Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

December 5th, Monday…

Pei Qian arrived at the office as usual. He read the weekly reports from the various departments while waiting for the person-in-charge to report on work.

Before long, there was a knock on the door. Pei Qian looked up and saw He Desheng.

"Boss Pei, I'm here to report on Dream Realization Ventures' new investment."

Pei Qian continued flipping through the weekly newspaper. "Hm, speak."

He Desheng reported truthfully. "Boss Pei, the shares of the two companies that made money have been negotiated to be sold! We made a total of two million yuan in total, while it was not much, we've earned enough reputation!"

"The shareholders of those two companies said that Tengda was of timely help. We lent a helping hand when the company was at its most difficult, and left when the company was about to turn about, such magnanimity is touching!"

"Compared to other investment firms whose minds were filled with money, Tengda's investment has left a deep impression on them. I believe that more companies will soon know that Dream Realization Ventures is a real investment firm!"

Pei Qian could not help but look stunned as his mouth twitched. "Two million yuan?"

He made so much money in just a short while?

Two million yuan might not seem like much and was nothing compared to the current investment quota. However, they had invested very little in these two companies!

They invested a total of less than three million yuan in these two companies. Yet, they had doubled their investments so easily?

He Desheng nodded. "That's right, Boss Pei. A company that can generate profits in such a short period of time must be in high demand in the eyes of other investors. The price would naturally be higher if we raise the price!"

"Why, is Boss Pei not satisfied with this price? If we continue holding it for a while, we would definitely be able to earn more, but…"

Pei Qian raised his hand to stop him. Then, he took a sip of tea to calm himself down.

"This amount is within my expectations." Pei Qian could only say this in order not to mislead He Desheng.

However, it was alright from another perspective.

It was a good thing that they had sold early. Wouldn't they have earned more if they had sold it later?

As the saying went, it was better to deal with painful things quickly. The two companies had only made two million yuan in total. That was already an acceptable result.

He Desheng continued to report. "Boss Pei, we've also put additional investments in those companies that did not see any possibility of profits. The bosses and employees of these companies have all been encouraged and expressed that they will do their best to achieve profits as soon as possible. They will not let you down!"

Pei Qian laughed bitterly within.

He Desheng added, "There's also the Cold-Faced Lady."

"After receiving the remaining six million yuan, according to the investment agreement, Meng Chang did not disclose any information to the outside world. No one should know that we have increased our investment in Cold-Faced Lady."

"However, Meng Chang is spending more money on marketing this weekend."

"He announced that he was going to open a second branch of the Cold-Faced Lady and continue with a series of promotional activities, including buying advertising space in a movie;"

"Some web programs and television programs have reported on the cold-faced lady and praised this brand new business model, calling it 'the perfect combination of tradition and modernity, catering and the Internet'."

"Also, Meng Chang spent hundreds of thousands of yuan to rent a venue for a thousand people to give more than ten high-intensity business speeches, meant for students, young people, and entrepreneurs to share his experience when he created the Cold-Faced Lady brand…"

Pei Qian had been reading the weekly reports of the various departments but could not help but look up when he heard this.

Eh?

This brother is good.

He spends as much as I give him?

Cold-Faced Lady had been burning money through marketing previously but the burning speed was not fast enough. He managed to increase his burning rate after getting the six million yuan investment?

After some thought, Pei Qian asked, "How's the response?"

He Desheng said, "The response is very strong!"

"That's because the cold-faced lady had already obtained a certain amount of popularity and attention based on internet marketing. It can be considered an internet celebrity food and beverage brand. The popularity has increased with more investment now."

"The entire marketing campaign has been upgraded, including many television and online shows. This has greatly improved the brand image of the Cold-Faced Lady in the eyes of ordinary consumers."

"Initially, many people thought that this was just roasted cold noodles and snacks. However, after webshows and television stations introduced the business model, everyone realized that 'cold-faced lady' was very new and popular. Naturally, they had the urge to understand it."

"What's more, Meng Chang is fully utilizing his eloquence. These speeches would definitely attract widespread attention. More and more people would think of Meng Chang as a 'business mentor'. Then, everyone's understanding and trust in the brand 'cold-faced lady' would naturally increase significantly."

This was what they meant by marketing could make up for the lack in quality of products.

What Meng Chang was doing now could be summarized as marketing, but it was targeted at several different aspects.

Opening shops, buying trending searches, buying placement advertisements, and so on were all to continue expanding their popularity. Letting online programs and television stations report them could be considered to be using these news programs to promote them. It would make more consumers trust the 'cold-faced lady' more. As for making speeches, it was to tie himself and the brand 'cold-faced lady' together.

He had to admit that Meng Chang's thinking was different from ordinary people.

Ordinary people's thinking was to first create a successful enterprise, and then package themselves as successful entrepreneurs.

However, Meng Chang's idea was to package himself as a successful entrepreneur first. Then, his business would naturally be regarded as a successful enterprise.

Meng Chang was very eloquent. He could fool investors, much less ordinary audiences. If he were to tell a few stories, upload the video online, and buy the hot searches, he would definitely be sought after by many people. He would be regarded as a genius with a business mind.

A project of the business genius would definitely be a reliable project!

Ordinary customers quickly went to eat, discuss, and provide popularity. As investors quickly invested money, Meng Chang's goal was achieved.

Of course, there was another important reason why Meng Chang was burning money at such a fast rate. He wanted to hint to other investors.

Boss Pei's investment agreement had indeed stated that he could not reveal the source of the funds to the outside world.

What Meng Chang was doing now was sending messages to other investors without revealing the source.

If he suddenly sped up the burning of money, it would definitely attract the attention of other investors.

The original investment was almost finished, but Meng Chang suddenly increased the burning speed. Where did the money come from?

Someone must have added a lot of investment. Otherwise, Meng Chang would not have been able to spend as much as he wanted!

Thus, other investors who were still observing would guess who the investor was. At the same time, they would definitely make concessions and relax their requirements to provide Meng Chang with more funds.

Of course, Pei Qian knew nothing about these twists and turns.

Pei Qian's expression was very serious because he was very worried about the popularity that Meng Chang had created by burning money.

This Meng Chang was simply a super popularity-manufacturing machine. He was really the best when it came to spending money to buy popularity.

Sometimes, popularity could be converted into money. Pei Qian had suffered quite a bit in this area.

Meng Chang was really a troublemaker. Wouldn't it be perfect if he made a smaller splash?

He had to keep an eye on him and not let his guard down!

Pei Qian said, "Keep an eye on the cold-faced lady. Let me know immediately if you meet any problems."

He Desheng nodded. "Alright, Boss Pei!"

After briefly reporting the situation of the other companies, He Desheng turned around and left.

Pei Qian continued to read the weekly reports of the various departments aimlessly.

Suddenly, his hand stopped. A message caught his attention.

"The local clubs are reorganizing IOI's teams?"

"…Why reorganize? What about their original members?"

In the weekly report submitted by Shang Yang Games, Lin Wan clearly wrote about the movements of IOI's local server. One of the key messages was: Finger Games and Long Yu Corporation were preparing for the qualifiers for the IOI World Competition in China. Each club had to choose three teams to participate in the World Competition.

The clubs, led by SUG, had been in contact recently. They were trying to poach each other's outstanding IOI players to compete in IOI's world finals.

Of course, Pei Qian supported the club's actions.

It was a good thing that they wanted to play IOI's finals to increase its popularity.

In any case, Boss Pei would definitely support GOG's competitor, IOI, with both hands.

However, Pei Qian really could not help much with this. His status was special now. He could not possibly spend his own money to buy fake reviewers and support IOI, right?

All of a sudden, an idea struck Pei Qian.

"I can't help much, but I can buy an IOI team!"

"Buy a bottom-tier team and support them without making it to the International Finals this year. Looking at IOI's attitude, I don't think we can count on the league. In other words, there won't be any attention or popularity!"

"I'll raise an IOI team and get all sorts of benefits. Wouldn't that be burning money?"

"There won't even be any popularity or attention. It's a steady loss and no profit. Perfect!"

Pei Qian suddenly perked up. The more he thought about it, the more he felt like it was worth it!

DGE Club only had a GOG Division. However, GOG was becoming more and more popular, and DGE Club had started early. That was why it was so popular that it could not be brought down.

However, at this critical juncture, anyone who bought IOI would definitely lose money, right?

The only risk was that this team would win the qualifiers and enter the global finals.

However, the strength of the players could not be raised in a week or two. How could the bottom-tier team win the qualifiers?

It was impossible no matter how he thought about it.

Thus, Pei Qian immediately called Zhang Yuan.

"Book two high-speed rail tickets, you'll go to Shanghai with me!"