Chen Yansen had two priorities: girls and money.
Class barbecues and forced bonding activities? A monumental waste of time. He'd much rather take Meng Jie to Pearl Lake for some quiet, quality moments. The electric thrill of young romance was a far better investment.
So, that's exactly what he did. After a thoroughly satisfying evening, he hummed his way back to dorm 0418 and slept like a king.
For most students, Saturday meant freedom. For Chen Yansen, it was business as usual.
The morning vanished in a blur of meetings: daily stand-up, requirement reviews, campaign strategy. By noon, he felt he'd talked in circles but gotten little done. The saving grace was FoxTao's machinery, which hummed along smoothly. Under his relentless drive, daily active users and order volume were inching toward their first major milestone.
Bored, he dove into the online forums to see what users were saying about FoxTao.
*"Don't use FoxTao! Who designed this iPhone 4 giveaway? They were handing out eggs at my granny's village entrance to get people to sign up! Even the 80-year-olds got dragged into it!"*
"Giving out eggs is genius. Might try it at my apartment complex."
"Has anyone actually gotten a free phone?"
"My cousin's friend got a free microwave, but she had to recruit a ton of new users!"
"Who runs FoxTao? That guy has no ethics. I hope his kids are born without—"
Chen Yansen nodded thoughtfully, closed the browser, and let out a satisfied sigh. "So much positive feedback. I really am a business genius." He imagined the wave of "appreciation" that would flood in once the Ten Billion Subsidy SMS blasts went out. Still, a good product must listen to its users—their critiques were vital for improvement.
He called Wang Zihao over. "Keep an eye on online sentiment. Flag any particularly positive reviews for me."
"Brother Sen, you're shameless. I respect it." Wang Zihao gave a wry thumbs-up.
"Greatness isn't built on pleasantries. Remember, a person's moral standing and their bank balance are often inversely proportional," Chen Yansen stated with the gravity of a philosopher sharing ancient wisdom. It was a lesson he'd learned the hard way in another life, costing him years of struggle.
"Right… I'll get on it." Wang Zihao nodded, equal parts amused and resigned.
"Oh, and make time to sit with Teacher Liu from Finance. Learn the basics," Chen Yansen added as an afterthought.
"Finance? For ad buys?" Wang Zhao looked confused.
"Just do it." Chen Yansen's tone brooked no argument. Wang Zihao shrugged and agreed.
Alone again, Chen Yansen pulled up the data dashboard. Yesterday's new user count: 193,000. First-order conversion rate: a mere 7.1%. Most were still just hunting for freebies—massive room for growth.
The weekly retention rate was 41.3%. A cold truth: of the over one million new users acquired last week, only 400,000 would log in the next week, 160,000 the week after, and a paltry 60,000 by month's end.
This was the congenital weakness of affiliate e-commerce: it was a middleman, not a traffic source or a product maker. Stop buying ads, and the whole thing starved.
But Chen Yansen wasn't worried. This was 2010. Customer acquisition was cheap, and his "no-holds-barred" marketing tactics were perfect for raking in a fortune before the model's inevitable sunset. Then, with capital and confidence, he could pivot—food delivery, short video, anything. The world was his oyster.
3:00 PM. The SMS gateway was live.
Zhuang Rui and the QA team had combed through the "Ten Billion Subsidy" logic and backend code one final time. Only after their all-clear did Hu Yun begin batch-sending the marketing SMS to the user list.
While the official 11.11 sale lasted a day, Chen Yansen's subsidy red packets were valid for 14 days. He was giving users time to browse, to crave, to commit.
[FoxTao]Your 10 Billion Subsidy Red Packet is here! Exclusive 100 RMB voucher bundle secured. Claim now: [link]. Reply T to unsubscribe.
Across the country, phones buzzed. In an era before SMS spam and scams became rampant, a link from a known website still held trust.
Some users clicked and scoffed. The "100 RMB exclusive voucher" was just a stack of conditional coupons. A marketing gimmick.
But others' eyes widened. Home appliances? Furniture? These qualified too?
An electric kettle, after rebate and subsidy, saved over 10 RMB—like getting 20% off.
A pair of brand sneakers? Saved over 40 RMB.
A winter down jacket? Saved over 100 RMB.
With the 11.11 shopping fever brewing, the savviest online shoppers saw an arbitrage opportunity.
Soon, "helpful" agents popped up on forums and QQ groups: "I'll help you buy using FoxTao coupons, no service fee, even give you 2% back!" Many fell for it.
But others caught on quickly. Some quietly copied the method; others exposed the scheme publicly.
By the third day, Chen Yansen spotted anomalies in the data.
First, a handful of users had impossibly high order volumes, all for premium items. The data Ali sent back was patchy, but his gut screamed reseller.
Second, new user registrations from single IP addresses had spiked.
"Brother Sen, we found it!" Wang Zihao called out, having connected the dots while monitoring forums. "It's purchasing agents. They're reselling our subsidies. Should we ban their accounts?"
"Why would we ban them?" Chen Yansen countered.
"But they're exploiting the system! Leeching off our promotion!" Zhang Wenbo protested, frustration evident.
"Zhuang Rui. Your thoughts?" Chen Yansen turned to his calm-headed product manager.
Zhuang Rui adjusted his glasses. "First, we limit new registrations per IP from five to three. Second, we cap orders per user from a single Taobao store to avoid Ali flagging them as fraudulent. Finally… we launch a formal referral program. Existing users get a bonus for every new user they bring in."
"Applause!" Chen Yansen initiated the clapping, beaming. "You're learning fast, Zhuang Rui!"
The purchasing agent industry would thrive for over a decade. In 2010, the barriers to online shopping—a computer, online banking, platform registration—were too high for most. Chen Yansen remembered the Taobao agent shops on every corner in his hometown, doing booming business.
Wang Zihao and the team fell silent, the lesson sinking in. They'd been fixated on immediate profit loss, on stamping out "cheats." They'd missed the bigger picture: in a business ecosystem, every participant, even the "parasites," could be a vector for growth.
For this Double Eleven, brand recognition was worth far more than a few percentage points of margin. With fame, he could negotiate better rebate rates, faster settlements, and prime promotional spots with the big platforms. Without it, he wouldn't even get past the reception desk.
The office erupted into thunderous applause for Zhuang Rui, their eyes now shining with understanding.
"Back to work! After Double Eleven, the November bonus will be calculated based on gross profit. I hope that number makes us all smile. Now, let's make it happen!"
In the following days, the ad budget ballooned.
On 11.11 itself, ad spend on major video and portal sites hit 600,000 RMB—six times the daily norm.
The result? A tidal wave of new users. Combined with the "0-Yuan Flash Deal" campaign, daily new registrations shattered 300,000 for the first time.
After a three-day sprint, Chen Yansen and his ops and design teams launched the special "11.11 Edition" homepage at the eleventh hour.
Thirteen curated category pages. Over 2,000 hand-picked core products from top brands, presented in sleek "brand zones."
The site's entire feel leveled up instantly.
In Room 206, the real-time data dashboard glowed.
3:47 PM: Daily orders surpassed 200,000.
5:29 PM: Daily Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) broke 10 Million RMB.
The roar of celebration drew President Tang Qingshan to the startup park by 8 PM. The number on the screen now read: 12.03 Million RMB.
"Chen Yansen… is this data accurate?" Tang Qingshan asked, astounded. Just a week ago, FoxTao's daily GMV was around 200,000 RMB. A sixty-fold explosion in days?
"Principal, the data from Ali has a 15-minute delay. Actual sales are likely higher. The data team will reconcile with Ali's backend tomorrow," Chen Yansen replied smoothly. E-commerce festival spikes were rare; he didn't need to explain the mechanics. FoxTao's success was his best leverage at Xucheng Academy.
The connections and resources a university president held were unimaginable to most. That was the real reason he'd chosen to plant his flag here.
"Teacher Cao," Tang Qingshan said, unable to hide his satisfaction, "inform the logistics department. Prepare late-night snacks for fifty and deliver them to the startup park."
"Right away." Cao Dahua nodded, shooting a complex look at Chen Yansen before leaving. This kid really knows how to make waves. I was already in bed! If this keeps up, my health won't hold…
Hangzhou. Alibaba Headquarters. Lights blazed through the night.
"Daniel, GMV has crossed 900 million. 1 billion is within reach. Four hours left—we'll hit Chairman Ma's target," a subordinate reported excitedly to Zhang Yong.
"Why is the sales volume from the Alimama affiliate network 5.1% higher than the baseline?" Zhang Yong asked, his analytical gaze fixed on the screens. "Trace the source."
"It's a shopping guide platform called FoxTao. Since midnight, it has driven over 200,000 visits to Taobao. The data team just confirmed their GMV for today is… 12 million RMB."
"FoxTao?" Zhang Yong murmured, a flicker of surprise crossing his usually impassive face. A shopping guide site pulling in tens of millions in a single day?
He made a mental note. It might be worth meeting the brains behind this operation.
After all, the 11.11 shopping festival was his brainchild. The more success stories it created, the brighter his own star would shine.