September 29th, Thursday evening.

Li Shi returned early to his Sloth Apartment in City Dawn and turned on the television, waiting for CCTV Finance Channel’s “Financial Observation” program to begin.

The program schedule had been announced long ago. This segment would be an in-depth analysis of Tenda Group’s business model, with the title:

“Tenda Group: Always Believe That Inexplicable Things Are About to Happen.”

Just seeing this name aroused strong interest!

There were many others like Li Shi waiting for this program to air.

Because everyone wanted to know how this program would analyze Tenda Group’s business model.

“Financial Observation” was a professional financial program, as well as a chat-style news commentary show, often inviting financial media personalities, expert scholars, and entrepreneurs as guests. It used a conversational format to make economics “life-oriented” and “media-oriented,” ensuring it was easy to understand while maintaining strong professionalism.

Of course, there were now many so-called “media economists” who frequently appeared in public and were hyped by many media outlets, but who lacked real skills and even the “conscience” that scholars should have.

But due to its platform, the Financial Observation program had never experienced similar situations, so it remained very popular.

Li Shi had watched several episodes before, and the analysis of some enterprise business models had benefited him greatly.

And this time, what sparks would fly when the Financial Observation program encountered Tenda Group, which had expanded at an extreme speed within two years?

Just thinking about it was exciting!

Soon, the program officially began.

……

Deeply observing the economy, serving the public life. Hello everyone, I am your host Wang Zheping.”

“Tenda Network Technology Co., Ltd., a local Jingzhou enterprise established in 2009, has, in just two short years, spread its business across multiple sectors including technology, electronic gaming, internet cafes, catering, internet literature, logistics, fitness, housing rentals, and more.”

Compared to those enterprises we’ve featured before on Financial Observation, it doesn’t have such an enormous scale, and hasn’t reached the position of industry leader in most fields. It seems, perhaps, somewhat ‘diverse but not refined.'”

“Many people have therefore criticized Tenda’s business model as ‘biting off more than they can chew’ or ‘half-hearted.'”

“On the surface, it indeed seems so. Whenever Tenda achieves a breakthrough in one field, it eagerly marches into the next, often giving people a sense of being ‘overly impatient.'”

“But as Tenda Group’s scale continues to expand, let’s reconsider: is Tenda Group’s business model really ‘diverse but not refined’ as some people say? Did Mr. Pei, who built such a business empire in just two short years, make elementary mistakes in development strategy, or is there deeper thinking behind it?”

“In today’s Financial Observation program, we’ve specially invited economics expert Professor Bai Qimiao to provide an in-depth analysis of the profound strategy hidden behind the seemingly counterintuitive ‘Tenda Model’!”

Before the program officially started, they played a short clip that included most of the achievements Tenda Group had made so far.

These included excellent game works that had been praised multiple times by official platforms, Slackin’ Delivery that actively responded to garbage classification, Sea Fortress Inn, a star project for old industrial area renovation, and the Tenda Life APP that brought convenience to Jingzhou.

Afterward, the host began to dialogue with Professor Bai Qimiao, entering the main topic.

Professor Bai Qimiao had graying hair, a face full of wrinkles, and spoke in a measured manner that was very pleasant to listen to.

“Tenda Group is a very interesting enterprise, and I’ve done some simple research on it.”

“Previously, many people online were saying that Tenda’s business model is ‘diverse but not refined.’ Why? Looking at Tenda Group’s development history, you’ll find that it started with games, then halfway through, it went into internet cafes. When the internet cafes started to show promise, it moved on to catering, fitness, housing rentals, and other industries.”

“This contradicts the general business model completely.”

“Ordinary companies pursue deep cultivation in a single field. For example, if someone opens an internet cafe and it succeeds, the next step would be to open branches in other cities, then actively seek investment, burn money, expand rapidly, and strive to quickly open internet cafes nationwide in a chain format to rapidly occupy the market.”

“But Tenda is just the opposite. Once an industry succeeds, it sets it aside and starts a new one. The original industry is left to fend for itself, without seeking financing or continuing to invest large amounts of money, just letting it develop slowly.”

“So, up to now, apart from its games, movies, and mobile phone businesses, most of Tenda’s other physical businesses are still mainly concentrated in Jingzhou City, at most extending to Handong Province.”

“Those super first-tier cities that many young enterprises particularly favor, Tenda Group doesn’t touch.”

“Many people said that Tenda’s decision was too foolish. Why? Take internet cafes as an example. If they concentrated funds to open internet cafes nationwide, the market share of Slackin’ Internet Cafes might be tens of times what it is now. When split off for listing, how quickly would that make money?”

“But recently, such voices have noticeably decreased. Why? Because everyone has seen the advantages of the ‘Tenda Model.'”

“Because we’ve discovered that Tenda’s various physical industries can mutually support and help each other. Every entry into a new field is not a rash decision, but the result of careful consideration.”

“What’s the disadvantage of such a business model? It’s slow to take effect.”

“Using only your own money, expanding and opening branches only when there’s spare cash, this is much slower than the conventional model. Many startup companies have gone through several rounds of financing in just one or two years, with market share already reaching sixty or seventy percent or even higher. In contrast, although Tenda’s physical industries are not small in volume, they haven’t fully expanded beyond Handong Province yet.”

“The speed of expansion in a particular field is not at the same level.”

“But what are the advantages of the Tenda Model? A solid foundation!”

“You’ll find these industries interconnected, mutually supporting, forming an incredibly stable business loop.”

“When a new industry goes online, it can immediately divert customers from other industries, easily solving the startup problem. And once customers get used to it, the stickiness becomes particularly strong. Even if other competitors engage in price wars, it doesn’t work well!”

“Of course, there’s no right or wrong between the two business models; both can be successful. But very clearly, Tenda’s model is more stable, more reliable, and once formed is almost unshakeable.”

“So I say, Tenda Group has no small ambitions.”

“Many companies nowadays are thinking about how to burn money to create data, attract more money, then find a large company to acquire them, directly selling the company to achieve personal financial freedom.”

“Is this approach right or wrong? I won’t judge. But this approach is too short-sighted. This model cannot create a truly gigantic enterprise.”

“The Tenda Model is particularly stable, taking one step at a time! Its ultimate goal is to become a super-large enterprise with extremely strong risk resistance. Its future competitors will be behemoths like Shenhua Group and foreign companies like Pineapple Technology that span multiple fields.”

“Mr. Pei’s purpose is not to ‘sell out’ the company to achieve personal financial freedom, but to truly compete with these big companies.”

“And this kind of long-term vision and patience is something that ordinary entrepreneurs do not possess, and something we should encourage and advocate.”

Host Wang Zheping nodded: “So, Professor Bai, do you think other companies can learn from or replicate Tenda’s model?”

Professor Bai Qimiao shook his head: “It’s difficult.”

“The reason Tenda Group can adopt this model is that their founder, Mr. Pei, has a long-term vision and is good at planning. At the same time, the continuous financial support provided by Tenda Games can sustain this widespread business model.”

“If ordinary companies were to adopt this model, the failure of any single project would likely drag down the entire company’s capital chain. The risk is too high!”

“However, this also highlights the precious nature of Tenda Group. We should cherish such private enterprises.”

Host Wang Zheping nodded: “Then, Professor Bai, what’s your view on Tenda’s slogan, which is also the title of our program today?”

Professor Bai Qimiao smiled slightly: “It’s a very interesting slogan, and perfectly apt to describe Tenda Group.”

“In my view, there are two ways to interpret this phrase:”

“The first is directed at all users, telling them to believe that Tenda is an enterprise capable of creating miracles and surprises.”

“Customers should always believe that Tenda will bring them pleasant surprises.”

“Because Mr. Pei’s planning is very complex, and many industries at first glance seem to have no connection at all, it gives people a feeling of ‘inexplicability.'”

“But once the puzzle is solved, it makes people feel it was unexpected yet reasonable.”

“The second interpretation is for all employees, to cultivate their optimistic spirit and risk awareness.”

“A foreign economist proposed the concept of ‘Black Swan events,’ a complex concept that I won’t elaborate on here.”

“This phrase aligns with ‘Black Swan Theory.'”

“Always believing that inexplicable events are about to happen emphasizes the coexistence of opportunity and risk. Be ready to welcome opportunities at any time, and also be prepared to face risks at any time.”

“Sometimes, what you don’t know is more meaningful than what you do know.”

“I believe it is this high level of risk awareness that has led Mr. Pei to highly value the entire company’s risk resistance ability, single-handedly creating the embryonic form of such a special business empire as Tenda.”

Host Wang Zheping nodded: “Good, thank you Professor Bai for your in-depth analysis of Tenda’s business model. So, Professor Bai, what kind of guidance do you think this Financial Observation program can provide for other entrepreneurs?”

Professor Bai Qimiao thought for a moment and said, “Learning Tenda’s business model is probably impossible, but other enterprises can certainly cooperate more with Tenda.”

“I think, with Mr. Pei’s risk awareness and Tenda’s risk resistance ability, Tenda Group should be an excellent partner!”

“Cooperating with such an entrepreneur would be much better than cooperating with those entrepreneurs who are solely focused on burning money and selling their companies!”

……

At this point, the 11th and 12th floors of the Sloth Apartments in City Dawn both fell into silence.

Pei Qian’s head was filled with question marks, while Li Shi’s head was filled with exclamation marks.

Li Shi realized a very serious problem.

Soon, a large number of enterprises would come running to cooperate with Tenda, possibly competing with him for the broth!

And Pei Qian likewise realized a very serious problem.

He had originally just set up an empty pot on the fire, but then Mr. Li and others inexplicably arrived with their ingredients, forced all these ingredients into his mouth, and they were content just drinking the broth.

Now, it seemed more guests with their ingredients would come running to share the broth!

Pei Qian could already envision the tragic scene of himself choking to death from eating too much meat.

The only good news was that tomorrow would be the settlement. No matter how much meat he had to eat, that would be a matter for the next cycle.

But on the evening before the settlement, Pei Qian’s mood still felt inexplicably complex.

And a little bit mournful.

Was it so difficult to secretly lose some money?