Chapter 295
Chapter 295
Pool Riding gradually expanded the office and now it has grown to a size used by 20 people, and it currently occupies the largest space in the OTK gate.
Before I came, I installed the pool riding app and looked around.
The program itself is not very complicated. All you have to do is match the driver who owns the vehicle with the passenger who needs it.
A program like this can be easily made by any company if they put their mind to it. However, not everyone can succeed even if they create the same program.
In the carpooling market, leading companies such as Laxie and TwoPlus are active. As the leading companies already dominate the market, Full Riding is having a hard time increasing the number of users.
There are numerous ride-sharing companies in the US, but many use Iver. The reason is that it is easiest to call a car as there are the most drivers registered with Iver. Newly registered drivers also choose Iver. This is because most consumers are looking for Iver.
Even if you launch a better service later, people don’t move easily. I don’t know if there are merits such as being incredibly cheap.
Although it is behind in the number of users, full riding tends to respond quickly and accurately to user experience (UX) and consumer needs. If continuous investment is made, it will be able to grow even bigger in the future.
“Good morning.”
Everyone was surprised when I visited unannounced.
Yang Doo-seok greeted each other.
“Hello, President. A few days ago, I saw a lot of performance on the bridge.”
He’s from the same school as me. And he also started his own business and stopped his studies.
When he was in school, he met briefly in the club room, and he had no idea that he would become a relationship in this way.
Since this place only has a work space, it was moved to the conference room because it was not suitable for meetings or meetings.
OTK Gate, a shared office, has a conference room, a studio for filming, a production room with 3D printers and expensive equipment, and a sleeping room and shower room where you can take a nap. It is usually operated by receiving reservations from tenant companies.
“Everyone doesn’t look very good.”
The reason is guessable. Maybe it’s because of the backlash from the taxi industry.
Yang Doo-seok sighed and said.
“Originally, we were going to receive an additional 2 billion won from KCG Asia, but this time the Liberal People’s Party proposed a bill to ban carpooling and it was canceled.”
If the law changes, the carpooling business that was previously legal will become illegal overnight. In this case, the business must be completely shut down.
he asked with a worried look.
“Isn’t the bill really going to pass?”
“I do not know.”
It will not be easy to pass the bill unless the opposition and opposition parties agree on it.
However, to a different extent, other parties are also conscious of the taxi industry’s vote. This is the reason why the discussion has not progressed even though most of the people are in favor of ride-sharing.
I said the purpose of coming here.
“So, by the way, I would like to propose an investment.”
Everyone’s eyes widened at my words.
“Investment?”
“Actually, it should be an acquisition. I would like to acquire 100% of the shares of Full Riding by K Company, including the stake in Golden Gate.”
“Yes?”
Yang Doo-seok was taken aback by the sudden proposal, and co-founder Cho Baek-hyun asked.
“You’re going to launch driverless cars later anyway, so why do you want to invest in carpooling?”
“We are planning to invest not only in the carpooling business, but in the mobility industry as a whole. I think it would be good for Full Riding to lead the business.”
What can be obtained through the service is the subscribers and their data. Where, when, who, and how they are used is gathered to become big data.
By using this big data, it is possible to determine when, where, and how many vehicles will be dispatched. Even if the era of driverless cars opens, big data is absolutely necessary.
That’s why other ride-sharing companies are working hard on collecting data. On the other hand, Korea has not even started yet.
Hyungyu Kim asked carefully.
“What will be the acquisition amount?”
I nodded.
“In consultation with Golden Gate, we calculated the total value of the company at 15 billion won. We also agreed to sell the shares.”
“Ugh! 15 billion!”
You don’t have to pay all of this. Since K Company invested 1 billion won the other day and secured a 32 percent stake, you only have to pay for the remaining stake.
Everyone looked unbelievable.
Startups often receive a certain amount of equity in exchange for a small salary. Equity is just a piece of paper when a company goes bankrupt, but if it goes public or is acquired by a large company later, the jackpot will explode.
In Pool Riding, except for the stakes acquired by K Company and Golden Gate, the remaining shares are shared by the co-founders and employees.
So everyone here is a shareholder. If you received even 1% of the stake, you would receive 150 million won.
Yang Du-seok asked, stuttering.
“No, what if I refuse?”
Startups are moving in different directions.
In some cases, they are acquired by an existing large corporation and receive various supports to grow stably, while in others, they increase their size and go public on their own.
Whichever one you choose is up to you.
“It doesn’t matter. However, we plan to enter the market, so we plan to acquire another carpooling company or launch our own service.”
This is one of the most common methods used when negotiating an acquisition. In the case of the acquired company, if it does not comply with the offer, it will have to face a competitor with huge capital.
When I finished talking, I got up.
“I will give you a day to discuss. Let me know when you decide.”
* * *
I went to work with Taek-gyu.
Taek-gyu asked.
“Do you think you would agree?”
“If you say no, you die.”
There are plenty of companies that you can buy if you have money.
“Why don’t we take over Laxie, the number one player in the industry?”
“There has already been an investment from Redstone Group.”
While domestic conglomerates were passive in investment in startups and acquisitions, foreign companies and private equity funds quickly invested large amounts to buy shares.
That’s why we see a lot of potential for growth. In fact, there are not only one or two startups that grow into unicorns despite all kinds of regulations.
While I was waiting patiently, around lunchtime, Doo-Suk Yang came to my office.
“I will accept the offer.”
“Did others agree?”
“Yes. If even one of the co-founders disagreed, I was going to say no, and everyone agreed.”
Taek-gyu nodded his head and muttered in a small voice.
“It must have been too much to refuse.”
I contacted Golden Gate, and a lawyer from the legal team came over.
“You can discuss the legal process with this person.”
Ellie held out her hand.
“Good morning. This is Ellie Kim, the 1st legal team leader at Golden Gate’s Korean branch.”
“Oh, yes. Good morning.”
Yang Doo-seok carefully took his hand. His face turned red, and his eyes couldn’t meet properly.
Our legal team leader must be pretty.
* * *
The signing ceremony for the acquisition of K Company and Pool Riding was held at Ceylon Hotel in Namsan, and K Company CEO Park Sang-yeop, Pool Riding CEO Yang Doo-seok, and OTK Company CEO Kang Jin-hoo attended together.
CEO Park Sang-yeop revealed his future plans at this meeting.
“K-Mobility, launched with a focus on full riding, will be reborn as a comprehensive mobility service that provides various mobility services such as call taxis, ride-sharing, and car-sharing. To this end, we plan to take over a taxi company in the metropolitan area and start the taxi business.
Reporters gathered at the scene were surprised by the unexpected announcement.
I thought you were only entering the ride-sharing market, but you are entering the taxi market yourself!
“We will also launch a ride-sharing service exclusively for foreigners by hiring drivers who can speak foreign languages to target foreign tourists.”
Foreign tourists are an exception to the ban on driver placement. Therefore, it is possible to launch products with differentiated prices and services.
Next, CEO Kang Jin-hoo spoke.
“I’m not going to say much, I’m just going to tell you two things. First, abolition of private payment. Second, I will not refuse to ride. That is all.”
* * *
[Launching K-Mobility as a subsidiary of K Company!][Acquired by carpool company Full Riding for 15 billion won!][K-Mobility, a taxi company in the metropolitan area. Do you want to enter the taxi industry directly?][Jinhoo Kang enters the ride-sharing market!]As announced, K Company acquired and merged several small taxi companies in Seoul and the metropolitan area.
“K-Taxi plans to avoid competition with existing taxis by intensively dispatching taxis during times when taxis are scarce, and to operate mainly by calling.”
In foreign countries, it is often the case that the service takes a call, whereas in Korea, it is more common to pick up customers while roaming the streets.
As a result, there is a situation where one cannot catch a taxi, but the taxi is idle on the other. The roads are also very clogged with taxis lining up or roaming around.
So, why haven’t taxi companies thought about improving this situation?
The reason, of course, is the payroll. The customers of taxi companies are not taxi passengers, but drivers who rent taxis. So there was absolutely no reason to invest in developing a calling app.
“We will set a basic salary of 2 million won for our employees, and pay incentives according to sales. We also allow carpooling and other ride-sharing operations using private or company vehicles outside of business hours.”
When this fact became known, the taxi industry was shocked.
Taxi companies gathered at the OTK Company headquarters and the National Assembly to protest against it.
“Are you saying that if a large corporation like OTK Company enters the taxi business, all small and medium-sized taxi companies like us should die?”
“Does it make sense for a large corporation to enter this alleyway?”
“OTK Company guarantees the right to survive in the taxi industry!”
“The government should immediately designate taxis as a suitable business for small and medium-sized enterprises, and ban large corporations from entering the taxi industry!
“If our demands are not accepted, we will continue the struggle against the government with a full-scale strike!”
However, as public opinion about the taxi company has deteriorated due to the last incident, netizens laughed.
– The impact is a bit weak.
– How about a single boss jumping into the Han River?
– They even take over a taxi company and provide it legally, is there any problem with this?
-If you say ride-sharing, it is illegal to transport passengers by private car. So if you say you’ll do it by taxi, you’re saying it’s an infringement of the alley business.
– I’m just saying don’t do anything.
Taxi companies strongly opposed it, but the taxi drivers responded a little differently. They say that they will implement a monthly salary system to guarantee basic wages and improve working conditions, but no taxi driver dislikes them.(Read more @ wuxiax.com)
Actually, this was from the beginning. However, due to the backlash of taxi companies and complicated interests, even the discussion did not proceed properly. But that’s exactly what K Company did.
When taxi drivers got together, they talked about K-Taxi.
“There aren’t many customers these days, so it’s hard to pay the private payments.”
“In that case, wouldn’t it be better to get paid to enter the K-Taxi?
“If you fill in the basic working hours, you can open the rest of the business freely?”
“Then I can earn 3 million won a month.”
“Aren’t we supposed to move to K-Taxi before it’s too late?”
* * *
Rep. Jin Baek-kyung of the Liberal National Party raised her voice in the National Assembly.
“We need to make taxis a good business for small businesses and ban them from entering large companies,” she said. Let the National Assembly take the lead and protect the alleyways and the right to survival of small and medium-sized enterprises!”
This was nothing more than a copy of the taxi companies’ claims. Undoubtedly, he is a former union member and is known for his close relationship with the representatives of taxi companies.
The Liberal People’s Party actively defended the taxi industry by setting the carpool ban bill as a party argument, but this time it showed a passive appearance.
Although taxi companies have a lot of influence, the tickets are actually held by taxi drivers. In a situation where taxi drivers welcome K Company’s entry, it is not appropriate to take sides with taxi companies.
But at this point, another bad thing happened.
In the process of investigating the president who ordered a sit-down on the bridge and the death, the situation in which a taxi group handed over illegal political funds to Rep. Jin Baek-kyung was caught. Reporters rushed to Parliament immediately.
“Have you ever received illegal political funds?”
“What do you think of this revelation?”
“So, have you been representing the taxi industry?”
Rep. Jin Baek-kyung flatly denied it.
“If I receive even a single penny of illegal political funds, I will seize in front of Seoul Station!”
-Hey, he’s a samurai. Why are you wearing a harpoon?
– Was your father pro-Japanese?
– No, but why do you split in someone else’s constituency?
-If you want to take a break, shouldn’t someone hit your head from behind to relieve the pain? Is this what Assemblyman Lee Jung-hye wants to do?
-Ttttttt, people say they are going to die, but they are saying things like this.
– Even if you pretend to be kind with words, this is the nature of leftists. really dirty
-If you die, why die? ㅋㅋ If you don’t get money, there’s nothing to do. Maybe the males don’t trust Rep. Jin Baek-kyung?
Rep. Jin Baek-kyung insisted on his innocence until the end, refusing to comply with the prosecution’s summons. However, when a handbook appeared stating that she had delivered the money, and a list of political lobbyists was revealed, she was utterly cornered.
The list included several members of the New Politics Party as well as the Liberal National Party. This meant that the taxi industry lobbied the political world in all directions.
Members of Parliament who were on the list were busy avoiding the media. A bill banning carpooling was blocked without passing the Judiciary Committee, and taxi companies vomited their anger saying, “How much money have we spent so far!”
When Pool Riding changed its name to K-Mobility and re-launched the app, the number of subscribers skyrocketed and the server went down for a while.
