Chapter 257 - Investment Negotiation
Translator: Lav
Editor: Seliniaki Ilikia
The assessed value of a project, or the company’s value, could fluctuate up and down. However, entrepreneurs and investors would anticipate the future of the project, since the most important thing was the amount of funds required for market promotion in the early stages.
This was an app on the locations of bathrooms. According to Zhen Xu’s idea, the app would develop nationally. The first step was the four major cities and big provinces, plus tourism-based cities and cities that focused on the economy. If they calculated based on this, the app would be promoted over fifty cities all over the country and thus required quite a lot of funds.
Shi Lei took Zhang Meimei’s opinions into consideration. She thought that this entire project may reach two to three million. The amount of funds could also contribute to the following developments of the project, so Shi Lei decided to invest in Zhen Xu with the assessed value of three million. Zhen Xu didn’t have anything under his company’s name except his girlfriend and himself as the only two employees, so he didn’t have to think about that.
The value was already decided and Shi Lei had enough private funds in his hands, so he gave Zhen Xu a call.
Zhen Xu was extremely excited when he received a call from Shi Lei. He forced himself to contain the happiness before picking up.
“Mr. Shi, have you decided?”
Shi Lei could hear the excitement in Zhen Xu’s words. “Yes, I have decided. Let’s talk face to face.”
Zhan Xu was delighted.
If Shi Lei wanted to reject him, then there was no need for them to meet. He only needed to express that in the call by saying, “Sorry, I don’t really see any potential in your project,” thus ending all of Zhen Xu’s hopes. But since he had chosen to meet up, that meant they had reached the negotiation phase.
However, Zhen Xu still wanted to confirm. “Mr. Shi, can you tell me whether you’ve decided to invest or not?” he asked.
Shi Lei smiled slightly. “If I didn’t plan on investing, then there would be no point in meeting up. I am investing in you, but there are many things we need to discuss face to face.”
Zhen Xu remained silent on the other side of the call, but he waved his fist in the air fiercely. Then he mouthed to his girlfriend that Shi Lei had agreed to invest.
Shi Lei heard it when his girlfriend cheered. “Calm down a little,” he said. “I know you’re definitely excited, but we are going into the negotiation phase and I hope to hear more about your own ideas. I’ve pretty much understood everything about the app’s future market and promotion from your USB, but I definitely need to know more about it. So I’ll give you some time to think about it. When you are certain, call me again and we will meet up. How does that sound?”
Zhen Xu was close to blurting out “I’m ready right now,” but after some thought, he realized that Shi Lei was right. When other people looked for angel investors, they would at least have the basic foundation of their companies established. He, on the other hand, was starting from scratch. Perhaps Shi Lei wanted to hear more about how he was going to construct his company.
Zhen Xu composed himself and replied, “Okay, Mr. Shi. I will give you a call by tomorrow the latest.”
“Okay! We’ll talk face to face.” Shi Lei then hung up.
The next morning, Shi Lei received Zhen Xu’s call. In fact, he and his girlfriend had been dealing with the company’s construction before Shi Lei’s call. They had already found a location for their office. Although it was slightly far away, the advantage was that the price was low. Plus, it was a brand new industrial district, and the opposite party promised that they could deduct fees on property management and other such things like gas and water bills. Zhen Xu also had plans on the staff. He had contacted two colleagues from his previous jobs who had left after he did. It had been a year, and they were not in good circumstances. When they heard that Zhen Xu had the possibility of an investment, they envied him, but were also willing to help him start up the business to the best of their abilities.
Of course, he didn’t say anything in the call. They decided on Tree Cafe again and because Zhen Xu could not control his emotions, Shi Lei agreed to go immediately.
Once again, Zhen Xu arrived first. Shi Lei suspected that perhaps Zhen Xu had already left when he made the call, since he had even ordered coffee for Shi Lei, which was the same latte that Shi Lei had ordered last time.
It looked like they were going straight into the negotiations. Zhen Xu could not wait any longer. He had been busy searching and working for half a year and it would be strange if he wasn’t excited at a decisive moment like this.
Tree Cafe wasn’t a type of business cafe. It was also different from those famous western cafe chains. A cafe like this was suited for relaxing and chatting and didn’t provide breakfast. As a result, the Tree Cafe in the morning was empty. There were no other customers besides Zhen Xu and Shi Lei, so even the waiters were rather unfocused.
Shi Lei smiled as he greeted Zhen Xu and sat down opposite to him.
“Mr. Shi, let’s begin.” Zhen Xu rubbed his hands together. The cafe had just opened and the heater wasn’t fully warm yet, but Shi Lei knew that Zhen Xu wasn’t rubbing his hands together because he was cold, but because he was excited.
Shi Lei casually took a sip and smiled. “Don’t be in such a hurry. Since we are here already, we have more than enough time to talk about it slowly. Are you sure you don’t need your girlfriend here? This involves investments and she handles financial management. Oh, she had studied that before, right?”
Zhen Xu quickly nodded. “Yes, yes. Tingting did financial management and she has a degree in accounting. I can decide everything today. It has all been discussed with her.”
Shi Lei nodded with a smile and asked, “Have you eaten?”
Zhen Xu shook his head in embarrassment. Shi Lei asked the waiter if there was anything that could be served as breakfast, but he was told that they only had desserts, such as cakes. Shi Lei ordered two.
Zhen Xu was anxious and fidgety while Shi Lei was indifferent. Zhen Xu didn’t want to be rude, so he could only finish the cake with Shi Lei.
Shi Lei ate it bite by bite, but Zhen Xu swallowed it down within two or three mouthfuls, making Shi Lei think that he didn’t even know what the cake tasted like.
After Shi Lei finished eating, he relaxed and sipped his coffee. “Alright, Mr. Zhen, I can tell that you are in a hurry. But you need to know that you won’t be a simple entrepreneur after you receive the investment. You also need to take responsibility for your company’s management. It doesn’t matter what the scale of your company is right now. You need a few more helpers, at least. If you cannot keep calm under this kind of situation, it’s hard for me to believe in you and give you the investment.”
Zhen Xu froze for a second, but he knew that he was rushing too much. He took a deep breath, shifted his gaze outside the window, and tried to control his emotions.
After five minutes, Zhen Xu looked at Shi Lei apologetically. “I’m sorry, Mr. Shi. I’m too excited. I’m sorry. It’s been half a year and I’ve been rejected by every single investor. Now that you are finally willing to invest, I would be lying if I said I’m not excited. But your words made me realize the problem, and I can calmly face it now.”
“Okay, let’s start then. First, even though this is your company, you can’t let it stay as your couple’s company after the investment. You need to sort out the shares between you and your girlfriend. After all, you guys aren’t married yet, and you cannot be the shareholder of the company as a family.”
“We’ve already decided on this.”
Chapter 257 - Investment Negotiation
Translator: Lav
Editor: Seliniaki Ilikia
The assessed value of a project, or the company’s value, could fluctuate up and down. However, entrepreneurs and investors would anticipate the future of the project, since the most important thing was the amount of funds required for market promotion in the early stages.
This was an app on the locations of bathrooms. According to Zhen Xu’s idea, the app would develop nationally. The first step was the four major cities and big provinces, plus tourism-based cities and cities that focused on the economy. If they calculated based on this, the app would be promoted over fifty cities all over the country and thus required quite a lot of funds.
Shi Lei took Zhang Meimei’s opinions into consideration. She thought that this entire project may reach two to three million. The amount of funds could also contribute to the following developments of the project, so Shi Lei decided to invest in Zhen Xu with the assessed value of three million. Zhen Xu didn’t have anything under his company’s name except his girlfriend and himself as the only two employees, so he didn’t have to think about that.
The value was already decided and Shi Lei had enough private funds in his hands, so he gave Zhen Xu a call.
Zhen Xu was extremely excited when he received a call from Shi Lei. He forced himself to contain the happiness before picking up.
“Mr. Shi, have you decided?”
Shi Lei could hear the excitement in Zhen Xu’s words. “Yes, I have decided. Let’s talk face to face.”
Zhan Xu was delighted.
If Shi Lei wanted to reject him, then there was no need for them to meet. He only needed to express that in the call by saying, “Sorry, I don’t really see any potential in your project,” thus ending all of Zhen Xu’s hopes. But since he had chosen to meet up, that meant they had reached the negotiation phase.
However, Zhen Xu still wanted to confirm. “Mr. Shi, can you tell me whether you’ve decided to invest or not?” he asked.
Shi Lei smiled slightly. “If I didn’t plan on investing, then there would be no point in meeting up. I am investing in you, but there are many things we need to discuss face to face.”
Zhen Xu remained silent on the other side of the call, but he waved his fist in the air fiercely. Then he mouthed to his girlfriend that Shi Lei had agreed to invest.
Shi Lei heard it when his girlfriend cheered. “Calm down a little,” he said. “I know you’re definitely excited, but we are going into the negotiation phase and I hope to hear more about your own ideas. I’ve pretty much understood everything about the app’s future market and promotion from your USB, but I definitely need to know more about it. So I’ll give you some time to think about it. When you are certain, call me again and we will meet up. How does that sound?”
Zhen Xu was close to blurting out “I’m ready right now,” but after some thought, he realized that Shi Lei was right. When other people looked for angel investors, they would at least have the basic foundation of their companies established. He, on the other hand, was starting from scratch. Perhaps Shi Lei wanted to hear more about how he was going to construct his company.
Zhen Xu composed himself and replied, “Okay, Mr. Shi. I will give you a call by tomorrow the latest.”
“Okay! We’ll talk face to face.” Shi Lei then hung up.
The next morning, Shi Lei received Zhen Xu’s call. In fact, he and his girlfriend had been dealing with the company’s construction before Shi Lei’s call. They had already found a location for their office. Although it was slightly far away, the advantage was that the price was low. Plus, it was a brand new industrial district, and the opposite party promised that they could deduct fees on property management and other such things like gas and water bills. Zhen Xu also had plans on the staff. He had contacted two colleagues from his previous jobs who had left after he did. It had been a year, and they were not in good circumstances. When they heard that Zhen Xu had the possibility of an investment, they envied him, but were also willing to help him start up the business to the best of their abilities.
Of course, he didn’t say anything in the call. They decided on Tree Cafe again and because Zhen Xu could not control his emotions, Shi Lei agreed to go immediately.
Once again, Zhen Xu arrived first. Shi Lei suspected that perhaps Zhen Xu had already left when he made the call, since he had even ordered coffee for Shi Lei, which was the same latte that Shi Lei had ordered last time.
It looked like they were going straight into the negotiations. Zhen Xu could not wait any longer. He had been busy searching and working for half a year and it would be strange if he wasn’t excited at a decisive moment like this.
Tree Cafe wasn’t a type of business cafe. It was also different from those famous western cafe chains. A cafe like this was suited for relaxing and chatting and didn’t provide breakfast. As a result, the Tree Cafe in the morning was empty. There were no other customers besides Zhen Xu and Shi Lei, so even the waiters were rather unfocused.
Shi Lei smiled as he greeted Zhen Xu and sat down opposite to him.
“Mr. Shi, let’s begin.” Zhen Xu rubbed his hands together. The cafe had just opened and the heater wasn’t fully warm yet, but Shi Lei knew that Zhen Xu wasn’t rubbing his hands together because he was cold, but because he was excited.
Shi Lei casually took a sip and smiled. “Don’t be in such a hurry. Since we are here already, we have more than enough time to talk about it slowly. Are you sure you don’t need your girlfriend here? This involves investments and she handles financial management. Oh, she had studied that before, right?”
Zhen Xu quickly nodded. “Yes, yes. Tingting did financial management and she has a degree in accounting. I can decide everything today. It has all been discussed with her.”
Shi Lei nodded with a smile and asked, “Have you eaten?”
Zhen Xu shook his head in embarrassment. Shi Lei asked the waiter if there was anything that could be served as breakfast, but he was told that they only had desserts, such as cakes. Shi Lei ordered two.
Zhen Xu was anxious and fidgety while Shi Lei was indifferent. Zhen Xu didn’t want to be rude, so he could only finish the cake with Shi Lei.
Shi Lei ate it bite by bite, but Zhen Xu swallowed it down within two or three mouthfuls, making Shi Lei think that he didn’t even know what the cake tasted like.
After Shi Lei finished eating, he relaxed and sipped his coffee. “Alright, Mr. Zhen, I can tell that you are in a hurry. But you need to know that you won’t be a simple entrepreneur after you receive the investment. You also need to take responsibility for your company’s management. It doesn’t matter what the scale of your company is right now. You need a few more helpers, at least. If you cannot keep calm under this kind of situation, it’s hard for me to believe in you and give you the investment.”
Zhen Xu froze for a second, but he knew that he was rushing too much. He took a deep breath, shifted his gaze outside the window, and tried to control his emotions.
After five minutes, Zhen Xu looked at Shi Lei apologetically. “I’m sorry, Mr. Shi. I’m too excited. I’m sorry. It’s been half a year and I’ve been rejected by every single investor. Now that you are finally willing to invest, I would be lying if I said I’m not excited. But your words made me realize the problem, and I can calmly face it now.”
“Okay, let’s start then. First, even though this is your company, you can’t let it stay as your couple’s company after the investment. You need to sort out the shares between you and your girlfriend. After all, you guys aren’t married yet, and you cannot be the shareholder of the company as a family.”
“We’ve already decided on this.”
