From the "bad kid" to the online game industry Qitian sage after 80 entrepreneurship story

Lynch, a post-80s entrepreneur from Wenzhou, is the chairman and CEO of Youzu Network. In June 2014, Youzu Network went public and became the first game stock on the A-share main board. Lynch's wealth exceeded 5 billion yuan. Recently, he was again listed on the post-80s self-made rich list with a fortune of 9.5 billion yuan, attracting the attention of investors.

From A young "bad kid" obsessed with games to A young chairman of the domestic A-share market, Lynch is committed to the development of the Internet, culture, sports, and other fields, with the mission of "sharing simple happiness". In a recent interview, Lynch told the untold story of his start-up.

It takes two failures to succeed in a game of obsession

Lynch's parents were both businesspeople in traditional manufacturing. Obsessed with games, Lynch didn't read much from elementary school to junior high school. "At that time, I was a bad boy in the eyes of my teachers and classmates." Until the approach of the middle school examination, the father of a scold scolds him sober. "My father says if you don't study hard, you'll have to dig coal! That's when I started working hard." Lynch went on to do well and was admitted to Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications as a computer information management major after graduating from high school. When he got to college, Lynch started to get restless. Because he knew a little technology, he began to take jobs and made a little money. "During my four years in college, I ate lunch in a box for two years and spent half the time staring at the computer. In fact, I am a diaosi." "Lynch quipped.

After graduating from college in 2004, Lynch worked as a software engineer at Zhejiang Telecom for a year before he couldn't resist the urge to quit his job and borrow money to start his own business. "Young people always look up and want to give it a try. It's nice to be your boss and print a business card and be a general manager." Because of "a lack of clarity and experience, the first software company I started failed in less than six months," Lynch says. In 2007, Lynch moved into Internet advertising, becoming a partner in an advertising agency. The company did well for a while, but the planned investments didn't materialize and Lynch left. "I made some money, but I left because it wasn't what I was interested in." Reflecting on the two failed experiences, Lynch said: "At that time, I was more selected by the industry, without the ability to judge and choose, and was blind."

In 2009, when web games were just starting to take off at home and abroad, Lynch decided that being the "online game" he was best at was the right way to go, and Youzu Network was founded. In Lynch's view, the right thing to do at the time was to seize the moment. "At the beginning of the industry, the market was very good," he says. "It was like 30 years ago when people in Wenzhou made shoes. As long as they made shoes that could be worn, they could still sell them even if they leaked after walking a few steps."

A shot and red main Wuxia features online games step on the point

In 2009, Youzu launched its first war strategy product, Thirty-Six Tactics, which became an instant hit. At the time, "Wuxia" themed online games were popular, and Lynch was on the right track again. In terms of sales strategy, he did not limit himself to the domestic market but promoted the products of this theme to Southeast Asia and other regions which are influenced by Chinese traditional culture, and the market response was very good. In 2010, they built on their success with the release of A Sword in Ten Years, which also achieved good results.

After two victories in a row, Lynch hit a plateau in his career. In 2011, the company had expanded to more than 500 people, but entered a difficult period of "lack of people, lack of money, lack of products." Lynch admits that at that time, people quit almost every day, and companies were most likely to die. He had a hard day, thinking about strategy, management, and products, and encouraging employees to hang in there. Despite seeing many of his former peers make money and move on to other industries, Lynch isn't willing to give up.

With that resilience, Lynch has steered the company through tough times. In 2012, Youjia changed the rhythm of one product in the previous year, and launched 4 games "Legend of Chivalry" and "General" into the market continuously, which also featured martial arts. 'It's about taking that to the extreme,' Mr. Lynch says. Of course, it also has to do with Lynch's hobbies. "We have been influenced by traditional Chinese culture since childhood and wanted to be the Great sage of Heaven," he told reporters. This culture is deeply embedded in our generation, so when you put your interest in work, you have the motivation to develop and innovate and make products that people love." Under the assault of 4 products, you successfully joined the first line of online game manufacturers. In 2013, they created a global mythology theme "Goddess Alliance", which entered the European and American markets. At the same time, under the tide of mobile Internet, they also successfully hit the travel market.

Mr. Lynch's company now has more than 1,000 people, and its office building has moved from the city's more remote Minhang district to the Xujiahui business district. "Now you are a real company, starting a new business with sufficient resources and a well-organized team," Lynch said.

The next strategy of backdoor listing considers the development of globalization

As early as 2012, Youzu entered a fast track of development. In 2012 and from January to August 2013, its operating revenue was 174 million yuan and 395 million yuan respectively, and its net profit was 37 million yuan and 163 million yuan respectively. At this time, Lynch began to consider going public. Due to the pressure of performance, Plum Umbrella, a listed company, had a strong willingness to restructure. The two sides went through a very fast process from contact to signing a restructuring framework agreement. "Going public is not simply a matter of money, but a stage in a company's development. If you don't do it at this stage, it's a wasted opportunity. As for the backdoor listing, it was purely coincidental." "Lynch pointed out.

On October 23, 2013, Plum Umbrella announced that the company planned to sell all its assets and liabilities and acquire 100% of Shanghai Youzu Information Technology Co., Ltd. by issuing shares and raising supporting funds. According to the restructuring plan, Meihua Parachute plans to issue 193 million shares to the 8 trading parties including Lynch, with an issue price of 20.06 yuan per share and the total transaction price of 3.867 billion yuan. Compared with its net assets of 114 million yuan, the appreciation rate is as high as 3,281.05%.

On March 28, 2015, this asset reorganization plan was approved by China Securities Regulatory Commission. The completion of the name change marked the official closure of the company's reorganization, and it became the first game stock on the domestic A-share main board. The newly listed You family Network has begun to consider its next strategy. Lynch said: As a member of the sunrise industry, You family Network's vision is to "become the world's leading provider of light entertainment services". The completion of the reorganization also means Your family network's globalization goal is closer.

Globalization will be Lynch's next strategy: Since 2010, Youzu Network has opened up markets in China's Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Japan, Portugal, Germany, and other countries and regions, and established good cooperation with local operators. Up to now, the operating company in North America and Taiwan has been launched, and in the future, it will work with more than 40 overseas partners to expand to more countries and regions such as South America and the Middle East.

Cross-industry integration to create cross-game, film, and animation industry chain

Lynch is clear that his next goal is to create a complete industrial chain of games, film, and animation through cross-border integration. In November 2014, Lynch announced in Beijing that she would set up a film company called "The Three-Body Problem." According to the plan, a total of six films will be shot, with a single investment of 200 million yuan.

In 2014, Youzu launched the +U(homonymous "refuge") program, with an investment of 2 billion capital, aiming to attract excellent teams, talents, intellectual property rights, and partners, and make better use of Youzu's platform resources. Lynch also proposed an F3 model, namely Film(Internet movies), Free(Free), and Fans(" fan "economy). "The F3 model leverage the Internet to efficiently leverage superior resources, efficiently combine games and movies, and use free licensing to encourage a wide range of 'fans' to participate in content production, thus more effectively exploiting the value of the intellectual property," Lynch explained.

In Lynch's view, the company is past the point of making money to survive. "Now the premise of making money should be used first, which means fan 'first, so the key in F3 is the fan ', and they should be respected." "Every day before you go to bed, you talk to your users, otherwise you won't know when you wake up tomorrow," Lynch said. "That's the spirit of the Internet."

Making movies has been Lynch's dream since childhood. "Our movie industry is still dominated by Hollywood. Every time aliens attack the Earth, why is it the American soldiers who save the earth? It could also be the Chinese People's Liberation Army." "There are very successful companies in China that make games and very successful companies that make movies, but not companies that do both things well based on one story," Lynch said. It is because of not user-oriented, just the movie, the game into a moneymaking tool. And shooting the Three-Body Problem is a practice of his F3 mode. He wants to make all the Three-Body Problem licenses free. At the same time, it will also develop a series of products of the Three-Body Problem, such as online drama, mobile games, online games, animation and drama.

"Whoever can make a good game should have the right to use intellectual property for free," Lynch said. "In the grand layout of intellectual property, it is the people who are competent and talented, not the people who have money."