If everyone is reborn, who will work for capital?

Chapter 7 On-site Solution Development

The old PowerPoint 2003 interface slowly unfolded on the screen, and a simple, even somewhat rudimentary, title page appeared—

"University Student Campus Dating Platform"

Geng Zhi quickly scrolled through the PPT from beginning to end by sliding the mouse wheel.

This is just a run-of-the-mill dating website!

The entire PPT was a crude application of a so-called template that can be found everywhere. It contained a lot of words, empty content, loose logic, and the so-called business model was completely nonexistent.

In 2009, internet venture capital was just emerging in China, and high-quality roadshows were extremely rare. It was normal that the roadshow templates online were generally terrible.

He turned to Ma Chunmei, unable to contain his curiosity any longer: "How much did you spend on this PPT?"

Ma Chunmei glanced around instinctively, hesitated for a moment, then held up an index finger under her seat before whispering, "Followed by... four more zeros."

upright:"……"

Spending 10,000 yuan to buy this kind of template garbage that you can easily find online? It seems that materialistic and wealthy girls are the easiest to fool.

Since I'm going to get ripped off anyway, I might as well keep the profits within the family. At least when I cut you, I can actually carve something out of you... Geng Zhi muttered to himself.

Complaints aside, the real problems are right in front of us.

This template is really only worth 20 or 30 points. Even if you modify it yourself and present it on stage, you can only give a 60-point presentation at most, since the business model of campus dating has its limitations.

Trying to impress the judges in the audience is as difficult as climbing to the sky.

However, although the presentation slides have been submitted, the judges only know that the project's general direction is "social," and they probably haven't seen the specific content yet.

If we make changes now... theoretically, it's still not too late.

The question now becomes: how to optimize the plan without deviating from the theme of "social interaction," tell the story in a creative way, and impress the judges?

The straightforward brain's CPU started running at full speed.

Pure campus dating? The market ceiling is easily reached, user value is limited, the monetization path is unclear, and the story doesn't offer much imagination.

To break out of this predicament, we must step outside the small pond of the "campus" and look towards a broader blue ocean.

In the past, there were only two paths to becoming a giant in the social media industry:

One type is stranger-based social networking like Momo, Tantan, and Soul, which focuses on interest matching, hormone-driven relationships, or soul resonance; the other type is vertical dating platforms like Century Home, Baihe.com, and Zhenai.com, which have a clear goal and go straight for the theme of "finding a partner," in a simple and straightforward manner.

The former relies heavily on the widespread adoption of mobile internet and the penetration of smartphones. However, it is now September 2009, only six months after the issuance of 3G licenses. The user base is far from mature. Rushing in now would only make us cannon fodder for the industry in its early stages.

The latter, while the three major online dating platforms have taken shape, suffer from numerous pain points and a tarnished reputation. Problems such as "marriage scams," "bar scams," "false information," and "pig butchering scams" are rampant, especially when compared to those sensational social news stories from my past life…

If we could leverage the prestigious reputation of Shanghai Jiao Tong University to design a novel dating product that directly addresses the weaknesses of existing giants... perhaps we could actually create a compelling narrative?

At least, it sounds more imaginative than "campus dating" and is more likely to resonate with the judges.

As Geng Zhi recalled his blind date experiences in his past life, a bold idea gradually became clear in his mind.

Seeing Geng Zhi staring at the screen silently for a long time, Ma Chunmei frowned slightly, and the flame of hope that had just risen in her heart began to flicker again.

She couldn't help but start to suspect that this straightforward guy was all talk and no action; when it came to actually doing something, he was clueless and had no ability to help her at all. She felt like she was being played.

But she still clung to a sliver of hope, nervously whispering tentatively, "Straightforward... how's my PPT?"

"I just said your project was worth twenty or thirty points," Geng Zhi finally turned to look at her, his tone calm and even, "but now it seems that assessment might have been too optimistic."

"Ah..." Ma Chunmei's heart sank to the bottom. Her pearly teeth unconsciously bit her lower lip, her eyes filled with a mixture of resentment and a final plea, "Is...is there still hope for 80 points? If not, 70 points, no, 60 points will do!"

Instead of answering directly, he looked her straight in the eye with sharp eyes and asked, "Is your goal in this pitch a genuine entrepreneurial endeavor, or just to boost your chances of getting a better score in your graduate school entrance exam?"

"To get extra points in the re-examination," Ma Chunmei answered without hesitation.

"So, it doesn't really matter who goes up to give the presentation or what they say. As long as the 'entrepreneurial achievement' ends up in your name, it's a success, right?" Geng Zhi confirmed again.

Ma Chunmei was very clever; she instantly grasped the subtext of Geng Zhi's words, and her mind immediately began to race with calculations.

If Geng Zhi were to take my place on stage and deliver a good speech, the credit would still go to me; if he messes up, it would be his loss of face, and I could easily distance myself from the situation. During the second interview, I could still say that I "led a startup project"...

This is simply a perfect solution that allows for both offense and defense!

"I don't mind." Ma Chunmei quickly adjusted her expression, even adopting a slightly condescending tone. "I can give you this valuable opportunity to showcase your talents."

Give me a chance to shine? Listen to me, thank you... I almost burst out laughing inside, but my face remained as steady as a rock.

He glanced at the time in the lower right corner of the computer screen, then quickened his pace: "Okay, next, I'll redesign a pitch plan based on the 'social' direction, and I'll go on stage to present it for you. You'll still be nominally the project founder. Is that feasible?"

"Ah..." Ma Chunmei was both surprised and delighted, but was immediately overwhelmed by huge doubts, and hurriedly asked, "Why do we need to redesign it?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized she had asked a stupid question—of course, it was because this thing was simply not presentable!

She quickly tried to cover it up: "I mean... what's the new project proposal?"

"Dating and matchmaking."

"Marriage...marriage and relationships?" Ma Chunmei's eyes widened. "These changes are too drastic! There's simply not enough time!"

Although she admits that she has a sharp eye when giving her honest critiques of others, giving verbal critiques and personally designing a business plan from scratch that can impress the judges are two completely different things!

Once the plan is designed, a lot of time still needs to be spent rehearsing it, familiarizing oneself with the content, mastering the pace, and preparing Q&A.

She herself is a living example. She took a ready-made plan that she bought and practiced it repeatedly for more than half a month, and she still feels guilty.

The disastrous experience of Zhang Xuhao's team was a stark lesson – their proposal, though clearly the product of meticulous work, was still riddled with flaws under the judges' scrutiny.

Now, there are at most two and a half hours until the number 9 player takes the court.

How could a student with no entrepreneurial experience complete the entire process from brainstorming ideas to creating a PowerPoint presentation and preparing a speech in such a short time?

This is simply a fantasy!