RPAGF Chapter 87 Starting from Strength and Status
Chapter 87 Starting from Strength and Status
Chapter 87 Starting from Strength and Status (Seeking First Subscription)
At exactly 2:00 PM, Li Haipeng, dressed in jeans and a thick leather jacket, arrived on time at the slightly messy public meeting room on the first floor.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Ms. Li! I am Li Haipeng, co-founder of Jiaotong University Matchmaker!" He strode in with a loud voice and extended his hand to Li Li in a very warm manner.
Li Li quickly took in his attire and straightforward manner, and quickly sketched a picture in her mind: a typical technical or pragmatic partner, straightforward, not very scheming, and probably easy to deal with.
A standard professional smile immediately appeared on her face. She stood up, shook hands briefly, and then let go: "Mr. Li, hello."
Li Li glanced subconsciously behind Li Haipeng and asked, "Mr. Li, is Mr. Geng arriving a little later?"
Li Haipeng casually pulled out a chair and sat down, his tone tinged with regret: "President Geng was held up by a very urgent meeting and couldn't get away, so he specially entrusted me to receive you."
Li Li frowned almost imperceptibly. Geng Zhi's repeated broken promises displeased her.
Through preliminary research, she knew very well that the real person in charge of "Jiaotong University Matchmaker" was Geng Zhi, not the nominal Ma Chunmei.
How can we even talk about an acquisition when we can't even see the person in charge? How am I going to explain this to Mu Yan when I get back?
A hint of anxiety made her words carry a touch of emotion: "This—if President Geng doesn't come in person, I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to reach any substantial results."
These words took on a different meaning to Li Haipeng; they sounded incredibly disrespectful.
"Mr. Li, what you're saying—how can I not get a result? I, Li Haipeng, am, after all, a legally recognized co-founder of the company." Li Haipeng deliberately raised his voice a few decibels. "If we're really talking about it, my status as a founder isn't lower than your position as a director, is it?"
Li Li knew she had misspoke, but being so bluntly rebuked by a "junior partner" of a student startup made her lose face. Her first instinct was to use her status to intimidate him: "President Li, when we discuss cooperation, it must be based on the strength and position of both parties—"
Before she could finish speaking, Li Haipeng interrupted, "Our General Manager Geng often says, 'Cooperation is based on mutual respect and equal status. If you, General Manager Li, feel that talking to me is beneath you, then let's not waste each other's time. Please!"
Li Haipeng stood up from his seat and actually made a gesture to "see the guest out".
This completely stumped Li Li.
She had met all sorts of entrepreneurs, some humble, some arrogant, but this one in front of her, who would flip the table and try to kick people out at the slightest disagreement—it was truly a first for her.
Are all young entrepreneurs this arrogant these days?
I'm the marketing director of Baihe.com, an industry leader! Even ordinary customers shouldn't be treated like this, right?
"Jiaotong University Matchmaker" has only just begun to emerge, and she's already this arrogant? How can a company have a future if she so readily chooses such a fiery person as a partner?
Li Li was seething with anger, but with her mission at hand, she could only force herself to suppress it, forcing a smile back onto her face and trying to ease the tension with humor: "President Li, there's a saying, 'Isn't it a pleasure to have friends coming from afar?' We're not that serious."
"Mr. Li, there's another saying: 'We welcome friends with good wine, but if wolves come, we'll greet them with shotguns.'" Li Haipeng replied humorously.
Both of them made a joke that wasn't exactly funny, but it did manage to ease the tense atmosphere a little.
Li Li took a deep breath, adjusted her expression, exchanged a few more polite greetings, and finally got to the point.
Her tone regained the composure and superiority of a director: "President Li, the 'If You Are the One' event was quite successful, gaining considerable recognition in Shanghai's university circles, and even receiving praise from our CEO, President Mu. Baihe.com, as an industry leader, is building an integrated online and offline ecosystem."
"We believe that having Baihe.com take over this brand and team will bring a leap forward to your Jiaotong University Matchmaking service. We are willing to pay a considerable fee as a recognition and reward for your entrepreneurial achievements."
Upon hearing this, Li Haipeng's eyes lit up, and he asked with slight excitement, "Thank you so much for your appreciation, President Mu and Director Li! May I ask the exact amount of the 'quite considerable' fee you mentioned?"
Li Li was overjoyed!
Sure enough, students starting businesses find it hardest to resist the lure of real money. This negotiation has a chance!
A generous smile spread across her face: "Based on our professional assessment and full respect for the hard work of your team, Baihe.com is willing to offer 800,000 yuan to fully acquire the 'Jiaotong University Matchmaker' project."
"This is a very generous and respectable reward for a student startup team."
That's enough for each of you to earn your first pot of gold.
"The 800,000 that Director Li mentioned, is it in US dollars, right?"
"It's in ¥."
Upon hearing this, Li Haipeng's face showed a smile that was a mixture of surprise, confusion, and polite embarrassment, as if he had heard an unbelievable number.
He remained silent for several seconds before slowly speaking, "Eight hundred thousand... ten thousand yuan, Director Li, did you... omit a zero? Or perhaps there's a fundamental difference in our understanding of the value of 'Jiaotong University Matchmaker'?"
The smile on Li Li's face froze.
Her first thought was: Just how high did Century Family Network ask for? How could they have such an insatiable appetite? Mu Yan estimated that their highest price was only 1.5 million!
She steadied herself and emphasized, "President Li, 800,000 is already a very high valuation. You need to understand that this is a project that is still limited to campuses and whose model is extremely easy to replicate."
Seeing that Li Haipeng was only looking at her with a half-smile, unmoved, Li Li decided to get straight to the point: "Did Century Family Network promise you a higher price? Mr. Li, I advise you to wake up."
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"They've already cultivated their own 'Fudan matchmaker' to compete with you. Their so-called 'cooperation' talks are likely just a ploy to extract your event strategies and operational details."
Li Haipeng smiled, maintaining his polite demeanor, and said, "To be honest, the reason our General Manager Geng couldn't come to talk to General Manager Li is because he received a message from an investor who wants to discuss financing. The amount of financing we're discussing is over one million yuan."
boom-!
Li Haipeng's direct words caused Li Li's expression to change drastically, and her brows furrowed tightly.
With over a million yuan in funding, wouldn't the valuation be heading straight for tens of millions? How is that possible?
Which investment firm would be crazy enough to give such an outrageous valuation to a campus project?
Wait! We're negotiating now!
Could it be a trick by the other party to deliberately fabricate information and inflate the price?
This Li Haipeng is not a brute at all; everything just now was an act.
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