Tech giants start by disassembling systems

Chapter 20 Invitation

One morning in early July, Su Chen was in his office discussing the feature details of F2 firmware version 2.0 with Zhang Lei.

"I've basically finished writing the logic for the automatic return-to-home system," Zhang Lei said, drawing a flowchart on the whiteboard. "Low battery trigger—calculate the optimal return-to-home path—automatic landing. Signal loss has also been handled; if the connection is lost for more than five seconds, it will automatically trigger the return-to-home process."

"What about one-click surround sound?"

"We're still adjusting the parameters. The main issue is matching the orbital radius and speed; too fast and the image will be blurry, too slow and the result won't look good. I've run dozens of sets of parameters in a virtual—" He paused, then changed his words, "and roughly found an optimal range, which I should be able to pinpoint in the next couple of days."

Su Chen noticed his change of words—Zhang Lei almost said "virtual laboratory." Of course, Zhang Lei didn't know that Su Chen had a "virtual disassembly laboratory," and the "virtual" he was referring to was probably the simulation environment he had built on his computer.

"Okay. We aim to freeze the code for version 2.0 by the end of the month and launch it in early August along with the new production line. Have you decided on the upgrade method for existing users?"

"Firmware is flashed via SD card. Users simply need to download the firmware package from our website, copy it to the SD card, insert it into the drone, and it will automatically upgrade. I've already written a user-friendly guide."

"Okay. We must ensure proper user notification for this free upgrade—send a WeChat message or SMS to every subscriber informing them that a free firmware upgrade is available."

"clear."

As the two were discussing, Zhou Ming knocked on the door and came in.

"Mr. Su, I have something for you to look at."

He held an envelope in his hand—a white business envelope with a dark blue logo printed in the upper right corner and a few words written in gold lettering below:

Shenzhen International Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Industry Expo.

Su Chen took the envelope, opened it, and took out the invitation inside.

"Shenzhen International Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Industry Expo, Summer 2016. Dates: July 28-30. Location: Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center."

Invited exhibitor: Hongyuan Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd.

Su Chen paused slightly when he saw this line of text.

He then quickly scanned the entire contents of the invitation.

The Shenzhen International Drone Industry Expo is one of the largest drone industry exhibitions in South China, held twice a year, in summer and winter. Exhibitors cover the entire industry chain, from upstream component suppliers to end-user manufacturers. Major manufacturers such as DJI, Tianying, ZeroTech, and Yuneec will participate.

More importantly, a large number of industry media, investment institutions and government procurement entities will be present during the exhibition.

This is an excellent exposure platform.

In his previous life, Su Chen had attended countless industry exhibitions when he was a product manager. He knew the significance of exhibitions for small brands—customers and media that you might not be able to reach even if you spent a million on Google Ads on a regular basis could all be met at an exhibition within three days.

and--

A piece of information flashed through Su Chen's mind.

In my past life, there was an investment that changed the landscape of Shenzhen's drone industry, which occurred in the second half of 2016.

He couldn't remember the amount of the investment, but he remembered the investor—a well-known fund that focused on the smart hardware sector.

The partners at that fund have a habit of visiting the drone exhibition in Shenzhen every summer to see if there are any projects worth investing in.

If he remembered correctly, that partner had invested in a drone company in his previous life that later became a huge success—but that company hadn't yet caught his partner's attention at this moment.

If Su Chen can get that person to notice Hongyuan at the exhibition—

He took a deep breath.

Don't think too far ahead. Take it one step at a time.

"President Su?" Zhou Ming called out tentatively when he saw Su staring blankly at the invitation.

"It's nothing." Su Chen snapped out of his reverie. "We'll participate in this exhibition."

"How much will it cost to participate in the exhibition?" Zhou Ming asked.

"A standard booth costs around 20,000 to 30,000 yuan," Su Chen recalled his experience from his previous life. "However, we don't need a very large booth. The important thing is to bring the product there and give a live flight demonstration."

"The booth, including setup materials and staff travel expenses, is expected to cost around 50,000 in total," Zhou Ming noted in his notebook.

Fifty thousand yuan.

This is no small sum for Hongyuan right now, but Su Chen hardly hesitated.

"You'll be in charge of applying for the booth and handling the logistical arrangements. The booth doesn't need to be large, but the location should ideally be near a main aisle with high foot traffic. I'll decide on the booth layout."

"good."

"Also, have Meng Xiaoyi select two of the most experienced operators from the ground promotion team. I need to do a flight demonstration at the exhibition."

"clear."

Zhou Mingji finished writing and left.

Su Chen looked at the invitation again and then put it in the drawer.

July 28th.

There are less than four weeks until the exhibition.

In these four weeks, he needs to accomplish three things:

First, the F2 firmware version 2.0 has a frozen code. The product showcased at the exhibition must be an upgraded version, with automatic return-to-home and one-click surround sound being the best selling points.

Second, prepare a demonstration plan for the exhibition. It's not just a simple product display—he wants to give a flight demonstration at the exhibition that will make everyone remember the name "Hongyuan".

Third, and most secretly, he needed to use his memories from his past life to confirm the investor's information as much as possible.

Name, fund name, investment preferences—any clue that could help him "bump into" that person at the exhibition.

Su Chen closed his eyes and began to carefully search through the fragments of memories from more than twenty years in the future.

During his fifteen years as a hardware product manager in his previous life, he had come into contact with quite a few investment institutions and investors. Although most of them were just casual acquaintances at meetings, a few people and a few events left a particularly deep impression on him—

Because in his previous life, those investment decisions ultimately shaped the face of his industry.

He needs to find a clue leading to that person from those vague fragments of memory.

Su Chen sat in the chair, motionless, thinking for a long time.

Outside the window, the July sun blazes down on Shenzhen.

The third floor of Hongyuan Intelligent is under construction and renovation, and the sounds of electric drills and hammers can be faintly heard coming up.

The new production line will be put into operation in early August.

The exhibition will open at the end of July.

Everything is accelerating.

Su Chen opened his eyes, took a new notebook from the drawer, opened the first page, and wrote five words at the top:

Exhibition Operation Plan

Then start writing the first line:

"Objective 1: F2 working version + 2.0 firmware, live flight demonstration."

"Objective Two: Establish relationships with industry media and secure product reviews from at least three core media outlets."

Objective 3: Contact potential strategic investors.

He drew a line below the third line and added a line of smaller text:

Keywords: Smart hardware fund, South China, active in the second half of 2016.

These are all the clues he can currently extract from his past life memories.

Not much, but enough to get him to start searching.