My Age of Investment

Since 2000, Axel has been in trouble, and the endowments of Harvard University, Princeton, MIT and other prestigious schools have successively withdrawn their funds.

Axel had to shrink the size of the fund and reduce foreign investment, focusing on the post-investment management and industry research of the invested projects.

In the eyes of the outside world and even insiders, this venture capital institution has been quiet for several years. It has been out of the mainstream of the investment circle and rarely invests abroad. Even if it invests, it is some small and little-known projects.

Just when everyone thought that this investment institution with a glorious history was about to decline, no one expected that Axel would return to the mainstream of the investment circle with such a high profile.

A round of financing with a pre-investment valuation of US$400 million!

This should be regarded as the largest round of Series A financing in the past two years after the Internet bubble period.

Even in the late 1990s, when the Internet venture capital market was the hottest, this was not a small-scale financing.

A round of financing, the figure is generally several million US dollars, more than 10 million US dollars, basically no more than 20 million US dollars.

Although Facebook declined to be interviewed by the media, it did not disclose any details about the Series A financing.

However, the media still speculates that according to the pre-investment valuation of 400 million US dollars, diluted by 10% of the equity ratio, the amount of this round of financing will definitely exceed more than 40 million US dollars, and there may even be more.

Industry insiders sighed: I feel that the Internet industry is recovering, and that golden age is coming back!

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Principal John called Xia Jingxing, "Daren, did the people from Axel look for you?"

Xia Jingxing said with a smile, "Yes, Blayer has a lot of money, so he was about to sign a check and hit me in the face."

Principal John pondered, "In order to avoid suspicion, I didn't recommend Axel for you. In fact, they are also very powerful."

Xia Jingxing gave a "hmm", "I know and understand this."

The eighth phase of the Axel Fund, a considerable part of which is contributed by the Stanford University Endowment Foundation.

Old John is both the president of Stanford and an angel investor in Facebook.

If Axel's investment in Facebook is successful, it's okay to say that it is not avoiding relatives.

If the investment fails, it is the transfer of benefits.

Although Americans are not as particular as they are in China, it is really not easy to explain that this kind of dirty water is poured on Old John.

Xia Jingxing understood this quite well.

"Should I exclude Axel?"

Xia Jingxing deliberately teased old John.

"Well, if it's convenient, it's best to exclude it!"

Xia Jingxing was stunned for a moment, so I'll be polite, you still take it seriously, "Are you sure?"

On the other end of the phone, there was laughter after a long while, "I'm just joking with you, the school's money is given to Breyer management? He has the decision-making power.

He can vote whatever he wants, we don't care.

Do not worry! In fact, I kinda wish Facebook would accept Axel's investment? Maybe it will help the school make a lot of money.

But, like you said? The higher price gets it, no special care to anyone. "

Xia Jingxing hung up the phone with a sound of "Ooke".

"Christina? Go and make me a cup of tea."

Xia Jingxing stopped drinking coffee recently. Drinking too much is bad for his teeth? He can only eat soft rice? So he went to the nearby Chinese and said that he bought a bag of tea?

The foreign girl clumsily poured out a large bag of tea leaves, and the brewed tea was so bitter that Xia Jingxing almost spit it out.

"Are you making milk tea? Put less tea next time."

Christina glanced at him, "You still need a secretary, right? I don't have to bring tea and water every day."

Xia Jingxing pinched his chin, "Is this a good idea? When the A round of financing is in place, I will hire two secretaries, a life secretary and a work secretary..."

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The news channels of various venture capital institutions are very well-informed? Before the media reported much,

That's very detailed information - Breyer actually visited Facebook.

Even Axel, a little friend who has been silent for several years, came to join in the fun, and various venture capital institutions finally took action.

Moritz of Sequoia Capital no longer hesitated. He defied all opposition and took the lead personally, visiting Facebook with a luxurious negotiating team.

Draper of DFJ called back the team that approached the dating network.

He knew that it would be useless to play these little tricks again, so he set off with Howard, the only person in the company who had contact with Xia Jingxing, and planned to meet the young man who made him shriveled.

Kleiner Perkins Huaying KPCB was established in 1972. Because of its impressive record in history, it is known as the Gemini constellation in the global venture capital industry, alongside Sequoia Capital.

Well-known companies that have invested include America Online (AOL), Netscape Browser, Amazon, Compaq, Google, Lotus Software, Sun Mis and so on.

The negotiating lineup sent by the company is also luxurious.

The team was led by the big boss John Doerr, known as the "Godfather of Investment". He was accompanied by a female Chinese, Allie Li, who was the first Chinese-speaking partner of Kleiner Perkins.

Axel's Blayer was also present, along with two assistants.

People from four investment institutions sat in a Facebook conference room with big eyes.

Xia Jingxing's eyes swept across the group of people, and stayed on Kleiner Perkins Huaying's group for a while longer.

He has been in contact with the other three investment institutions, but he has never been in contact with Kleiner Perkins, and he does not know the character and investment style of their leaders.

He has a certain superficial understanding of the two main characters sent by Kleiner Perkins.

The big boss, John Doerr, was worth tens of billions of dollars in his previous life and was one of the richest people in the global venture capital industry.

Another Ellie Li, who worked in the Huayuan Technology Association formed by Chinese entrepreneurs, is now one of the partners of Kleiner Perkins, and is well-known in the Silicon Valley Chinese circle.

When they were just greeting each other, she also used Chinese to get close to Xia Jingxing.

This woman looks more in line with Western aesthetics, her face is very angular, and she is in her thirties.

Later, he separated from Kleiner Perkins and started his own business, and his investment performance was mediocre. The biggest achievement was that he proposed the concept of "unicorn enterprise" in 2013, that is, a start-up enterprise with a valuation of more than one billion US dollars.

This concept was later refined by other investment institutions, and two new conditions were added: within ten years of establishment, and not listed.

In a previous life, Xia Jingxing also heard about a scandal involving Kleiner Perkins, and was sued by another female Chinese partner, Bao Kangru, for sexual harassment and gender discrimination, demanding more than $100 million in compensation.

In the end, Kleiner Perkins won the lawsuit, but its reputation suffered a lot.

In fact, it's not called sexual harassment anymore, everything has been done, it should be that the price has not been negotiated.

In Silicon Valley, in the venture capital circle, these are commonplace things, and it is not surprising.

Usually, when this kind of thing happens, the company's legal affairs or supervisors come forward, give female employees stock rights, salary compensation, and then sign a non-disclosure agreement.

After all, the company will lose more if it spreads out.

It's just that Kleiner Perkins Wah Ying is more unlucky, and the matter has been stabbed out.

This is actually just the tip of the iceberg. In the US technology and investment circles, discrimination against women is very common.

But this has nothing to do with him, the highest bidder today is the uncle!

A group of investors looked at each other without speaking, and the scene was a little quiet for a while.

John Doerr's qualifications are older and richer than Moritz of Sequoia Capital, but the two have almost equal identities, respectively in charge of a top investment institution.

The two looked at each other and looked away, both seeing each other as their biggest opponent.

As for the junior companies such as Defengjie and Axel, they are not very concerned about them.

Old God Breyer was sitting there, looking like a Buddhist, but in fact he had the most confidence.

Draper couldn't stand this weird atmosphere, and was the first to break the peace and joked, "Daren, are you going to auction off Facebook shares today?"

Xia Jingxing said with a smile, "This idea sounds like a good idea!"

As soon as these words were spoken, many people present changed their faces.

"No no no, Darren, I advise you not to do this, because you will lose a lot of resources."

John Doerr looked like a wise man, and explained lightly: "When you choose a venture capital institution to cooperate, you can't just look at who pays more money, you should also measure: who can bring other help to your business besides money. .

I give an example!

Facebook's main partner, Amazon, has an investment from Kleiner Perkins, and I personally serve as a director of Amazon.

If you want to build a deeper partnership with Amazon, I can help, and it will be no problem for you to sit and chat with Bezos.

Another example is if you want to cooperate with Google, I am also a director of Google, and I can also help.

Kleiner Perkins can link you to any Silicon Valley resource you want. "

After briefly speaking, John Doerr looked at Xia Jingxing with a smile on his face.

Why the old-fashioned venture capital institutions are getting better and bigger, because they have a background.

He believed that the young man in front of him would make the right choice.

Moritz coughed and drew his attention.

The old man said with a smile: "Sequoia Capital has also invested in Google, Yahoo and other Silicon Valley companies. The resources that Mr. Doerr can provide to Facebook can also be provided by us.

Moreover, the reputation of Sequoia Capital has always been praised by entrepreneurs, and we respect and support every entrepreneur and partner.

Darren, you have worked with us once, you should have a deep understanding of it? "

Xia Jingxing smiled and did not speak.

LinkedIn only let Lao Tzu drink soup, what do you think of my experience?

"Speaking of cooperation, Darren, De Fengjie and you are very happy to cooperate?"

Howard didn't really want to get involved in Facebook's funding round. But the big boss called him, and he couldn't shirk.

Seeing that Sequoia and Kleiner Perkins were all showing off, he couldn't help but speak.

Draper said with a smile, "Do you know Baidu in China? We also invested in Defengjie. I have always had a good impression of Chinese entrepreneurs. Hard work, motivation, intelligence, and eagerness to learn are my biggest impressions."

Moritz smiled and did not speak, and waited for Draper to finish before continuing: "Sequoia Capital has also invested in S, and also helped Deng Feng complete the listing of the company.

Darren, you should know something about this Chinese entrepreneur, right? "

Xia Jingxing nodded.

The only woman present, Ellie Lee also came out to speak good words for her company, introducing how good Kleiner Perkins is.

The subtext is that the Chinese can also become a partner, and Kleiner Perkins will never discriminate against Chinese entrepreneurs.

In this way, Kleiner Perkins Huaying, Sequoia Capital, and Defengjie got together, all showing off how many resources they had, and not mentioning the company's valuation.

The three institutions had a certain tacit understanding and did not want to bid, so Xia Jingxing slaughtered them.

Blayer tapped on the table and looked around: "Gentlemen and ladies, I think we should talk about something substantive.

Axel bid $450 million, is there anything you want to follow? "

Sa!

Xia Jingxing felt that this old man was really too arrogant.

Looking at the expressions of other investors as if they had eaten flies, he felt a burst of joy in his heart.

I really need such a cheerleader, otherwise this one-man show won't be easy to sing.

When it's time to talk about money, you talk to me about ideals, isn't that hooligan?