Mu-Chen Crowdfunding is a name that Li Mushi decided on.
"Mu" represents her and Li Mubai, while "Chen" naturally refers to Lu Chen. Lu Chen is the chairman and legal representative of Capital City Mu-Chen Crowdfunding Network Co., Ltd., while Li Mushi is the CEO and CFO.
Although Lu Chen holds 51% of the shares in Mu-Chen Crowdfunding, according to the agreement between both parties, his shares will eventually be diluted. The company will introduce venture capital and equity incentives, and there is a possibility of going public in the future.
Lu Chen has no intention of developing in the IT industry; his focus has always been on the stage under the spotlight.
However, the success of the Crowdfunding site is also his success!
The first crowdfunding project on the platform is Lu Chen's album, which directly relates to Lu Chen's personal interests. The more successful the Crowdfunding site is, the more valuable the shares he holds will become!
Therefore, Lu Chen feels grateful and respectful towards Li Mushi, who played a key role in establishing Mu-Chen Crowdfunding.
Without this returnee from the Li family, the launch and operation of the Crowdfunding site would not have gone so smoothly, and its future would be uncertain. He would also have been burdened with too much time and energy.
Now he can basically enjoy the fruits of their labor!
Looking back on the past two and a half hours, Lu Chen still feels a bit excited.
The promotional blog post on Langchao was published at 8 PM, and the Crowdfunding site went live simultaneously. In just 190 minutes, the crowdfunding amount skyrocketed from 0 to over 500,000 Yuan, and the process was quite thrilling!
By 10:30 PM, the number of registered members on the site reached 26,820, with the first, third, and fourth support options fully subscribed. The 2,000 limited commemorative packages sold out, and the pre-sale volume for the single CD reached over 13,000!
The 500,000 Yuan crowdfunding goal was enough to ensure that Lu Chen's physical album would achieve a small profit.
Initially, he wasn't entirely confident about this, but now the reality is that 500,000 Yuan is just the beginning, with significant growth potential ahead, which represents substantial profits!
Lu Chen now realizes that he underestimated his own influence and the potential power of his fans!
Unknowingly, Lu Chen has amassed a large group of true fans, or rather, genuine supporters.
This realization made him happier than achieving the crowdfunding goal itself.
Lu Chen had something on his mind while Li Mushi was watching him.
Originally, Li Mushi wasn't very interested in Lu Chen and had doubts about the business ideas he proposed.
She even questioned Lu Chen's motives for getting close to Li Mubai.
The Li family's surroundings have never lacked sycophants!
However, after returning to the capital and during the establishment of Mu-Chen Crowdfunding, Li Mushi gradually set aside her prejudices.
This outstanding Wharton School graduate had to admit that Lu Chen provided a genius idea, and the friendship between him and Li Mubai was genuine; they even almost argued over the issue of shares.
Lu Chen originally intended to give control to Li Mubai, but Li Mubai firmly refused.
This made Li Mushi develop a more favorable impression of Lu Chen, and she even discovered many of his strengths.
There was no need to mention Lu Chen's appearance; he was tall, handsome, and healthy, clearly someone who exercised regularly, not the typical pretty boy or fresh meat, but rather exuding a masculine charm.
His musical talent was evident; he not only won the championship of "Singing China" but also successfully released his first album, establishing a foothold in the entertainment industry.
Li Mushi had never regarded entertainers in the industry highly, but Lu Chen gave her the impression of being mature and reliable, with a strong character, lacking the arrogance and impetuosity of youth, and possessing a unique charm.
If Li Mushi weren't... well, she might actually develop feelings for Lu Chen.
Li Mushi's gaze shifted to Lu Xi's face.
Lu Xi was right next to Lu Chen, focused on scrolling through the blog on her phone.
A faint smile flashed in Li Mushi's eyes.
Lu Xi didn't notice Li Mushi's gaze; she was still paying attention to the online developments.
"Lu Chen, many fans are saying they wanted to buy the commemorative package but couldn't get it. They want us to increase the support numbers!"
Her sister's face lit up with excitement: "Should we add more?"
Lu Chen was also tempted and looked at Li Mushi: "CEO Li?"
It's not the 80s or 90s anymore; simply selling CDs usually results in losses.
A genuine CD only costs 15 Yuan, and considering just the production and distribution costs, 200,000 sales barely break even. If you add in promotional expenses, even 300,000 sales wouldn't be profitable.
Selling 300,000 copies of an album is incredibly challenging!
In contrast, the profit margins for merchandise are much higher. For example, a 100 Yuan package has a maximum cost of 50 Yuan, so selling 1,000 units guarantees a profit of 50,000 Yuan, while the 188 Yuan package can earn 100 Yuan!
Given the current situation, the initial reservation of 1,000 units for both packages is too conservative; increasing it to 3,000 or even 5,000 is feasible.
That would mean several times the profit!
Of course, Lu Chen first needed to consult Li Mushi, as she was the actual decision-maker for the Crowdfunding site.
What Lu Chen didn't expect was that Li Mushi pondered for a moment and replied, "If you're asking for my opinion, I suggest not to increase the numbers!"
"The so-called limited edition must have a restricted quantity; if you miss out, it becomes precious and valuable. Otherwise, those who couldn't buy will be satisfied, and those who got it first will feel uncomfortable."
"From the website's perspective, not changing the rules casually reflects credibility."
"I suggest you announce the success of the Crowdfunding on the blog while also apologizing to the fans, stating that we cannot increase the numbers and asking them to wait for the next opportunity. The more hype, the better!"
Lu Chen felt that Li Mushi's reasoning was sound; he even thought of a business term, hunger marketing.
Although Lu Chen didn't particularly like this deliberate commercial tactic, this time it was purely accidental.
After thinking it over, he nodded and said, "Then let's do it this way; we won't increase the limited edition packages, but we'll give an extra poster to those supporting the 15 Yuan CD!"
Posters are printed materials, and the cost of printing decreases significantly with larger quantities; for instance, the price difference between printing 1,000 and 10,000 copies is like night and day.
Giving away posters does increase costs slightly, but if it boosts CD sales, it's entirely worth it!
Li Mushi smiled, "That's completely doable. Additionally, I have good news to share: the creative copyright protection for the Crowdfunding site has been approved, and we should receive the certificate by this Friday at the latest!"
"Really?"
Lu Chen was overjoyed!
For the Crowdfunding site, this creative copyright protection is incredibly important; otherwise, it would be too easy for others to copy and imitate this model!
If a major player in the industry showed interest, how could the small Crowdfunding site compete?
Now that the copyright protection has been approved, the Crowdfunding site has invaluable development time; even just a year is enough to grow strong.
Undoubtedly, the Li family played a significant role in this; otherwise, relying solely on Lu Chen's efforts, he would have had a 99% chance of not obtaining this certificate, and he couldn't expect to make a fortune from just one idea.
"Of course it's true!"
Li Mushi's eyes sparkled as she stared at Lu Xi, asking, "Lu Xi, how about we go out tonight to celebrate and have a drink at a bar?"
Lu Xi, unsuspecting, smiled and shook her head, "Maybe next time; it's getting late, and you should rest early."
Li Mushi smiled and nodded.
That night at 11:30 PM, Lu Chen posted a new blog entry on his site.
In this long post of thanks and apologies, Lu Chen first expressed his sincerest gratitude to all the fans who supported the "My Old Classmate" album Crowdfunding project. Thanks to everyone's support, this crowdfunding project achieved resounding success in just a few hours.
Next, he apologized to those fans who couldn't secure the limited edition packages, stating that while the number of reserved packages couldn't be increased, he decided to give an extra poster to those supporting the 15 Yuan CD.
Additionally, more updated merchandise would be released soon, so there was no need to feel disappointed if they missed out.
Once Lu Chen's blog post was published, it received many responses from fans.
The vast majority of fans expressed understanding; after all, limited edition merchandise is quite common, and they were happy about the success of the Crowdfunding project. Those who had already placed orders hoped to receive their albums soon.
The positive interaction created a lively atmosphere, attracting considerable attention to the blog, and combined with the existing fan support, the newly launched Crowdfunding site saw a surge in registrations.
By the next day, September 24th, the number of registered members on the Crowdfunding site surpassed 100,000!
As the first and currently only Crowdfunding project, aside from the three sold-out support options, the unlimited 15 Yuan support option had already reached over 50,000.
The Crowdfunding amount for "My Old Classmate" exceeded 1 million Yuan, achieving over 200% of the initial target!
Moreover, this Crowdfunding project was set to last for 15 days, indicating immense potential for further growth.
Due to the successful launch and initial fundraising of the Crowdfunding site, along with Lu Chen's influence, the Crowdfunding model inevitably garnered attention both within and outside the industry.
Many entertainment media companies and vagabond singers discovered this innovative way of releasing albums and merchandise, which ensured profits by collecting money upfront before customizing and shipping, significantly reducing risks.
Some companies began to engage with Mu-Chen Crowdfunding to explore similar operational methods.
Meanwhile, savvy individuals outside the industry quickly recognized the advantages and potential market of this new financing model, and with the creative copyright protection certificate obtained by Crowdfunding, venture capital began to take notice.
However, for Lu Chen, the matters concerning the Crowdfunding site were largely detached from him.
In the days that followed, his schedule was packed.
First, there was the rehearsal for the National Day Gala on the 25th and the official recording on the 29th.
On National Day, Lu Chen would also attend the wedding of Chen Jianhao and Sister Na.
At 8 PM on the evening of September 27th, the charts for original Chinese music would be updated for the fourth week of August.
(End of this chapter)
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