Chapter 1 After the Speech

After Meng Chang finished his opening remarks, many investors who had originally frowned and felt that this was unreliable softened their attitudes.

Everyone began to listen seriously.

Meng Chang was very relaxed, without any pressure, and began to talk eloquently about the business model of "Qing Mian Gu Niang" (Cold Noodles Girl).

Overall, the content he talked about was similar to what he had told He Desheng, but many details were more detailed.

Because when he met with He Desheng before, time was limited, so all the content had to be compressed to within half an hour.

But now that it was a press conference, such a short time would definitely not be enough to produce an effect, so Meng Chang extended the time to nearly two hours.

All the content was divided into three main parts.

The first part argued for the huge market demand for kao leng mian (grilled cold noodles) and the changes that "Qing Mian Gu Niang" would bring to the grilled cold noodles and even the fast-food industry.

The current market situation was still those few points, mainly that the grilled cold noodles were unhygienic, difficult to guarantee the taste, and the variety was monotonous, while the current Internet+catering was a huge trend.

At this stage, the task of "Qing Mian Gu Niang" was to create a brand concept that could be linked to the traditional food of "grilled cold noodles" through products and marketing, that is, to make everyone subconsciously associate "Qing Mian Gu Niang" when they heard "grilled cold noodles."

The second part was to expand around the brand concept after the "Qing Mian Gu Niang" brand was established and to carry out various Chinese fast-food business models.

Around the "Qing Mian Gu Niang" brand and concept, peripheral fast-food products were produced, such as burritos, roujiamo (Chinese burgers), side dishes, porridge, cold noodles, and so on.

These products would serve as a supplement to the signature delicacy of "grilled cold noodles" and gradually evolve customers' perception of "Qing Mian Gu Niang" from a simple grilled cold noodles brand to a fast-food brand.

The third part was that after "Qing Mian Gu Niang" had gained a firm foothold in the fast-food industry, it would take this opportunity to embrace the Internet ecosystem, break down the barriers between online and offline, catering and the Internet, and users and the platform, which was the so-called "multi-dimensional fusion."

Because "Qing Mian Gu Niang" represented a way of life and an Internet mindset, users would naturally accept this "multi-dimensional fusion" model.

For example, it could do central kitchens, food delivery, food reviews, and other industries, and continuously expand the concept and moat of the "Qing Mian Gu Niang" brand through content accumulation.

During the explanation, Meng Chang made some relatively abstract concepts easy to understand and quoted many famous sayings from Internet bigwigs, which made many investors in the audience nod frequently.

And for some places that might be controversial, Meng Chang explained them in advance, directly blocking the way for others to question him.

"Some people may ask, 'Qing Mian Gu Niang' only makes grilled cold noodles. You attach so much importance to marketing and brand building, and even plan to spend huge sums of money for this. Is this meaningful? Is it hype?"

"I want to ask everyone a question in return: We all know that 'product is king,' so who knows what the exact definition of 'product' is?"

"Some people think that marketing and product are completely opposite poles. If you do marketing, you can't do products anymore. I think this understanding is narrow."

"Product, in fact, is the sum of physical objects and concepts."

"Just like when we buy Pineapple phones, we are buying both physical objects and concepts. If it has no concept, then its value will shrink by at least one-third."

"Therefore, the reason why our Internet companies attach so much importance to marketing is not because we want to hype, to pass off inferior products as good ones, but because we must balance the relationship between 'physical objects' and 'concepts' in order to create a business model with a moat. This is what it means to have a good product."

"We combine the brand 'Qing Mian Gu Niang' with this traditional snack of grilled cold noodles and deeply bind them together, then we have created a moat. In the future, when customers want to eat grilled cold noodles, their first reaction will be to come and eat the grilled cold noodles of 'Qing Mian Gu Niang'. This kind of marketing is of course meaningful. How can it be hype?"

"Hype is chasing popularity and traffic at all costs, as for how to use this popularity and traffic after it comes, there is no plan; and our marketing is to create a brand concept, which is part of our product."

"Some people may also ask, grilled cold noodles are just a snack, even if it is delicious, you can eat it at most once a week, how can you eat it as a meal?"

"In fact, 'Qing Mian Gu Niang' absolutely does not encourage customers to eat grilled cold noodles as a meal. Because it is neither nutritious nor healthy, and it does not conform to the dietary habits of most people."

"The grilled cold noodles of 'Qing Mian Gu Niang' are actually just a sign, a concept, a star product, not the only one."

"In the first stage, we will not only have grilled cold noodles in various flavors, but also other 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 burritos, braised rice, and so on. These are all part of our meals."

"So, why do I keep emphasizing the concept of 'grilled cold noodles'? Because 'grilled cold noodles' are our breakthrough point."

"If we shouted about doing Chinese fast food as soon as we came up, we would definitely die miserably, because there are too many competitors in Chinese fast food, and we don't have a memory point that can make all consumers quickly remember us."

"And focusing on the concept of 'grilled cold noodles' can greatly reduce the difficulty of consumers' recognition and memory cost of the 'Qing Mian Gu Niang' brand."

"We emphasize 'grilled cold noodles,' which means that our direct competitors are not those Chinese catering brands, but those nameless, unsanitary roadside grilled cold noodles stalls. This is to fully exploit our comparative advantages."

"The primary goal is to acquire customers. First, create differentiation and characteristics, let customers know and remember, and then enrich the layout and consider it in a more long-term direction."

"Some people may also ask, what is the difference between 'Qing Mian Gu Niang' and Moyu Takeaway? As products of Tengda, will there be any conflict?"

"My answer is that 'Qing Mian Gu Niang' will focus on 'fast food,' while Moyu Takeaway, strictly speaking, should be 'set meals' or 'simple meals'. Just like steak pizza and fried chicken burgers, the categories are different and do not interfere with each other."

"'Qing Mian Gu Niang' and Moyu Takeaway, and even most catering models on the market, do not constitute a direct competitive relationship. We belong to differentiated competition, and we each grab our own target users."

"Some people may also ask, you are making grilled cold noodles, what are you talking about 'multi-dimensional fusion'? You haven't even started the first grilled cold noodles store, and you are thinking about various industrial linkages in the future. Isn't this too ambitious?"

"I want to say that those who do not plan for the whole situation are not enough to plan for one corner; those who do not plan for the general trend are not enough to plan for a moment. As Internet entrepreneurs, having a long-term vision is a very scarce but necessary ability."

"If my goal is just to make a grilled cold noodles casually, open a few branches, and have millions of dollars in sales every month, then why should I hold a press conference and try to get so much financing?"

"If I am a person who is content with a small fortune, what kind of return can everyone get by investing in me?"

"The so-called being too ambitious actually means not being down-to-earth. Everything is a castle in the air. It jumps directly from the foundation to the highest point, with a huge gap in the middle."

"But the model I planned for 'Qing Mian Gu Niang' has a clear three-step goal. For each step, I clearly stated the goals, means, and the ultimate results to be achieved. There is no gap in the middle."

"Of course, some details are trade secrets. I can't say too much. I must keep them confidential. This is a necessary condition to ensure the success of the entrepreneurship."

"As I said before, I don't expect everyone to decide to take out their money immediately after reading this ppt."

"Everyone can pay close attention to the dynamics of the 'Qing Mian Gu Niang' brand. When I open the first store, complete the first marketing event, make a profit in the first month, open the second store... you will see that my goals are completed one by one, and you will naturally understand that I am serious."

"So, if you have any questions, you can ask me as much as you like. As long as it is not too detailed to involve some secrets, I will tell you everything I know."

Meng Chang signaled the staff to prepare the microphones that had already been prepared and hand them to the investors in the audience.

After nearly two hours of speeches, many investors had developed a strong interest in this brand.

Whether this brand can succeed, no one can guarantee it. But at least, listening to the entire press conference, this model is quite interesting, so whether it is to question in an approving or opposing way, these investors are very interested.

Faced with one question after another, whether gentle or sharp, Meng Chang did not panic at all and talked eloquently, quoting extensively.

In the audience, Xue Zhebin looked puzzled.

He tilted his head towards Li Shi and said in a low voice, "President Li, I think what he said makes a lot of sense. I can't help but want to invest some money to buy some original shares and play with them. If it can really succeed, the rate of return is amazingly high."

Li Shi was silent for a moment: "We can't be sure just by listening to this. The risk is very high. It's best to take another look."

"Smart investors can't have a gambler mentality when investing. Thinking that a project will get super high returns, they are often swindled clean. The most brilliant wisdom of investment is not only to see opportunities, but also to know how to avoid risks."

Xue Zhebin sighed: "Hey, investment is really a technical job. If someone could invent a lie detector and know if someone is lying with just one look, that would be great. Investment would not be deceived."

Li Shi smiled: "It's useless to have a lie detector. Some people say everything seriously, but when it comes to doing things, their strength is not good. You invest money and still fail; some people may not think so much, but in the end they succeed because of chance, and that's not sure."

"Moreover, investment is inherently high-risk. Is it miserable for investors to be cheated of their money? Of course, it's miserable. But investors are not a vulnerable group. This is originally a brutal arena."

"Are investors innocent? Of course not. Investment should have been a long-term thing, but many investors are short-sighted. Their only purpose in investing money is to obtain more immediate benefits."

"Investors control a lot of money, but most investors do not invest the money where it is most needed. Instead, they flock to the so-called 'windfall,' burn money, hype, cut leeks, destroy the environment, and finally leave a mess."

"I was like this a few years ago, but now my concept has begun to change."

"So, you must not blame others when investing. If you encounter a project with a high rate of return, it is because you have keen eyes; if you encounter a liar, it is because your skills are too shallow."

"From an objective point of view, it is true that investors will be cheated of all their money if they encounter liars; but when investors encounter inexperienced and unwary entrepreneurs, they will not be kind-hearted, but will try their best to eat them clean."

"The business world is like a battlefield. You can't talk about morality or human feelings. It's normal to fight to the death within the limits of the law."

Xue Zhebin asked again, "Then, President Li, in your opinion, what is the probability of success of the 'Qing Mian Gu Niang' business model?"

Li Shi thought for a moment and said, "But if I only evaluate Meng Chang as a person, I would say that he is a marketing genius, a speech genius, as for whether he is a business genius or a scam genius..."

"It's still difficult to judge now. We still have to look at the situation after his first store opens."

"Just take his current situation of answering questions from investors. He is obviously well prepared, answers fluently, and does not reveal any flaws at all."

"I'm afraid we can't ask anything by just asking questions."

Xue Zhebin looked at He Desheng and Ma Yang sitting in the front row: "Will this President Ma ask questions?"

Li Shi couldn't help but smile: "I don't think so."

Others think that President Ma is very mysterious and that he is very likely to be a hidden investment genius.

But Li Shi doesn't think so.

Because Li Shi had dealt with Ma Yang many times when he was in Moyu Internet Cafe before, and he had even fooled Ma Yang to the point where he couldn't find Bei (North). He knew exactly how much Ma Yang weighed.

Ma Yang is very powerful because he has President Pei's guidance behind him!

Li Shi knew clearly that Ma Yang was a tool man under President Pei. The reason why he could get to such a key position was simply because he was obedient enough and absolutely loyal to President Pei.

As for his intelligence and ability, Li Shi felt that it was a world of difference from President Pei. At most, he was at the level of an ordinary person, or even slightly lower.

And what kind of person is Meng Chang? Whether he is a real genius or a big liar, his IQ is definitely among the top small group of people.

Ma Yang to question Meng Chang?

Anyone with a little self-awareness should not do this.