The next morning, Chen Yansen ate breakfast and leisurely walked to the second floor of the startup park.
He found Zhuang Rui, Zhang Wenbo, and Hu Yun lying on a straw mat, huddled together in an awkward pose, fast asleep.
"Holy crap! You three are invincible!" Chen Yansen chuckled, taking out his phone to snap photos instead of waking them.
"Hey! Wake up! Put your clothes on. The customer service girls will be here soon. Don't scare them." After taking photos, Chen Yansen kicked Hu Yun awake with a grin.
"Damn! I was wearing clothes when I fell asleep!" Hu Yun cried out, realizing he was shirtless.
"Zhuang Rui, why were you poking me with a stick in the middle of the night?" Zhang Wenbo complained, rubbing his butt.
"Who poked you? You were dreaming!" Zhuang Rui yawned, grabbing a black T-shirt. "You're sloppy, throwing your dirty clothes on me."
"..." Hu Yun was speechless, unsure if he'd removed the clothes himself.
Chen Yansen took a step back. "Hurry up and wash up. This room stinks."
"Hehe, Brother Sen, guess the final data from yesterday?" Hu Yun asked, smiling as he dressed.
"I can't guess. Just tell me." Chen Yansen poured himself water.
"New customer growth reached 81,000. 6,459 orders, total sales of 201,600 yuan, gross profit of 32,800 yuan." Hu Yun recited the figures from memory.
"Not bad. Keep it up." Chen Yansen offered casual encouragement.
These numbers were astronomical for the students, but for Chen Yansen, it was just a publicity stunt. FoxTao's real growth depended on retention, conversion, and repeat purchases.
Hu Yun sighed. He sensed Chen Yansen's indifference. They were the same age, yet the gap felt vast.
The three dressed, rolled up their mats, and walked back to their dorm.
About ten minutes later, Song Yuncheng entered room 206 with her laptop. Her skills had improved greatly since FoxTao provided her a computer.
"Good morning, Mr. Chen." She hesitated but greeted him.
"Morning. How's customer service volume since the '0 yuan discount'? Can Meng Xibo and the others handle it?" Chen Yansen asked.
Handle it? Song Yuncheng paused, then understood. "We're overwhelmed at peak hours, but we manage during off-peak."
"Request Zhuang Rui to put FAQs on the access interface. Then have Xu Xingxing hire three more part-time customer service reps," Chen Yansen instructed after a moment's thought.
"Hire three more?" Song Yuncheng was confused.
"Be prepared. Training takes three days. We can't wait until they're overwhelmed." Chen Yansen explained patiently.
"Oh, I see." Song Yuncheng blushed, noting it down.
"B2C mall, website search, CRM, payment license..." Chen Yansen leaned back, muttering. "With our small team, it's a miracle nothing major has gone wrong."
While competitors offered discounts, he offered rebates. When they copied, he'd create brand groups. When they built brands, he'd develop the industry chain.
Always one step ahead.
Soon, most of the team arrived. The rooms were cramped with desks, a fridge, and a water dispenser.
If they hired more people, the newly rented room 204 would be full.
Students came and went based on their class schedules. Seniors like Zhang Wenbo spent most of their time there, aside from thesis work.
With the first free iPhone 4 user trending, FoxTao gained industry recognition. The advertising team's daily budget skyrocketed from 4,000 to 40,000 yuan.
New users poured in.
On October 24th: +97,000 users.
October 25th: +115,000.
October 26th: +141,000.
October 27th: +171,000.
October 28th: +163,000.
October 29th: +149,000.
October 30th: +93,000.
In under two months, through campaigns and over 300,000 yuan in ads, FoxTao reached 1.09 million registered users.
Daily active users stabilized around 60,000.
Daily orders: ~9,000.
Peak single-day sales: 280,000 yuan, nearing the 10-million-per-month goal.
But Chen Yansen knew these numbers could be fleeting without user retention.
October 31st, the month's last day. A gloomy atmosphere hung over the startup park's second floor.
"Zhuang Rui, what was Tencent's response?" Chen Yansen asked, suppressing his anger.
"Their security team ignored our scripts. They insist our links have security risks and won't unblock the IP or domain." Zhuang Rui was furious.
"Damn it!" Chen Yansen slammed the table. Tencent had blocked them, and he was powerless.
"How many new users today?" he asked Hu Yun.
"73% come from QQ. Without a fix, growth will cap around 50,000. Renren, Weibo, and Baidu might follow." Hu Yun's tone was serious.
FoxTao's price-cutting links were like digital psoriasis on social media.
"Switch IPs and domains. Guerrilla warfare with Tencent for now." Chen Yansen tapped the table, settling on a desperate plan.
"That's the only way," Zhuang Rui agreed, turning to work.
If only I knew Hao Rui. A word from him could solve this. Hao Rui was Tencent's investment director. In his past life, they were close.
But in 2010, Hao Rui was still at Accenture.
For now, endure. Once FoxTao grows and attracts investors, I'll find connections. Chen Yansen closed his eyes.
Across from him, Song Yuncheng watched secretly. This was the first time she'd seen him look powerless and irritable.
Beep beep beep— The office phone rang.
Xu Xingxing answered. "Hello, FoxTao, may I ask..." She stopped, looked up, and waved at Chen Yansen.
Reluctantly, he walked over. "I'm Chen Yansen, FoxTao's person in charge."
He listened with a somber face for three minutes, then hung up.
Leaning against the table, he gazed outside. FoxTao had caught the eye of a top hunter.
"Xu Xingxing, book two tickets to Shenzhen." He took a deep breath. This trip was unavoidable.
"Class monitor, who else is going?" Xu Xingxing asked eagerly.
"Song Yuncheng."
"Me?" Song Yuncheng pointed at herself, incredulous. Since when did a UI designer go on business trips?