2004，I am on leave 188bet sports betting app download university，Established PPLive。Within 10 years，After six rounds of financing，Three changes of core management team and partners；10 years later，Company sold to Suning。

If I had known 188bet sports betting app download from the beginning，The video industry is so difficult that the probability of surviving from startup to survival is less than 10%，I really don’t dare to challenge。As an early stage entrepreneur，I paid a high tuition fee，I also learned a painful lesson。

Today，The capital winter is coming again。8 years ago，We still have vivid memories of how we gritted our teeth and struggled through the capital winter，Explore your wealth and share it，Hope it can give some reference to those who come after 188bet sports betting app download。

After the subprime mortgage crisis，Three 188bet sports betting app download term letters declined us for various reasons

188bet sports betting app download is a winter story worth 150 million

End of 2004，I developed PPLive，Received angel financing in early 2005，Received Series A in 2006，Complete Series B in mid-2007，Smooth sailing。The pre-money valuation at that 188bet sports betting app download was US million，Post-money valuation is US million，The investment amount is equivalent to almost 1.500 million yuan。

So 188bet sports betting app download 1.The story of 500 million，Started after Series B financing。

After 2007，The industry is expanding rapidly，At least US0 million has been invested in 188bet sports betting app download industry，Nearly 90 registered video websites，More than half got the A round，The eight immortals cross the sea and show their magical powers，No one should be underestimated。

At that time we were preparing for Series C financing，And spent a huge amount of money to get the live broadcast rights of the 2008 Beijing Olympics，Traffic doubled。September 2008，We go to the United States to raise funds，Received three investment letters of intent 188bet sports betting app download different VCs，Exceeded expectations。

But then,The well-known subprime crisis happened，Market turmoil，Suddenly dropped to freezing point，VC itself cannot protect itself。In 188bet sports betting app download context，Three investment term letters declined us for various reasons。

Seeing that the money 188bet sports betting app download account is getting less and less，Financing is in huge trouble，ButThe cruel competition in the market has not weakened at all，I won’t give 188bet sports betting app download any breathing space at all。

On the one hand，We continue to fight fiercely with PPS，There is even vicious competition to uninstall each other’s software。On the other hand，Youku、Tudou has strong 188bet sports betting app download capabilities，And the timing of 188bet sports betting app download is very good，Complete 188bet sports betting app download before crisis，Business traffic starts in 2008，Gradually surpassing us。

To make matters worse，2008，I am not yet 28 years old，As a CEO who has been in business for 4 years，I am still making fatal mistakes myself，Did not make a prompt decision、Large-scale downsizing、One-188bet sports betting app download transfer of personnel、Income、Product adjustment in place，But make subtractions little by little: the market is not good，Cut off the market fees first；I found out after a month that 188bet sports betting app download still didn’t work，Performance appraisal in advance，The last one is eliminated；Another month has passed，Still not working，Additional layoffs。

Doing so actually creates poor expectations among employees, customers and the market for the development of the company，leading to more and more rumors，This company is failing。Those who leave are the strongest people in the company，They feel that since the environment is like this，Let me go first，188bet sports betting app download can find a better job anyway。

Look at the cash flow at the end of December 2008，Only more than two months left，After the Spring Festival, I will basically have no money，Entering a critical moment。Investors also put pressure，Said that if 188bet sports betting app download continues, the company will be closed down。Finally we made up our minds，Half of the company was cut off，Less than 150 people in the end，All senior executives, including me, stopped receiving salary。

In 188bet sports betting app download case，Internal management is in chaos，The luxurious team built back then fell apart in less than half a year。I was reluctant to go to the company at that time，Every day I feel like I am being carried to the execution ground。

I clearly remember a conversation an employee in the company had with me when he resigned。He said: "Bill，Today is my last day at PPTV。Do 188bet sports betting app download remember that I was sitting in the audience at that time，Listen to your campus road show at school。I finally chose PPTV，Rejected Tencent’s offer。The dream 188bet sports betting app download told us at that time、That passion，Let me remember every moment。I believe 188bet sports betting app download will eventually turn that dream into reality，188bet sports betting app download must persist！”

At that time, there were more than 100 people left in our company，Morale has been lost，The halo is gone，Having doubts about whether the company can still succeed。I was only 27 years old that year，The fourth year of entrepreneurship，A young man with zero work experience has to face such a thing。Finally we are honored to be on Sina headlines，188bet sports betting app download’s just that no one wants to be on the headlines。

Winter is the 188bet sports betting app download to compete in internal strength

A lot of negative things came out at that time，People say 188bet sports betting app download’s not just PPTV that doesn’t work，The entire video industry is a bubble。Everyone looks like a joke，Hope us video companies fall like those companies in 2000。Difficulties at home and abroad，I even feel that every day when I go to work，Why are the lights in the office a little darker than yesterday。

This is actually a reflection of your heart，Everything feels very challenging，Everything is developing towards a bad situation，At the same time, we have to face that the company’s cash flow is only three months away。Although we have it under control，After deducting the cost of layoffs, 188bet sports betting app download can only live for three months。

How to survive？Often only when 188bet sports betting app download are cornered，Just know what it is like。

At that time, I also conducted assessments for myself，The evaluation result is C (C file belongs to the last group eliminated)。I made a deep review to the team: due to a series of personal problems，Insufficient entrepreneurial experience、Not paying attention to finance，And I take it for granted to make the company bigger、Just get the money，Over-reliance on external capital has led to the company’s current situation。It’s not everyone that 188bet sports betting app download company should really eliminate，But me。

188bet sports betting app download is the growth process of young founders，At that moment I recognized myself，Just peel off the halo，Re-understand what real entrepreneurship is。

But regret is useless，No matter how much 188bet sports betting app download review, 188bet sports betting app download must insist on continuing the company。I didn’t want to exit the company or make it bigger at that time，I just feel that the most sorry ones are the brothers，These people followed me all the way from campus，Seeing them reach the age of twenty-seven or eight years old，I’m starting a family too，But I seem to have ruined their future。In the winter of 2008, it was not like now that everyone could go out and find a job，It’s hard to find a job when 188bet sports betting app download go out。

188bet sports betting app download can find out at this moment，In the end God helps those who help themselves，188bet sports betting app download can’t rely on anything, 188bet sports betting app download have to rely on yourself，Confront your shortest weakness。My biggest shortcoming is，As a technical founder，I don’t pay enough attention to marketing by nature，I think marketing is just about making money，Our company’s technical product team always has the highest status。But finally discovered，Everything is done in return for maximizing the interests of shareholders，How to show the true value in the form of financial returns，Very important，If 188bet sports betting app download cannot be done, 188bet sports betting app download will not be the growth of the company。

Later, we made a series of actions and adjustments，Further cost reduction within 4 months，Revenue increased 3 times，Finally close to breakeven。Although 188bet sports betting app download is not really break even，But 188bet sports betting app download also allowed investors to see the light，I think we can still help him，There is a chance。

In 2009, we completed the Series C financing in the cold winter，Series B is valued at US million，The valuation in this round is only US million，Half of the previous round，It needs to be diluted by about 30%。Without a doubt，Our core team paid a heavy price in equity。But I realized it then，What makes a good CEO - 188bet sports betting app download don’t just make a good product、Good service，Instead think about what 188bet sports betting app download can do for your customers，Meet his needs。

My greatest experience is，When 188bet sports betting app download really face winter positively，It can be passed，Winter may even be the key time for your final victory。

Founders should always take them with themFour picturesTable

Everyone will say me，The partners have changed three times in the past ten years，Actually, 188bet sports betting app download is a normal thing。Partnership is in stages，A team fighting in one direction is successful，But if we change the strategic direction, these people just can’t do it。

When we started our business in 2004, YouTube had not yet been born，Although PPTV technology is very good，188bet sports betting app download was a B2B technology company at that time，Provide solutions for enterprises, etc.。Although we serve more than 30 TV stations，But I earn very little money。

Later we transformed，Treat TV stations as channels，Provide services under its brand，We provide support for free，Became a B2B2C 188bet sports betting app download。

188bet sports betting app download wasn’t until 2009 that we realized the market opportunities and the time had come，We saw the cake advertised，Company converted to B2C。

These three stages are the migration of strategic directions，188bet sports betting app download will inevitably bring about changes in the team structure and team personnel。The original partnership team cannot adapt to the new changes and needs to be adjusted.So our partner team has made several rounds of adjustments，188bet sports betting app download adjustment is also based on the company’s gradual understanding of the business model，The most important point in 188bet sports betting app download adjustment is my persistence from beginning to end。

After several years of entrepreneurship，I don’t care where I go，There must be four EXCEL tables in the computer，I am responsible for 188bet sports betting app download。

First: Profit and Loss Statement

We often say break even，Often referred to as the break-even of the income statement。

P/L does not reflect cash flow，Can recognize revenue and fixed costs、Variable costs and derived gross profit margin、Net profit、How much are the operating expenses，Reflect business model、Profitability。

We often talk about the difference between two scissors，A line is the cost curve，One line is the income growth curve，The intersection of these two lines is the break-even point，SoWe need to think about what drives 188bet sports betting app download break-even point？Often the growth rate of costs is lower than the growth rate of income，Look at the core elements of your business model that drive your revenue growth？Natural growth from the industry market？188bet sports betting app download is still a breakthrough in a certain product line？

188bet sports betting app download table is very important and related to future stock prices.

Second: Cash Flow Statement

Even a company that breaks even has the possibility of bankruptcy，So we still need to look at the cash flow statement，This is a chart of how long 188bet sports betting app download can live today。

188bet sports betting app download are two ways to calculate cash flow:

Plan A is to report sales targets and budgets from each department，188bet sports betting app download kind is called more optimistic in finance。

Plan B is the most conservative revenue target and budget，10 million completed in the first half of the year，Can’t count on 30 million in the second half of the year，188bet sports betting app download’s not so easy to make money in winter。

Algorithm B must be used to calculate cash flow，Many CEOs die from 188bet sports betting app download。

If calculated through Plan B，188bet sports betting app download still have 18 months of cash flow，Then 188bet sports betting app download are safe for now，Don’t rush to expand，Be appropriately conservative。

If only 12 months，Then we need to start 188bet sports betting app download quickly，And appropriately control costs。

If it is 9 months，Yellow card warning，Control costs as soon as possible，If 188bet sports betting app download are financing，We need to lower the valuation，Make sure the money is received as soon as possible。

If there are still 6 months，Red card fired。Don’t think about financing anymore，Race against 188bet sports betting app download for the fastest shrinkage，Achieve breakeven as soon as possible。

Third picture: Equity structure table

How much financing space is there，Where is the bottom line，Where is the control of shareholders，188bet sports betting app download have the final say on whether this matter。

If things really don’t work out, 188bet sports betting app download can still get some equity back at a low price，But 188bet sports betting app download have to consider whether your equity structure is reasonable？Is it too scattered？Is there a balance between control and financing？

Fourth: Employee Option Pool Table

Employee option incentives are different from ordinary salary incentives，188bet sports betting app download is a long-term incentive，It is a combination of incentives。

Think about it，In the winter, should we concentrate the small pieces of motivation into key points?。There are many companies that have full employee stock ownership plans，What is the meaning of sending 2000 shares to the front desk？Are 188bet sports betting app downloadBe able to focus more on the core tasks of some core departments，Because of achieving a certain key target，Give him key incentives，Are these people the core members of 188bet sports betting app download long-term development plan？188bet sports betting app download options are more valuable when the market is bad。

Through these four tables we can see the 188bet sports betting app download core business model、Core operating conditions，And future flexible space。

I just talked about options、Equity、Incentive，A very important point，How do we build 188bet sports betting app download incentive？

I divide the 188bet sports betting app download core senior management into three types of people，Founder、Partner、Executive，Corresponds to the three levels that are crucial to the 188bet sports betting app download development:

The first category is the founder，Consider the 188bet sports betting app download vision、Values ​​and Direction;

The first category is partners，Participate in strategic discussions and formulate strategic goals;

The first category is senior executives，Responsible for the specific execution of tactics and fulfillment of target commitments。

The motivation methods of these three categories are also different，Founders share early equity；Part of the options for partners，Part of shares；Executives are wages、Bonus plus options。

The structure of senior talent in a company，Follow 188bet sports betting app download from equity、Options correspond to hybrid incentive methods，188bet sports betting app download must have such a set of means，Just know how to inspire everyone，Your shareholding structure、Employee option pool is an important means of motivation。

Financing 188bet sports betting app download cold winter

First of allPreparation work before financing: Don’t wait for someone outside to come to rescue 188bet sports betting app download at any time，To find investors who are truly interested，Control disclosure and pace。

1. Find reliable people. 188bet sports betting app download is very energy-consuming.

2、Don’t have high expectations for investment advisors，Some investment advisors can’t help 188bet sports betting app download much。

3. Plan a reasonable internal shareholder structure in advance.

A reasonable shareholding structure is very important,There are some companies started by two or three co-founders，Experienced two or three financings，A round of option pool was issued，Things to do at this time，Unify voting rights as much as possible。The reason is，In this process, it is very likely that it will affect 188bet sports betting app download if there is more dilution in the future，Unify the voices as early as possible，This is the best way。

Design the necessary protocols，Many founders only sign a “marriage agreement” without making a “divorce clause”，Whatever unites must lead to division，The founding partner team changes every few years，Maybe 188bet sports betting app download have grown up but he has not，So prepare the terms in advance。

There is also the subtle relationship with early investors，I have invested in many projects myself，My attitude is that I am willing to consider it from the same perspective as the founder，At this time, in order to balance the terms of the valuation of new investors，I can cash out some if necessary，Pull the valuation down，This is also how to make good use of internal methods。We can adjust valuation in many flexible ways，I also suggest that 188bet sports betting app download don’t just focus on the cost of valuation。

There is also valuation，We need to discuss the relevant terms before signing TS，Valuation is really important，The impact this has on 188bet sports betting app download personally and as a team，This dilution is for all shareholders，Dilution to investors，There is also dilution to the team，Is this the most important thing to 188bet sports betting app download？Discard two or three points，In exchange for the company’s faster growth，This is very important。

When signing TS，After completing the due diligence, 188bet sports betting app download will enter the negotiation of terms。The main terms of TS have been determined，But there are still some key terms to be determined in the SPA stage。The overall strategy is "Tian Ji Horse Racing"，Learn to give up some appropriately，Keep the core terms。

188bet sports betting app download are four core terms:

1. Valuation adjustment, some companies 188bet sports betting app download place some bets.

2、Liquidation preference，This clause determines how much money 188bet sports betting app download can get in the end。

Give an example，Recently 188bet sports betting app download have seen many Internet companies withdrawing，In fact, we can see that many people quit and are not very happy，Because of the role this clause plays in it，When control changes，Provisions that will be triggered when acquired，The investor first gets his principal back，Some even add a certain percentage of interest，For example, 188bet sports betting app download sold 80 million，Investors have previously invested a total of 40 million，Take away 40 million first，The remaining 40 million is divided according to the same shares and equal rights，For example, 40%，Take away 16 million。The remaining money is yours to share。Liquidation preference and multiples of liquidation preference are very important，In earlier years, there were liquidation preferences multiplied by 2、Multiply by 3，But starting from round B，This will become a stable clause，This is very critical。

3. Exit terms,Arrived at round B、Special attention should be paid to the “qualified IPO price” for round C，A company’s normal IPO，Or sold at a high price，Investors will give up the liquidation preference clause at this time，Divide stocks with 188bet sports betting app download，This is the real benefit to 188bet sports betting app download，But if that value is not reached，All liquidation preferences shall be implemented，Investors will get back the cost first and then share it with 188bet sports betting app download，We generally hope that the valuation of this clause will not be too high，Why some young founders don’t understand，Deliberately inflate your own valuation，Charge Unicorn，Qualified IPO later reached a very high price，This company will be diluted even if it goes public。

4. Anti-dilution clause,For example, about 5 more points，The last round of dilution from 20% to 25%。That’s a way of writing the anti-dilution clause，Maybe if 188bet sports betting app download change a word, it will be written in a completely different way，The loss may be doubled。Sometimes it may be just a change of an English word，But the impact on the company’s future under extreme circumstances is very fatal，Please also communicate with professional lawyers on this point，It’s not 188bet sports betting app download who dumped it to FA、Things that can be done by leaving it to the legal team，This is something directly related to your interests。

After signing the SPA, the most important thing is to receive the funds.

Currently due to foreign exchange controls，When everyone invests in US dollars，There may be a certain delay in the arrival of funds，If 188bet sports betting app download encounter this situation，188bet sports betting app download can also put forward your suggestions，For example, the SPA has been signed，Before the end of legal significance，There are still some necessary things to do。SPA signed，It means that the other party has legally recognized his investment in 188bet sports betting app download，But the money cannot be transferred to your account，Talk to the other person at this time，Can 188bet sports betting app download give me a certain amount of funds，Lending to the company by way of loan，Even if it doesn’t work，Can I make a co-management account，The money goes here，This money must be confirmed by both parties before it can be transferred，This has been transferred to the joint account，Let the money be closest to us。This is what is really possible，Who knows if there will be any force majeure reasons later。Obstacles in getting funds，We need to use flexible methods。Strategic investors should also get involved，Convene the board of directors as soon as possible after new investors enter，Create friction between your directors and other shareholders，Even after signing up for the SPA, it will open immediately the next day，The control、Do all adjustments that need to be made，It’s embarrassing to kill someone before raising money，After the financing is completed, the initiative will be in your hands，Whatever action 188bet sports betting app download need to take, do it as soon as possible。

Now I have switched 188bet sports betting app download entrepreneurship to investment，But when I left PPTV，I am also very confused。Later I concluded whether entrepreneurs choose to persist or give up，Can be considered 188bet sports betting app download two aspects。

The first one is to see whether the product has found a self-growth model 188bet sports betting app download a business perspective。If a product is a good product，Can meet market demand，Can solve clear rigid needs，It will naturally be accepted by the market。I used 188bet sports betting app download method to judge whether to enter or exit a field in the early days。

The second is from the perspective of the entrepreneurs themselves。What is the core motivation that drives 188bet sports betting app download to start a business？Achievement、Fame, fortune or mission？Different driving forces will lead to different choices。Most drives are achievement drives，When 188bet sports betting app download no longer have a sense of accomplishment，When 188bet sports betting app download feel that everything has been proven，will leave naturally，To conquer another cause。

My biggest motivation comes 188bet sports betting app download doing something to change the world、Things for everyone to remember。

*Source of 188bet sports betting app download article: Yiou, original title: "PPTV Yao Xin: Founders should keep four watches with them at all times》