If everyone is reborn, who will work for capital?

Chapter 23 "The Iceberg Strategy"

Buy lottery tickets?

I never remembered the winning numbers from my past life. Even if I did, when the lottery is actually drawn, they might not be the winning numbers...

Real estate speculation?

Housing prices have now passed the low point of 08 and have indeed started to rise rapidly, potentially for three consecutive years. However, there isn't enough capital; even a toilet can't be speculated on.

Stocks?

Whether other stocks will rise or fall in the future is uncertain, but it's certain that Baidu's stock will increase fivefold in the next two years, given that Google is about to withdraw. However, investing in stocks still requires a significant amount of capital.

World Cup predictions?

There are still more than half a year until the South Africa World Cup, and even the "prophet" Paul the Octopus hasn't officially debuted yet, right?

"Sigh, if only I had been reborn six months later..." Geng Zhi muttered with a hint of regret, "Then I could have made a fortune from World Cup predictions."

After thinking it over, Geng Zhi couldn't come up with a simple and efficient way to make quick money, so he had to go back to the old ways.

He began to carefully review in his mind why ByteDance was able to emerge from the impenetrable walls of BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent) and become a new giant in his previous life:

First, differentiated competition through technology.

Whether it's Toutiao in 12 or Douyin later on, both use algorithm recommendation as their core engine to redefine the relationship between people and information, creating a personalized content distribution model of "information finding people" based on interest matching.

Second, they accurately grasped the time window.

When Toutiao launched, mobile content distribution and regulation were both nonexistent; TikTok directly entered the global market, avoiding the fiercely competitive domestic market; Douyin launched during the widespread adoption of 4G, coinciding with the critical period of transition from text and images to video. Ultimately, they seized the market with a combination of "music + short videos + powerful algorithms," driving growth both domestically and internationally.

Third, bypass the giants and open up new tracks.

In the early stages, they avoided the core businesses of BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent) in search, e-commerce, and social media, starting from the relatively peripheral area of ​​content distribution, and gradually penetrating into Google, e-commerce, and social media, following a strategy of encircling the cities from the countryside.

Fourth, strong product capabilities and organizational structure.

In terms of products, the company employs an app-based factory model, emphasizing rapid trial and error, data-driven approaches, and incremental progress. Organizationally, it features a flat structure, a large pool of top talent, and high-performance incentives designed to achieve remarkable results.

Fifth, there's money to burn.

Backed by investors such as SIG Asia Investment and Sequoia Capital, the company can withstand long-term losses and focus on growth and ecosystem building.

Geng Zhi originally thought that ByteDance's rise was simply due to seizing the opportunities of the times.

But the more I think about it now, the more I realize that its success is the result of multiple factors, including the era, the choice of industry, technological innovation, product innovation, execution efficiency, and capital. All three are indispensable.

Geng Zhi let out a long sigh of relief.

Leaving aside whether following ByteDance's path will be successful, even if it is, it will not solve the problem of the United States holding us hostage.

Gengzhi decided to learn from ByteDance's successful experience, but not follow ByteDance's old path. Instead, he will take a path with his own unique characteristics.

He began to re-evaluate his current strengths:

Reborn on the eve of the mobile internet explosion, he has memories of the next sixteen years, making him a veritable "prophet".

Having successfully developed overseas games in his previous life, he possesses a certain understanding of games and overseas markets.

I've been scammed by people using guise from capital; I have experience with that.

Once you are successfully admitted to Jiaotong University, Professor Qi, Professor Gou, and the faculty and students of Jiaotong University can become a huge resource.

He has experience from pursuing a doctorate at Jiangcheng University and working at a chrysanthemum factory in his previous life, and possesses strong technical skills...

and many more!

Capital, overseas expansion, pseudonyms, prophet, Paul the Octopus, dual-engine strategy of domestic and international markets, the power of the masses, encircling the cities from the countryside, leveraging external forces, marginal sectors, mountain hotels...

Geng Zhi kept repeating these words, as if there was a thread in his mind trying to connect them together.

Suddenly, it felt like a soft "click" in my mind, followed by a surge of enlightenment that shot from my spine straight to the top of my head.

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. A crazy idea began to grow and spread in his mind, seemingly just one step away from taking root.

Geng Zhi was so excited that he jumped out of bed and frantically pulled a thick postgraduate entrance exam preparation book from the side pocket of his backpack.

Flip directly to the last blank page of the book, uncap the pen, and quickly jot down any sparks of inspiration on the page.

He could have written it down on the computer, but at this moment, the scratching sound of the pen on the paper was far more effective than the cold, hard tapping of the keyboard in conveying this surging passion.

How to accumulate massive amounts of capital, how to conceal one's identity, how to operate both domestically and internationally, and how to leverage capital to weave a vast network...

One idea after another, both explicit and implicit, flashed through my mind, strung together, and were then imprinted on the paper.

Many details are still unclear and will continue to be adjusted, but the three-tiered strategic framework of "explicit line + intermediate line + implicit line" has already begun to take shape.

Geng Zhi named this three-tiered framework—"the overt line responsible for charging into battle, the covert line responsible for investment and layout, and the middle line responsible for hub transformation"—the "Iceberg Strategy."

Another half hour passed, and Geng Zhi finally calmed down from his high excitement and felt a bit tired from mental exhaustion.

He let out a long sigh, lay back down, and prepared to turn off the light and go to sleep, so as to conserve his energy for his meeting with Professor Qi the next day.

However, just as he was starting to feel sleepy, he heard some faint noises coming from the bedroom of the landlord and his wife next door.

It wasn't the sound of excitement, but rather the sound of arguing, as if they were checking some accounts.

Geng Zhi is not the type of person who likes to join in the fun or eavesdrop.

He instinctively rolled over, trying to ignore the noise, but the soundproofing of the walls was so poor that even a few loud conversations could still get into his ears intermittently.

Anyway, I was too loud to sleep, so whether I listened to a bit or the whole thing, it was still the same.

Geng Zhi simply rolled over, pressed his ear against the wall, and started his "immersive gossip-eating" mode.

After listening for a while, he understood.

It was probably the end of the month when they were reconciling accounts, and the husband was complaining that his wife was spending too much.

The shop owner's voice was tinged with helplessness: "Honey, I'm not trying to be mean, but look at this face mask we bought. It costs thirty yuan per sheet, and we only use it for ten minutes before throwing it away. That's an average cost of three yuan per minute. Isn't that a bit too low a value for money?"

The proprietress immediately became displeased, raising her voice and pointing towards the trash can: "And what about you? What about the one you bought! Isn't that even more wasteful?!"

The boss usually indulges his wife, but today, seeing her being so unreasonable and bringing up the trash can, he got angry.

He jumped out of bed, grabbed the trash can, and began to argue his case.

"Honey, can't we be reasonable? I bought this trash can for five years at the supermarket downstairs! It'll last another ten years! You're comparing its cost-effectiveness to a face mask??"

"I'm talking about that threaded Durex condom inside!" The proprietress was also ignited. "Ten dollars a piece, and you throw it away after two minutes each time! That's five dollars a minute on average, and have I ever complained?!"

"You're starving and can't even get enough to eat. You're not wrong to complain, are you?" the proprietress added insult to injury.

The boss, who had been so assertive just moments before, seemed to have backed down, and the room instantly fell silent again.

"Boss lady, I agree with you. Even if you complain a bit, you're not wrong," Geng Zhi quietly added from next door.