Chapter 106: 103 Confrontation (5k)

Yu Xing placed great importance on the meeting with Today Capital.

So, on the morning of the 10th, senior leadership from Baixiaosheng—Deputy Head Lu Haiying, Third Head Zhong Zhiling, Chairman Song Yufeng, and acting assistant to the chairman Kong Huilin—all took the subway together to the destination.

Zhong Zhiling had just returned from out of town yesterday, and being part of what might be a historic moment for the company filled him with both excitement and awkwardness.

He whispered to his senior: “Brother Xing, shouldn’t we rent a car? It feels weird not to be going to negotiate a million- or ten-million-dollar deal…”

“Zhong Zhiling,” Yu Xing chuckled, “isn’t even this expensive mode of transport enough for you? We’re grassroots entrepreneurs—we don’t need to put on airs.”

Zhong Zhiling nodded in agreement; his senior’s perspective was truly elevated, his understanding crystal clear.

After a moment, Yu Xing mused: “What car should we buy first? Maybe an A6?”

Zhong Zhiling stared at his senior in shock: “Uh…”

“Once we raise funds, we’ll be grassroots entrepreneurs with capital backing. Look at our chairman—he’s got his arm in a sling. If he catches another injury from squeezing on the subway, I’d feel terrible.”

Zhong Zhiling pressed his lips together and said sincerely: “Brother Xing, he won’t get injured from squeezing—he just needs to not get thrown out.”

Yu Xing shook his head: “Sometimes it really comes down to luck. Last time, if I hadn’t run fast enough, I’d probably be in a sling with him.”

Zhong Zhiling considered carefully: “Yeah, Brother Xing, I’ve heard colleagues describe how you faced off against Li Song.”

Yu Xing smiled faintly—he had no idea how his colleagues talked about it behind his back.

Zhong Zhiling added: “If we succeed in raising funds this time, the company will have a stable period of growth ahead.”

After a pause, Yu Xing replied: “The internet industry has one major trait: rapid rise. We can’t afford to hoard this money—if we raise funds, Baixiaosheng must go all out.”

Zhong Zhiling hesitated: “What do you mean by ‘go all out’?”

Yu Xing smiled slightly: “Spend money fast.”

Zhong Zhiling asked again: “How fast?”

Yu Xing replied vaguely: “Fast enough that we’ll be approached Zhudong for our Series B funding.”

Zhong Zhiling didn’t fully understand, but since starting the venture, he realized he had more and more to learn.

At 8:40 a.m., the five arrived at Today Capital’s conference room.

The room was sharply divided: one side in suits and ties, looking highly professional; the other side slightly disheveled, backpacks slung over shoulders.

After greetings, Today Capital’s lead was Vice President Liu Jiankai; Yu Xing had assumed today’s meeting would be with him alone, but after brief pleasantries, the chairman Xu Xin arrived.

“Director Yu,” Xu Xin greeted simply, sat down, and got straight to the point—but she glanced twice at Song Yufeng’s injured arm. Surely not something her husband’s crew did?

“Director Xu, go ahead,” Yu Xing said—he liked directness.

“I see your term sheet lists revenue streams like advertising and recruitment, but nothing’s launched yet,” Xu Xin asked. “When do you plan to start? Baixiaosheng is positioned as a ‘workplace social and topic platform’—do you believe this is a sustainable path?”

“We originally planned to test ads after reaching 50,000 users, but user growth outpaced our expectations, and now we’re engaging with you, so we’re holding off on advertising until after funding is secured and partially spent,” Yu Xing replied. “Recruitment is a more traditional direction—it won’t launch this year, but it will inevitably become a mid-term business.”

“This is a proven model. Our user base naturally overlaps. We’ve preliminarily studied competitors like Zhaopin.com—their core is essentially identical. It’s not a high-barrier field.”

“Regarding Baixiaosheng’s positioning, social interaction and topic generation reinforce each other—we outlined this in the term sheet. Theory alone adds nothing; practice reveals truth—and perhaps new truths.”

Yu Xing’s response was calm and unhurried, and it successfully eased the tension among his team.

Liu Jiankai quickly followed up: “Director Yu, Baixiaosheng’s mechanism has shown initial results, but it’s not complex and hasn’t built a moat. The platform needs more time and resources.”

“Exactly,” Lu Haiying interjected, sensing they were inflating the valuation, “Baixiaosheng is already two steps ahead. With funding, our ecosystem will mature rapidly—and once it truly takes off, competitors will find it harder to catch up.”

She added: “And we’ve grown to our current user base without any advertising—just word of mouth. I’m sure you can see the potential.”

Lu Haiying stressed the word “you,” clearly referring to more investment firms.

Though, aside from Today Capital, “you” hadn’t yet seen the potential—still, her side believed in “you.”

Liu Jiankai raised a team-researched issue: “Director Yu, you know recruitment revenue comes from B-end enterprises. But from our observations, Baixiaosheng’s topic mechanism—including your anonymity features—tends to surface negative corporate news.”

“That hinders recruitment revenue. C-end users won’t pay.”

“This is a fundamental conflict. Have you considered how to resolve it?”

Baixiaosheng’s stance leans toward employees, while recruitment revenue comes from companies—there’s inherent tension between C-end and B-end.

You can’t expose damning secrets about Zhen Ai or Xie Cheng today and collect business development fees from them tomorrow.

Baixiaosheng must grow quickly—but how?

Currently, it attracts C-end users through topics—but the better this works, the harder recruitment becomes. Plus, workplace platform competition is low, but recruitment competition is fierce.

This mid-term revenue pie looks uneven.

Lu Haiying was stumped—this hadn’t been discussed internally.

She couldn’t help glancing at her senior.

The office fell silent for a few seconds; Xu Xin and Liu Jiankai observed the core team’s reaction.

Song Yufeng instinctively felt this awkwardness couldn’t continue—he hesitated: “Director Liu, you can’t say it like that—we…”

Yu Xing waved his hand, cutting off the chairman’s words, and admitted frankly: “Director Liu, you’re absolutely right. We hadn’t considered this—it’s simply too early.”

He didn’t deny a reasonable question.

Nor could he deny it—their instinctive reactions were already visible in the other side’s eyes.

There was no need to deny it.

“Fortunately, recruitment isn’t our core business,” Yu Xing said seriously. “It will be an important future component—a strong supplement. And the C-B conflict isn’t irreconcilable. Once the C-end user base grows large enough, its value to B-end naturally emerges—it’s just a matter of execution.”

“The industry’s perception of Baixiaosheng—whether as whistleblowing or oversight—is still unfamiliar, meaning adaptation is needed.”

“We’ve received two cease-and-desist letters in just two months—something I believe is rare.”

“But the industry won’t stay unfamiliar forever. Once companies understand or adapt to Baixiaosheng’s role in the ecosystem, the conflict won’t be so intense—and communication will become possible.”

Xu Xin and Liu Jiankai both nodded inwardly—Yu Xing’s response was polished.

This founder of Baixiaosheng was clearly a level above the other four—comparison made it glaringly obvious.

Liu Jiankai grunted: “This issue still needs serious attention. If the conflict can’t be resolved, only softened, Baixiaosheng’s future earning potential won’t be sufficient.”

It was a polite way of saying: “You’re not profitable enough.”

Yu Xing replied equally politely: “The concepts of social interaction and workplace are easily understood and accepted both domestically and internationally. We hope Baixiaosheng becomes a U.S.-listed company in the not-too-distant future, unlocking more capital market funding for growth.”

A fleeting smile passed through Xu Xin’s eyes—it was hard not to admit: some people were just exceptionally sharp.

Whether clever in business, technology, or tactics—it all mattered if it helped the firm’s money make more money.

Liu Jiankai shook his head slightly: “Going public is good, but it’s not easy to achieve.”

He’d researched Baixiaosheng, studied Yu Xing’s materials, and spoken with him—but only today, face-to-face, did he truly grasp the man. Indeed, he was extraordinary.

But today was largely a negotiation.

Liu Jiankai felt he needed to temper this man’s confidence.

He asked: “Director Yu, what’s your plan for the raised funds?”

Yu Xing answered directly: “Most will go to advertising—to expand our user base.”

This was already stated in the term sheet.

Liu Jiankai nodded slightly and dropped a number: “Baixiaosheng’s Series A funding must exceed ten million CNY.”

He watched their reactions closely: Lu Haiying and Zhong Zhiling showed delight; Song Yufeng and Kong Huilin smiled—but Yu Xing’s expression remained calm.

For a startup, ten million was already a huge sum.

Liu Jiankai continued: “How long do you plan to take to spend it?”

He intended to demand they spend it all within a year—to demonstrate boldness.

Among every founder he’d met seeking funding, nearly all were meticulous with incoming capital.

Yu Xing answered without hesitation: “Six months.”

Liu Jiankai: “...”

Your mother’s... you must come from serious wealth!

Ten million CNY—and you plan to spend it in six months??

Xu Xin spoke up: “If I recall correctly, you previously mentioned $5 million. Does your six-month spending plan include that?”

“Whatever amount Today Capital is willing to invest, I plan to spend it all in six months,” Yu Xing said seriously. “Baixiaosheng is racing against time. The more money we get, the shorter the timeline, and the greater the advantage we build. It looks like heavy spending—but it’s the cheapest cost of competition.”

“If we don’t spend it in six months, we’ll spend double next year—or the year after.”

He countered: “I believe Director Xu has the vision—and won’t mind this spending style. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have given JD.com $10 million when Liu Qiangdong only asked for $2 million.”

Liu Qiangdong had dared to ask for only $2 million on his first meeting with Xu Xin—she gave him $10 million outright.

Xu Xin replied calmly: “You know quite a bit.”

She continued neutrally: “$5 million is unrealistic. At $5 million for 20%, your valuation hits 200 million CNY. Do you think a company under three months old is worth that? Who would invest like that?”

Yu Xing didn’t hide his bold ask—he never expected it to be accepted—and asked directly: “How much is Today Capital willing to invest?”

Xu Xin shook her head—the conversation wasn’t over.

Another Today Capital employee, seeing the opening, asked a team-researched question: “Will Baixiaosheng use offline ground promotion as a key strategy? How was this decided and implemented?”

Yu Xing gave Zhong Zhiling a glance.

Zhong Zhiling was in charge of this—he’d spent the past months shuttling between Yangcheng and Lin’an, and had personally launched operations in Shencheng; his answer flowed smoothly.

His strategic intent with targeted ground promotion had been thoroughly discussed with his senior.

He spoke with precision, focusing solely on the five cities: Jingcheng, Shencheng, Pengcheng, Yangcheng, and Lin’an—his strategy and frontline experience were both targeted and grounded.

Liu Jiankai was impressed with his performance and followed up with an advertising question: “What’s your advertising budget allocation?”

Kong Huilin, assigned to this task, had rehearsed her answer: “We plan to focus advertising on offline channels.”

This counterintuitive answer made Xu Xin and Liu Jiankai exchange glances.

“Our platform targets niche workplace users,” Kong Huilin explained. “Online ads can’t accurately reach them. For users without workplace social needs, even if we spend heavily to get them to register, they won’t actively use the platform—and may even disrupt regular users.”

“So Baixiaosheng isn’t suited for broad, online blanket advertising.”

“Zhong Zong just discussed targeted offline promotion—I won’t repeat that. I’d like to talk about brand.”

“For a workplace social and topic platform, user trust is vital—and the best way to build trust is through branding.”

"To build a brand, offline hard ads are actually more effective than online advertising."

"So, we’ll target five cities’ public buses, subways, and similar scenarios."

Yu Xing, seeing Kong Huilin’s response end, added: "Hard ads are also one of our fastest-spending areas. If we’re investing in offline hard ads, the principle remains the same: we must strike fully and decisively; otherwise, half-measures will cost us more."

"We’ve preliminarily surveyed advertisers in this space."

Yu Xing took a sip of tea: "For example, Focus Media has strong commercial ad coverage. We want to secure long-duration ads in elevators, not ones that play only once every long while."

"Office building screens are a high priority, combined with multi-scenario placements like subways and buses—that’s our ideal plan."

Xu Xin nodded in agreement. Short-term spending would be high, but it was money well spent. Bai Xiaosheng, though newly launched, had a stable system and needed to establish competitive barriers.

She signaled the vice president to state the price.

Liu Jiankai closed his notebook and said: "Director Yu, we believe acquiring 30% equity in Bai Xiaosheng for $2 million is reasonable."

At current exchange rates, that’s a company valuation of around $45 million and an A-round financing of roughly $13.6 million.

Roughly speaking, Bai Xiaosheng has 100,000 users, each valued at 450 yuan.

He continued: "Additionally, Jiner Capital wants two seats on Bai Xiaosheng’s board and an office setup—we’ll station personnel to monitor the company’s fund usage."

"Once our funds are in, we’ll also help Bai Xiaosheng streamline its current operations and promotions, establish performance evaluation processes and management mechanisms, and cultivate a more rational corporate culture."

Liu Jiankai looked at Yu Xing and said: "Bai Xiaosheng currently has no CFO—we can help find a suitable candidate. Also, marketing should be given serious attention."

$2 million had already met expectations.

But Lu Haiying, Zhong Zhiling, Song Yufeng, and Kong Huilin hadn’t had time to celebrate further when they heard the rest and felt a sudden unease—how did it feel like they wanted everything?

At this point, Xu Xin also made a request: "Director Yu, Bai Xiaosheng needs to handle its relationship with corporate clients more gently. Your current habit of sending legal notices is unacceptable. Website revenue must be built—advertising alone won’t suffice."

Yu Xing’s expression didn’t change much; he simply said: "Director Xu, I founded Bai Xiaosheng with a critical mindset."

He slowed his pace, discussing price: "$5 million may indeed be overvalued, but your offer of 30% for $2 million is seriously undervalued. Regardless of the platform’s pioneering nature or the results we’ve achieved, a workplace social and discussion platform like this has far greater potential."

Xu Xin said nothing.

Liu Jiankai shook his head repeatedly: "Director Yu, this price isn’t low—it’s not something I said offhand. Let me show you our valuation method; it’s been calculated reasonably."

Yu Xing waved his hand, signaling Vice President Liu to stop, then continued: "Also, regarding the office setup, I think this point deserves further discussion. Let’s set price aside for now and reconsider."

He stood up, and Lu Haiying, Zhong Zhiling, and others rose with him.

Liu Jiankai was taken aback. Not discussing price? Was it because they disliked institutional interference?

Xu Xin made no effort to retain them, only nodding: "Alright, take your time to think it over. Director Liu, see them off."

Yu Xing smiled and shook hands with Director Xu before leading his team out.

Moments later, Liu Jiankai returned to the office and asked his boss: "Director Xu, is it the price or operational factors?"

"Yu Xing wants to negotiate," Xu Xin confirmed, then added, "But both factors are involved."

Liu Jiankai grunted: "He’s got quite a temper."

Xu Xin wasn’t surprised: "He’s young—having some temper is normal."

Liu Jiankai shook his head: "He’ll come around. Besides, Bai Xiaosheng’s system is already very transparent."

There was deeper meaning in his words.

Xu Xin nodded slightly. Institutional investment sometimes requires a soft-and-hard approach, letting things unfold naturally.