a single letter sent me.

This is the end of the story, who will pick up the stall? After three years of tossing and leaving, I have only more than 100,000 yuan to deposit. The next day, my emotions approached the crash and put the hands of the organ for a day. On the third day, I asked her out for an interview, but the result was the same.

Just set up this team, my personal point of money really can not support. Let me go back to the past a person's state, completely meaningless. Go down, I need to find a not big investment. And compared with the change, I need is to reflect on their own changed mentality-why should I be dissatisfied with their three-year performance Shivi nasty desperately? Three years have come, but also afraid to endure more than a year? Why not sign a detailed contract with a friend and clarify the principle of shareholder's responsibility and investment and withdrawal? Why do we have to go through the process of nothing from scratch, have been afraid to build the company structure, lead the team?

August 28, I released such a microblog with my three years of entrepreneurial experience a brief farewell:

"Because of the sudden entry of the partners and suddenly retreat, the company's expansion of the structure to prop up the framework I personally can not afford, the Beijing time map Cultural media company announced the liquidation of the collapse." I have gone through the three-year small entrepreneurial road and feel satisfied, not worthy of care I support my people, I can not continue to adhere to the ideal, but life is not only the ideal, there are many things worth doing. Lose the ideal, actually also not so great. ”