As a key project that Yigrit has been quietly incubating, 58list has considered all aspects carefully. Perhaps it was because he thought too clearly that the design plan for the first version of the homepage was directly rejected by Simon.
Because it's too complicated.
Simon has a profound memory of classified information websites. At a glance, they are so densely packed that a large amount of redundant information rushes into your eyes, leaving you with no idea what to do.
The 58list team initially made a similar mistake.
In order to let users feel that their services are thoughtful and complete, the initial homepage was planned to have three screens.
In the end, Simon only gave the design space for one screen, and asked for it to be simple and simple. Even with the current mainstream dial-up network speed, it must be opened instantly without waiting.
This means that the homepage basically exists in full text form.
In addition, most non-mainstream classified information services have been cut off. In the short term, it will focus on three projects: real estate, employment and second-hand. In fact, this basically covers more than 80% of the content of classified information advertisements on paper media platforms.
The finalized page, in addition to the website LOGO and search box, is simply divided into four parts, with real estate, jobs and second-hand as the main services, and it also provides a forum for customer communication.
As a company that single-handedly created the World Wide Web era, there are no technical problems for Ygritte.
If 58list wants to succeed, the key lies in operations.
For Simon, a latecomer, he knows better than anyone else the various problems that classified directory websites will encounter in the operation process, such as false information, online fraud, and so on.
Therefore, during the preparation process of 58list, the formation of the legal team became the top priority of this subsidiary.
Americans often speak with lawyers. Once they encounter problems such as fraud while seeking services on the 58list platform, they will definitely point the finger at the wealthy Ygritte immediately.
Internet classified information services have touched the foundation of traditional paper media platforms with annual revenue of up to 20 billion US dollars. It is conceivable that whenever a dispute occurs, the paper media will never be stingy and will stir up public opinion to the highest level, pushing Yigrit to the forefront. .
It is almost a general trend for free Internet classified information services to replace the paid services of paper media.
Simon believes no one can stop this trend.
However, in this industry redistribution game that will never be calm, forming a strong legal team in advance and formulating clear rights and responsibilities can maintain the smooth development of 58list to the greatest extent.
After finishing the last meeting before the launch of 58list, everyone ate together in the restaurant of Ygrit headquarters at noon.
During this period, Yigret used the US$1.5 billion in funds obtained from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to invest in multiple start-up companies. 58list was the only one among them that was similar to Facebook, Google and Amazon. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary, so it can be seen that the top management attaches great importance to this project.
The CEO of 58list is Michael Novarek, a 35-year-old graduate of MIT who has worked at HP for five years.
After the establishment of Yigrit, Michael Novarek was hired to become one of the company's earliest employees.
As an energetic technical guru with a Ph.D., Michael Novarek has participated in the development of the email and network forum projects of the Igret portal.
Sitting at a table in the restaurant were Simon, Bezos, Tim Boners-Lee and Michael Novarek.
Everyone continued to discuss some issues about the 58list business model. Sensing Michael Novarek's complacency, Simon asked: "Mike, how much of the US$20 billion traditional paper media classified information advertising market do you think can be converted in 10 years?" For the revenue of the Internet industry?”
Michael Novarek said: "In 10 years, even if the entire output value of 20 billion U.S. dollars cannot be converted because of the free nature of the Internet, I believe there will still be an industry scale of about 5 billion U.S. dollars. Moreover, low-cost Operating costs will allow us to have very high profit margins, which traditional print media cannot match."
Simon looked at Bezos and Lee and asked, "How many do you think there should be?"
Tim Berners-Lee said: "I think it should be $5 billion."
Jeff Bezos probably sensed Simon's intention and said: "What we are currently developing is only classified information services similar to traditional paper media. With the development of the Internet industry, 58list will be able to provide more classified value-added services in the future, thus To further expand the market, US$5 billion is not a lot.”
Simon nodded slightly.
58list does not plan to pursue any profits in the short term. However, during this period, the Yigrit team has also drawn up more than one sustainable potential business model.
Craig's Directory used to be a classified information website that monopolized the North American market. Because of the founder's free operation philosophy, although it had huge traffic, its annual revenue was only a few hundred million dollars.
Of course, after many years of development, there were only a few dozen employees, and the profit margins brought by Craigslist's annual revenue of hundreds of millions of dollars were also terrifyingly high. This led to super Internet giants such as Yahoo, Google, and Facebook successively trying Enter the classified information market.
The key to the success of Craigslist is free and monopoly.
This time, Yigret Company started its layout in advance, and it was even easier to rely on its own advantages to form a de facto monopoly in this market.
However, it is also very difficult to obtain large amounts of revenue from this.
Simon and the other three people finished expressing their opinions, raised two fingers and said: "200 million US dollars."
Even Bezos, who understood that Simon was pouring cold water on Michael Novarek, was a little surprised. If 58list can only achieve revenue of US$200 million in 10 years, this business is not worth continuing at all.
Simon didn't wait for the three people to ask questions, and took the initiative to explain: "According to the current free operation model, 58list is similar to a public service platform, and will continue for a long time in the future. Fortunately, our operating costs are very low. If we completely put aside the identity of Igret's subsidiary, I believe that operating such an all-text public service platform, even if it is based on the scale of users covering the entire federation, actually only requires a few dozen employees, including office space and server expenses. Wait, the annual expenditure will not exceed $20 million."
Jeff Bezos, the three of them all have considerable technical foundations. When Simon said this, the three of them nodded in approval.
If it were completely a free public service platform and did not pursue commercial operations, 58list would indeed only need a few dozen employees and similarly few other expenses.
Moreover, this will ensure that 58list has almost no competitors in the field of classified information services.
After monopolizing the market, it will be very easy to make $200 million a year by ensuring proper commercialization on the basis of free services.
However, revenue of around US$200 million will probably be a limit.
US$20 million in fixed costs will be exchanged for US$200 million in annual revenue. By then, the platform will be very prosperous, but it will not be able to make any breakthroughs.
Seeing that the three of them were lost in thought, Simon stopped talking and picked up the tableware to continue his lunch.
After a while, Simon's lunch was almost finished. Michael Novarek smiled bitterly: "If we killed a US$20 billion industry, only to get a new market of US$200 million, wouldn't it be such a failure? Some?"
Simon put down the tableware and said: "From the public's point of view, it is actually equivalent to us saving them 20 billion US dollars in expenses every year. Many people have to thank us."
Jeff Bezos: “The media conglomerates are going to want to kill us.”
Simon said: "Every technological change means that many industries are eliminated. When steam looms first appeared, traditional workers rushed into the factory and smashed the machines, but they could never save their jobs. On the contrary, those who followed the trend and started mechanization But the people in the textile factories made a fortune. The steam revolution, the electric revolution, this is true every time. Now, we are at the beginning of a new information revolution. Those who follow the trend will prosper, and those who go against it will perish. This is an unchangeable inevitable."
Tim Berners-Lee couldn't help but say: "The beginning of a great era."
"Yes," Simon smiled, pointed to a few of himself, and then pointed to other people in the restaurant, and said, "We have created a great era ourselves."
When Jeff Bezos and Tim Berners-Lee heard this, their expressions became a little more high-spirited.
Michael Novarek also felt a little excited in his heart. However, thinking of Simon's words just now, he added: "I still care more about my project."
Simon took back the topic he just changed and said: "Actually, the industry scale of 20 billion US dollars is still there. What I just said is just the worst result. How much it can be converted depends on the results of your work. However, Mike, I need to remind you one more thing. 58list can continue to try to explore various business models, but never care about making money. Users should be the first priority. All 58list services must follow the principle of user first. If Our platform services can make users feel that they are worth their money, and they will naturally spend their money. On the contrary, if everyone feels that this is a platform where scammers are rampant, false information is rampant, and it only charges fees but cannot provide equivalent services, even if If you use your own advantages to monopolize the entire industry, what you will end up with is a severely shrunk small cake compared to the potentially much larger potential market.”
Everyone knows the truth, but it has always been easier said than done.
For classified information services, what Simon can do is to remind the 58list team not to take the wrong development direction as much as possible.
Moreover, compared with Yigret’s huge layout in other fields, this part of the business is not core after all. If Michael Novarek messes up, Simon will decisively adjust this subsidiary into a free public service platform. Think of it as a public welfare act of Ygritte Company.
After the meeting that day, 58list was quietly launched on Wednesday, August 11th.
The threat of this service to traditional paper media is too obvious. Therefore, the Yigrit portal did not give any fanfare. This actually avoided the direct explosion of user demand to a large extent and gave the 58list team a relatively sufficient exploration. space.
However, as a classified information service platform with the same-city model as its core, other start-ups may only be able to choose one or two cities to carry out business. 58list has strong technical support from Yigrit, and it will directly cover all areas after its launch. The capital cities of all fifty U.S. states and a number of other populous metropolitan areas.
Although it has not been widely promoted, it is a service interface application on the homepage of the Yigrit portal alongside Facebook, Google, and Amazon. You can also log in directly through the Yigrit email address. The service is completely free. In just a few days, 58list A large number of users have flooded into the website. In just three days since it was launched, the number of posts in various sections on house rentals and sales, employee recruitment, second-hand transactions, etc. has exceeded 1 million.
Classified information advertisements on newspaper platforms have different charging standards based on factors such as circulation volume, ranging from tens to hundreds of dollars.
The number of posts on 58list exceeded 1 million in just three days. If the charging standards of newspaper platforms are followed, it is equivalent to a potential loss of US$50 million to US$100 million for the print media industry.
In recent years, many people have not believed that the rise of the Internet industry will have a big impact on traditional media. With the launch of 58list, everyone finally clearly felt a real threat.
Even if most print media platforms instinctively avoid the popularity of 58list after its launch, and even the Igret portal itself maintains a low profile with the mentality of quietly entering the village, the launch of this online service will inevitably arouse attracted some people's attention.
A financial talk show on the CNN channel even dedicated a special feature on 58list the following Monday, detailing the popularity of this online service and its potential threat to traditional print media.
So, naturally, the news began to spread.
In addition, the interface of 58list is placed on the homepage of the Ygrit portal, which is necessary after opening the IE browser. It is also very convenient to use, and some users who were originally not interested also quietly clicked in.
More professional real estate or recruitment information may not be useful in a short period of time, so the second-hand market has become the target of most users.
The second-hand trade in the United States is very developed. Whether it is cars, furniture or toys and pets, as long as you can think of it, there are people selling it and people buying it. What's more, this platform is not like a newspaper. You don't have to spend a penny. You can just put some things at home that you haven't used for a long time. If you can sell them for tens of dollars, why not
Many service platforms in Simon's memory always used to hide the potential risks of related services from users in order to expand their business.
58list did not do this.
Before posting, the first thing users must read is the website terms and anti-fraud statement carefully drafted by the 58list legal team to remind them of the potential risks of using the platform for transactions, and only after users click the agree button can they continue to post.
Even so, scams happen quickly.