Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

Clearly, Cheng Wei’s DiDi Bike effectively solved the last-mile problem at the end of the public transportation line.

”Has he secured funding?” Cheng Weixing asked.

”I heard Li Fukei from Innovation Workshop invested 50 million in him,” Chen Hao said with a shrug, a speechless look on his face.

”This project... there’s a good chance it could actually take off!” Cheng Weixing said with a confident tone.

「Meanwhile.」

Cheng Wei was leading DiDi Bike’s management team, riding shared bikes on the streets of Yanjing to test the product’s user experience firsthand.

The first-generation DiDi Bikes were painted a bright orange-red, making them extremely conspicuous in the parking spots near subway stations. The two words ”DiDi Bike” were printed on the frame, and the bike’s number was on a sticker at the handlebar joint and on the mechanical lock at the rear.

Users could open the app, enter the number, and receive the password for the mechanical lock.

Cheng Wei had initially wanted to use smart locks that could be unlocked via text message, but that involved issues of cost and the smart lock’s power supply. After weighing the pros and cons, he opted for the more economical mechanical locks.

When a user finished their ride and slid the latch to lock the bike, the mechanical lock’s combination would be scrambled again.

The problem was, each bike’s preset password was fixed.

In other words, as long as a user memorized a particular bike’s password, they could ride it for free forever.

But Cheng Wei couldn’t worry about all that. You learn from your mistakes. His priority was to launch the product and seize the market first.

The early losses would naturally be covered by the VC firms that would invest later.

What he needed to do now was hype up the concept and inflate the valuation.

”President Cheng, Fujida’s supply quality is very stable. The riding experience on this bike is just as good as a bicycle that costs four or five hundred,” a manager from the product department said with a smile.

The manufacturing cost of one DiDi Bike, not including the mechanical lock, was 190 Hua Yuan per unit from the supplier. But since DiDi Bike’s order volume was large, their payment term with Fujida was a 15% down payment, with the rest settled in batches.

”You can’t see any problems with a new bike. Let’s run a trial operation for a while to check its durability and corrosion resistance. Also, we need to assemble a maintenance team,” Cheng Wei said to his assistant beside him as he rode.

The assistant quickly took notes.

But when they turned into a hutong alley, the smiles on their faces vanished.

An old man in his sixties was holding a pair of hydraulic cutters, sizing up a DiDi Bike’s mechanical lock, seemingly looking for the best point of leverage.

The DiDi Bike staff were instantly enraged and swarmed him.

...

...

”DiDi Bike?”

When Chen Yansen learned about Cheng Wei’s new startup, his brow furrowed slightly. In his eyes, a bike-sharing project in 2012 had no potential to speak of.

Just like the food delivery and ride-hailing sectors, it required massive resources and capital investment to cultivate user habits.

He had little interest in the project, but if he could make a quick profit from it, Chen Yansen wouldn’t mind.

Li Fukei had invested 50 million, pushing DiDi Bike’s valuation to 500 million. Investing at this point was not a good deal.

Chen Yansen thought for a moment, then called Gao Weilin over and briefly explained DiDi Bike’s business model.

”In the future, if you see any similar products, secure the angel investment first,” Chen Yansen instructed Gao Weilin.

Ofo, Yong’an Travel, and Mobike hadn’t launched yet. Senlian Capital still had plenty of opportunities to get a piece of the action.