Chapter 183: Chapter 180: Zhu Yixian: I Feel Crushed
A short while later, two cars drove out of the Mission Hills Golf Club.
At Lin Chu’s insistent invitation, Zhu Yixian found it impossible to refuse and agreed to join them for dinner.
Although Chen Jinyu had driven herself, she had come with employees from ensue. She had one of them drive her car back, opting to ride with Lin Chu instead.
And because they still needed to discuss the project, Geng Yue got into Lin Chu’s car as well.
Zhu Yixian watched the three of them get into the car, still unable to figure out the exact relationship between Lin Chu and Chen Jinyu. They seemed intimate, yet they weren’t as openly affectionate as a typical couple.
Lin Chu called her ’sis,’ while she called him ’Xiaochu’—terms of address that were rather ambiguous.
After they’d driven for a bit, a rather absurd thought even crossed his mind—’Could Chen Jinyu be his sugar mama?’
Their age difference certainly made it seem possible.
For some reason, though, he found the idea hard to accept.
Sigh... It was all so murky.
Inside Lin Chu’s Rolls-Royce.
Gao Haitao was at the wheel, and Geng Yue, knowing his place, took the front passenger seat. Once inside, he felt the investment was probably a sure thing now. President Lin’s resources were beyond question.
’How could the owner of a prestigious Rolls-Royce possibly be short two million?’
"How old are you, President Geng?"
As the car started moving, Lin Chu casually rested a hand on Chen Jinyu’s leg and started chatting with Geng Yue in the front seat.
Although the investment required for this social media app project wasn’t huge, it still carried significant weight in Lin Chu’s mind.
After all, it represented a venture into a new field.
Moreover, as a user traffic portal, neither the intangible cultural heritage livestreams nor Liu Junfeng’s venture could likely match the potential of a social media app.
And the approach he described was pretty damn brilliant.
Geng Yue smiled in response. "I’m 36. I started my first company back in 2012 and ran it for exactly twelve years, until it ended early this year. Now, it’s time to start the next twelve-year cycle. I hope I can accomplish something this time."
He felt a pang of wistfulness.
A twelve-year cycle to do one thing. He’d succeeded, but sadly, he hadn’t been the one to reap the rewards. All his hard work had only benefited someone else. To say he had no regrets would be a lie.
But as an entrepreneur, he naturally possessed a resilient mindset. If one project failed, you simply moved on to the next. Besides, he was only 36—still young, with plenty of good years ahead of him.
Lin Chu nodded and smiled. "You will. If you get to know me, you’ll find I take good care of my friends. As long as you’ve got the skills, you won’t have to worry about the money."
"As for the Pyramid social structure you designed, are you planning to start from the top-tier users or the bottom-tier?"
Lin Chu cut straight to business.
’This is a brand-new concept, with no market equivalent to benchmark against. If he starts from the top tier, his approach is sure to give me some good ideas.’
Hearing this question, Geng Yue’s expression turned serious. He chose his words carefully. "I plan to iterate through several versions. Version one will categorize users into students, professionals, and public figures, helping them quickly find their niche. The student group is for easy promotion and accumulating our initial user base. The professionals’ section will focus on career networking, and the public figures will be there to provide high-value content. These three communities will be separate tiers from the start, but we’ll offer limited opportunities to ’roam’ between them."
"In the second version, once we hit over a million users, we’ll further refine the professional tags and introduce a ranking system. There will be free users and nine levels of paid users, each with different permissions and features."
"In the third version, once we reach ten million users, this system will become more refined and established. The permission bonuses will become more significant, and we’ll launch a ranking mechanism. Initially, rankings can be based on spending. Later, we’ll add an identity verification system that provides weighted bonuses for things like fame, income level, and social status."
"By that version, the core model will be mature. The only thing left will be optimizing and refining various features."
"This app can only have two outcomes. The first is that it’s completely ignored for being too ahead of its time—it’s the kind of product you’d expect to see after humanity enters a sci-fi age. The second is that it becomes a highly realistic simulation. It will provide an alternative channel to real-world, physical social interaction, and that is its core value."
He had clearly thought this through.
Lin Chu listened, mulling it over, a flicker of excitement rising within him.
The model he designed showed traces of previous social media apps—platforms for students, networks for professionals, feeds for celebrities—but it was different. It was essentially creating a relatively realistic online platform with clear divisions, yet it also offered opportunities to cross those barriers.
"How do you plan to build out the top-tier section?"
"Or to put it another way, what features do you plan to use to attract and retain these so-called social elites and tycoons?"
Lin Chu asked after a moment’s thought.
Geng Yue answered quickly, "First, the software’s features. For example, I’m picturing a ’super push’ function. A request from a well-known figure could be pushed to all users simultaneously—though of course, regular users could opt out. Second is the growth potential. There’s always a honeymoon period when something new comes out, and some celebrities pay close attention to that. Third, I’ll be leveraging my personal reputation to send out invitations. I have some name recognition in the social media space."
"This app will definitely require a hands-on operations model. We’ll have to constantly generate buzz and trending topics. That will be a big test for me and my team, but it’s also where the fun lies."
