Bicycle sharing used to be a business card of China's Internet innovation and a typical representative of the sharing economy. In this field, Mobike is undoubtedly the brightest star, and its founder Hu Weiwei is known as a "goddess", "strong woman" and "queen".
In less than four years, she has made Mobike the world's largest smart bike-sharing platform, raising more than $2 billion in financing, covering more than 200 cities across the country and having more than 200 million users. When she was in the limelight, she chose to cash out 1.5 billion yuan and left, selling Mobike to Meituan, leaving a mess. What kind of shrewdness is this?And how did she do it?
Hu Weiwei was born in 1982 and graduated from the Department of Journalism of City College of Zhejiang University. Since she was a child, she has followed her parents to do wood carving business all over the country, which has also cultivated her pursuit of quality and craftsmanship. In 2004, she joined the National Business Daily as an automotive reporter and began her exploration of the field of travel.
In 2013, she attended the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, USA, and was attracted to an electric scooter, which sparked her vision of personal transportation. After returning to China, she quit her job and founded Geek Auto, a new platform about cars and technology. In the process of interviewing and reporting, she got to know Li Bin, the founder of BitAuto and now the chairman of NIO, and also received his investment and support.
In January 2015, Hu Weiwei and Li Bin co-founded Mobike, a dockless smart bike-sharing platform. Her original intention was to bring bicycles back to the city and solve the problem of last-mile travel, while also contributing to environmental protection and social welfare. She led the team to design and develop Mobike's bikes from scratch, and every detail has been rigorously considered to achieve high quality, high durability and high intelligence.
She also created a Bluetooth and GPS-based smart lock that allows users to quickly rent and return a Mobike bike by scanning the QR code on their mobile phones, and use affordable ** to complete a multi-kilometer ride in the city. In November 2015, the first generation of Mobike bikes was launched, and then pilots began in Shanghai. Hu Weiwei has also become a pioneer and leader in the field of bicycle sharing in China.
Mobike's innovative model and high-quality service were quickly recognized and welcomed by the market and users. Mobike continues to expand its scale and coverage, from first-tier cities to second- and third-tier cities, from domestic to foreign, from bicycles to electric vehicles, from travel to life, Mobike has gradually become a global travel platform and a model of sharing economy.
As of April 2018, Mobike has launched more than 9 million bikes in more than 200 cities around the world, has more than 200 million registered users, and has more than 30 million orders per day, saving 4.7 million tons of carbon emissions, equivalent to planting more than 26 million trees.
From 2015 to 2018, Mobike has undergone 12 rounds of financing, totaling more than $2 billion, with investors including Tencent, Sequoia Capital, Warburg Pincus, Chinese Culture, China Renaissance Capital, China Growth Capital, Wall Street Investment, Huagai Capital and other well-known institutions, and Mobike's valuation has also reached 38With $2.5 billion, it has become the world's largest smart bike-sharing platform.
As the founder and leader of Mobike, Hu Weiwei has also won praise and respect from all parties. She is known as "Goddess", "Strong Woman", "Queen", her speeches and interviews have been widely disseminated and quoted, her stories and experiences have been Xi and borrowed by countless people, and her image and style have been imitated and sought after by countless people.
She is not only a successful entrepreneur, but also a dreamer with feelings, she is not only a capable leader, but also a responsible citizen. With her actions and influence, she has made great contributions to China's Internet innovation and the development of the sharing economy, and has also brought positive changes to society and the environment.
The glory of Mobike did not last long, and with the saturation of the market and the intensification of competition, Mobike also faced unprecedented challenges and crises.
On the one hand, Mobike's competitors are emerging, the most powerful of which is Didi's investment in ofo Xiaohuangche, which has adopted a lower deposit and cheaper **, quickly occupied market share, and formed a two-man competition with Mobike. On the other hand, the operating costs of Mobike are constantly increasing, and Mobike not only has to spend a lot of manpower and material resources to maintain and manage due to problems such as damage, loss, and stacking of bicycles.
Mobike's financial situation is also deteriorating, with a reported loss of 13 in 2017500 million yuan, the debt exceeded 1 billion yuan, and the first merchant was in arrears of about 1 billion yuan. Mobike's development is in trouble, and it urgently needs to find a new way out.
Faced with the difficult development prospects of Mobike, Hu Weiwei chose to retreat bravely. On April 3, 2018, Meituan wholly acquired Mobike for $2.7 billion**, marking Mobike's official entry into the Meituan era. The deal is considered the largest M&A in China's internet history and a major change in the sharing economy.
In this transaction, Hu Weiwei successfully cashed out 1.5 billion yuan with 9% of the equity, and finally not only successfully dumped the mess in his hand to Meituan Wang Xing, but also achieved absolute financial freedom in just four years of entrepreneurship.
Hu Weiwei's choice was evaluated by the outside world as very shrewd and rational. On the one hand, she stopped her losses in time, avoided further losses and risks for Mobike, and left dignity and honor for herself and her team. On the other hand, she chose Meituan, a buyer with strength, strategy and vision, which provides more possibilities and opportunities for the future development of Mobike.
It is understood that after Meituan acquired Mobike, it not only retained the brand and team of Mobike, but also gave Mobike more resources and support, so that Mobike can continue to maintain its leading position in the field of shared bicycles. Meituan also regards Mobike as an important part of its comprehensive life service platform, combining bike-sharing with Meituan's other businesses, such as food delivery, hotels, and tourism, to provide users with a more convenient and rich travel and life experience.
The entrepreneurial story of Mobike is a story full of passion, innovation, challenge and change, as well as a story that shows Hu Weiwei's wisdom, courage, courage and choice. Hu Weiwei has used his dreams and actions to change the way China travels and influence the global sharing economy.
She used her shrewdness and sanity to complete a successful cash-out and exit, and also left more possibilities for herself and Mobike. She is an entrepreneur worthy of admiration and Xi, as well as a figure worthy of attention and expectation.