Chapter 386: WeRead, Investing in Xiaomi, Jiang Xin Also Needs a Team

Yan Li, a self-made young billionaire, still has some fame in Asia and even globally.

After all, similar cases are extremely rare; he operates in high-exposure industries like media and the internet, and his personal story carries a certain legendary quality, making him a frequent subject of reports and discussions in this era obsessed with success.

Some Japanese media even highlighted this when reporting on Lu Bu in “The New Three Kingdoms.”

In fact, Lu Bu’s popularity over other characters is partly tied to Yan Li’s real-life identity.

Japanese audiences admire strength; Lu Bu is popular because he is strong, and Yan Li, who rose from nothing to become China’s entertainment magnate, is also a strong figure—there’s resonance between character and actor, and both are gaining fans.

Under these circumstances, the Japanese company that invited Yan Li was not merely incompetent—it was downright foolish.

When the incident was exposed by Japanese media, many netizens mocked the company.

Yet, perhaps seeking to ride the wave, soon another Japanese company announced it would hire Yan Li as a spokesperson, claiming the endorsement fee would be “international superstar level.”

Yi An never actually received any offer, yet domestic netizens became deeply invested, analyzing whether Yan Li or some other superstar commanded a higher endorsement fee and so on.

This even drew attention from some domestic enterprises: if Yan Li accepted an endorsement, given his influence and persona, they would certainly be willing to spend heavily.

With so many companies inquiring—and some unaware of the internal structure—they contacted the artist agency department instead of Yi An’s board office, forcing Vice President Jia Qian to issue an official denial.

“Chairman Yan does not accept endorsements or advertisements.”

But soon Yan Li himself refuted this—he does accept endorsements, but not for the fee; it’s all about “fate.”

And what is “fate”? Weibo quickly told everyone: Yan Li became the Chief Promotion Ambassador for “WeRead.”

This also meant that after launching WeVoice and entering the music market, Weibo was now entering the web literature and reading market.

Weibo has always been making diverse attempts, building a rich ecosystem centered on Weibo.

This approach has been controversial; many criticized Yan Li for being unprofessional, wasting money, or misunderstanding the internet and alienating everyone.

But in reality, Yan Li had his own reasoning.

Currently, the internet is in an era of growth, where major businesses operate alongside each other—Baidu’s search, Weibo’s social networking, Tencent’s gaming and instant messaging, Alibaba’s e-commerce.

Though there is competition and conflict, most of the time, each does its own thing.

But future internet competition will take place in the era of existing user bases—everyone fights for users’ time, constantly refining markets and competing on every front.

Yan Li understands clearly: Weibo cannot just be Weibo; under the condition of keeping its core intact, it must diversify investments, or it will inevitably be left behind.

So Yan Li makes various moves: if a venture can succeed, he pursues it; if not, he abandons it—perhaps one small business will hit a windfall and ride the wave.

Even if it doesn’t make it to the end, the interim period brings good publicity, and if sold, it can still turn a profit.

This is how many internet giants operate: Alibaba has never given up on communications, has invested in entertainment; Baidu keeps developing new businesses.

Tencent is involved in every sector—social, antivirus, gaming, e-commerce, portals, music, web literature, comics—using its traffic pool and copycat tactics to claim territory.

So casting a wide net and catching whatever fish you can is actually the correct strategy for internet giants.

But whether it succeeds depends entirely on execution.

Weibo’s wide-net strategy has been relatively low-key, and most initiatives leave room for maneuver.

Either they’re experimental or preparatory, or designed to complement Weibo’s core business or target a specific subcategory.

For example, the e-commerce-focused “WeBuy” does not directly compete with Taobao or JD.com; instead, it enters through e-commerce advertising and product recommendations, partnering with several platforms.

Meanwhile, it also collaborates with offline shopping malls to promote and organize group purchases alongside Weibo.

It runs its own e-commerce too, but only by leveraging Weibo users to launch fashion items, trending electronics, branded cosmetics, and so on.

Though these businesses are somewhat scattered, they enrich Weibo’s ecosystem, allowing Weibo to generate some self-sustaining revenue and business supplementation.

Small profits are still profits; if the e-commerce market booms in the future, WeBuy can pivot and capture a specific niche.

Compared to WeBuy, “WeVoice” focused on music and “WeRead” focused on reading are Weibo’s key incubation targets, more about casting nets and laying groundwork.

Because both are inseparable from Yan Li’s grand entertainment strategy!

The former needs no explanation—it’s a battleground in entertainment; the latter may seem insignificant, but it’s a vital foundation for entertainment IPs.

Not only does Weibo need to invest in reading platforms, but if Yan Li gains control of Tudou, and resources and funding permit, he will also build a dedicated reading platform for Tudou.

Content IPs are never too many—you may not use them yourself, but you can always sell them.

Whether the two companies and platforms will compete depends on future developments.

If needed, Yan Li can orchestrate their merger and independent operation, with Weibo and Tudou as upper-layer and behind-the-scenes shareholders.

In short, Yan Li does not want Weibo to sit idle.

The internet industry is too intense—more intense than the entertainment circle; Weibo is popular now, but in two years it may no longer be in vogue.

According to future intelligence, Sina Weibo died from conservatism and arrogance; otherwise, with its peak influence, seizing just one or two windfalls and developing new core businesses would have prevented its gradual decline and slow death.

Of course, don’t overextend—otherwise you might end up like LeEco, exhausting yourself to death.

Yan Li believes he can still manage the balance; if all else fails, he can always use the system to cheat.

“WeRead” has just been established and currently leans toward a traditional e-book platform; the next step is entering the web literature industry.

Yan Li has also studied and observed the current web literature market.

Qidian remains the industry leader; its parent company, Shengda Literature, is the absolute ruler; challengers include Perfect World’s Zongheng Chinese Network.

As a new entrant, WeRead’s most direct path to quick results is betting on mobile reading.

Smartphones are increasing rapidly; the mobile internet era has arrived, and the internet is entering a major transformation period.

Due to market uncertainty, lack of experience, and terminal limitations, many platforms are hesitating and watching.

Yan Li rushed to launch WeVoice and WeRead precisely because he saw this opportunity—he hopes to seize a slice of the market during this upheaval, and even establish advantages in certain areas.

If this opportunity is missed, entering the market later will require vastly higher financial and material costs, and success is not guaranteed.

That’s why internet professionals love chasing windfalls—because with a windfall, you can achieve twice the result with half the effort, or even soar overnight.

…

Yan Li watched the windfall and pushed Weibo’s layout, while others also saw the smartphone windfall and moved decisively.

After the Spring Festival, Lei, who stepped down from Kingsoft, announced a new startup: manufacturing smartphones, naming the company Xiaomi.

Yan Li, who had been close to Lei over the past two years, was soon invited to dinner by him.

Lei has money, but starting a business—especially one as capital-intensive and risky as Xiaomi’s smartphone venture—isn’t something you fund entirely with your own cash.

When Yan Li founded Weibo, he burned his own money until the company took off before seeking funding—that actually defied normal business logic.

From the start, Lei began seeking investment; even before Xiaomi was officially approved, he had already reached consensus with some friends.

One well-known example is Hillhouse Capital; its head has been Lei’s friend for years, and a single phone call secured his support.

Also, Yan Li’s old acquaintance, Xiong from IDG, has some confidence in Lei and plans to invest.

Then there’s Yan Li himself—over the past two years, he’s actively cultivated ties with Lei and repeatedly hinted at his optimism about the smartphone market.

Yan Li is not just an entertainment tycoon and internet magnate—he’s also a famous angel investor.

Tudou, Gecai, and JD.com are his brilliant achievements; his resources are highly coveted by many entrepreneurs.

At least Lei, who is constantly raising his profile and aims to make Xiaomi a national brand, is very eager for Yan Li’s resources.

Yan Li readily agreed to invest in Xiaomi, but in business, business is business.

How much equity his money and resources could buy had to be clearly negotiated.

So Yan Li and Lei began haggling.

Like Liu from JD, Lei is cautious and conservative about his equity.

But Liu fears losing control, while Lei worries that building smartphones will burn through a lot of cash, and profitability is uncertain—so he must retain enough equity to fund future rounds.

Thus, in the first round of financing, Lei was only willing to offer less than 20% equity, and after splitting among several investors, there’d be almost nothing left.

Yan Li was dissatisfied; future intelligence showed Xiaomi raised multiple rounds—this was the most cost-effective moment, and he naturally wanted more.

“Fine, 10%. Go think about it. If it’s too little, I’m not interested.”

Yan Li had not yet triggered Lei’s bottom-line intelligence and decided to play it cool, probing further.

“Liu was right—negotiating with Chairman Yan is torture.”

Lei chuckled and shook his head; Yan Li is usually cheerful and generous, but during negotiations, he haggles over every penny, leaving opponents exhausted.

Yet despite being difficult, Yan Li’s interest in investing in Xiaomi remains strong; though some differences remain, cooperation is essentially settled.

“Let me toast Chairman Yan—cheers to a successful partnership.”

“To a successful partnership.”

After dinner, each returned home; Yan Li thought about Xiaomi’s future intelligence.

At its peak, its market cap reached a trillion; if he held the stock, even a single-digit percentage would be worth tens of billions.

Another fortune added for his future offspring!

Yan Li felt extremely pleased, then thought for a moment and told his driver to head to Jiang Xin’s place.

Qin Dong is pregnant and can’t do anything; Fan Xiaopang was busy during the Spring Festival and then returned to his hometown.

Wang Ou and Yang Rong traveled together after the New Year; Hu Siyan has no partner, and others are either alone or not in Beijing.

Jiang Xin, who is in Beijing and capable, became the best choice!

When Yan Li arrived at Jiang Xin’s home, it was a mess; he asked and learned she’d been hosting friends at home, and upon hearing he was coming, she kicked them out.

“Looks like your social circle has improved.”

Yan Li changed his shoes and teased her; Jiang Xin is straightforward—yes, emotionally immature, bad at small talk.

Her social standing is better than Hu Siyan’s, but still not great.

In Yan Li’s memory, apart from Yang Xue, no one is especially close to her.

After “The Hidden Story” became a hit, Jiang Xin became a hot commodity in the industry, gaining many friends; Yan Li had attended several of her gatherings and seen related photos on Weibo.

“I’ve always had good social connections.”

Jiang Xin refused to admit she had few friends, and especially didn’t want to admit some only approached her after she became famous; she firmly rebutted Yan Li’s remark.

Yan Li didn’t argue; he grabbed a handful of dried fruit and looked at her curiously.

“I heard you got into a fight with Sun Li?”

How do you know?