Chapter 253 - Trust Between People
Translator: Lav
Editor: Seliniaki Ilikia
As expected, Lü Jiaqiang saw Shi Lei sitting inside Tree Coffee through the glass window. There was a young man in a suit sitting opposite to him and they were conversing with each other.
He put on the hood of his jacket and walked into the cafe, then found a seat behind Shi Lei and sat down with his back toward him.
However, because the table behind Shi Lei was taken, Lü Jiaqiang could only sit one table behind that.
It didn’t matter how long he stretched his neck. He could only hear a few words from their conversation. When he could finally make out what the two of them were saying, the person sitting at table between them started typing loudly on his laptop, which drowned out Shi Lei and Zhen Xu’s conversation again.
Shi Lei and Zhen Xu didn’t talk for too long. Shi Lei had to give Zhang Meimei a call asking about intellectual property rights because of Zhen Xu’s resignation. After all, neither he nor Zhen Xu understood it very well. Zhang Meimei told them that as long as Zhen Xu developed the app independently and without using his previous company’s resources, or it was impossible for the company to provide proof that Zhen Xu had used their resources, then there shouldn’t be a problem. Zhen Xu had also emphasized many times that he’d only begun writing the code after he resigned from the company, which shouldn’t be a problem either.
From conversing with Zhen Xu, Shi Lei learned that he should have some savings, but didn’t dare put all of it into the development of the app. He needed to be acknowledged and needed main funds from investors in order to promote his project with confidence. In simpler words, Zhen Xu needed someone to tell him that his app had market value.
So Shi Lei continued according to the process he had planned. “There are four issues at the moment. First, if Mr. Zhen doesn’t trust me or all the other potential investors from the very beginning, then it is impossible for us to proceed to the actual stage of discussing the details. I must have a basic knowledge of your app to estimate its market potential. Actually, this isn’t about money, but basic trust between humans. Second, excuse me for putting it bluntly, but what you have in your hands right now is only a project that hasn’t actually been established. It’s only the foundation of a mobile app. The value won’t be high and you need to at least give me a full report of the market research you’ve done, or at least an analysis on its practicality in the market. Third, Mr. Zhen, the structure of your company is way too simple. So even if I eventually acknowledge your project and invest in you, I’m afraid that the first step you would have to take is to perfect your company’s structure, or at least make sure that you have the ability to keep up with the development, as well as personnel services appointed to the Android and IOS systems of the app. Fourth, your excessive caution and indecisiveness is already making you impossible to cooperate with for other investors. If I were you, I wouldn’t first be worrying about whether my app could be copied, but about applying for a patent. Even if it doesn’t succeed, at least you wouldn’t have to worry as much during the filing period. I’ve put this all out there. Maybe you should consider it. If you still can’t feel assured, then let’s end it here and we’ll discuss again when you have thought it over.”
Perhaps Shi Lei’s words made Zhen Xu panic, thinking that Shi Lei had lost his patience and was going to leave. “Please wait, Mr. Shi,” he quickly said. “I didn’t mean it, I just—”
Shi Lei waved his hand and smiled. “I’m not telling you to make a decision immediately. I just started drinking my coffee. If you haven’t made up your mind after I finish, it’s not too late to leave then.”
Zhen Xu finally calmed down a little as he quickly indulged his indecisiveness.
It was almost at the exact moment that Shi Lei took his last sip of coffee that Zhen Xu finally raised his head. In a short period of ten minutes, his eyes had become bloodshot, which made Shi Lei jump at the sight.
“You are right, Mr. Shi, it’s me who lacks confidence in the capital. Okay, I’ve decided not to conceal anything anymore. I’ll tell you straightforwardly.”
Zhen Xu gulped down the rest of his coffee and Shi Lei asked the waiter to refill their cups with a smile.
“Please go ahead.”
“I’ve already done a complete testing of the android system for my app. There shouldn’t be any problems with the IOS system either, because I was in charge of testing the IOS system at my previous company. Mr. Shi, you travel around in luxurious cars, so you might not know about certain lifestyles. It’s difficult for ordinary salarymen like me, especially those who need to run around outside instead of working in offices, to even find a toilet at places other than McDonald’s, KFC, or big shopping malls when they are rushing around. Even if they find one, the bathrooms are usually crowded because they are in areas with heavy traffic and it’s painful for them to wait in line. I’ve even experienced this myself and I almost peed my pants. So I thought of a search engine for this purpose. I can provide a platform for mobile apps, built on a certain map application, and mark all the big and obvious places, such as shopping malls, KFC, and McDonald’s, with toilets. As for the rest, the users can upload more locations. Mr. Shi, all cell phones are equipped with GPS right now and the locations are rather accurate, so the users won’t have too much difficulty using it. They just need to pinpoint the location, then enter simple information such as the floor level, and they can successfully add a new address on the application platform. The more users there are, the more locations will appear. This way, every single user is able to find the closest toilet based on their location. Although this is only a function app for daily life, I thought that the number of downloads will be big as long as it brings convenience to the citizens.”
Shi Lei waited patiently for Zhen Xu to finish introducing his app. To be honest, he was rather interested in its functions. Zhen Xu didn’t know that Shi Lei was that kind of person too. There were times when he had to run for a long time just to find a toilet. If there had been an app at those times, it would have been really convenient.
But his personal interest didn’t mean that the app would have potential in the future. After all, once the app was developed, it was solely for the purpose of earning profit for the company and Shi Lei needed it to invest in and earn money for himself. If it was just his personal interest but he didn’t have a clear goal for profit, then it would be impossible for him to invest in it. Although all the money he spent was carried by the wind, it didn’t mean that the investment money was the same.
“I’m personally quite interested in the app and I think we can continue to discuss collaboration, but like I said before, you have to give me an analysis of its practicality in the market. It would be best if you can also give me an estimate on future development. I also need to analyze its practicality after I go home.”
Zhen Xu finally took out a USB and passed it to Shi Lei. “Mr. Shi, here are some my analyses of the market, including the main points for gain this app will create. Of course, everything I’ve thought of is very brief at the moment, but I think you can take a look at it.”