Reborn with Consumption System

Zhang Yiming and the others were all "talked into a limp" — that feeling where your heart is obviously fluttering with nerves, the more you think the less reliable it seems, yet you just can’t stop your blood from boiling...

In a swish, everyone, including Chen Lin, all turned their heads in unison to look at Zhang Yiming.

Big bro, you decide... I can’t hold it anymore!

To be honest, Zhang Yiming himself was also about to lose it. No matter how calm, how rational, how full of grand ambition he usually was, at this moment his CPU was about to burn out.

From 500 million US Dollar to 600 million US Dollar, that’s a straight 20% bump in valuation, definitely not a minor tweak.

If Han Lie were just some coal boss, nothing but money and no other value, then there’d be no need to think about it — rejecting him wouldn’t be a pity at all.

But the problem is... Teacher Han is a frigging guiding lighthouse!

He can offer guidance at the strategic level, he can help with the listing process, and he comes with this halo of "a warrior dies for the one who truly appreciates him." I’m already thinking about becoming sworn brothers with him, you get me?!

However, Zhang Yiming still managed to withstand the temptation in the end.

He asked with great difficulty, "Teacher Han, so what’s your requirement on the exit mechanism?"

An investment institution’s exit mechanism is a big topic that could take forever if you really unpack it.

Simply put, there are three common ones.

The first is of course IPO; after the lock-up period, the restricted shares can be sold on the secondary market.

The second is pre-IPO transfer, where subsequent institutional investors take over the shares.

For example, back in the day Little Superman invested in Tencent and exited early, selling his shares to Naspers.

The third is the buyback clause built into a VAM (performance-based) agreement.

First you’ve got Yang Mi turning into a super workaholic to hit her VAM targets, then you’ve got Wang Siming failing his VAM and ending up deep in debt... anyway, anything with a VAM is usually a pit.

Zhang Yiming’s question was quite necessary; the exit mechanism determines what exactly Han Lie is taking them for.

Facing this question, Brother Lie replied resolutely, "No Special requirements!

This is a strategic investment based on my extremely high confidence in your team. Not only will I not exit early, on the contrary, I will request priority follow-on rights in the next financing round to ensure my stake isn’t diluted.

Yiming, I won’t take any position in the company, and I’ll entrust my voting rights to you founders. Do you have the confidence to get this done?!"

Y-yeah, I guess... huh?!

Wait, I don’t think I’ve actually agreed to anything yet, have I?

How did this suddenly turn into some ancient emperor sending his minister off to war?!

That dog Lie has zero shame, but at a moment when the scale is already tipping, the less shame you have, the more you can push their decision over the edge.

"In principle I’m okay with it..."

Zhang Yiming licked his cracked lips and forced himself to speak.

"But as for giving you the entire allocation, I still need to hold another internal meeting and also talk to the other potential investors..."

At a moment like this, you’re supposed to go nuts throwing conditions at them, just dump everything on them and pin them down in one shot.

Otherwise, once they sober up and re-evaluate, they’ll still shrink back because of Tianhang’s innate shortcomings in the internet sector.

They will definitely give Han Lie a relatively large allocation, but it can’t be too much.

In this situation, everyone had a clear idea in their hearts, including the already half-dazed Zhang Nan and Zhang Lidong.

Right now, Zhang Yiming essentially just doesn’t have the heart to say no, but also can’t bring himself to say yes, so he can only grit his teeth and stall.

However, it was no longer convenient for Han Lie to sweeten the deal any further—the marginal effect was maxed out.

So, he quietly shot Panzi a look.

Stop holding back, it’s your turn, get up there!

Panzi gave an almost imperceptible nod—I got this! Good lad, watch me!

"Ahem!"

Panzi cleared his throat twice and made his dazzling entrance.

"Gentlemen, lend me your ears for a moment!"

Good lad has already pushed the progress bar to 90%; for the final push, watch my show!