Why is there no BAT in Shanghai?

Shanghai actually once led the way in the first wave of my country's Internet economic development. When BAT was still spinning around in the founder's mind or still unknown, Shanghai first had Yitang, the most high-profile and money-burning company in China at that time, then the e-commerce pioneer eBay, and then the video game giant Ninetowns. , Shanda, followed by 51you, which focuses on online talent recruitment, Ctrip, which focuses on online travel booking, and Rongshuxia, which focuses on online literature, etc.

However, within a few years, Shanghai’s good show was quickly overshadowed by BAT’s limelight. If we look at market value alone, the combined market value of Ctrip, Homeinns, Shanda and Focus is only a fraction of that of one of BAT. So, many people want to ask why Shanghai Internet companies that were very popular a few years ago have lost their glory when the new round of mobile Internet comes, and why they have missed the opportunity to generate BAT in Shanghai or keep BAT in Shanghai?

When the new round of mobile Internet comes, Shanghai’s loudest call is to build a world financial center and the headquarters of the world’s top 500 companies. It attaches great importance to state-owned enterprises and large enterprises, and pays less attention to private enterprises and emerging enterprises. . Little does he know that the Fortune 500 companies he is obsessed with are actually just a group with diminishing innovation boundaries that have been at the forefront for three to five years. Private enterprises such as emerging Internet companies have high operating costs and difficulty in financing in Shanghai, making it difficult for these enterprises to emerge and develop in Shanghai. It is said that Jack Ma's Alibaba originally wanted to develop in Shanghai, but had to retreat to Hangzhou because of the high business costs in Shanghai.

Because the new round of mobile Internet wars is not about "big fish eating small fish", but "fast fish eating slow fish". Emerging Internet companies must identify the general direction that can lead the trend. Only through continuous financing and continuous merger wars can we finally become a "unicorn". Shanghai's pragmatic and stable local business culture of being "timid, calculating and admiring foreigners" is destined to not receive strong support if BAT develops in Shanghai in its initial stage.

Shanghai's official "carry it clearly", Shanghai's various Internet talents are even more "carrying it clearly". In other places, like Jack Ma, he "tells stories" and "tells stories" to employees eloquently. "Drawing a big pie" can be effective, but if he were in Shanghai, he would probably ask his employees to take less first, and then get the highest salary in the industry after three to five years. The employees would scold him for "not being able to grasp it clearly" and then hand him a piece of paper. Resignation letter and leave. We can even imagine that the real reason why Jack Ma returned to Hangzhou from Shanghai may not be that the business costs here are too high, but because there is no one here who can grow and share the joys and sorrows with the company. "Stupid employee".

Therefore, as long as Shanghai’s pragmatic, stable and calculating citizen culture remains unchanged, we should not be surprised why Shanghai does not have problems like BAT.