Hollywood Hunter

As a key project that Igrid has been quietly incubating, all aspects of 58list have been clearly considered.Perhaps it was because the consideration was too clear that the design of the first version of the homepage was directly killed by Simon.

Because it is too cumbersome.

Simon's memory of the classified information website in memory is impressive. At first glance, it is dense, and a lot of redundant information rushes into the eye, so that you don't even know what to do.

The 58list team initially made a similar mistake.

In order to let users realize that their services are thoughtful and complete, the initial homepage planning has three screens.

Simon finally gave only one screen design space, and the requirements are simple and simple. At the current mainstream dial-up network speed, it must also be opened instantly without waiting.

This means that the homepage basically exists in full text.

And most of the non-mainstream classified information services have been cut off, focusing on real estate, work and second-hand projects in the short term. In fact, this basically covers more than 80% of the classified information advertisements on the paper media platform.

In addition to the website LOGO and search box, the finalized page is divided into four simple sections, with real estate, work, and second-hand services as the main services. It also provides a forum for customer communication.

As a company that pioneered the era of the World Wide Web, there were no technical problems for Igrid.

For 58list to succeed, the key is to operate.

For the latecomer Simon, he knows better than anyone that the classified website will encounter various problems such as false information, online fraud, etc. during the operation process.

Therefore, during the preparation of 58list, the formation of the legal team became the top priority of this subsidiary.

Americans often speak with lawyers. Once they encounter problems such as fraud on the 58list platform, they will definitely point the finger at the wealthy Igret.

The Internet classified information service touches the foundation of the traditional paper media platform's annual revenue of up to 20 billion US dollars. It is conceivable that as long as disputes occur, the paper media will never be stingy to stir public opinion to the hottest and push Igret to the top. .

It is almost the general trend that free Internet classified information service replaces the paid service of paper media.

Simon believes that no one can stop this trend.

However, in this game of industry redistribution that will never be calm, the formation of a strong legal team in advance and the formulation of clear terms of power and responsibility can maximize the smooth development of 58list.

At the end of the last meeting before the 58list went live, at noon everyone will have a meal in the restaurant at the headquarters of Igret.

During this time, Igrid used $1.5 billion in funds from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to invest in a number of startups in a row, but 58list was the only Igrid similar to Facebook, Google, and Amazon. As a wholly-owned subsidiary, it can be seen that the top management attaches importance to this project.

The CEO of 58list is Michael Novarek, 35 years old, graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and worked at HP for five years.

After the establishment of Igret, Michael Novarek was dug up to become the company's first batch of employees.

As a vigorous technical veteran with a Ph.D. degree, Michael Novarek has participated in the development of the email and web forum projects of the Igrid portal.

At a dining table in the restaurant were Simon, Bezos, Tim Bonas Lee and Michael Novarek.

Everyone continued to discuss some of the 58list business model issues, and aware of Michael Novarek’s ambition, Simon asked: "Mike, the $20 billion traditional paper media classified information advertising market, how many years do you think it can be transformed Revenue for the Internet industry?"

Michael Novarek said: "If 10 years later, even because of the free nature of the Internet, it will not be possible to convert the entire $20 billion output value,

Simon looked at Bezos and Lee and asked, "How much do you think it should be?"

Tim Berners Lee said: "I think there should be 5 billion US dollars."

Jeff Bezos probably felt Simon’s intention, saying: "We are only developing classified information services similar to traditional paper media. With the development of the Internet industry, 58list will also provide more classified value-added services in the future. To further expand the market, $5 billion, this figure is not much."

Simon nodded slightly.

58list does not intend to pursue any profit in the short term, but during this time, the Igreat team has also formulated more than one sustainable potential business model.

The Craig directory used to be a classified information website that monopolized the North American market. Because of the founder's free operation concept, although it has a large amount of traffic, its annual revenue is only hundreds of millions of dollars.

Of course, because there are only dozens of employees in the area after many years of development, the Craig Directory’s hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue per year is also terrible, resulting in the super Internet giants such as Yahoo, Google, and Facebook trying. Enter the classified information market.

The key to the success of Craig's catalog is free and monopolistic.

This time, Igerit started the layout ahead of time, and it was even easier to rely on its own advantages to form a de facto monopoly in this market.

However, it is very difficult to obtain a large amount of revenue.

Simon and three others finished expressing their opinions and raised two fingers: "200 million US dollars."

Even Bezos, who understands that Simon is pouring cold water on Michael Novarec, has some surprises. If 58list can only achieve $200 million in revenue after 10 years, this business is not worth continuing.

Simon waited for three people to ask questions and explained actively: "According to the current free operation model, 58list is similar to a public service platform, and will continue for a long time in the future. Fortunately, our operating costs are very low, If the identity of the Igret subsidiary is completely set aside, I believe that operating such a full-text public service platform, even according to the size of the user covering the entire Federation, actually only requires dozens of employees, including office space, server expenses Wait, the annual expenditure will not exceed 20 million US dollars."

All three of Jeff Bezos have considerable technical foundation. Simon said that, all three nodded in recognition.

If it is completely a free public service platform and does not pursue commercial operation, 58list really only needs dozens of employees and the same few other expenses.

Moreover, doing so can also ensure that 58list monopolizes the classified information service field almost without competitors.

After monopolizing the market, it will be very easy to make sure to properly commercialize on the basis of free services.

However, the revenue of about 200 million US dollars will probably be a limit.

The fixed cost of US$20 million will be exchanged for US$200 million in annual revenue. By then, the small days of the platform will be very moist, but there will be no further breakthroughs.

Seeing that all three were in thought, Simon stopped talking and picked up the utensils to continue his lunch.

After a while, Simon’s lunch was almost the same, and Michael Novare smiled bitterly: "If we kill a $20 billion industry and only get a new market of $200 million, would it be too much failure? some?"

Simon put down the tableware and said, "From a public point of view, it is actually equivalent to saving us 20 billion dollars in expenditure for them every year. Many people have to thank us."

Jeff Bezos said: "The paper media group will want to kill us."

Simon said: "Every technological change means that many industries have been eliminated. When steam looms first appeared, traditional workers rushed into the factory and smashed the machines, but they could never save their jobs. On the contrary, those who followed the trend to start mechanization The people in the textile factory have made a fortune. The steam revolution and the electrical revolution are like this every time. Now, we are at the beginning of a new information revolution. Inevitable."

Tim Berners-Lee couldn't help but say: "The beginning of the big era."

"Yeah," Simon smiled, pointing at a few of himself, and at the others in the restaurant, saying: "A big era we personally created."

Jeff Bezos and Tim Berners-Lee heard the expressions, and both expressions were a little more arrogant.

Michael Novarec also gave a little excitement in his heart, but remembering what Simon just said, he added: "I still care more about my project."

Simon withdrew the topic that just diverged, saying: "In fact, the industry scale of 20 billion US dollars is still there. What I just said is just the worst result. How much can be converted depends on the results of your work. However, Mike, I need to remind you a little bit, 58list can continue to try to tap various business models, but never mind the money-making things, users should be placed first. All services of 58list must follow the principle of user supremacy. If Our platform service can make users feel value for money, they will naturally take out their own wallet. On the contrary, if everyone thinks this is a platform where scammers rampage, false information rages, and only knows the fee but can not provide equivalent services, even Using your own advantages to monopolize the entire industry, compared with the potentially larger potential market, you will only get a small cake that has shrunk seriously."

Everyone knows the truth and has always known that it is easy to walk.

For classified information services, what Simon can do is to remind the 58list team not to go in the wrong direction as much as possible.

Moreover, compared with Igret’s huge layout in other fields, this part of the business is not the core after all. If Michael Novarek messes up, Simon will resolutely adjust this subsidiary to a free public service platform. It should be a charitable act of Igret.

After the meeting of the day, 58list was quietly launched on Wednesday, August 11.

The threat of this service to the traditional paper media is too obvious. Therefore, the Igrid portal did not give any big fanfare, which actually avoids the direct explosion of user demand to a large extent, and gives the 58list team a relatively full exploration. space.

However, as a classified information service platform with the same city model as the core, if it is done by other start-up companies, it may only choose one or two cities to carry out business. 58list has strong technical support from Igrid, which is directly covered after it is opened. The capital cities of the fifty states of the United States and other metropolitan areas with large populations

Although it is not widely promoted, it is a service interface application that is parallel to Facebook, Google and Amazon as the home page of the Igrid portal, and I can also log in directly through the Igrid mailbox. The service is completely free, just a few days, 58list A large number of users poured into the website, and in just three days of opening, the number of posts in various sectors such as house rental and sales, employee recruitment, and second-hand transactions exceeded one million.

The classified information advertisements of the newspaper platform also have different charging standards based on circulation and other factors, roughly ranging from tens to hundreds of dollars.

58list broke the number of posts of 1 million in just three days. If it is charged according to the newspaper platform, it is equivalent to a potential loss of 50 million to 100 million US dollars to the paper media industry.

In recent years, many people have never thought that the rise of the Internet industry will bring too much impact to traditional media. With the launch of 58list, everyone finally felt a real threat.

Even though most of the paper media platforms instinctively evaded the popularity of 58list after it went online, and even the Igrid portal itself kept a low profile in the spirit of quietly entering the village, the launch of this online service inevitably caused Some people's attention.

A financial interview program on CNN channel even made a special topic on 58list on the following Monday, detailing the popularity of this online service and the potential threat to traditional paper media.

As a result, the news naturally began to spread.

In addition, the 58list interface is placed on the home page of the Igrid portal that is necessary after the IE browser is opened. It is also very convenient to use, and some users who are not interested are also quietly clicked in.

More professional real estate or recruitment information is not necessarily available in a short time, so the second-hand market has become the target of most users.

The second-hand trade in the United States is very developed, whether it is car furniture or toy pets, as long as you want to get it, someone will sell it and someone will buy it.What's more, this platform is not like a newspaper, and it doesn't cost a penny. Some things in the family that haven't been used for a long time are readily available. If you can sell dozens of dollars, why not do it?

In order to expand their business, many service platforms in Simon's memory are always used to conceal the potential risks of related services from users.

58list did not do this.

Before users post, the first thing to read is the website terms and anti-fraud statement carefully prepared by the 58list legal team to remind the potential risks of using the platform to conduct transactions, and only after the user clicks the consent button, they can continue to post.

Even so, the scam incident happened quickly.