President Liu had been worrying about funding issues recently.
Although he had been trying to be economical and careful with money, it still wasn’t enough.
So, where the money would come from had become a very troubling question.
They had already received funds from Tenda but hadn’t shown much result, so it felt rather embarrassing to ask for more.
But if they didn’t get money from Tenda, it would be even harder to get it elsewhere.
What he hadn’t expected was that while he was still agonizing over this, He Desheng would proactively reach out to offer additional investment. This was truly heartwarming!
It indicated that Tenda saw potential in this project, giving everyone a strong boost in both finances and confidence.
So, President Liu was deeply moved and expressed a thousand thanks to He Desheng.
He Desheng smiled: “Oh, there’s no need to thank me specially. I’m just following Mr. Pei’s instructions.”
President Liu on the other end quickly said: “I understand. In any case, thank you so much! Thank you to Mr. Pei and Director He for your support and trust in our company!”
“My employees and I will work twice as hard!”
He Desheng also called two other small companies that showed no signs of profitability but needed additional investment. These companies were all pleasantly surprised and deeply moved.
Because in their view, this behavior from Tenda and Dreams Venture was extremely heartwarming!
Although the situations of these small companies varied, and the probability of project success differed, the vast majority of people genuinely wanted to make their projects successful.
Since the finances of these companies were supervised by Tenda, they couldn’t pull any tricks, and everyone’s interests were aligned. If the project succeeded, not only would investors profit, but the company owners and all employees would profit as well.
And under such circumstances of capital shortage, Tenda’s generous funding again was certainly a very touching matter.
Finally, He Desheng dialed Meng Chang’s number.
“Hello? Director He!” Meng Chang’s enthusiastic voice came from the other end of the phone.
He Desheng couldn’t help but marvel that in others’ eyes, Meng Chang was truly a perfect entrepreneur and businessman.
He had an excellent personal image, good eloquence, inspiring speeches, strong execution ability, long-term vision, and was always energetic, investing 100% of his energy into work at all times…
With all these advantages concentrated in one person, even if there were some minor flaws, most investors would subconsciously ignore them.
He Desheng said, “President Meng, congratulations. Mr. Pei has decided to invest another six million in Cold Noodle Girl.”
On the other end of the phone, Meng Chang was momentarily stunned, then ecstatic.
Finally!
Finally getting Mr. Pei’s follow-up investment!
Since establishing the Cold Noodle Girl brand, Meng Chang had put in considerable effort, from the initial PowerPoint presentation to the later press conference, to the recent store openings and various marketing events…
He had done so much just to impress investors!
And among all these investors, what Meng Chang cared about most was still Mr. Pei. Because Mr. Pei was a genius investor, and once you secured investment from Mr. Pei, getting investment from others would be a piece of cake!
In fact, up until now, quite a few investors had approached Meng Chang privately, wanting to invest in Cold Noodle Girl.
But Meng Chang hadn’t agreed.
Because, in his view, the conditions from these investors were too harsh.
Some wanted too many shares, some required signing bet-on agreements, and others required terms in the investment agreements that included investor priority selling rights and founder share transfer restrictions.
The so-called priority selling right meant that investors and founders agreed that if a third party wanted to purchase equity from the founder, under equal conditions, investors had priority selling rights. The equity transfer restriction meant that it was agreed that the company, before reaching a certain stage (such as pre-IPO or acquisition), founders could not sell their shares.
In simpler terms, it restricted founders from selling shares to cash out.
This was a very common phenomenon because, for investors, investing in projects meant investing in people. If they invested money and increased the company’s valuation, but the founder cashed out and left the company, how could they ensure the company would continue to develop rapidly?
Investors naturally hoped that founders would always live in tight financial conditions, so they would go all out to start businesses and make money for the investors.
For Meng Chang, these conditions were unacceptable.
The whole point of his great effort was to cash out, but if he wasn’t allowed to cash out, how would that work?
Did they expect him to work hard for them for a lifetime?
So, Meng Chang didn’t accept these conditions and was waiting for an opportunity—an opportunity to increase his bargaining power.
If the company developed too quickly and became a hot commodity that countless investors wanted a piece of, then naturally investors would be competing to invest, and Meng Chang wouldn’t need to sign agreements with so many restrictions.
And Mr. Pei’s follow-up investment was a good opportunity.
Because Mr. Pei was viewed by many as an investment weathervane. If Mr. Pei followed up with a six-million investment in Cold Noodle Girl, it would be a clear signal that would attract followers who would sign relatively loose terms.
This was a key step for Meng Chang!
Because he spent money very quickly, if he ran out of money halfway through, he would be in a very awkward position.
Fortunately, Mr. Pei had made his move!
Meng Chang forcibly suppressed the joy in his heart: “Thank you, Director He, thank you, Mr. Pei. I will definitely…”
Before he could finish speaking, He Desheng interrupted him: “Wait, Mr. Pei has a condition.”
“The condition is that Tenda’s additional investment of six million must be kept confidential. You cannot disclose any information to the outside world. This counts as a confidentiality clause in the investment agreement and cannot be violated.”
Meng Chang: “?”
His mood had originally been ecstatic, but upon hearing this, it was as if he had been struck on the head and was stunned.
Confidential?
Why?
Meng Chang found it very puzzling.
If it were other investors, they would generally restrict founders from selling shares to cash out. Meng Chang boldly judged that Mr. Pei wouldn’t do this, because Mr. Pei seemed to have never arranged such clauses when investing.
That’s why he valued Mr. Pei’s investment so highly.
His speculation proved correct—Mr. Pei indeed didn’t propose similar restrictions. But to his great surprise, Mr. Pei had requirements regarding confidentiality!
This hit Meng Chang’s weak spot. It wasn’t fatal, but it was very uncomfortable!
Did Meng Chang need this money? Of course he did. But his purpose wasn’t merely to let Cold Noodle Girl burn money for another month or two, but to leverage more investors’ funds and drive up the company’s valuation.
In other words, this information had to reach other investors to have value.
Otherwise, it was just a dry six million, nothing more than allowing Cold Noodle Girl to burn money for a bit longer.
However, Meng Chang had no reason not to accept this money.
Because Mr. Pei’s money didn’t restrict founders from selling shares to cash out, which was already much better compared to the conditions offered by other investors.
Moreover, Cold Noodle Girl’s facade still needed to be maintained, money still needed to be burned, and the capital chain couldn’t be broken. Once broken, the show couldn’t go on.
So, this money was just slightly above Meng Chang’s psychological bottom line—a shame to give up, but not particularly appetizing to take.
On the other end of the phone, He Desheng asked: “Is there any problem?”
Meng Chang quickly gathered his wits and hurriedly said, “No problem!”
He Desheng didn’t say much more, just offered a few words of encouragement to work hard, then hung up.
Meng Chang let out a long breath, a look of worry appearing on his face.
After several previous experiences, Meng Chang was very clear that haggling over such issues was meaningless. Mr. Pei had that kind of say-what-you-mean personality and would never allow himself to negotiate.
If he didn’t take this money now, he might never get it later. Compared to money that would restrict selling shares, this money was still more comfortable to take.
Meng Chang couldn’t help but marvel that Mr. Pei was indeed unfathomable. Since their dealings began, every step Mr. Pei took seemed to make him uncomfortable!
When Meng Chang first received the investment, he had to accept a financial officer appointed by Tenda; now, with the second investment, he had to keep it confidential.
If he were to rate his satisfaction, Meng Chang’s satisfaction level would be around 60 each time.
If this score were any lower, Meng Chang might have given up, and there wouldn’t be the Cold Noodle Girl brand at all.
Mr. Pei was able to keep this score just right, treading on Meng Chang’s psychological bottom line, letting him start his business but always making certain restrictions in seemingly trivial areas that made Meng Chang uncomfortable.
What concerned Meng Chang most now was that he didn’t know whether his intentions had been seen through by Mr. Pei.
Were these restrictions Mr. Pei placed on him targeted specifically at him, or were they for all investors?
Meng Chang was well aware that at the last press conference, Mr. Pei had sent Mr. Ma to give him a warning. This kind of high-level confrontation was like practicing Tai Chi—both parties went just far enough without going overboard, but they definitely wouldn’t beat around the bush.
Mr. Pei’s series of actions gave Meng Chang the feeling of an extremely calm wolf following him from a distance.
Seemingly casual, yet making one feel uneasy.
This wolf might just be passing by and wouldn’t harm him, but it might also suddenly accelerate and pounce on him the next second, knocking him to the ground and biting his throat.
Mr. Pei’s hot and cold tactics always maintained a certain distance from Meng Chang, neither infringing on his core interests nor giving up on threatening him.
It gave him a somewhat chilling feeling, yet he would always doubt himself, unsure if it was just his imagination.
This was contradictory.
But at this point, Meng Chang felt he was just one step away from success, and there was no reason to give up.
Thinking of this, Meng Chang calmed himself and resolved to continue with the original plan.
Although Mr. Pei had placed some restrictions on him, he hadn’t completely restricted everything and had left some room for maneuvering. Meng Chang felt he could still work with this.