Willing to fail the net: No formula and too complex

Author Note: This is an Internet startup case. Happy net Cheng in March this year invited willing to network related people to conduct several consultation, as for why? Cheng's answer is no comment. Entrepreneurs magazine reporters interviewed a variety of people, try to restore the net from the venture to the collapse of the past, for entrepreneurs to provide experience to think.

Willing to net, born in January 2008, stroke on January 31, 2013.

This used to be China's largest barter site, by the Internet famous personage lei investment, several times on CCTV, by the first-class business magazine frequently reported.

Willing to network the ultimate practice has proved the independence of the website in China's desperate, so far there is no successful case.

Initial start-up

The internet has always been a new idea. Around 2006, a magical story was introduced into China. Canadian Youth Kerl McDonnell with the Internet, starting with an oversized red paper clip, through 16 exchanges with other people, eventually switching to a suite of double villas for one year.

The story is summed up as a "pin-change villa," which has been widely disseminated in China, leading to an entrepreneurial boom in its aftermath. According to media reports at the time, in the May 2006 to the end of 2006 about half a year, China has 68 of easy sites to build. -as it turns out, a year later, like many swarming ventures, these sites have collapsed.

There is no saying that the founder of the net is willing to Ma is the "Pin for Villa" impact and entrepreneurial willing to net, but this wave of things to exchange Web site failure, MA clearly see.

"Traditional barter sites have low efficiency, low success rate and low user level." Ma has so analyzed the "martyrs" of the website.

Ma, willing to net founder, whenever. Bachelor of Systems Theory of Beijing Normal University, Emba of the School of Business Administration, Renmin University. Entrepreneurial willing to net before, has been a vice president of Lily Nets, Wanxiang Communications CTO, China Putian Information Industry Group, Vice president of the Institute.

Beautiful professional experience, that Ma entrepreneurial willing to network is not a whim of the impulse entrepreneurs, on the contrary, MA is carefully thinking: "Founder willing to net no story, nor a flash, it is a systematic discovery and evaluation of the results of the process." ”

Ma "Systematic discovery" is the basis: "Everyone has idle goods", "China has entered the surplus economy, many people see the new computer still want to buy, but the old home has not been disposed of", and the domestic lack of access to clean up the garage. So, 2007, "The best way to deal with idle goods" is willing to net become Ma's Entrepreneurial project.

One of the tidbits is, ready to start a business, MA and partners have two choices: one is willing to net, the other is to do pet community favorite network, but Ma finally chose to be willing to net. (Can the past be assumed?) ）

After preparation, January 2008, willing to online line. It can be said, willing to net more like the 2.0 version of the development of Barter website, it is in 1.0 trial and error based on entrepreneurship, thinking more mature rational. In order to solve the problem of inefficient exchange efficiency and low success rate of the "martyrs" of the website, MA introduced a virtual currency called "Willing coupons".

Ma China's traditional "willing" culture, there are homes, first homes and then get. In willing to net, "roommates" as long as they do not use the unused items "gift" to others, you can get a different level of "willing coupons." "Willing coupons" divided into copper coupons, silver coupons, gold coupons, platinum coupons and diamond coupons, the corresponding pricing is also fuzzy pricing, for example, each value of 20 to 100 yuan of goods can be exchanged for a copper coupons, the remaining coupons are the value of 100 to 500 yuan, 500 to 2000 Yuan, 2000 to 10000 yuan, And more than 10000 yuan.

As a general equivalent, "Willing coupons" solves the problem that the demand for the swap is asymmetric and the exchange efficiency is not high. "Roommate" can be the hands of idle items to give out, in exchange for "willing coupons" in the site, and other items to exchange, so "willing coupons" to speed up the transaction of liquidity. According to the introduction, before the net appeared, the domestic exchange of goods on the website, second-hand commodity trading success rate of less than 10%, and willing to network trading success rate for a long time stable in more than 90%.

In the start-up phase, do SP (service Provider) business origin of Ma for willing to net design profit way is a variety of value-added services and advertising business, such as booking services, mass message in the station, cash transactions (auction) Commission, mortgage loans, upgrade coupons fees.

Mortgage loans, such as 20 yuan mortgage loans a copper coupon, 100 yuan mortgage loan a silver coupon, the daily interest is 1 yuan, and any time as long as the coupons, you can redeem the deposit;

Upgrade coupons fees, such as 5 copper coupons to Exchange 1 silver coupons, charge 5 yuan handling fee, 5 Platinum coupons to Exchange 1 Diamond coupons, charge 625 yuan handling fee.

The fun exchange method of being willing to net quickly attracts a large number of fans. By the end of 2008, willing to network has developed 900,000 users, the cumulative amount of goods traded more than 150,000, the October, November revenue is 30,000 yuan, 50,000 yuan.

Problem adjustment

But problems continue to emerge.

The first is inflation. In the virtual kingdom of willing to net, "willing to coupons" is a currency, and the real world is no different, when the currency issued too much, inflation has occurred. Willing to net early in order to attract users to register, to register the gift of "willing coupons" to send out a large number of "willing coupons", in addition to the other by doing the task to get points for "willing coupons" and other ways, the user hands of "willing to coupons" more and more, but the number of items available for Exchange is far behind, "willing coupons" more and more worthless- Willing to net of "inflation" produced, which greatly damaged the user's enthusiasm.

Ma's solution is to increase access to "willing coupons" to reduce the difficulty of "coupons" supply, and even specifically to find a professor of finance to design the model, looking forward to the future according to the number of goods and transactions to adjust the number of "Willing coupons."

The second problem is the loss of old users. Ma found that despite a lot of user registration every day, but the old users can not stay, especially high-end users continue to lose. Through a large number of interviews, MA learned that many users only like new things, in the house out of the accumulation of a large number of "Willing coupons", has been unable to find what they want to redeem things, so the power of processing idle items increasingly weak, until leaving willing to net.

The solution is to increase the value of the purchase column--by willing to pay the net to buy some new products on the willing to online, "roommates" only with a certain amount of "willing to coupons" plus a certain amount of cash, you can value a new product to redeem.

But soon the third question emerged. "Value" This part of the cost who to bear? Willing to network found that their purchase channels are always not cheap Taobao, do not have a price advantage. In addition, "inflation" is a systemic problem, not an adjustment will be effective. Problems such as these are eventually mixed together, making the net more and more complex. This complexity often makes users feel bothered.

A user called Zhang, in the willing to see a value of the online swap: The real price of more than 5,000 dollars of SLR Canon camera, as long as a net Platinum coupons, plus 2999 yuan in cash, you can swap. After a few days of crazy out of the Zhang to accumulate a platinum coupons, this batch of 2999-yuan SLR camera has been sold out, and the new arrival of another function of Canon camera, the price has become a 4599 yuan plus a platinum coupons, more than the original 1600 yuan!

These complex problems eventually led to the "willing to net" big adjustment. After 3 revisions, October 2009, through and Jing-dong, when, excellence and other shopping website cooperation, willing to network service mode from "shopping after a stop" transition to "shopping before a stop", that is, from helping users to deal with idle goods into the transformation of users to save money Shopping guide.

Of course, this description may be too simple, according to Ma I described the transformation after the willing net should be: "We want to build a portal to help users get the required items, no matter what the user needs, you can first to willing to net, first see if there is no free exchange for coupons, and then see if there can be a coupon for the purchase of low prices, If not, and then through the product vertical search, in the shortest possible time to find where to buy the cheapest. Through this pattern gradually nurturance ' first willing, after Taobao ' living habits. ”

Willing to net profit model also correspondingly by "to the user want Money" to the cooperative shopping site to collect order rebate (CPS marketing). According to Ma revealed that according to different categories of goods, rebate to 3 to 50%, the average of about 10%.

MA in 2009 of the net is so calculated: willing to net has more than 2 million users, of which active users more than 30% (log at least once a month). Survey shows that nearly 60% of these active users at least once a week online shopping (which has more than 8% daily shopping), according to 150 yuan per shopping, this group of people's online shopping weekly amount of 50 million yuan (2 million x30%x60%x150 yuan) above, one months more than 200 million yuan! If these purchase behavior through willing to network platform to export, to conservative 5% rebate calculation, one months only this one will be willing to net income of 10 million yuan. "When we do 10 million users next year?" ”

Defeat

In the second half of 2009, willing to network in constant adjustment, but also in the third round of financing.

Willing to net in April 2008 and April 2009 has won the angel investor Lei 4 million yuan and Haina Asia Venture capital (SIG) of the 4 million dollar investment.

According to Ma's plan, the net will be in the first quarter of 2010 to complete the million-dollar level of the third round of financing, the money will be used to build physical stores and campus promotion.

But until May 2010, the net was still unable to wait for new financing, but began the layoffs. According to willing to network employees recall, CEO Ma is also in this time left willing to net, may investors are not reconciled, and appointed a new CEO Chen. Since then, willing to net again no media coverage.

October 2012, a netizen said willing net has not opened. Willing to publish the maintenance statement, said it will resume as soon as possible.

January 2013, willing to release the closure of the network announced that because the company is facing a variety of difficulties, willing to network will cease operation on January 31, 2013.

Reviews

Haina Asia's investment director Wang: willing to network to provide users with a new trading experience, the process of exchanging things like playing games. However, the continuous revision of the site and the mode of adjustment will give people a sense of instability, the whole process of fairness, balance on the need to explore slowly. (Comment time: March 2010)

Investment Circle Anonymous Person: willing to net business violates market law, after the currency becomes Suphung, you still engage in barter, this is not backwards? Money can buy a lot of things, do not need to barter, this business can only as a small crowd of games, watching fresh fun, but not long.

Willing to net former employees: willing to network failure there are several major reasons. The first is the infinitive, change fast, has been in constant search for change, new users come, not finished, the rules have changed, resulting in users do not understand the rules, can not stay users. The second is to complicate the simple things, the business model to the simpler the better, the transaction chain to the shorter the better. If the old business in 58 with the city, Taobao, etc. is to take a photo, make a phone call so simple things, in willing to net is not so simple. Willing to the heart of the network is too big, be confused by community-oriented e-commerce, want to let users feel playing a game to increase stickiness, no longer limited to the easy object platform, the establishment of their own empire, have their own currency, finally led to their own do not know which direction to go. In addition, the internal reason is that too many founders lead to opinions not easy to unify is also an internal reason.

@tiny Onion: Willing to net finally or closed, 6 coupons original value of 120 yuan, finally only 10 yuan in cash! I gave out the basic is a new idle goods Ah! Just be a good thing! I have been in the house and between the experience of a certain exchange of happiness!

January 10 16:28 from Sina Weibo

@ Wolf Walk knife edge: willing to net closed, a doomed to failure of the site, will replace as the main business, and the invention of willing coupons as a replacement of old materials, but the lack of profit model, in this does not really environmental protection and sharing of the soil, old replacement site to succeed is difficult. I still have to be willing to send the net of that hammer, this is their most successful marketing, after the bus burning accident, but how many people this accident now remember?

January 4 16:00 from Fawave

@ Net Sea eagle: willing to the closure of the net, should tell you: Don't forget oneself is because of what kind of advantage to get the wind to vote, get investment also don't forget oneself is to do what. 2011 News, just remembered, to see the website, sure enough, as expected, closed.