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" Business school " reporter an exclusive interview with Victor Tang record
I made billions of dollars in tuition, is to tell you this
This paper \ / Ma Xinli
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Victor Tang : good venture founder and executive partner, has 17 years of experience at home and abroad, angel investment.
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In Tang Tao in in Entrepreneurship with the tutor. From the last century 80's, his father very difficult start in Guangxi and Hongkong venture, Tang Tao, follow father learning-by-doing, had suffered a lot. So he later in the United States although the business hard, but psychologically it ready. As an entrepreneur and angel investor, these years he succeed, fail, give yourselves on 100 million yuan tuition lessons learned in a book " angel investment ", warned the entrepreneur must face the financing problem, don't blind to those on a toilet can meet someone get 30000000 fairy tales.
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" Business school ": as an entrepreneur, what is an experience you the most painful?
Tang Tao: often an entrepreneur 's largest property is the biggest confidence, self-esteem and the biggest failure is derived from this. In 2000 I just returned from the United States to Hongkong soon, the risk of investment in Hongkong first-class real estate companies and investment companies. At that time our software company in Hongkong are doing well, Hongkong TVB jade a program to visit me in 2001 January with vigour and vitality, is the topic of the Internet bubble. I said, many Internet practitioners actually do not understand anything, just who a round of mahjong, from the rich man's wife there into the millions of dollars, may come out but is a webpage, the phenomenon is not good, will be dead. The show was broadcast in April of that year, in fact, 3 at the end of the NASDAQ has plunged from five thousand or six thousand points the way, fell more than one thousand points.
I may have an excessive self-confidence, believe myself I products customers, and has a very good foundation, should not suffer. But the bubble is too large, the whole industry is destroyed, we have drained downstream company, you can sell to who? Up to August, I started to cut, a day 100 people from the cut to just two people, have no money to pay the rent, the court sentenced me 5 days. Luckily I found a company warehouse above vacancies, half of all furniture when rent, sweat retreat, the mood depressed.
Although the 2008 financial crisis hit me too, but not so large that blow in 2000. Although belated effort who will play, but I think that there's no better way, after all, the crisis comes too fast, no regret, this is an experience. To start, no experience reading is useless. Now many people say, have to wait until 35 years old to entrepreneurship, I feel to want to see you before the age of 35 what job. If young people enthusiastic young people and good social experience, then try. Success is accidental, failure is inevitable.
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" Business school ": you in the venture financing encountered difficulties?
Tang Tao: yes! When the My Company in the absence of split listed before, at least done hundreds of financing demonstration, non-stop to lobby, got only two or three money, the success rate is about 1%. Now think of the only regret is not more, if try more, may find a better investment partners and more resources. If I very early on in the Silicon Valley, maybe I have now been in Silicon Valley is very successful, will not be returned, I was already depleted the state of all resources, including the local government's resources, and the resources the next South Dakota, later I will have to move to Silicon Valley.
In in in that financing goal is only $1000000, not too difficult or too easy, belongs to the difficulty in general. Time a little late, if it is before 1997, would be much better, before American investment bank, as long as the project is good, help you wrap, it sold to the rich, then they gradually turned to the Internet stocks, leading to the majority of investors money no longer after the brokerage.
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" Business school ": the book said, entrepreneurs can only get credit way is an acquaintance introduced, if the three or four line of the city's founders, graduation is not the famous school, circle Co., limited resources, what way?
Tang Tao: I invest before the project is not a surf the Internet to find their own, this circle of other investors also is such. Is this the United States, you may imagine Silicon Valley will have many electronic type of investment, but in fact the United States 99% projects are acquaintance.
In 1997 I in in Minnesota in the United States, several VC only, so bullish as could be, to see them is more difficult than to the bank. But I can only go to the rich man, so think of a way to let they favor their own. When I caught your focus is in place have a bright and cheerful disposition, technology, there are a lot of customers, may be I this person is like. ( laugh ), so successful.
In each of the three or four City in China in line basically there will be some rich people, even more than the rich people in Beijing more money. Find 1000000 yuan of funds in the local than could be found in Beijing 500000 yuan but much easier. I think entrepreneurs should rely on Nathan to open. I resigned in 1995 from Accenture, a partner at the time of our Venture Company, got a picture from the world's largest Public relations company Huambo Xuan Wei, the original public relations industry without the Internet, I will fly to London, to help them build and data base of the whole architecture. It is the company of first order. Like Microsoft also is such, to rely on their own to get an order, then obtain capital business, and should not like nowadays so impetuous, did not seem to have a lot of money to do anything else, one of which is my original intention to write this book.
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" Business school ": the book introduces normative financing promotion skills, in the face of different industry and investors, there will be different?
Tang Tao: if you see the best investors, one page business plan is enough, then PPT need only a few. If he doesn't like you or you don't have a credit reputation, hundreds of pages of the plan will be thrown into the trash can. Because in the early days, the company did not have any net assets, the company is you, if not their naked success sell go out, show other are useless.
What are your ability in in in, product, customer, can see with others. First, the forms of cooperation is not necessarily is the equity investment, can also be debt financing. Maybe you can introduce some supply and customer purchase, help you first mat fee. Just like the US, it is the largest investor, Changhong, Konka TCL those vendors, pad a lot of money, a few months before to pay the bill. So we really have to broaden sources of income and reduce expenditure, more important is open source, see how many channels can take money in.
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" Business school ": as investors have no time to see walk an eye?
Tang Tao: investment but wrong too many examples of. A I investment a dynamic space company, then than it is now the perfect space and time are bad, but later because of the products and the claim has been turned off.
In 2008 when the company has not, is valued 1000000 yuan, but I suddenly found the company equity investment in 5000000 into debt, the company became the 4000000 negative assets. But entrepreneurs did not put these financing terms clearly written, I thought 5000000 yuan this big shareholders is the equity investment, in fact, the entrepreneurs themselves may also is not very clear, but the shareholders just say, I can only resort. It did give me a lesson, but to do start-ups every day thousands of pieces, but really can handle only two or three pieces, legal documents is often need to last, so I don't suggest that entrepreneurs in the early start and put a lot of effort and money to do a lot of legal documents.
Like Facebook before CFO was Mark Zachberg out, through a lawsuit also get hundreds of millions of dollars, so even if there is a dispute, the most important thing is to get the project. My biggest feeling, just give me my father had advice: " the world is not always the enemy, only permanent interests. " This sentence not only in the United States, but also for china.
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" Business school ": a lot of Chinese entrepreneurs are listed as the most ideal, do you think Facebook will be listed to give them what enlightenment?
Tang Tao: Facebook will encourage more people to gambling, we all feel that can become a millionaire, billionaire. I think it went awry, often a person of success, such as Qin Shihuang, have one hundred and eighty thousand people buried at the foot of the Great Wall, but the price people to pay no heed.
In the United States in young people has been in Facebook very confused, but American investors more mature. But Chinese investment circles in recent years there are a lot of bubbles, such as investor competition of family background, the valuation of PE foam, the gem tens of hundreds of times the rate of return, you open your eyes! Every entrepreneur with ideal is as it should be, but the lack of good Chinese investors to instill correct ideas, tell these entrepreneurs, the 100 projects, 70% are dead, the other 30% will beg for death.
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" Business school ": what is the biggest problem facing Chinese entrepreneurs?
Tang Tao: open a company with two people, with 200 people, entrepreneurship and financing way is completely different. The early start pay attention to people, advanced project on the line, the entrepreneur must continue to learn the psychology of marketing, public relations and financial knowledge. I think many Chinese entrepreneurs is too much into every day in doing things, like fire, don't have much time to settle down to read a book, to learn with the elders, so they will never have the breakthrough.
In in in so an entrepreneur is actually one of the earliest and biggest angel investors, it should invest in yourself, so will others of your investment. To invest in yourself, you have to learn a lot of things, to overcome many difficulties, and even dissipate one's fortune, others will join.
In fact, there are many enterprises not through financing to attain the highest level in one step, so don't melt financing is not the key, money is not the biggest problem. Money into the trash, like cancer cells, to become a bigger garbage, but in a good project, it is an accelerator.
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