Liang Jianzhang (CEO of Ctrip Travel Service Company): We started our business in 2000. The environment at that time was different from now, and there was a lot of hot money. After we did it for a while, we had a lot of venture capital. We are not too familiar with venture capital, mainly because we can speak it. Theoretically, you can talk to everyone and give it to whoever offers the highest price. But this is not the case. Often in the end, we will choose the one that is most compatible and has similar business philosophy with you (venture capital).
(Founder and President of Elite Education): Maybe what I said is similar to what Teacher Liang said. There are many buzzwords in society now, such as "He Bai". For entrepreneurs, the process of seeking capital is like a man marrying a woman, which is not necessarily the most suitable object. Our experience in several rounds of financing is that, first, this is a combination of capital and enterprises, and enterprises will have their own economic interests, and we will set a minimum bottom line. On the basis of this valuation, let's talk about our feelings and their work styles in a popular way, and whether they are consistent with the long-term business philosophy of the enterprise. For an entrepreneur or entrepreneur, he has a longer-term commitment to the enterprise, while the capital department pays more attention to short-term interests. How to form a good combination of long-term and short-term is a problem worth thinking about.
When we were doing a round of financing, a venture capitalist told us that as long as you can let me in, no matter how much the other party pays, I will be higher than him 10%, but not 20%. But then there was an episode in the middle. In the process of communication between the two sides, he didn't know where he overheard the news, so he called me and scolded me. I think it is too difficult for this person to get married now, and I don't know what to do after marriage, so I refused. So I think entrepreneurs are still suitable for finding a like-minded investor. The pros and cons are not in the present, but in the future.
Zhang Tonggui (Chairman of Shanghai Li Duo Agricultural Development Co., Ltd.): My experience is basically similar to the first two. It is impossible to talk about money, and it is not enough to talk about money. It is very important to choose venture capitalists with the same ideas. When we started to raise funds, more than 30 capitals came in, but how to choose a fund that can really help us grow? I think, first of all, we should honestly tell investors about the difficulties we are encountering during our start-up, instead of saying that if we can't realize our business philosophy, we will be in an embarrassing situation. The return cycle of our agriculture is very long, so we should pay attention to social responsibility and have a common concept in order to do things well. If we are too eager to succeed, we will not succeed. Therefore, the first round of financing will choose funds with common ideas.
In the second round, we will pay a little attention to the valuation, but in the end, I think we should choose a partner with a common concept, and we can talk about it. This fund is very good. When we grow up, we need financial support and help, but more importantly, resources and ideas are more important to our help.
Xin Rong (Professor of Management, China Europe International Business School): As an independent director of several listed companies, I often see this situation, and the confrontation on the board of directors is sometimes fierce. When a company goes public, entrepreneurs will face more stakeholders and different shareholders, and the whole governance mechanism of the company will also undergo great changes, and it will become very compliant and transparent. This change in roles and governance patterns will make them feel uncomfortable.
In addition, enterprises will face another challenge, especially those that have just been listed soon. Sometimes, they will spend a lot of money to increase revenue in the sprint before listing. The figures look beautiful, but this is often unsustainable. For example, putting a lot of goods in the channel looks beautiful on the surface, but the goods are not sold in the channel and are not consumed in the end, which lays a hidden danger. Six months to a year after listing, the pain caused by this marketing method often occurs. Especially the fast-growing enterprises, they are eager to go public because of insufficient internal strength, which brings various problems and finally regrets going public.
Liang Jianzhang: Ctrip's listing is a natural result. I didn't go to America on the day of listing, but stayed at home. I always tell my executives that the advantage of listing is that many people care about you, and customers care about you, becoming your shareholders and even your loyal customers. But the disadvantage is that you will pay more attention to this stock than to the company. As an operator, especially the manager of a company, paying too much attention to stocks is not conducive to the long-term development of the company. Everyone should pay attention to the company itself, because the stock market pays more attention to the short term, while the operators should pay attention to the long-term competitiveness of the company.
Zhang Xi: Yes, I think Ctrip's listing is a relatively successful example. After listing, the overall performance is better. For us, we hope to do our own thing well before considering going public. There are many educational companies now, but few have really done well after listing. There are several important reasons. The first is that many companies are immature, think that listing is fashionable and successful, and do it blindly. As a result, I knew what I should do, but once I went public, I didn't know how to do it. In addition, many companies are not well prepared in the process of listing, and their organizational system and management structure can not meet the standards of being listed companies.
Zhang Tonggui: I think listing should be a natural process. We must not be eager for quick success, especially in the service industry. If you think too much, you can't bear the pressure of investors and lose yourself. The consequences are unimaginable. I am a farmer myself. Agriculture is an industry with long payback period. When two rounds of investors talked to me, I frankly analyzed the key points and risks of the industry. Communication is very important. Doing agriculture is not to make quick money, but to be sustainable for a long time, so investors and ourselves are fully prepared. Only stick to your own path. Only in this way can we go further.