blueteamnovel Chapter 149 Momo 1 Soars to the Sky
Chapter 149 Momo 1 Soars to the Sky
Chapter 149 MoMo Soars to the Sky (8k)
Under the spotlight, Han Han stood in the fifth row of Section C, being watched by more than a thousand pairs of eyes in the audience.
The straightforward man on stage smiled and waved to him: "Teacher Han, since you're already here, why don't you come up on stage and say hello to everyone?"
Without hesitation, Han Han walked along the aisle to the stage. As he passed, audience members on both sides reached out their hands, some trying to shake hands, others taking photos with their phones, and screams filled the air.
He nodded and smiled all the way as he calmly walked onto the podium.
Jin Zhiyu went up to hand him the microphone, while Geng Zhi stood to the side smiling. He then went up to shake hands with him, saying, "Teacher Han, you've really come."
Han Han laughed and said, "Didn't you invite me here?"
"Did I invite you? I don't remember." Geng Zhi pretended to be confused, then burst into laughter.
The audience burst into laughter again.
After Jin Zhiyu and the others' laughter subsided slightly, she spoke first: "Han Han, to be honest, are you here today as a shill, or are you actually using Momo?"
Han Han smiled, looked at Geng Zhi, then at the audience, and said, "If I said I was Tuo'er, would Geng Zhi hit me?"
""
The audience laughed again.
"Just kidding." Han Han's smile faded, and his expression turned serious. "I actually started using it a week ago. Geng Zhi sent me a beta version of Momo and said, '[Try it, don't come back if it doesn't work for you.]'"
He paused deliberately before saying, "Finally, I've arrived."
"You're here, which proves that the Momo app is useful," Jin Zhiyu immediately replied.
The audience applauded, the applause was enthusiastic and long-lasting.
Jin Zhiyu glanced at her cue cards, then looked up again: "Since you're already on stage, shall I ask you a few questions?"
"Of course." Han Han nodded, his posture casual.
"My first question is, you've been using the Momo app for a week now, could you share your honest impressions?"
Han Han thought about it carefully, then looked down at the audience.
"To be honest, I was initially hesitant." His voice lowered. "Because I don't really like that kind of [stranger chatting] stuff. You might not believe it, but I'm actually quite an introverted person."
Some people in the audience chuckled softly, clearly not believing it.
"But when I first opened the Momo app and saw the [Hello, Stranger] splash screen, I was stunned for more than ten seconds."
"Oh? Why?" Jin Zhiyu asked curiously.
The audience fell silent.
Han Han paused for two seconds before slowly speaking: "I remember when I first started writing. Back then, nobody knew me. I submitted articles to magazines and nervously added the editor's QQ. When I first started talking to the unfamiliar editor, I spent a long time choosing my words, typing and deleting, deleting and typing again, and in the end, I only sent the two words '[Hello]'."
"Later, we went from strangers to colleagues, then to friends, and finally to old friends of more than ten years."
He paused, his gaze sweeping across the audience: "So, the words 'Hello, stranger' aren't cold to me; they have warmth. Even though we don't know each other now, that's okay. From the moment we say 'hello,' we might become acquainted."
The audience was completely silent; you could hear a pin drop.
Jin Zhiyu nodded gently, her tone softening: "And then, you were drawn to this product."
"Yes." Han Han nodded. "Later I tried the product and found that it can quickly shorten the distance between people. Moreover, it is a pioneering mobile social APP, which is very interesting."
Jin Zhiyu nodded thoughtfully, glanced at her cue cards, and continued, "I've seen some netizens asking what the difference is between Momo and QQ. Han Han, what's your opinion?"
Han Han thought for a moment and organized his thoughts: "QQ is what we use to find acquaintances. Classmates, friends, family, bosses—they're all on QQ. When you open QQ, you see people you know. You have to be careful what you say, be careful what you post, because every word you say can be seen, interpreted, and discussed by acquaintances."
He paused, his tone becoming more relaxed: "Momo starts with strangers, which aligns with the process of human interaction, from unfamiliarity to familiarity. Moreover, some things that are inappropriate to say to acquaintances can be said to strangers on Momo without any burden."
Jin Zhiyu nodded in agreement and added, "Although QQ can also find strangers, it requires targeted searching, while Momo is naturally displayed, giving you that feeling of 'Wow, so you're here,' which is more exciting."
When the host brought up QQ for comparison, Shen Nanpeng in the guest area was slightly puzzled, but did not think about it too much.
Jin Zhiyu glanced at Geng Zhi, then turned to Han Han with a smile: "Han Han, one last question, how would you evaluate President Geng as a person?"
Some people in the audience chuckled softly, while many others cast curious glances, anticipating Han Han's answer.
Han Han turned to look at Geng Zhi, and the two stared at each other for a second. Then he smiled and said, "Actually, I've only known Geng Zhi for a little over a week. This is only the second time we've met; we were strangers before."
what?
A gasp of disbelief rose from the audience; some gaped, while others exchanged bewildered glances.
Geng Zhi didn't speak, but simply smiled and nodded, his expression calm.
"A week ago, he contacted me and invited me to endorse Momo for him. He said he would pay me for it, and he quoted me a number that I thought was quite high," Han Han said with a smile.
"Oh, so you agreed to come," Jin Zhiyu replied.
"Definitely not." Han Han shook his head, his tone tinged with arrogance. "I don't usually give people 'GG's' (a euphemism for giving money to someone). You know, I never accept 'GG's' on my blog, and I'm selective about the magazine interviews I accept."
He paused, mimicking his tone at the time: "I thought to myself, [Who are you? I don't know you], and just rejected him directly."
"Huh?" Jin Zhiyu was startled and turned to look at Geng Zhi, who was still just smiling, as if listening to someone else's story.
The audience erupted in laughter, with some laughing so hard they were doubled over.
"Later, he relentlessly harassed me." Han Han made a helpless expression. "He would send me several messages a day, forcibly sending me a test package of the Momo app, saying that this product was a perfect match for me and that I would regret not using it."
"I was so annoyed that I thought, [Okay, okay, I'll give it a try, I guess it'll work]. And that's how my experience with the Momo app came about."
Ha ha ha ha-!
The audience laughed again, some clapped, some whistled.
"I thought the Momo app was pretty good, so I was curious and looked into Gengzhi's background and personal opinions. I searched online, read his 10,000-word article, his previous interviews, and the posts where he was criticized."
His expression turned serious: "I just learned that he was once known as an industry veteran. He has many personality traits that are similar to mine—once he sets his mind on something, he will do it no matter what others say. But there is one thing that is very different from me."
"Oh?" Jin Zhiyu asked curiously, "In what way?"
"I discovered that he had been criticized by many netizens for over a month, and it was obvious that he was being wronged. Given my personality, if someone criticized me, I would have already retaliated."
97
Ha ha ha ha--!
The audience burst into laughter again, and someone shouted, "Han Han is awesome!"
"But Geng Zhi didn't." Han Han shook his head and looked at Geng Zhi beside him. "I asked him why he didn't curse back, and he said he didn't have time."
He paused, his tone becoming serious: "He said that many people criticize him, but many others strongly support him. He can't make everyone like him; he wants to dedicate his limited energy to endlessly refining the Momo app, to live up to the expectations of his fans and friends, and to bring them greater value."
After Han Han finished speaking, the audience fell even quieter—a silence born of being deeply moved.
At this moment, the lens of one of the cameras slowly panned across the scene.
On several rows of seats, people held up homemade light boards and hand signs that read "[I'm sorry, Gengzhi]", "[We will always support you, Gengzhi]", and "[Industry leader, we believe in you]", waving them in the audience.
The camera switched to the big screen, and everyone in the audience saw it.
Some people started to applaud.
The applause started as a few scattered notes, then grew into a chorus, and finally erupted into thunderous applause.
After a brief pause in the applause, Han Han continued, "The rest of the story is familiar to everyone: the 3.15 Gala is here, 'I am straightforward, this is what I want to say.'"
"The lengthy article of over 10,000 words has been published, and today Geng Zhi is also bringing the Momo APP, which he has been meticulously working on for a long time, to the press conference," Han Han said.
"Yes, so you came to support Han Han too," Jin Zhiyu added.
"Yes." Han Han nodded. "I made an exception and came to give Geng Zhi a piece of my mind, and I didn't take a single penny from Geng Zhi for his support."
As he spoke, Han Han opened his arms and gave Geng Zhi a big hug.
The audience erupted in enthusiastic applause once again, a long and sustained round of applause.
Some people were shouting "Go for it, Geng Zhi!", some were shouting "Han Han is awesome!", and some were taking pictures with their phones.
The first wave of GGs is over, and the emotional part is over too.
Geng Zhi then spoke formally, his voice regaining its usual relaxed tone, tinged with a hint of teasing: "Teacher Han, since you're already here, why not help Momo get another GG?"
"Okay." Han Han smiled.
"Open Momo now and randomly pick a few people from the [People Nearby] section to chat with. Consider it a little treat for your fans using Momo," Geng Zhi said.
After Geng Zhi finished speaking, the young audience members below the stage got excited, and Han Han's fans online also got excited, with the comment section being flooded once again.
"Wow!!"
"Talk to me, talk to me!"
"My nickname is [Lobster Farmer], come chat with me."
"I am [Nanxiang Xiaolongbao]!"
Han Han took out his phone, opened the [People Nearby] list, swiped a few times, and randomly clicked on the profile picture of a girl 35 meters away, whose nickname was "Little Fish".
Han Han entered the following on the spot:
[Han Han]: "Hello, I am Han Han."
At the press conference, a female college student in the back row screamed excitedly and then typed a reply with trembling hands.
[Girl]: "Hello Mr. Han Han, I'm your fan!! I'm so excited!!"
After she finished replying, she stood up and waved to the stage repeatedly, her face flushed and tears welling up in her eyes.
Immediately afterwards, Han Han randomly picked up a boy from Hunan Province, 1000 kilometers away, and a boy from Guangdong Province, 1800 kilometers away, chatted for a bit, and even promised to treat them to a meal in the future, instantly bringing the atmosphere to a climax.
Backstage at the conference venue, in the temporary monitoring room of the technical department.
Lu Sifeng, Zou Lu, Chu Jiatong, and Song Qing from the technical department were all nervously monitoring the backend server, ready to deal with data overflow at any time.
Yang Mingxia has also rushed over from the meeting and, together with her team members, is closely monitoring the number of viewers on several live streaming platforms and the level of discussion on Weibo.
"Sister Tongtong, the number of viewers in these live streams is still rising rapidly, especially the total number of viewers in Xinlang, which has already exceeded the sum of the other live streams!" Yang Mingxia said excitedly.
"That's right, that's right, the number of registered users for the Momo app is also skyrocketing! There was one peak when the boss first announced that the app was available for download, and another peak when Han Han demonstrated Momo." Ma Tongtong couldn't stop smiling.
Inside the venue.
Finally, Han Han created a group called "[Han Han and His Friends]" to end his mission of endorsing Han Han.
Before leaving the stage, Han Han said to Geng Zhi, "Go Momo! Go Boss Geng!"
Geng Zhi thanked him, saying, "Thank you, Teacher Han!"
After leaving the stage, Han Han did not return to his original seat, but quietly left through the backstage passage.
Many young audience members were still immersed in Han Han's atmosphere and couldn't extricate themselves for a long time.
While Geng Zhi and Han Han were interacting on stage, selected comments from netizens on Weibo in Xinlang were constantly appearing on the secondary screens on both sides of the main screen.
Xinlang's Weibo Big Screen is a pioneering interactive feature in the industry, and this Momo press conference also marks the first application of Weibo Big Screen in the industry.
Users can post "[#MomoPressConference# + content]" on Weibo for a chance to be selected by the back-end staff and appear in the carousel on the big screen.
In order to have their content selected, many netizens added the words "Please make it onto the wall" to the end of their posts.
At this point, the host, Jin Zhiyu, took over the hosting duties again.
"More than 1000 people attended the press conference in person today, but there are hundreds of thousands more online, interacting with us in real time on Weibo's big screen. Since the start of the press conference, the hashtag #MomoPressConference# has been trending more than 20 times."
Jin Zhiyu pointed to the two secondary screens next to her and said to Geng Zhi, "Mr. Geng, netizens have asked a lot of questions. Why don't you interact with the online netizens and answer a few questions?"
Jin Zhiyu asked with a smile.
"Okay." Geng Zhi nodded.
Jin Zhiyu gestured towards the control panel, and the first selected question from netizens was displayed on the big screen:
Netizen @Lingzhi asked: [President Geng, you were scolded for 49 days without saying a word, where did you get that composure? Teach me. (Please post this on the wall)]
The audience below the stage chuckled knowingly.
Geng Zhi paused for two seconds before speaking: "I can't teach you this, but I can give you a piece of advice—when you know you're right, don't rush to explain; time will prove everything."
There was a few seconds of silence from the audience, followed by thunderous applause.
As the applause subsided, Geng Zhi seized the opportunity to begin preemptively defusing any potential criticism Momo might face in the future and paving the way for future developments.
He sighed again, "Actually, being misunderstood is the norm in life. It's the same for people and products."
"Many innovative products face skepticism at their inception, such as QQ and Taobao, as history has proven. Momo will undoubtedly face skepticism in the future as well, which is normal. As long as our values and direction are correct, we will forge ahead regardless of the challenges."
After Geng Zhi finished answering, Jin Zhiyu took over the conversation and continued, "Okay, thank you for the question from the online netizens, and thank you for Mr. Geng's excellent answer. Now let's look at the second question."
The second question was displayed on the large screen:
A netizen, @我不是粪青, asked: "[Mr. Geng, I work in the internet industry, but I strongly disagree with your statement that mobile internet is the future. With 3G data plans so expensive, who would want to spend all their time using social apps? What exactly can your Momo app bring to this era?"
The moment the second question was projected onto the screen, the audience fell silent once again.
Jin Zhiyu smiled and looked at Geng Zhi: "President Geng, that's a very insightful question."
Without hesitation, Geng Zhi smiled and said, "Whether mobile internet is the future is a matter of opinion. We can have a brainstorming session offline, or we can wait and see."
"As for what Momo can bring to this era," he paused slightly, "I want to say that Momo is willing to be the first to try something new. If Momo succeeds, we'll profit. If Momo ultimately fails, we'll have helped other entrepreneurs in the industry learn from our mistakes. As pioneers, we'll die a worthy death."
Regardless of whether what Geng Zhi said was what he truly felt, at least on the surface, he expressed an attitude of "sacrificing the individual for the greater good."
Snap! Snap! Snap!
Jin Zhiyu: "Okay, let's look at the last question now."
Immediately afterwards, the third question was projected onto the screen.
A netizen, @I Don't Want to Spend Money Online, asked: "[Boss Geng, will your Momo, like other social networking products, start charging for various services to make money in the future? But I'm poor and just want to get freebies; I don't want to pay. What should I do? (Please let this post be featured)]"
After the question was posted on the screen, Lü Siyu, fearing she would be cyberbullied, immediately deleted her Weibo account.
At this moment, the audience burst into laughter.
Especially the few people in the investor area, they were all shaking their heads with smiles.
The comments section immediately turned into a sea of laughter: "Is this netizen trying to be funny?"
"How many social media products are free? Isn't charging membership fees standard practice in the industry?"
"Is that company operating entirely out of love and passion? How do they pay their employees' salaries and benefits?"
"The questions are getting harder and harder to answer. Let's see how Mr. Geng responds. His time to be tested has come, haha!!"
Jin Zhiyu laughed for a while before asking Geng Zhi, "Mr. Geng, what do you think?"
"That's a good question," Geng Zhi commented, then began pacing back and forth on the stage, as if he were seriously considering the question.
The laughter that had just subsided from the audience rose again.
Geng Zhi paced back and forth for about seven or eight seconds, then took a sip of mineral water before returning to the center of the stage.
He glanced at the investors in the guest area, then scanned the entire room, cleared his throat, and said, "This question is difficult to answer, so let me tell you another short story."
Hahaha--!
Another burst of laughter erupted from the audience.
"Some time ago, I went to Beijing to visit investors and raise Series A funding for Momo. I visited Mr. Zhu Xiaohu of Jinshajiang Venture Capital, Ms. Xu Xiaoping, and Mr. Liu Qin of Morningside Venture Capital. All three of them were very optimistic about Momo's prospects and financial future."
As he spoke, Geng Zhi made a gesture as if he were counting money.
The camera then panned to several investors in the guest area, with Xu Xiaoping and Zhu Xiaohu waving slightly in greeting.
"But because Momo's valuation was high, they ultimately couldn't bring themselves to invest, saying they would wait until Momo was launched before deciding whether to invest. I really wanted to tell them at the time that some opportunities, once missed, are gone forever."
Hahaha—! The audience laughed again.
"Later, our team, on a whim, visited Mr. Shen Nanpeng of Sequoia Capital, and unexpectedly, we talked for 20 hours."
Within minutes, Mr. Shen made a decisive decision and invested $300 million of our funds, of which $200 million has already been received.
boom-!
The sudden announcement by Geng Zhi of a $300 million funding round truly shocked many people.
In the audience area, Qi Chuqin, Gou Youqian, Qin Hongfang, Yang Jinqian, Liu Kangping, Jin Zhilong, and other people who were interested in Geng Zhi couldn't help but widen their eyes, their faces full of surprise.
The biggest surprise came from the reporters in the media area, many of whom were diligently scribbling in their notebooks.
Originally, most media outlets attended the press conference simply to capitalize on the popularity of the 3.15 Gala and the lengthy article, hoping to ride the wave of "being straightforward" and publish more news articles related to it.
After the press conference began, Geng Zhi talked at length about the development trend of mobile Internet, and then the amazing launch of the Momo APP and Han Han's surprise appearance, each of which could become excellent news material for them and deserve to be written about in detail, which had already surprised them one after another.
Now, Gengzhi has officially announced a $300 million funding round, which has become the hottest news today.
Any journalist with a modicum of knowledge would know that Momo's Series A funding round of $300 million put its valuation at least in the tens of millions of dollars.
This is the largest financing round in China's mobile internet sector to date.
Momo was born with a silver spoon in its mouth, which is revolutionary and provides countless news angles for reporting.
Some were pleasantly surprised, while others were puzzled.
Wang Xing, who was in the guest area, frowned; he didn't understand.
Although Meituan received more investment from Sequoia Capital than Momo, Meituan's daily deal model has been successfully validated by Groupon.
Momo, a product in the pure stranger social networking field, seems to be doing well, but it has no successful comparable products. So why is its valuation in the tens of millions of US dollars?
Just as puzzled as Wang Xing was Lei Jun, who was in Beijing, listening to the press conference live while working.
"Geng Zhi actually came to see Liu Qin?" he muttered to himself.
Lin Bin, who was busy nearby, glanced at him but didn't say anything.
Lei Jun has visited Liu Qin of Morningside Capital three times to secure the first round of external financing for Dami Technology.
Liu Qin has always had doubts about Dami Technology's business model, and the highest valuation he can give Dami Technology is only US$2500 million. The two sides have not yet reached an agreement.
"That Liu Qin guy doesn't have a high opinion of our Dami Technology, but he actually has a high opinion of Momo, a pure software product with a completely unclear business model?" Lei Jun muttered unconsciously.
"Hmm? Mr. Lei, what's wrong?" Lin Bin finally couldn't help but ask when he saw that Lei was acting like a broken record.
"That straightforward guy created an app called Momo, which focuses on chatting with people nearby. He received $3 million in investment from Sequoia Capital, and the valuation is estimated to be around 20 to 30 million US dollars." Lei Jun shook his head. "I don't understand."
Lei Jun couldn't understand why Momo's valuation was so high, while Lin Bin couldn't understand why Lei Jun was acting like a nagging old woman today.
He finally couldn't hold back any longer and advised Lei Jun, "You have no right to speak without research. Mr. Lei, why don't you download it and try it out now?"
"Oh, right." Lei Jun finally pulled out his Meizu M8 phone. "I'll download it and take a look."
Apart from the people mentioned above, other ordinary viewers, both online and offline, did not react very strongly to Momo's $300 million funding round.
After all, how much funding they receive doesn't really concern them.
On the stage, Geng Zhi continued to speak eloquently: "When Mr. Shen invested in Momo, he said he had two goals: First, of course, to make money. Second, to help the development of the domestic 3G mobile market."
As soon as Geng Zhi finished speaking, the audience turned to look in the direction of the investors in the guest area, paying tribute to Shen Nanpeng, a capital investor with a grand vision.
The camera was also focused on Shen Nanpeng.
Shen Nanpeng smiled nonchalantly on the surface, but inwardly he couldn't help but sigh: My only goal is [making money], I've never even considered a second goal. Little Geng really knows how to elevate my perspective, not bad, not bad.
Geng Zhi spoke again, his brows furrowed: "I want to help President Shen achieve his first goal of making money, but that netizen named [@I Don't Want to Spend Money Online] doesn't want me to help him. I'm torn between the investor and the user!"
After saying that, he helplessly shrugged, his expression resembling that of a man caught between his wife and mother.
Hahaha--!
The audience burst into laughter again.
"Xiao Geng is clever! He doesn't want to offend that netizen, so he's shifting all the attention to you, President Shen!" Xu Xiaoping looked at Shen Nanpeng beside her and couldn't help but laugh.
"Who told me I have the capital?" Shen Nanpeng could only shake his head with a wry smile.
Geng Zhi suddenly changed his tone: "But the user is God, how can we let God pay? God can only be served."
"Hmm?" Shen Nanpeng frowned subconsciously and asked in a low voice.
"So, I probably can't help President Shen achieve his first goal, but I can help him achieve his second one." Geng Zhi said with a serious expression.
Shen Nanpeng stared at Geng Zhi, who had a serious expression on the stage, and suddenly had a bad feeling.
"Now, I announce that anyone who registers for the Momo app will receive a free 100-year premium membership. All membership privileges, such as chat, community, virtual gifts, and other future features, will be free for life."
A poster appeared on the big screen with six large characters: [Momo Free for 100 Years]
boom--!
The entire room fell silent for a second, then erupted in thunderous applause.
Whether at the venue or in the online live stream, users instantly went wild.
"Free use for 100 years! Doesn't that mean it's free forever?"
"Holy crap! I'm God now! God has to be served, this feels amazing!"
"Virtual gifts are free now?! What a great product!! If you don't download it now, when will you?! If you don't support Momo, who else will you support?!"
The announcement that Momo would be free for 100 years brought the press conference to a new climax, with widespread praise online.
On Weibo, the hashtag #MomoFreeFor100Years# is rapidly climbing to the top of the trending topics list.
The audience cheered, but the investors in the audience, especially Shen Nanpeng, were dumbfounded.
In the social media industry, traditional business models mainly rely on virtual items, membership value-added services, and Google Play to generate profits, with the first two being the mainstay and the foundation.
But by being straightforward, he blocked the two easiest ways for Momo to monetize.
-
"Nanpeng, I remember that Xiao Geng's business plan mentioned that Momo has a three-tiered profit model. The first tier is the fastest and most direct way to monetize through virtual gifts and membership value-added services, right? How come it's suddenly free?" Xu Xiaoping looked at Shen Nanpeng in confusion.
"Teacher Xu is right. I remember Xiao Geng saying the same thing during his roadshow," Zhu Xiaohu immediately chimed in. "Members are the foundation, GG is the second floor, and the game is the top floor. Now the foundation is gone—"
Unaware of this background, Kai-Fu Lee, along with Hsu Hsiao-ping and Chu Hsiao-hu, turned their attention to Shen Nan-peng.
Shen Nanpeng frowned deeply: "I have no idea what Xiao Geng is up to—I just transferred 200 million US dollars to him this morning—"
Xu Xiaoping, Zhu Xiaohu, and Li Kaifu: "Such a big change as this business model, didn't you even communicate with the investors beforehand?" Xu Xiaoping asked, puzzled.
"My teacher—he's always been straightforward in his actions—" Zhu Xiaohu then commented.
"Could it be that Xiao Geng was swayed by that [@I don't want to spend money online] post and made a decision on a whim?"
"I don't think so, the PPTs were all prepared in advance —"
Xu Xiaoping, Zhu Xiaohu, and Li Kaifu exchanged glances and instantly felt sorry for Shen Nanpeng, who was foolish and rich.
Shen Nanpeng ignored the three people's gazes and fell into deep thought. He kept recalling every word Geng Zhi had said since the beginning, trying to understand Geng Zhi's logic.
When the group turned their attention back to the stage, the applause had subsided, and Geng Zhi began to wrap things up.
He stood on the stage, looking at the sea of people below: "Today, I talked about 'Outliers,' about Paul the Octopus, about the future of mobile internet, and about Momo. But in the end, I want to go back to the very beginning."
The splash screen reappeared on the big screen, still displaying only five words: [Hello, stranger].
"These are the words Momo said to you, and also the first words you said to the world. This world is vast, with 60 billion people. You may only know a few hundred or a few thousand of them."
"But the remaining people are not strangers; they are acquaintances whom we haven't met yet."
"Connect with people nearby, discover the possibilities around you, let's start from scratch!"
Geng Zhi bowed deeply: "Thank you for coming. Thank you for being willing to say 'Hello' to strangers on the Momo app."
The entire audience rose to their feet, and the applause was thunderous and prolonged.
After the press conference ended, people from all walks of life began to leave.
Yang Mingxia's team has sent the media materials package to the QQ group for this press conference, so that all media outlets can obtain the latest and most comprehensive media materials as soon as possible, and carry out the most accurate and efficient publicity for Momo.
Du Yujiao and Shu Beibei were in charge of wrapping up the event, while Lü Siyu was in charge of guest arrangements—everyone was busy.
After stepping down from the stage, Geng Zhi didn't even have time to drink water before rushing backstage to find Ma Tongtong to check the latest Momo registration data.
After leaving the Huaxia Hall, Gou Youqian, Qin Hongfang, Qi Chuqin, and Jin Zhilong chatted enthusiastically with Zhu Xiaohu, Shen Nanpeng, and Yang Dong.
The group discussed the trends of mobile internet, the Momo app, and whether LBS (Location Based Services) could become future infrastructure.
Qi Chuqin didn't say much; he spent most of his time listening. The more he listened, the more moved he became, and the more he realized that his students truly understood the application of LBS better than he did.
On the way to the airport, Yang Dong couldn't help but ask, "Neil, has Geng Zhi discussed Momo's plan to offer it for free for 100 years with you?"
"No," Shen Nanpeng shook his head, then added, "Our shareholding ratio isn't high enough."
Yang Dong remained silent.
After a while, Yang Dong said again:
-
"Judging from today's momentum, the Momo app might really take off before the end of the month, and there's a 50% chance we'll lose our bet."
"But if both Momo's membership and value-added services are free, it can't support a valuation of $3000 million. Wouldn't our $300 million investment be a loss?"
Shen Nanpeng gave Yang Dong a meaningful look, then said, "Some of the things Geng Zhi says in public should be interpreted in reverse."
.
"Huh?" Yang Dong asked, puzzled. "Neil, are you saying that what he said about Momo being free for 100 years was a lie? And that it will start charging in the future?"
"Wouldn't his credit be ruined? That would be a huge loss!" Shen Nanpeng retorted.
"Then—NeiI, what do you mean?" Yang Dong was even more puzzled.
"He said that QQ and Renren are predecessors, industry giants. Mingfan Technology is a startup, and it has neither the ambition nor the courage to try to shake a giant tree," Shen Nanpeng explained.
Yang Dong suddenly realized: "You mean, Geng Zhi wants to challenge Renren and QQ?"
PS: I'll revise this later. My cold got worse today, and I'm really not feeling well. Sorry.