Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

Chapter 732: Good Answers

After Meng Chang’s opening speech, many investors, who had been frowning and thinking that it was unreliable, relaxed.

Everyone started listening intently.

Meng Chang was very relaxed and did not feel any pressure at all. He began to talk about the business model of ‘cold-faced lady’.

The overall content was similar to what he had told He Desheng, but the details were much more detailed.

That was because he had limited time when he met He Desheng previously. He could only compress all the content to within half an hour.

However, since it was a news conference now, there was definitely not enough time to produce results. Thus, Meng Chang extended it to nearly two hours.

All the content was divided into three parts.

The first part would explain the huge market demand for “cold noodles” and the changes that “cold noodles lady” would bring to the cold noodles and fast food industry.

The current market situation was still the same. The main problem was that the cold noodles were unhygienic, there was difficulty in ensuring its taste, and there were only a few variations. Selling through the internet and catering were a huge trend.

At this stage, the mission of ‘cold-faced lady’ was to create a brand concept that could be linked to the traditional food known as ‘roasted cold noodles’ through products and marketing. That was to make everyone subconsciously think of ‘cold faced lady’ when they heard the words ‘roasted cold noodles’.

In the second part, after the brand ‘Cold Faced Lady’ was established, it expanded around the concept of this brand and could also do the same for many Chinese fast food business models.

Producing fast food products such as rolls, roujiamo, side dishes, congee, cold noodles, etc.

These products would serve as supplements to the signature delicacy of the “Cold-Faced Lady”. The customers’ understanding of the “Cold-Faced Lady” would gradually evolve from a simple Roasted Cold Noodles brand to a fast-food brand.

The third part was, after the ‘cold-faced lady’ gained a firm foothold in the fast food industry, he would use this opportunity to embrace the internet ecology and open up the barriers between the online and offline, restaurants and the internet, users and platforms. That was the so-called ‘multi-dimensional fusion’.

That was because the ‘cold-faced lady’ represented a lifestyle surrounding the internet. Therefore, users would naturally accept this’ multi-dimensional fusion ‘model.

For example, they could make a central kitchen, take-out delivery, Gourmet Reviews, and other industries. Through the accumulation of content, they could continuously expand the concept and moat of the Cold Faced Lady brand.

In the process of explaining, Meng Chang explained some abstract concepts that were easy to understand. He even cited the famous words of many Internet big shots, causing many investors to nod frequently.

On the other hand, Meng Chang had explained some of the areas that might be controversial in advance and blocked the way for others to question him.

“Some people might ask, ‘Cold Face Lady’ is only making roasted cold noodles. You place so much emphasis on marketing and brand construction, and even plan to spend a huge sum of money on it. Is there any meaning to this? Are you creating a marketing stunt and hype?”

“I want to ask everyone a question: We all know that ‘products are king’. Who knows what the exact definition of ‘products’ is?”

“Some people think that marketing and products are polar opposites. You can’t make products after marketing. I think this perception is narrow.”

“Products are actually the sum of the physical item and concept.”

“Take POUIO cell phone for example. We buy both physical and concepts. If they don’t have concepts, their value would be reduced by at least a third.”

“Therefore, the reason why we internet companies value marketing so much is not because we want to hype it up and make it look bad, but because we want to create a business model with a moat. We have to balance the relationship between ‘physical objects’ and ‘concepts’. That is a good product.”

“If we combine the brand ‘Cold Noodles’ with the traditional roasted cold noodles, then we would create a moat. In the future, when customers want to eat the roasted cold noodles, their first reaction would be to eat the roasted cold noodles made by Cold-Faced Lady. Of course, this marketing is meaningful. How could it be a publicity stunt?”

“Creating publicity stunts is a reckless pursuit of popularity and traffic. As for how to make use of this popularity and traffic, there is no planning. Our marketing is to create a brand concept, a part of our product.”

“Some people might ask that cold noodles are just a snack. No matter how delicious it is, it can only be eaten once a week at most. How can it be treated as a wholesome meal?”

“In fact, ‘cold-faced lady’ would never encourage customers to eat grilled cold noodles as a wholesome meal. That’s because it’s neither nutritious nor healthy, and it doesn’t fit most people’s eating habits.”

“The cold noodles used by ‘Cold Face Lady’ is actually just a signboard, a concept, a celebrity standalone product, and it is not the only one.”

“In the first stage, we will not only have various flavors of grilled cold noodles, but we will also have side dishes, porridge, cold noodles, desserts, and other side dishes. In the second stage, our goal is to create a Chinese fast food brand, including rolls, braised rice, and so on. These are all part of our meals.”

“Then, why do I keep emphasizing the concept of ‘roasted cold noodles’? That’s because ‘roasted cold noodles’ is our entry point.”

“If we insist on making Chinese-style fast food right from the start, we will definitely die a horrible death. There are too many competitors for Chinese-style fast food. We don’t have a main point that all consumers can quickly remember.”

“On the other hand, the concept of ‘Cold-Faced Lady’ would greatly reduce the difficulty to be remembered for consumers.”

“Our emphasis on ‘roasted cold noodles’ means that our direct competitor is not the Chinese food and beverage brands, but the unnamed and unhygienic roadside stalls. That is our advantage.”

“The first goal is to obtain customers. First, we have to differentiate ourselves and make them recognize and remember them. Then, we have to enrich our plan and think in the long term.”

“Someone might want to ask, what’s the difference between ‘cold-faced lady’ and Fish-Catching Take-Out? Would there be a conflict between the products under Tengda?”

“My answer is that ‘cold-faced lady’ would focus on ‘fast food’. Strictly speaking, Fish-Catching Take-Out should be a ‘set meal’ or a ‘simple meal’. Just like steak pizzas and fried chicken burgers, they have different flavors and do not interfere with each other.

“‘Cold Faced Lady’ and Fish-Catching Take-Out, including most of the food and beverage models on the market, do not form a direct competitiveness. We are in different positions and will fight for our own target users.”

“Someone might want to ask, what are you talking about ‘multi-dimensional fusion’ as a roasted cold noodles seller? You haven’t even started your first cold noodles shop, and you’re already thinking about combined events of different industries later on. Aren’t you biting off more than you can chew?”

“I want to say that those who do not plan for the overall situation will not be able to plan for the short term; those who do not plan for the general trend would not be able to plan for the moment. As entrepreneurs leveraging the Internet, we have to possess a very rare but necessary ability to look long term.”

“If my goal is just to casually make some roasted cold noodles, open a few branches, and earn a few million yuan in revenue every month, then why should I hold a news conference and think of a way to obtain so much financing?”

“If I was a person who was content with a small fortune, what would everyone get in return for investing in me?”

“The so-called reaching beyond one’s grasp actually refers to not having one’s feet on the ground. Everything is in the air. There is a huge gap in the middle between the ground and the target.”

“However, the model that I have planned for ‘Cold Faced Lady’ has three clear steps. I have clearly explained the goal, the means, and the final outcome. There is no gap in between.”

“Of course, there are some details that are classified as business secrets which I have to keep confidential. This is a necessary condition to ensure that I can succeed in starting the business.”

“I’ll say the same thing again. I don’t expect everyone to decide to invest immediately after watching this PowerPoint.”

“Everyone, you can pay close attention to the dynamics of the ‘Cold-Faced Lady’ brand. When I open my first shop, complete my first marketing event, earn profits in the first month, open my second shop... you will see that my goals have been achieved one by one. You will naturally understand that I’m serious.”

“If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. I’ll tell you everything I can as long as it’s not too detailed or confidential.”

Meng Chang gestured for the staff to prepare the microphones that had been prepared beforehand and handed them to the investors below the stage.

After nearly two hours of speech, many investors became interested in the brand.

No one could guarantee whether this brand would be successful or not. However, at the very least, from the entire news conference, this model was quite interesting. Therefore, these investors were very interested no matter whether they were to ask with approval or opposition.

Meng Chang did not panic at all as he faced the questions that were either milder or sharper. Instead, he spoke confidently and eloquently.

Xue Zhebin looked confused below the stage.

He tilted his head towards Li Shi and said in a low voice, “Boss Li, I think what he said makes sense. I can’t help but want to invest some money into the founder shares to play with. If it really succeeds, the returns would be astonishing.”

Li Shi was silent for a moment. “We can’t be sure just from hearing this. It’s very risky. It’s best to take a look.”

“A smart investor cannot have the mentality of a gambler. If you think that you can get high returns from a project, you will often be deceived completely. The wisdom of investing is not only to spot opportunities, but also to know how to avoid risks.”

Xue Zhebin sighed. “Sigh, investing is really a technical job. If someone could invent a lie detector, you would know at a glance if they were lying. Then, investors would not be scammed.”

Li Shi smiled. “It’s useless to have a lie detector. Some people are speaking the truth, but they are not good at execution. You would still fail even if you invested money. Some people might not think so much, but they succeeded in the end because of a coincidence. Nothing is certain.”

“What’s more, investments have high risks to begin with. Wouldn’t the investors be miserable if they were cheated of their money? Of course, they would be miserable. However, investors are not weak. This is a cruel arena.”

“Are the investors innocent? Of course not. Investments should be far-sighted, but many investors are short-sighted. Their only purpose in investing is to obtain more immediate benefits.”

“Investors hold a lot of money, but most investors would not invest it where it is most necessary. Instead, they would swarm to the so-called ‘investment opportunities’, burn money, create hype, undercut everyone else, destroy the environment, and end up with nothing.”

“I was the same a few years ago, but now, my mindset has started to change.”

“Therefore, you must not blame the heavens for your investments. If you meet a project with a high return rate, that’s because you have a keen eye; if you meet a scammer, that’s because your skills are too shallow.”

“Objectively speaking, investors would be scammed to the point that they would lose everything. However, investors are also unkind to inexperienced entrepreneurs who are not vigilant. Instead, they would try their best to eat them up alive.”

“The business world is like a battlefield. You can’t talk about morals or favors. It’s perfectly normal to fight to the death within the legal boundaries.”

Xue Zhebin asked again, “Boss Li, what do you think about the odds of success for the Cold Faced Lady business model?”

Li Shi pondered for a moment and said, “If we are only judging Meng Chang as a person, I would say that he is a marketing genius and a genius at making speeches. As for whether he is a business genius or a scam genius...”

“It’s still hard to tell now. We’ll have to see what happens after his first shop opens.”

” he is obviously well-prepared based on his fluet answers to the investors. There are no flaws at all.”

“I’m afraid that I won’t be able to get anything out of it just by asking questions.”

Xue Zhebin looked at He Desheng and Ma Yang, who were seated in the front row. “Will Boss Ma ask questions?”

Li Shi could not help but smile. “I don’t think so.”

Others thought that Boss Ma was very mysterious and thought that he was a hidden investment genius.

However, Li Shi did not think so.

That was because Li Shi had interacted with Ma Yang many times when he was at Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. At one point, he had even managed to hoodwink Ma Yang to the point where he could not tell where he was. He knew exactly how intelligent Ma Yang was.

Ma Yang was only impressive because he had Boss Pei’s guidance!

Li Shi knew very well that Ma Yang was a tool under Boss Pei. The only reason he could achieve such a critical position was because he was obedient and absolutely loyal to Boss Pei.

Li Shi felt that his intelligence and ability were worlds apart from Boss Pei’s. He possessed the intelligence of an ordinary person at best. It was most likely slightly lower.

What kind of person was Meng Chang? His IQ was definitely among the elites no matter whether he was a real genius or a big liar.

Ma Yang questioning Meng Chang?

Anyone who knew their place would not do that.