Becoming a Russian Oligarch After Rebirth
Chapter 942 - 871: The Beacon Fires Lit Everywhere_2

Chapter 942: Chapter 871: The Beacon Fires Lit Everywhere_2

This technology was absolutely revolutionary at the time!

As long as the policy allowed it, it could go online immediately, which was way more advanced than Tencent back then...

Aside from the competitor NetEase Bubble, there was also the global internet giant Microsoft’s MSN, which had fewer users than Tencent, but the quality of users was very high.

In those years, the young office workers basically all used MSN, mentioning you used Tencent was almost embarrassing when saying hello to others...

In 2004, Bill Gates came to China for the ninth time and formally announced that he would continue to expand investments in the country, establishing MSN China’s market and R&D centers in both the capital and Shanghai.

In that year, those rushing into the instant messaging market, wanting to fight Tencent for user base, were not just limited to NetEase and Microsoft.

There was also Yahoo’s Yahoo Messenger, Sina’s Sina UC, TOM introduced SKYPE, Sohu’s Sou Q, 263’s E Chat, China Netcom’s Everyday Instant Messenger, Alibaba’s Trade Call...

Even domestic telecom operators joined the fray, with China Telecom launching VIM...

At the same time, China Mobile’s Fetion was also in the works...

It was reported that at that time, there were over two hundred different instant messaging software simultaneously existing in China.

For Tencent, it was wars on all fronts, enemies in every direction!

...

However, Wang Ye had not yet mentioned this point, he just asked Little Brother Ma about his company’s revenue situation, which left Little Brother Ma somewhat at a loss for words.

Little Brother Ma was also an honest man; he didn’t want to lie to Wang Ye with a mouthful of falsehoods.

So, after hemming and hawing for quite a while, he finally squeezed out a sentence.

"Ah, Mr. Mikhail, actually, this issue is something I’ve been considering all along. It’s just that I haven’t come up with a very good solution yet. Plus, the company is facing significant competitive pressure this year, with many companies launching their instant messaging software. So I think, what’s most important for the company right now is not the revenue, but to hold onto our base, which is our users!"

This statement was quite sincere and truly reflected Little Brother Ma’s thoughts.

Wang Ye nodded his head, appreciatively saying, "Although I haven’t come to the company in the past two years, I’m aware of the situation here. I know about the issues you mentioned and have given them some thought. The main reason I’m here is to help the company solve these challenges."

Little Brother Ma looked at Wang Ye in surprise, somewhat unable to believe what he was saying.

Are you kidding? His team, being amongst the internet industry’s experts in China, was racking their brains daily, yet still unable to figure out how to solve these problems.

Mr. Mikhail had always been abroad, with busy public affairs to attend to, and had to worry about many more important matters every day.

Could he really have figured out how to solve Tencent’s troubles?

Perhaps it was indeed possible, given Mr. Mikhail’s "altitude," his vision and scope were naturally incomparable to that of an ordinary person like himself.

The methods and means to solve problems might also be beyond his imagination.

Otherwise, why was he just a regular entrepreneur facing so many difficulties with his business, while someone else was already in a high position at a young age, excelling in both political and business circles...

Since learning of Mikhail’s background, Little Brother Ma was truly shocked.

It was just that the internet wasn’t very advanced at the time, and Mikhail was also abroad, so the Chinese public didn’t have access to him.

Otherwise, Little Brother Ma couldn’t even imagine the sensation it would cause.

Wang Ye understood his thoughts and didn’t explain too much, merely smiling faintly, saying, "Let’s discuss it in detail at the company later on, no rush, I’ll be in Peng City for another two or three days."

Little Brother Ma nodded, full of anticipation in his heart.

After all, he was the person who wanted to see Tencent succeed the most, as the company was his entire career.

...

Tencent Company had already moved to the Feiyada Building in the southern S district, and the staff had expanded to nearly two thousand people, making it a large company.

The hotel where Wang Ye was staying was not far from the Tencent Headquarters.

The motorcade first arrived at the hotel, where they checked in and allowed Wang Ye and the accompanying personnel to rest a bit, freshen up.

Following Wang Ye’s instructions, Little Brother Ma and the others waited downstairs. About half an hour later, Wang Ye and his entourage descended the stairs, got into the car, and headed straight for Tencent Headquarters.

It wasn’t yet mealtime, so it was a good opportunity to have a high-level meeting.

Inside the grand conference hall of the headquarters, several of Tencent’s founders and top management gathered together.

Wang Ye, without any hesitation, took his place at the head of the table, with Little Brother Ma seated by his side and Assistant Bakova sitting behind Wang Ye.

Little Brother Ma stood up with a smile on his face and said in a loud voice, "Let’s welcome Mr. Mikhail, the company’s major shareholder, with the warmest round of applause!"

All the personnel present stood up and clapped enthusiastically.

Wang Ye stood up and bowed slightly to show his gratitude.

Then he pressed his hands down, signaling for everyone to quiet down.

After the applause stopped, Wang Ye began smilingly, "Under the leadership of General Ma and all of you, Tencent Company has rapidly developed and achieved very impressive results over the last two years. Although I have not been with the company, my heart has always been with you, happy and proud of every progress the company makes..."

Wang Ye’s words made everyone beam with delight, after all, this was praise and recognition from a major shareholder!

However, as he continued, Wang Ye’s tone shifted, and his expression grew solemn as he spoke with gravity,

"Through exchanges with General Ma and market information we’ve gathered, I’ve learned that the company also faces significant challenges.

"Our own business revenue has hit a bottleneck, and market competition has become increasingly fierce.

This year and next are crucial for Tencent Company.

If we overcome these difficulties, the sky’s the limit and Tencent will surely develop into a Internet giant recognized nationwide, and even worldwide!

But if we can’t overcome this hurdle, I need not say what the consequences will be."

The atmosphere in the meeting room turned serious; everyone seated clearly understood the company’s situation and realized that Wang Ye was not exaggerating but stating the harsh truth.

Wang Ye turned to Little Brother Ma and said, "General Ma, I have a question for you."

Little Brother Ma sat up straight and answered earnestly, "Please, Mr. Mikhail, go ahead."

"What do you and the other founders see as the role of QQ?" asked Wang Ye.

Little Brother Ma was somewhat puzzled, because the question seemed too simple. He blurted out, "Instant messaging software, of course."

But Wang Ye shook his head, clearly unsatisfied with Little Brother Ma’s answer, and said in a firm voice, "I believe that QQ is more than just a communication tool. In my eyes, its more important meaning is that of an entry point, an entry point to the Internet!"

"An Internet entry point..." Little Brother Ma repeated, musing.

This concept was somewhat novel to him.

Not that the term was new, but at that time, Internet practitioners more commonly thought of portal websites and search engines as the Internet entry points.

Nobody considered instant messaging software as an entry point; they merely regarded it as a communication tool.

But now, Wang Ye was suggesting that instant messaging software could also be an entry point to the Internet!

The rest of the senior management started whispering among themselves, quietly discussing whether there was merit to the new concept Wang Ye had proposed.

Wang Ye smiled faintly and continued,

"What is an entry point?

"I believe that any website or software that users open first when they connect to the Internet can be called an entry point!

"In the past, in the early days of the Internet, portal sites were the entry point because they provided all the information users needed.

"Then, search engines became an entry point because they offered the search capabilities users required.

"So why can’t instant messaging software be an entry point too!"