Why do entrepreneurs need cat company?

Tang Mi's company finally closed its Series A round of funding last December, which valued his company at $800 million. After being invited to share his story with his cat, he happily agreed to do so, even though he knew it was a "non-disclosure of his company's name and would not bring any publicity to his company" because Tang Mi felt it was time to tell his story with his cat Muppet.

Cats on startup teams are very common these days

The Muppet cat member of the startup team

The cat of Tang Mi's team is a Muppet cat named Little Muppet. It was a cat brought by a technician in the 6-member team at the beginning of Tangle's business. After more than a year, the technician left the team, but the cat stayed.

A little Dollar is a mixed-blood female Dollar cat, because it is not so purebred, so its hair has some mixed colors. Dollar cat is very beautiful and has an elegant posture, I do not know if it is the relationship of mixed blood, although the little Dollar is (75% of the blood) Rag doll cat, but more than the average Dollar cat naughty and active.

Little Muppet likes to steal the snacks brought by the members of the entrepreneurial team, and even some food that is not safe for cats it is willing to boldly try.

The hardships of starting a business and the company of cats

From the beginning of 2016, when he received an angel round of investment, to the completion of the Pr-A round in the fourth quarter of 2016, Tang Mi's company was sailing smoothly, but from 2017 inwards, Tang Mi's venture encountered challenges - the AI product developed by his company encountered a serious technical bottleneck, and similar competing products internationally were At least four similar international competing products were launched.

Tang Mi thought it would be difficult to start a business, but he did not expect the investment circle to quickly change its original fiery attitude toward the team, and several of the original joint investment decided to give up. ai research and development, which requires a relatively large investment, Tang Mi's team quickly encountered the pressure of the capital chain. Finally in mid-2017, the original owner of the small Muppet - the technician, decided to quit the team.

Tang Mi tried to retain them but did not succeed, and finally, that technician just decided to leave the Muppet cat, himself decided to leave the team. During that time Tang Mi every time he saw the cat Dollar, will feel very sad because it will remind him of the technician.

Tang Mi recruited a new member, the team reverted to a six-person establishment, six people as well as a Muppet cat, continue to fight.

Every day, Tang Mi and his team members will play with the little Muppet for a while during the lunch break. Tang Mi said that the little Muppet's purring is the best comfort for them, the program apes. Even the mewing of Muppet became the class bell, when the Muppet cat called up, everyone will put down their work to drink water, convenience. Tang Mi said the little Muppet is very smart, about once an hour on average, as if it understands the schedule of the team members in general.

The team has a cat, which is equivalent to having an entrepreneurial member

8 months of fighting, cats, and people share the pain and suffering

Tang Mi recalls the 8 months from 2017 to mid-2018 with a lot of emotions. In the toughest time, the wages of the six-person team were reduced to the minimum wage, and the cat food of the Dollar cat, Little Muppet, was also reduced, and the original combination of imported cat food + imported canned cat food every day became imported cat food + one meal of canned cat food every two days. But Little Dollar is a sweet cat, it does not have any unhappiness, still tells the time for everyone, and plays with everyone.

Finally, in 2018, the turnaround came. Tang Mi's team broke through the technical difficulties and discovered a whole new market opportunity. This is also inseparably related to the cat Muppet. It was once Muppet spilled a glass of water and let a piece of information get wet, which made Tang Mi notice this information that had previously been ignored. The information in this information is what made the cat, Muppet, to be a good friend.

It was the information in this material that gave Tang Mi a new idea to adjust the direction of the team and break through the bottleneck. Tang Mi felt that without the help of Muppet Cat, his business venture would not have gone smoothly through the difficult times.

At the end of 2018, Tang Mi's team received the long-awaited good news that his startup team had received Series A financing, and although the valuation of 800 million yuan was not a shiny and bright number in his field, it was enough to support Tang Mi to continue his R&D and entrepreneurship. Tang Mi thinks, this stage of success in the Muppet cat small Muppet credit.

Today, Tang Mi continues to fight with the Muppet cat Muppet, he has officially adopted Muppet as his pet cat, and he is very hoping that he can start a successful business so that the Muppet cat also lives a better and happier life.

For many entrepreneurial teams, cats are mascots

By interviewing 12 entrepreneurs and summarizing the reasons why they keep their cat's company when starting a business.

Why do entrepreneurs need the company of cats?

1. Cats are quiet and suitable to be raised in startups without being overly noisy.

2. Cats can make entrepreneurs comfortable and are a kind of relaxation. Playing with cats when you are tired of starting a business can relieve stress.

3. Cats can make people more responsible, careful, and patient, which are qualities entrepreneurs need, and they can learn a lot of experience in starting a business by observing cats.

4. Cats can make the environment cozy and can give a good impression to visiting customers.

5. Cats can reduce the problem of rodents and bugs in the company and help with environmental maintenance.

7. Cats can make the cohesiveness of the employees of the startup company rise, and the employees interact with the cats together, which can enhance the stickiness of the company.

8. Cats have a strong sense of time, which can indirectly cultivate certain time habits of employees.