There is no entrepreneurial winter in the Sequoia world

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The industry structure has changed suddenly. Rather than saying that Shen Nanpeng is an outsider, it is better to say that he is the behind-the-scenes expert who is best at judging the direction of the industry.

As the head of Sequoia China, Shen Nanpeng once again demonstrated in the past 2015 how the "fourth force outside of BAT that is stirring up the industry landscape" works.

Shen Nanpeng and Sequoia China, led by him, have invested in Didi and Ganji respectively, and are also co-investors in Meituan and Dianping. The merged new Meituan-Dianping has a market share of more than 80% in local life service platforms, with a market value of nearly US$20 billion. This is an era of mergers of similar items, and the marriage of Meituan and Dianping is the most eye-catching footnote. The industry structure has changed suddenly. Rather than saying that Shen Nanpeng is an outsider, it is better to say that he is the best behind-the-scenes expert at judging the direction of the industry. "As shareholders of Ganji and Didi, we have played a role in assisting their respective mergers and acquisitions. In Meituan and Dianping, we are shareholders of both sides. Of course, this role of go-between is more important, but the merger and acquisition is the merger of two companies, and it is also the merger and cooperation of two founders and founding teams, so they are the real protagonists." Shen Nanpeng replied to this magazine.

This can be seen as Shen Nanpeng's modesty and courtesy. Meituan's Wang Xing once said in public that Sequoia played a very key role in the merger of Meituan and Dianping.

However, more important than the birth of "New Meituan-Dianping" is how the two giants will integrate when their businesses overlap but their models are not exactly the same.

Shen Nanpeng said that the merger of Meituan and Dianping can produce a 1+1>2 effect. "The synergy effect comes from better economic efficiency generated by scale and stronger vertical coverage brought about by complementing each other's strengths."

Many industry insiders are concerned that the cooperation between the Internet giants will lead to industry monopoly and reduce opportunities for new entrepreneurs. However, Shen Nanpeng believes that the reality is not so pessimistic. "Although mergers and acquisitions may produce industry giants, new entrants still have opportunities in the still rapidly growing mobile Internet industry, but the requirements for differentiation, speed, focus and execution are getting higher and higher. For venture capital, investing in excellent entrepreneurs and companies is the hard truth."

Due to the capital winter, the number of new projects invested by venture capital institutions this year has shown a clear downward trend. Shen Nanpeng has a different view on this. "The current capital market is not a winter, but it has slowed down to a certain extent. Such natural adjustment is normal and healthy. We maintain our investment rhythm, and the low tide of the market may also be a better investment point." As he said at the annual meeting of Sequoia China for ten years, "In the world of Sequoia, there is no winter for entrepreneurship."

In fact, Shen Nanpeng has become even busier, fearing that he will miss the opportunity to invest in the next BAT. He is still nervous, paying attention to the changes in the four major investment fields of domestic TMT, consumption and services, medical health, new energy and clean technology. Zhou Hongyi once commented that Shen Nanpeng is a hungry person, "When he sees a project, he is like a wolf smelling blood, or like a shark smelling blood. He will fight for it and track it down when he hears a little news. He is a very active person."

This is also the daily status of the Sequoia China team.

At Sequoia China, each investor has a map of their own sub-industry, on which are drawn the companies involved in the entire industry chain and their development status. Every week, Shen Nanpeng and his team members will deduce the development status of the companies in the map.

Of course, the returns Sequoia China has received are obvious to all. In the past 10 years, Sequoia China has invested in many well-known domestic companies including Alibaba, Vipshop, Sina.com, JD.com, Palm Games, Qihoo 360, Jumei, Dianping.com, Meituan.com, Toutiao, Ganji.com, DJI, Noah Wealth, BGI, Yuyue Medical, etc. These companies have now grown into giants in their respective segments.

One of Shen Nanpeng's secrets is to choose the right people. He told China Entrepreneur, "The Internet industry changes faster than most industries, and the human factor is more important, especially in the early stages of a company. It is particularly challenging to judge entrepreneurs. Although the capital market has fluctuated this year, our investment philosophy and strategy have not changed, that is, to find the best "Chinese partners" and become their long-term business partners is our "layout."