Entrepreneurial story: When Zhang Chaoyang woke up from his dream, he and Sohu lost golden decade.

Entrepreneurial story: When Zhang Chaoyang woke up from his dream, he and Sohu lost golden decade.

Zhongguancun and Wudaokou used to be the most dynamic places of Internet in China, with several big companies, such as Google, Sina, Netease, Sohu, Tencent and Starlight Glimmer. Nowadays, it seems that Sohu is the only one walking, moving and staying in the same place.

Zhang Chaoyang began to prepare rations.

In May, Sohu received 2.5 billion credit from Ping An Bank, and Changyou was ready for privatization. Under the continuous capital operation, it is Zhang Chaoyang's determination to try to return to the stage. Sohu really missed too much and fell behind for too long. Nowadays, people no longer joke about this old Internet company with the "Millennium Second Child"-in many fields, it can't even rank second.

In the second half of the Internet, Zhang Chaoyang wanted to regain his former glory. News and video will be the first battlefields of his attack. However, these two businesses that burn money are bloodthirsty. Sohu needs more funds and continuous blood transfusion to break through the encirclement of BAT. The soldiers and horses didn't move food and grass first. This time, at least Zhang Chaoyang's rhythm is right.

1 Network Three Musketeers

In May, Zhang Chaoyang was photographed by netizens meditating in the coffee shop of Beijing Kunlun Hotel. Wearing a blue sweatshirt, he sat quietly, with bright eyes and no competition.

Meditation and yoga are well-known hobbies of Zhang Chaoyang in the circle. Close to medical care, far from business. This is completely different from the arrogant boy who skated in front of Tiananmen Square 19 years ago.

1998, which was the wild age of Internet in China. That year, Li Yanhong, chief engineer of Infoseek, had not returned to China. He published "Commercial Wars in Silicon Valley", enthusiastically helped his friend Xu Yong shoot the documentary "Walking into Silicon Valley" and interviewed Yahoo founder Yang Zhiyuan. Ma resigned and started a business in a friend's dance studio in Shenzhen, with grandiose disco headlights hanging above the computer; After two failed ventures, Ma Yun is ready to leave Beijing. It snowed the night he left. He took his team crying in the pub and singing "True Hero".

The era of ups and downs is slowly beginning. Zhang Chaoyang, with the blessing of Tsinghua, a famous Massachusetts school, jumped to the center of the stage early. He founded Aitexin on 1996 and launched Sohu.com on 1998. Also in the spotlight are Netease founder Ding Lei and Sina founder Wang Zhidong. They were given a title with the characteristics of the times: Three Musketeers on the Internet.

Of the three, Zhang Chaoyang is the oldest and the most arrogant. On the cover of fashion magazine, taking photos of Tiananmen roller skating, "show" became his most important label. He said this is commercial speculation. He imitates Dale. In the United States, Dell's advertisements frequently appear on TV and highways. At first, people will resent it, but later they will gradually accept it and remember it.

In fact, he likes to stand in the center of the stage himself. He once yearned for Hollywood, made a movie in an advertising company, wore a ponytail, liked to drive a convertible and dreamed of inventing his own dance steps like Michael Jackson.

He did it. He turned himself into a billboard of Sohu and even China Internet. 1999, Zhang Chaoyang went to Shenzhen to give a speech, and SAR people with dreams of making a fortune crowded the venue. It is reported that horses are among them. Then he developed OICQ. A hero is known in the time of misfortune. It can be said that the Internet wave in China pushed Zhang Chaoyang to the peak of his life. Negroponte, the author of Digital Survival, witnessed this historical change. He used to be the director of the Media Laboratory of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an investor of Zhang Chaoyang. When Zhang Chaoyang started his business, he personally invested 75,000 US dollars.

The Chinese version of Digital Survival was published on 1996, which became the enlightenment of countless Internet people. According to Negroponte's memory, in 1997, he was invited by the State Council Information Office to come to China and held a small seminar on partial technology in Chinese Academy of Sciences, with Zhang Chaoyang as the translator, which had little influence at that time. 1999 When I came to China for the second time, I attended an activity of Sohu in China World Hotel and found it was packed.

At this point, from Beijing, Hangzhou to Shenzhen, the Internet wave has gradually become a sweeping trend.

2 fork road

Now it seems that 200 1 is the fork in the road of the fate of the three musketeers. Three people with different personalities have developed differently since then.

200 1 is a difficult year for them. At the beginning of the year, Zhang Chaoyang experienced Sohu's "one-dollar defense war", and in the summer, Ding Lei was caught in the crisis that Netease might be suspended. The most tragic thing is Wang Zhidong, who was forced to leave Sina, which he founded by himself-after several entrepreneurial experiences, he never succeeded again, and his name was gradually forgotten.

Wang Zhidong had a period of reflection:

"Leaving Sina is a very painful thing for me. Of course, I am also very clear that in the long run, one should not be tied to a company for a long time. Even I think that the less a company depends on one person, the more mature it will be. "

Zhang Chaoyang learned the lesson of Wang Zhidong's withdrawal from the board of directors-later, in an interview with CCTV, he proudly introduced that "after 2004, my country was basically laid and the dust of the board of directors was settled"

But he didn't notice the reflection of the abandoned children, and he didn't have time to care about it.

Sohu business is developing smoothly. Outside the portal, he has several good cards, such as sogou and Changyou, and the matrix advantage is beginning to show. In 2008, Sohu won the sponsorship of the Beijing Olympic Games, and the advertisement of "Watch the Olympics and Go to Sohu" can be seen everywhere in the subway of the city bus station.

It was the fastest years for Sohu to run. By 2008, Sohu's performance and share price surpassed Sina for the first time, and finally got rid of the shadow of listing later than Sina that year.

During this period, Zhang Chaoyang has always maintained a high profile.

In those years, he was often interviewed by reporters. He likes this feeling. Most of the time, he leans on the sofa, looking lazy and casual.

He created a charming image of an American entrepreneur, and "golden bachelor" is probably one of his favorite identities. He appeared half-naked on the cover of fashion magazines, led a team to take Sun Nan, Li Bingbing, Gao Yuanyuan, Jiang Peilin and other stars to Tibet Snow Mountain, bought a private yacht and put it in Sanya Bay. All the tableware in the kitchen comes from England.

At private parties, his original Charles dance steps always become the focus of the audience-the dream planted in America has finally come true.

He even described himself as the first rich and famous person.

"He is like Fitzgerald's Gatsby. He goes to the mountains and the sea, owns a mansion and yacht, sits in a crowded place and sings at night. The glass exterior wall of Sohu Building is enough to reflect the brilliance of 100 sun. " A report in Blog World describes this.

In contrast, Ding Lei is too low-key. He is not unconventional or conspicuous. Compared with Beijing and Guangzhou, this Zhejiang native prefers to stay in Hangzhou and keep a low profile and do practical things. The youngest member of three musketeers became the most stable.

Different choices bring different fates. Up to now, the situation of the Three Musketeers who are in the limelight has been completely different.

Ding Lei, who loves games, made a beautiful turnaround last year. Netease's annual revenue was nearly 28 billion, up 665,438+0% year-on-year. Sohu continued to struggle, trying to start again like a heavy elephant. Recently, Zhang Chaoyang's most concerned news is the inexplicable scandal with American singer moldy; As for Wang Zhidong, he has disappeared into the Jianghu.

According to last year's financial report, some media found that the value of a Ding Lei is equivalent to 24 Zhang Chaoyang and 148 Wang Zhidong.

Three laggards

From 2007 to 20 1 1, Zhang Chaoyang was happy.

"A little carried away", he hardly works at night, hanging out in bars, singing and drinking, or simply having a party on the top floor of Sohu Media Building. Ma Yun was invited to a party, but he didn't show up until 12, stayed for a while and left.

As soon as Ma Yun arrived, he was complained by Zhang Chaoyang: "Why, our party is almost over." In fact, Zhang Chaoyang knows that he is busy at work.

A reporter told Zhang Chaoyang in an interview that Ding Lei was still testing his new game online at 12. The CEO who once publicly expressed his envy for the rich second generation spread out his hands: "If I were like him, my cervical spine would be finished." .

After several years of suffering, Zhang Chaoyang seems to think it's time to be happy. After 2008, he once became a shadow CEO, busy reading books, listening to music, doing yoga, climbing mountains and running, and almost all company affairs were taken care of by several executives. He doesn't see people related to his work, and he doesn't even return the text messages of executives.

He forgot the cruelty of the Internet Jianghu: this is a bloody place that needs continuous fighting. The popular truth that if you don't advance, you will retreat, which will become an embarrassing number in the financial report and become the questioning eyes of investors.

Some Sohu employees use sleepwalking to describe Sohu and Zhang Chaoyang after 2008.

20 10 Zhang Chaoyang announced his comeback to rebuild Sohu.

But this is only the beginning of his gradual fading out and comeback. In 20 12, Zhang Chaoyang closed down again because of depression and returned the following year. He explained that he was depressed because things had gone so well before. "The founder is not easy to be depressed because he has dreams and pursuits. It is easy to be a successful person. "

The truth is unknown. But what is certain is that the rise of 20 1 1 Weibo has put great pressure on Zhang Chaoyang.

20 1 1 The employee (Hua) who left Sohu News Center at the end of the year revealed that at that time, Zhang Chaoyang made the whole company's efforts to be Sohu Weibo, and internally put forward the slogan "Weibo's investment is not capped".

As a result, everyone in Liang Dong got a KPI to recruit new users. In addition to their daily work, they have to pretend to be water soldiers and interact with tuba in Sohu Weibo.

Sohu Weibo didn't catch up after all.

Zhang Chaoyang closed his door to the world. It was a year of great changes in the internet, and everyone was scrambling to seize the center position.

Wechat has basically established the dominance of mobile social interaction, and its users exceeded 300 million in June of 20 13. The rise of Xiaomi, the Internet model stirs up the mobile phone market; BAT has become a concept that is increasingly favored by the media.

These glories have nothing to do with Sohu.

Among them, the rise of WeChat especially stimulated Zhang Chaoyang. "Missing Weibo and WeChat is like giving me a slap in the face," he once told Yang Lan.

When Zhang Chaoyang carried out portal reform on 20 15, he had to go to Sina Weibo to announce that "it's a pity that Sohu's sns is not working, so he had to use Sina Weibo to make a sound."

For this proud man, what a reluctant thing it is.

4. It's hard to get it back.

When studying physics in Tsinghua, Zhang Chaoyang was often in the top three, but he almost never got the first place.

Sohu also repeated this history. From PC to mobile Internet, Sohu has a wide range of products, such as Changyou, Sohu Video, Sohu News Client, etc., but it is often a good start and weak follow-up, so it cannot be the first in the true sense.

Therefore, it is called "the second child of the Millennium".

This is related to Zhang Chaoyang's personal style. His dream is to be a superstar that everyone loves, not a king.

Zhang Chaoyang is a good man. This label is more famous than his dance steps. "He is a good man, but a good man can't beat a bad man," Zeng said of Zhou.

There are too many malicious figures in this circle, and the good Zhang Man Chaoyang really lacks some king domineering. Today, Sohu has lost its position as the "second child" in many business lines.

He announced at least twice that the reconstruction of Sohu has not achieved any expected results.

There are always generals who lose. The resignations of Wang Xin, former chief operating officer, Yu Chuyuan, former CFO, Deng Ye, former CEO of Sohu Video, and Liu Chun, former editor-in-chief of Sohu.com, are considered as a great blow to Sohu. Zhang Chaoyang's long-term inaction has led to fierce factional struggles within Sohu and obvious internal friction.

The weak layout is different from the big layout of Tencent and Ali through acquisition and investment. Sohu is almost playing by itself. Loneliness is like the founder. It is said that Zhang Chaoyang rejected Zhang Yiming's investment on 20 12, on the grounds that he didn't need to invest in an external startup because he held the Sohu news client.

Many business lines are obviously declining. The once brilliant Sohu video has slipped to the second step. In this game of burning money, Sohu can't beat the Sohu news client that BAT once ranked very high, and the gap with today's headlines and Tencent is getting bigger and bigger; It used to be a tour of Sohu's "cow". Because it transfused blood for the group all the year round, the mobile terminal was weak and ready to be privatized.

A set of data can illustrate the crisis of "cow" swimming:

From 20 12, Changyou's revenue remained at $670 million for four consecutive years, and fell to $525 million by 20 16. On the other hand, tencent games's and Netease's mobile games, the glory of the king and Yin Yang Shi performed amazingly on 20 16 respectively. The former earned more than 70 billion RMB (about10 billion USD), while the latter was close to 28 billion USD (about 4 billion USD).

Changyou mobile games have been weak. A netizen "Tianlong Babu" released ten years ago is still its main source of income. After privatization, Changyou itself needs to prove its strength in order to resume blood transfusion for Sohu video and other businesses.

In the matrix layout of Sohu, sogou is a very successful one.

Under the leadership of Wang Xiaochuan, in fiscal year 20 16, sogou's income even exceeded Changyou's. However, after 20 13 Tencent entered sogou, this company no longer belongs only to Sohu.

At the end of 20 16, Tencent, which holds 45% of the shares, became the single largest shareholder. Earlier this year, Wang Xiaochuan revealed that sogou may be listed in the United States this year.

Sogou will eventually split up and start its own business. This is probably one of the reasons why Zhang Chaoyang recalled Changyou.

The second half of the war

Zhongguancun and Wudaokou used to be the most dynamic places of Internet in China, with several big companies, such as Google, Sina, Netease, Sohu, Tencent and Starlight Glimmer. Nowadays, it seems that Sohu is the only one walking, moving and staying in the same place.

Zhang Chaoyang is not willing to be an old man.

From the "sleepwalking" state in 2008, Zhang Chaoyang has been confused intermittently for almost ten years, which is also the golden decade of Internet development in China. The concepts of mobile payment, social network, O2O, e-commerce, live broadcast, short video, and * * enjoying the economy have stirred up the Internet.

Zhang Chaoyang was pushed to the edge of the stage. Now, the Internet has entered the second half, and at the age of 53, he wants to return to the center.

Recently, he set the battlefield on news and video.

In May, Sohu received a comprehensive credit of 2.5 billion yuan from Ping An Bank, which means that Sohu Group can borrow 2.5 billion yuan from Ping An Bank at most before May 18, 2020.

When Zhang Chaoyang announced this news, he said that sufficient funds will help Sohu to participate in the competition of video and news information more effectively.

This is a difficult and dangerous road.

Taking video as an example, Sohu is regarded as the Whampoa Military Academy of Internet video in China. At that time, the "support for genuine" initiated the burning mode of the whole industry, and so far no video website has made a profit. In Sohu's recently released Q 17 financial report, Sohu Video, which lost $70 million, was the biggest drag.

Sohu video once led the limelight with the marketing of "The Voice of China", genuine American dramas and homemade dramas. However, the protracted war caused it to be stretched, and gradually distanced itself from Tencent video with deep pockets.

This has become a game of capital. As always, Zhang Chaoyang seems very confident. Last year, he stated that Sohu Video was profitable in 20 19 years, and Sohu returned to the Internet Center within three years. This is a three-year examination paper. The final result of top student Zhang Chaoyang remains to be seen in the future.

However, Zhang Chaoyang was optimistic about two outlets: machine intelligence and social networks, but these are areas where Sohu is not very good at or even absent. As a result, in the increasingly fierce second-half war on the Internet, Zhang Chaoyang still broadcast news and videos, and the only person responsible for blood transfusion was Lao Niu.

This made Sohu's second-half war less innovative.

In May, when Sohu Capital moved frequently, the news of another company was also embarrassing: Yahoo was acquired and renamed to withdraw from the historical stage.

This company that was once "too big to fail" was the object that Zhang Chaoyang imitated at the beginning of his business. Sohu's early domain name looks like Yahoo's China brothers. Yahoo was founded in 1995. Five years later, it became the first company with a market value exceeding 1000 billion. No one will believe that it will die in more than ten years.

But this is the world of the Internet, and the crisis and smoke will never stop. The important reason for Yahoo's downfall is the erosion of traditional business and the lack of bright spots in emerging business. On its huge lifeless body, there seems to be a shadow of Sohu, who is 19 years old.

I hope Zhang Chaoyang can write a different story this time.

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