Wang: Entrepreneurship is a escape thing

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In a few minutes before meeting with Wang, Tencent shares the public comment.

Through the capital of winter, group buying sites have changed their appearance. Wang suddenly found that those who have been fighting the competitors become no longer familiar with the handle net Wu lost right in the bucket, 24 coupons Du Yinan Close the website, glutinous rice net Shenboyang in Chen a boat to sell the site after leaving, full Feng committed suning ... And the ocean on the other side of the group buying industry is not too good, Groupon in the earnings announcement, the stock price two consecutive plunge, a long period of unprofitable dilemma let the originator of the United States Regiment is suffering.

In addition, today's group buying industry has been separated from the 2010-year group buying industry just when the definition of restrictions, many group buying site will define itself as the e-commerce of local life services. This change is called the return of group buying, and there is a saying that this is the most traditional O2O.

Wang, who likes to climb mountains, finds that his opponents are no longer group-buying peers, but internet giants who are trying to step into the O2O field. In the madness of these giants, the United States will how to protect the original O2O position, in addition to more mature catering, film tickets, Ultra will be considered as the object of the United States Group. In addition, how the United States in the field of life services and Tencent Department of the public comments on the competition? The most crucial question is that the United States group in the era of group buying is not profitable, now facing the impact of these giants, the United States Regiment's capital chain can sustain how long?

This year, is the tenth year of Wang Continuous entrepreneurship, in the experience is not too successful in the school and Rice, the United States group let Wang Hing realize their own value. But in Wang's view, the United States Group Network is undertaking a new venture.

From the Thousand To my regiment

Wang is rarely able to leave the book, and he even buys three Kindle. "Bon of Great Power," which is the newest name on the list of Wang Reading, is about the world of powerful countries alternating, the world's voice from Spain to France and then to Britain, and finally to the present United States.

These stories look like the ups and downs of the group buying site, to buy 24 coupons For example, a company took over billion risk venture capital, employees more than 5000 people, suddenly died. Such scenes are not uncommon in the 2012 group buying industry, where almost all group buying sites are struggling to survive or transform. Even the few who survived the shuffle did not escape the clutches of the Giants. American Regiment in the start-up is also difficult, not good at the change of Wang fell in the handle, glutinous rice even cool Regiment, 24 coupons behind, this is not a better day. September 2010, the United States to obtain more than tens of millions of dollars in venture capital, the source is the once abandoned Wang Sequoia Capital.

But the capital has not let the days of the United States to become better, with the capital of the cold winter and the arrival of the crisis, let the U.S. regiment face extinction. Throughout the 2012, a shrinking group of American groups had failed to enter a new city, while more than half of the websites of Chinese group buying had closed down in the same year. But this time the Wang did not let the opportunity slip away, the American regiment finally from the Thousand Regiment war's everywhere wreckage to come over. According to the third party data show, the current United States network occupy group buying industry more than half of the market share, and at the end of 2013 announced the first year of profit.

Wang admits that the success of the U.S. regiment has a certain amount of luck: "In addition to luck, the United States can survive mainly because it can put consumers in the first place, after the goal is clear to do the right thing, resist temptation, overcome difficulties, manufacturing conditions." ”

Apart from luck, making the right decisions at the right time is an important reason why the group can come to today. March 4, 2011 The first anniversary of the establishment of the United States Regiment officially announced the expiration of a full refund. This seems to be a common condition today, at that time caused an uproar in the industry. Because in the group buying industry at first, a large part of the profit is from these precipitation funds, the United States Group Choice is no doubt the money from the break. But the final result is to handle as the representative of the various group buying sites have taken the following strategy, the introduction of green refund channel.

After a cold winter, the United States took the opportunity to absorb the contraction of the size of the group purchase site (mainly refers to 24 coupons) of the team, rapidly expanding the business. Everything seems to be developing in a predetermined direction and way: The US regiment was strong but not the best when it was driven by a glut of capital, but when capital began to contract, the group's system dominance suddenly became apparent, since the deal was first taken in the group buying industry It quickly shook off followers.

In Wang's view, entrepreneurship is a escape thing, most startups will fail: "So entrepreneurial time must go to do a you really believe and love things, even if you fail you will feel that the process is worth it." ”

O2O War

At the end of last year, Yang, vice president of the group Network, released a message entitled "The American Regiment entered the 2 billion era", and then Zhang Zhiyong forwarded Weibo and replied, "My goal is to break 2 billion in a single month." But these flight is not the ultimate goal of Wang, in the larger O2O market and Alibaba, Tencent, these giants are breaking the wrist is Wang dream.

But this time, the United States can also reproduce the miracle of the Battle of the Thousand?

Wang O2o idea for a long time, according to the United States Regiment Cat's eye film business Xu Wu revealed, as early as in 2011, Wang told him, group buying is only the tip of the iceberg, is the United States regiment into a larger O2O market entry point.

This may be because 2011 years on, the US regiment is trying to get rid of the group buying label, but also try to get rid of the identity of Groupon imitators. Groupon is more like an advertising marketing platform, targeting the demand for business promotion than the demand for deals, so Groupon's commission rate is very high, usually more than 40%. But Wang the U.S. mission in the middle of the trading channel, so it must be pleasing to the offline consumers, but also to make the cooperation of the business from each cooperation to make money. This looks almost exactly the same as the O2O now.

Unlike other O2O models, the United States has adopted a strategy of vertical areas to advance separately. The vanguard of the team is the advantage of the project: Film Tickets (2012 film contributed to the United States Regiment close to 30% of the turnover). This is because compared with catering services, the film industry is more information-based, and products are extremely standard. In addition, too much film fares, as well as the overall oversupply, also left enough room for the group buying business. Then the cat's eye film became a key attempt in the O2O of the American Regiment in the vertical field. In the past, the American group has only been positioned in the movie tickets, and now with the full mobile-based cat's eye movie, the group has covered all aspects of film marketing, group buying, booking, evaluation and communication.

This allows Wang to see the future development of the opportunity, the cat's eye will become the other vertical areas of the United States to advance the model. Not long ago the United States regiment on the line to focus on the catering business, by his long-time partner Wang Huiwen personally. In this business, the United States will be positioning itself in the information and trading platform, and the distribution of such links to the business or Third-party Professional distribution company responsible.

In Wang's view: "The opportunity lies in the formation of closed-loop, the former placed in the line of the trading link gradually transferred to the line, online payment, offline consumption experience of the O2O transactions, is the core of our entire industry." "But Wang always insists that his original intention has not changed, that is, to provide links between consumers and merchants."

But such a division of the field may not be able to catch up with the Giants crazy footsteps, O2O industry is now the Internet Enterprise Competition is one of the most intense industry, the United States network facing the opponent is no longer hundreds of millions of or even 1 billion of other group buy sites, but the bat as the representative of the Chi Enterprises.

But in Wang's view, in the next decade E-commerce will compete mainly in the service battlefield: "In the past decade E-commerce is around the goods, while the Second Decade is the development of E-commerce Services decade, now four years later, we still feel that this judgment is very correct, In the future, more industries will be affected by the subversion of mobile Internet. ”

The secret of continuous business

Wang has a profound sense of crisis, he has said a word ma had to self-examination: "Maybe the giant fell when the body is still warm." "In his view, the United States has only a few months to go bankrupt in an industry that continues to change fiercely," he said.

A total of three secrets throughout Wang undertaking:

Almost all of the projects come from the pioneers of the American internet industry, Wang and his team are closely following the development of the American Internet. Even in the knowledge that some people ask Wang in addition to bring foreign things to the country, what else did? Wang is not too much to mince the question, even said in the knowledge also read this post: "Create owners if you see what users to provide what services, this is the core value." It may not be important to be original. Wang said Taikang Insurance founder Chen once mentioned a concept, take the lead in imitation is also innovation, Chen is also a serial entrepreneur: entrepreneurial content for auction, home rush, including the last Taikang life, in Wang View: "To recognize that foreign is indeed more advanced than we are, in the Internet field is more so, It is true that they invented the first thing, then encountered problems, and then to solve the user's needs. Just like today's cars are four wheels a steering wheel, not four wheels abroad, do five in China is called innovation. ”

Second, Wang from starting a business, the core team almost unchanged, although I have a combination, but eventually can come together. In Wang's view: "Entrepreneurship is a very difficult thing, the best team is sure to be able to match and different, is that everyone's skills, some views will not be exactly the same, or completely repeated, but can be harmonious for a goal and efforts." Our ancestors said the gentleman is different, the villain is the same. ”

Third, learn from the previous entrepreneurial experience. After many startups fail, Wang can always learn experience and lessons in the process of failure and improve. For example, the current O2O project, in the previous school to do the promotion, the Wang team has done similar business.

But the country's biggest group-buying site is still worried about the future: such as the lack of a map (perhaps Alibaba's gold can make up for the flaw) and the closed loop of transactions brought by mobile payments (which also depend on Alibaba's Alipay wallet).

More to the concern is that Wang and his team will need a lot of money in the future, to know that the United States Group from the last financing (50 million U.S. dollars) has passed 2.5 of the time, ammunition in the arsenal of the number of doubts.

Entrepreneurial team

The core character of the American group's entrepreneurial team is naturally his brother Wang Huiwen.

In many entrepreneurial process, Wang Huiwen always do not abandon. It seems to him that the reason why he has been able to start a business with Wang so many times is because Wang is a very upright person; This is important and is an important basis for your choice of partners. ”

And in the Wang several entrepreneurial process, several important figures are also on and off, but in the end it came together in the United States Regiment, in Wang View, the team finally can go through a lot of twists and turns, but everyone in the team have characteristics: "This team is a typical of Tsinghua science and technology men, work system has plans;" Someone is more than 10 years of sales team management, is very good at sales and management; There are people who sometimes have some fantastic thoughts. ”

In Wang Huiwen's eyes, Wang is a very hardworking and strong learner: "Wang is not clever, but he has a strong ability to learn." ”

Investor Comments: Bridge Investment Director Deng

Group buying has been very hot in the last two years, but it's not much left. The remaining few group buying sites are relatively large, rely on capital operation to support the present, in these group buy inside the United States group should be more advanced.

But the United States should also feel some pressure now, because Tencent recently invested in the public comments, this impact on the United States is very large, now the United States Regiment's business model does not have a general comment on flexibility, especially in the O2o field, the U.S. group is relatively traditional group buying business, and the public comment on the line of business more, and now catch the micro-letter Tencent.

In the future the U.S. regiment may rely on some of Alibaba's strength, although now Ali does not give the United States regiment too much support, mainly play the role of an investor, but the future may be some of the user's mutual diversion and other support, if Ali future O2O and offline some of the business to focus on the United States to do, the United States Group will develop very well.

Wang himself is a continuous entrepreneur, and naturally hope that the United States will be able to develop independently. But the purchase itself is to burn money business, need some large platform or funds to support, Alibaba is a good backer.