Rebirth begins with studying hard

Chapter 24 Angel Investing: Step 1

In 2008, Women's Street was one of the most popular commercial streets in Feicheng, almost on par with Huaihe Road Pedestrian Street.

But the Kafka Milk Tea shop was deserted; many people passed by, but no one went to look at it.

"It feels so deserted." After watching for a while, Sun Bo muttered, "Only one full set of milk tea? It feels almost like a milk tea shop that sells two large cups for three yuan..."

But after seeing the price, he clicked his tongue: "Seven yuan a cup? Damn, that's more expensive than the subway! No wonder nobody buys it."

At that time, the mainstream price of milk tea in the subway was around five yuan, and the store image was much better than that of the early Kafka stores run by individual owners.

Without positive word-of-mouth, a cup of coffee priced at seven yuan is indeed hard to attract customers.

But Lu Jie knew very well that this unassuming Kafka milk tea, with just one set of milk tea, directly drove the popular Underground Milk Tea in Anhui Province out of the market.

It has gradually become one of the three representative brands of commercial chains in Anhui Province.

Neither Heytea, Nayuki, nor Bawangchaji could shake its dominant position in Anhui Province.

Anhui province milk tea only has Kafka, and others.

Lu Jie did not explain to Sun Bo's question. After stopping Zhong Muqing, who was about to order, he said:

"I invited you here, so I'll treat you to drinks."

"You guys try comparing it to the subway and see how it goes."

I took two steps forward, and before I could even speak, the enthusiastic voice of the shop assistant inside the window rang out:

"Hello, student! Our full-set milk tea is a special blend of black tea and milk, with toppings including pearls, pudding, and coconut jelly. It's rich in ingredients and has a wonderful flavor. It's really good! Want to try some?"

Although it's the original store and has only been open for two or three months, the enthusiastic service is just as warm as it was in the previous life.

Even though Kafka Milk Tea had over 300 stores in its previous life, it still maintained excellent service, which is indeed a testament to its inherited genes.

It really has been like this since the very first store was founded.

"Four full sets of milk tea," Lu Jie said, handing the money to the window.

"Okay, student." The clerk took the money enthusiastically, handed over the printed receipt, and said, "Please wait a moment."

As he got closer, Lu Jie realized that the young female shop assistant in front of him looked familiar.

After thinking for a while, he remembered that the shop assistant looked very much like the future female vice president, Kafka.

However, he and the female vice president were only nodding acquaintances and had not had much contact, so he was not quite sure.

After watching for a while, he turned his attention to the young figure behind the counter in the store, who had his back to the window.

He looks a bit like the founder, Mr. Bai, but I haven't seen his face and can't confirm it.

It wasn't until the person finished sealing the four cups of milk tea with a sealing machine, took them to the bagging station, and showed his profile that he realized this person was the founder of Kafka.

Xie Bai.

"Hey, your four full-set milk teas are ready."

"Remember to stir it before drinking, it will taste even better."

The staff remained enthusiastic and handed out the four cups of milk tea one by one.

"Thank you." Lu Jie took the money and distributed it to Zhong Muqing and the others.

Then, instead of leaving, he pulled a few people to sit on a bench in the public area and drink milk tea.

His gaze remained fixed on Shepherd at the Kafka Milk Tea window.

While drinking, he pondered how to strike up a conversation with Xie Bai.

He came to Kafka on Women's Street today, not just to buy a cup of milk tea.

Seven yuan a cup, he really couldn't bear to spend that much now.

He only gets eight yuan a day in pocket money.

The real purpose of coming here was to get close to the founder of Kafka and find an opportunity to invest in him.

After Zhong Muqing offered him her 60,000 yuan card without reservation that day, he felt that she was such a generous person that he should take her along to invest and make money.

At that time, he began to think about what investment channels were available that were low-risk and could generate profits quickly, given his limited funds and time.

Upon reflection, he thought of Kafka's milk tea.

This is a future giant that is currently on the verge of bankruptcy.

Kafka, who had already established himself in his previous life, refused all external investment and did not join any franchises. Even if he wanted to, there were no opportunities for cooperation or investment.

Previously, Shih-Pak had always refused to invest and insisted on having 100% control over the company, so even in the early stages, it wasn't easy to get investment and shares.

The opportunity only came during 2008, a special period that was both significant and extremely difficult for Kafka.

After all, the store was almost bankrupt, and Mr. Bai had to borrow money from all over the place to keep it afloat.

If you can successfully invest this year, you can start to see returns next year, and the returns will only increase in the future.

In his previous life, he and President Bai had discussed that the biggest reason for this difficult period was that prices were too high at that time.

Although the quality is good and the service is also good.

But 7 Yuan was indeed very expensive in Feicheng in 2008.

Even the best wine needs advertising; this is true even though the whole set of milk tea is far superior to all other milk teas currently available in Feicheng.

In the era before social media, word-of-mouth took time to spread.

And this first year of founding is the time when this reputation has taken root.

If we maintain the quality and service and get through the period of positive word-of-mouth, everything will be fine.

It can be described as a zero-risk angel investment project.

"Hey, it's delicious!" Sun Bo praised first.

"It's worth 7 yuan, and the quality is indeed better than the subway." Even Chung Mu-ching gave her approval.

After drinking some milk tea, Zhong Muqing, Sun Bo, and Shu Panpan all praised it.

Lu Jie wasn't surprised by their reaction: "I wasn't lying to you, was I?"

"It's just that its business doesn't seem to be doing very well," Zhong Muqing said regretfully.

Seeing Lu Jie staring at the milk tea shop, she also started paying attention.

From the moment she noticed this shop on Ladies' Street until now, almost half an hour later, they are the only ones who have bought four drinks.

Not far away, a loudspeaker played a tune for "two large cups for three yuan" and "one large cup for two yuan," and it had already sold a dozen or so orders.

Even though Kafka's single cup is much more expensive than the three-dollar two-cup cup, its revenue still can't compare.

"Not bad." Lu Jie nodded.

If the business is doing well, he would like to invest in it, but he hasn't had the opportunity yet.

Zhong Muqing assumed Lu Jie agreed with her, so she went along with it:

"I feel like this bubble tea shop won't be open for long, it's a bit of a shame... Hey, Lu Jie, where are you going?"

Before she could finish speaking, Lu Jie suddenly stood up.

"Wait a moment." Lu Jie, who had been staring at the window, saw Xie Bai, who had been facing away from the window, take over as the female shop assistant. After saying this, he strode over.

"Student, is there anything you're not satisfied with regarding your milk tea?" Xie Bai asked enthusiastically when he saw the customer who had just bought tea return.

"No, I think it tastes pretty good," Lu Jie said. "I just wanted to ask, do you only have milk tea? Do you have other drinks?"

He knew perfectly well that there was no such thing.

He asked this question knowing the answer already, in order to elicit his next sentence after Shepard answered "no".

After Xie Bai gave a negative answer, he pretended to be both disappointed and regretful, saying:

"Oh, I see... Oh, what a pity."

He paused for a moment, then continued:

"I've had two drinks in other places, and they were delicious. It's a pity that no one in Feicheng makes them. I was thinking that if you guys made them, I could come and drink them often."

As someone working in the industry, Xie Bai didn't have any plans to add more product categories, but since a customer brought it up, he naturally wanted to look into it.

"Excuse me, what kind of drink is that?"

"Two fruit teas, one lemon-based and one mango-based," Lu Jie said succinctly. "These two are extremely popular in milk tea shops outside of Beijing."

"Fruit tea...we currently have no plans to make fruit tea," Xie Bailuo said politely after understanding the situation.

Lu Jie didn't dwell on the topic of fruit tea any further, but chatted casually for about ten minutes before leaving, feeling that the time was right.

The first step in investing is to start a conversation.

The objective has been achieved.