Chapter 115: Chapter 114: The Era of Traffic Kings
"President Gu, please wait."
Gu Bai had just turned around and taken two steps when Long Dan Ni hurriedly called out to him.
In her mind, Gu Bai was already the last straw of hope, so how could she give up this opportunity so easily?
Hearing Long Dan Ni’s plea, Gu Bai, who had already turned around, displayed an imperceptible smile at the corner of his mouth, then composed himself and asked with a puzzled expression, "Does President Long have other matters?"
"I think regarding the investment matter, there is still potential for us to continue discussing it."
"Oh?"
Long Dan Ni glanced at the surrounding crowd and said softly, "It’s not convenient to talk here. Would President Gu mind moving to a quieter place to continue the conversation?"
Gu Bai did not refuse and followed Long Dan Ni to a deserted table. Yang Function, avoiding any misunderstanding, excused himself and didn’t follow.
He knew that after his refusal, Long Dan Ni must have some big move to make, but whether this move was the one he knew from his previous life was still unclear.
In his impression, Wajijiwa’s development had not been smooth, with even rumors of bankruptcy circulating several times, yet it continued to stir waves in the entertainment industry. He didn’t know why Long Dan Ni was so urgently seeking investment; perhaps there were some hidden secrets he was unaware of.
But for him, this was a good thing.
In negotiations, as long as one side is in a weaker position, the dominant side will tightly hold the initiative. Currently, he was clearly the dominant side.
Long Dan Ni first invited Gu Bai to sit, and then she sat across from him.
In this environment, Long Dan Ni seemed much calmer, the previous urgency completely gone.
"I wonder how President Gu views the trends in the entertainment industry?"
This time, Long Dan Ni didn’t jump straight to the point but started by asking Gu Bai.
Although unsure of her intentions, Gu Bai answered her.
"Traffic."
"President Gu is that confident?"
"It’s not about confidence; the market has already given the answer. In the future entertainment industry, traffic will undoubtedly reign supreme. This was proven by TF Boys and the Four Returned Sons. Whoever can control the traffic essentially holds the lifeline of the entertainment industry. Making money can be easily described as simple."
This wasn’t nonsense from Gu Bai.
In his past life, though he was a marginal figure, he paid close attention to the entertainment industry.
In 2017, the entertainment circle wasn’t as crazy yet. Soon after, fan culture began to ravage the industry, with top-stream stars bursting onto the scene one after another.
Such as Kun Kun, Yang Jinlu, Wang Yibo, Xiao Zhan, and others.
The distinctive feature was that they didn’t have much work to showcase, yet their fans numbered in the tens of millions.
After listening to Gu Bai, Long Dan Ni spoke to him again, with a look of mutual appreciation and sincerity in her eyes.
"President Gu and I share the same idea. Since that’s the case, I have an idea I can share a little with you. After hearing this idea, it’s not too late to decide whether to invest in us."
"Please go ahead, President Long."
Finally getting to the main point, Gu Bai’s expression turned serious.
"I have a project that is currently under negotiation.
In Korea, there’s a show called ’Produce 101.’ I’m not sure if you’ve heard of it?
It’s a talent show, but the rules, model, and concept adhere to the youth culture and idol definition of the internet age, breaking the tradition of past talent shows to give more choices to the audience.
The advantage is that it can close the gap between celebrities and ordinary people, attract more viewers with star dreams, and through the program, can directly gain a large fanbase, which is the ’traffic’ President Gu mentioned."
It’s here!
After waiting for so long, Long Dan Ni’s big move turned out to be the ’Creation 111’ talent show that was explosively popular in the past life.
This variety show will appear next April and be exclusively produced by Tencent Video. It seemed that in the previous life, Wajijiwa was cut off by Tencent. But considering Tencent’s strength, it was easy to cut off a company like Wajijiwa without background, funds, or strength.
Nevertheless, Wajijiwa still gained some benefits.
They acquired the two-year agency operation of Rocket Girl 111, which wasn’t too much of a loss.
"Can you ensure this project will be acquired by you?"
Seeing Gu Bai finally interested, Long Dan Ni quickly said, "Of course! Our negotiations with Korea’s Mnet TV station are at the final stage. As soon as the funds are in place, we can immediately get the Hua Country’s rights!"
"Then President Long, let’s talk about the specifics of the investment."
Gu Bai finally opened up, and Long Dan Ni let out a sigh of relief in her heart.
"I would like to invite President Gu to participate in our angel round financing."
Although Wajijiwa has already produced some hit variety shows, they haven’t had any financing activity yet, making them a relatively new company. It wasn’t until March 2018 that they received angel round financing, with the investor being Tencent, who cut off their project, probably as part of a benefit exchange.
"How much equity is President Long planning to offer, and how much investment are you seeking?"
"We plan to offer 20% equity, raising 120 million yuan."
After hearing her answer, Gu Bai stared into her eyes, then got up after ten seconds.
"Since President Long lacks sincerity, there’s no need to continue wasting our time."
When the training camp goes online next year, it will be phenomenally popular, with agency contracts for famous traffic groups like X Youth Group, Rocket Girl, R1SE, and Hard Candy Girl 303. In 2019, Wajijiwa’s valuation will only reach 1.7 billion yuan.
Now, Wajijiwa only has a card like ’Future Son’ but dares to open with a 600 million yuan valuation?
Does she think she’s crazy, or is Gu Bai crazy?
Seeing Gu Bai stand up, Long Dan Ni quickly followed suit and said, "President Gu, are you dissatisfied with the finance amount? We can discuss it further."
Long Dan Ni was full of earnestness.
But Gu Bai was unlikely to believe anything put out by this seasoned trickster.
"The premise of negotiation is sincerity, but from President Long’s offer, I see no sincerity whatsoever."
Gu Bai said with a blank expression and a calm tone.
"President Gu, my offer is already quite sincere. You need to know, the second season of ’Future Son’ is already in preparation. Once you invest, it will immediately generate returns."
"President Long, do you think even if ’Future Son’ goes to the tenth season, I can recoup my investment?"
Gu Bai’s rhetorical question directly blocked Long Dan Ni from saying anything further.
"I am someone who deals in reality. Regarding this investment in the entertainment circle, I’m not particularly concerned about the returns. To tell you the truth, with the Fuyao project alone, I have invested 400 million directly. What kind of returns do you think this 400 million will bring me?"
Long Dan Ni was unsure what happened in the meeting room; she only knew that the project’s initial investment was set at 500 million, and it seemed additional investment had been made. But she hadn’t expected Black Swan Capital, which had no entertainment industry experience, to dare to invest 400 million at once. This couldn’t simply be explained by the phrase ’deep-pocketed.’