Tycoon: From Rags to Riches

Chapter 210: Chapter 180: Industrial Upgrade

An industrial transformation: expanding into the online space.

For Xingchuan International, this move was more of a priority and of greater importance than either upgrading or expanding. It was, one might even say, an urgent necessity.

Chu Zhengxiong and Zhou Gang took turns speaking, complementing each other’s points as they gave Gu Heng a comprehensive and detailed presentation covering multiple aspects, from resource advantages and preliminary preparations to mid-term development and long-term prospects.

"Chairman Gu, the 3rd, 4th, and 9th floors of the Xingchuan International headquarters building are currently vacant. If you approve the industrial transformation plan, we intend to allocate the entire 3rd and 4th floors to the future Xingchuan Entertainment."

"We can partition the 3rd floor into professional group-streaming studios and use the 4th floor as a comprehensive office area for Xingchuan Entertainment, which will house offices, training rooms, lounges, dressing rooms, and other functional spaces."

"Since the headquarters building is our own property, we won’t need to spend anything on leasing a venue. The main costs during the initial preparatory phase will be concentrated on equipment and renovations."

"After we launch the first group, we’ll need another sum for traffic acquisition and promotion. Ten million should be more than enough for the initial phase. Later, we can increase our investment based on the performance data of the first group."

Gu Heng listened to Zhou Gang’s presentation and nodded lightly.

He had actually heard about this emerging field of group streaming from Xinxin, Yangyang, and Bingbing some time ago.

Although it was called an emerging field, it was essentially just moving the girl group idol-search debut model, like the one used by Siba Media, online.

In the early stages, internal competition within the group helps the streamers accumulate fans. In the middle stages, the number of groups is increased, allowing groups from the same agency and with the same model to spring up all over the internet.

In the final stage, all the groups and all the streamers are brought together for monthly, quarterly, and annual competitions. These events encourage fans and top spenders from across the web to give gifts, ultimately determining the monthly, quarterly, and annual champions.

The streamer who wins the agency’s competition receives numerous benefits, such as an exclusive poster photoshoot, a private dressing room, a dedicated van, and the center position (C position) in the next competition, all of which intensifies the rivalry among the streamers’ fanbases.

To put it simply, group streaming is just an idol search disguised as live streaming.

The strongest competitor to emerge from this brutal, survival-of-the-fittest style of competition is bound to have terrifying earning potential, and their fan loyalty will be far beyond that of any ordinary streamer.

Even the top streamers in the PK battle scene would have to concede defeat.

"For group streaming, stream moderation and operations are both crucial."

Gu Heng took a drag from his cigar and asked leisurely, "For the behind-the-scenes team, are you planning on conventional recruitment, or are you just going to poach people?"

"We plan to poach the behind-the-scenes team directly."

Zhou Gang replied immediately, "We’re currently in private contact with the behind-the-scenes team of a large MCN agency over in Hang City. We’ve pretty much reached an agreement. As soon as we get the company set up on our end, they can resign and come over at any time."

Gu Heng had guessed that someone like Chu Zhengxiong would never take the conventional route. As expected, he and his team had indeed chosen to poach talent—and they had poached the entire behind-the-scenes team in one go.

A move like that was probably like digging right into their competitor’s main artery.

But business is like a battlefield; kindness and mercy won’t help you survive. The fact that Chu Zhengxiong could poach the entire team just meant that their original boss wasn’t paying them enough. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have come all the way from Hang City to Beichun.

"Since Chairman Chu and President Zhou have already prepared so thoroughly, I see no reason not to support this."

Gu Heng smiled at Chu Zhengxiong and Zhou Gang. "I approve the industrial transformation plan. Chairman Chu, President Zhou, feel free to proceed."

Chu Zhengxiong and Zhou Gang exchanged a glance, their faces alight with joy.

"Chairman Gu, rest assured."

Zhou Gang immediately declared, "We will definitely put our hearts into preparing this project and ensure we don’t let your trust down."

"Chairman Gu, I will personally oversee this project."

Chu Zhengxiong’s expression was quite serious. "When Xingchuan Entertainment’s first girl group has their debut stream, I hope you’ll come and show your support, Chairman Gu."

"Of course."

Gu Heng agreed with a smile, then picked up Xingchuan International’s financing proposal again. "Chairman Chu, now that we’ve discussed the industrial transformation, let’s talk about the industrial upgrade."

"I see in the financing proposal that you’ve focused the industrial upgrade on the livehouse bar brand, Sound Wave, correct?"

Jiang Ruan sat to the side, silently pouring tea for the three men.

Strictly speaking, the matters Gu Heng and Chu Zhengxiong were discussing should all be considered business secrets, yet Gu Heng showed no intention of having her leave.

’He trusts me this much...’

Jiang Ruan gazed at Gu Heng’s handsome profile, her eyes slightly unfocused.

"Yes."

Chu Zhengxiong nodded. "Currently, all of our Sound Wave locations are concentrated in the first- and second-tier cities of the north. If we plan to expand Sound Wave into the south in the future, we must upgrade it from the current 1.0 version to the latest 2.0 version."

"In Rongcheng, 2.0 version livehouse bars have already started to appear. They’ve changed the traditional stage to a T-shaped stage, greatly increasing the interaction between the performers and the customers, and they’ve replaced the regular LED screens with glasses-free 3D screens."

After Chu Zhengxiong finished, Zhou Gang took over. "Last month, we used the Sound Wave location near Guilin Road in Beichun as a pilot project, closing it for an upgrade. It’s expected to reopen by the end of this month. When it does, Chairman Gu, you can go and experience it for yourself."

"Hmm..."

"Let me know when it opens."

Gu Heng didn’t refuse, instead asking, "According to your designs and plans, how much will it cost to upgrade a single location?"

"About six million."

Zhou Gang answered truthfully.

"Six million for a single location, so for twelve locations, that’s seventy-two million."

Gu Heng asked again, "After the upgrade, what’s your estimated payback period?"

"Two months at the shortest, four months at the longest."

Zhou Gang thought for a moment before giving a rough estimate.

"In that case, let’s wait until the Guilin Road location’s upgrade is complete. We can decide whether to upgrade the remaining eleven locations based on its actual operational performance."

Chu Zhengxiong and Zhou Gang both understood the subtext of Gu Heng’s words: whether the industrial upgrade would continue would ultimately depend on performance.

If the performance was solid, they would proceed.

If the performance was poor, they would have to reconsider.

Gu Heng’s response was within Chu Zhengxiong’s and Zhou Gang’s expectations.

They had also been in a wait-and-see mode, planning to adjust the subsequent industrial upgrade plan based on the actual situation after the Guilin Road location was upgraded.

After all, upgrading all twelve Sound Wave locations to version 2.0 required a significant amount of capital. It also concerned the future expansion of Sound Wave, so naturally, they couldn’t make a blind decision.

"Chairman Gu, let’s shelve this matter for now."

Chu Zhengxiong said with a smile, "In the future, after the Guilin Road location is upgraded, we’ll look at the results and the performance before deciding whether to give Sound Wave a full-scale upgrade."

"Alright."

Gu Heng smiled at Chu Zhengxiong, then raised his teacup in a small gesture. They both took a sip of tea to wet their throats...

PS: Please vote with your monthly tickets!

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!