Chapter 837: Chapter 543: Cheng Zhu Is Really Uncanny
Seven days later, Zhang Tao, who had been “laughed to death,” suddenly “came back to life.”
Bao Fan organized a dinner, inviting him and Wang Xin.
Zhang Tao had only one thought: “Can’t refuse.”
During this time, Brother Tao could say he absolutely detested the old neighbor Wang!
But no matter the animosity, he had to respect Brother Fan’s face!
In the domestic internet industry, his status and position are truly special.
He is one of the earliest angel investors in the internet industry, pioneering the [Investment Banking + Advisory] model, which many of the new VC and PE firms later emulated and succeeded with.
His personal connections with the current internet giants are profound, and many of the giants’ market dilemmas have to be addressed with his help.
Moreover, his network is too extensive, his relationships too solid.
“Drink a little wine outside of work and build friendships first.” This man, full of a gangster vibe, took [drinking, singing, paying respects, brotherhood connections] to the extreme.
His style, rich with this aura, even influenced the many internet founders he helped.
Many founders show a distinct contrast in style before and after meeting him.
In just 2014, Bao Fan’s Huaxing Capital completed nearly 50 private equity and M&A projects, 7 IPO projects, and 2 convertible bond projects…
Of course, what made him renowned recently was the historic merger of [Didi] and [Kuai Di]!
The structure of the ride-hailing market changed directly because of it.
If anyone else wanted to have Zhang Tao and Wang Xin dine together, Brother Tao’s absolute thought would be: Refuse it!
But if it’s Bao Fan… damn, it’s not possible.
“What does he want putting me and Wang Xin together?” Zhang Tao was somewhat puzzled in his heart.
He actually had a vague guess, but the dinner hadn’t started, so he couldn’t be sure.
It’s common for competitors to have meals together, so it’s normal.
When Zhang Tao arrived at the hotel reserved by Bao Fan, he had already arrived early.
This bald man from Shanghai, although not tall, had a very strong presence.
Born into a diplomat family, he had traveled around the world with his parents before starting school.
After attending school in the country, since his parents weren’t around and he was thin, he was often bullied.
His grandfather, a senior executive at Zhejiang Bank before Liberation, saw his grandson being bullied and took him to learn boxing and often talked to him about the old Shanghai’s bustling streets and gang rules.
After discussing those stories, he would take him to have a ceremonious high-end Western meal.
All of these had a huge impact on young Bao Fan.
Now, he loves F1 racing and boxing, with an unspeakable wildness in his bones.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t like his company people calling him boss rather than the owner.
This bald-headed man’s personal charm is extremely powerful, otherwise, he wouldn’t have such a firmly terrifying interpersonal network.
Shortly after Zhang Tao sat down, Bao Fan engaged him in a lively chat, and their hearty laughter often echoed in the private room.
So much so that when Wang Xin pushed the door and entered, he smiled and asked, “What are you two laughing about?”
“Just waiting for you, sit down!” Bao Fan immediately waved to him.
His ongoing business logic has always been: do projects and make friends.
Recently, Zhang Tao was quite annoyed by Wang Xin, so seeing him naturally made him a little resistant.
But with Bao Fan sitting between the two, with his excellent verbal skills and that extremely brotherhood demeanor, the more they chatted, the better the atmosphere became.
Obviously, he was also someone who could elevate the culture of drinking at the table to the fullest.
After three rounds of drink, he could already embrace Wang Xin’s shoulder with one hand and Zhang Tao’s with the other.
After the meal, Bao Fan began to bring up the main topic.
“Recently, the domestic group-buying market feels not so vibrant.”
As a capital mogul, it’s normal for him to pay attention to these things.
Zhang Tao and Wang Xin were also happy to chat about this, because besides his personal charm, his business skills are extremely formidable, so much so that many internet giants trust him to be the company’s advisor or to host mergers and acquisitions.
Put simply, at his peak, among the top 20 domestic new economy companies by market value, 15 were clients of his Huaxing Capital.
Together, these new economy companies accounted for 56% of the total market value of domestic unicorn companies!
That’s exactly why there’s a saying:
[If you don’t know Bao Fan yet, your business isn’t big enough!]
“These past two years, domestically there’s a trend of playing this Seven Injuries Fist style, constantly burning money, but hey, the market immediately heats up.”
Bao Fan didn’t talk about group buying but instead started discussing his most glorious achievement of the year—leading the [Didi] and [Kuai Di] merger.
“When everyone was in the ride-hailing battle, they were burning money even more fiercely than you.”
“Everyone wanted a quick victory, to intensify and quickly end this money-burning war, and the result?”
“The result was a brutal burn that lasted three months!”
Hearing this, Zhang Tao couldn’t help but glance at Wang Xin.
He thought that Wang Xin now had the same goal, to burn as fiercely as possible to quickly end the battle!
Zhang Tao couldn’t back down.
Even if he could agree, his boss at Tencent wouldn’t agree!
The scene before him is like recreating the final battle of the recent [ride-hailing war].
“If we also went all out for three months…” Zhang Tao couldn’t dare imagine!