At the moment, Zuckerberg wished to have a portal in front of him that could lead him right to Tsinghua University in Beijing. The message behind the reason why he received this software was apparent. Meanwhile, he had no doubt that his competitors also had access to the software.
Zuckerberg put the software's acquisition at top priority for the life and death of his company. The only thing he felt fortunate about was that competitors like Google didn't officially enter Greater China like him. But it would have been fatal to take that chance, which was why he rushed to China immediately after getting the news.
His prediction was right. Because the current CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, was also on the fastest flight to China as soon as he read the email.
The application shocked the big shots who witnessed it. It was so perfect—terrifyingly perfect. Zuckerberg was nervous, and at the same time curious, as to what kind of person could design such a software that was born for the internet.
Located in the east, Ren Hong, who was at Tsinghua University, had no idea that Zuckerberg and Dorsey were already flying to China.
Real-time Online Translator didn't have an explosive growth after its official launch, which was also within Ren Hong's expectations. However, he wasn't worried about the final sales of the product.
The reason for this was nothing more than a problem of popularity. Ren Hong first promoted Real-time Online Translator on the campus forum.
In the afternoon, he published a post on the forum, along with a description of the features of Real-time Online Translator and the download address on XlouS's website.
[Real-time Online Translator: a software that will change the world]
All the alumni visiting the forum were quickly attracted to the exaggerated title of this post.
After three hours, the number of replies in the thread surpassed 200 and was still steadily increasing, on its way to becoming a hot post.
[Love's provision: What in the world! I apologize, this title definitely isn't a click bait. I was wrong. This software is absolutely divine!]
[href: After reading the description of the product's features, it is very powerful; not sure if it's real or not!"]
[@href: Isn't that simple enough? Doesn't it come with a link to their website? Just click in and try it, won't you?"]
[koala: 'XlouS: Change the world' sounds so cool! Why does the UI of this official website feel like the design for a sci-fi game? Nonetheless, it is very well done!]
[Blizzard fan: What the hell! The commenter above is so damned right—it is truly divine! It really is! Whoever uses it will know how great it is.]
[sgs: I vouch with my personality that the features of Real-time Online Translator is as described in the post. Lastly, I would like to ask the owner, why haven't you received a free ticket to heaven yet?]
After another two hours, not only did the post go viral, but it was also marked as a sticky post by the administrators.
The software exploded in popularity!
[Bitter programmer: Whoa, I want to know who runs this company right now!]
[Genki GG: Hey commenter above, did you not read the content of the post carefully? It's our alumni, and XlouS is our alumni's startup. Real-time Online Translator is the first product XlouS has launched!]
[Ai: This is the truth. Real-time Online Translator is really promising for business prospects. Putting it in layman's terms, how many internet users are there right now? How many people are surfing on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube? They are the target consumers of Real-time Online Translator. Although it sounds like an exaggeration, I shiver at the thought of the number of users on social media platforms. I hereby use this post to stand witness to XlouS becoming a rising internet bigwig!]
Almost every alumni at the school who saw the post shared it with their friends, and in less than 10 hours, Real-time Online Translator and XlouS ran even hotter in Tsinghua University!
Meanwhile, in classroom 317…
Zhou Hui, Zhang Han, and the rest beamed with pleasure.
"We're popular! This is gonna be a storm!" Chen Kai said excitedly.
"Gentlemen! The first batch of paying subscribers are born!" Zhang Han logged into the backend program and yelled out.
"How many?"
Everyone was attracted by this news, even Ren Hong was very much looking forward to it.
"1,019 subscribers purchased a one-month package, 630 subscribers purchased a three-month package, 97 subscribers purchased a one-year package, and 24 subscribers purchased a six-month package! Total paid subscribers reached 1,770!" Zhang Han said in exhilaration, "The number of registered users has already exceeded 23,000 and is still rising!"
The number wasn't huge, but it made everyone present rejoice. Even though the product had less than 2,000 paying subscribers since its launch, no one doubted the product's sales.
Ren Hong had even less doubts about that. As of now, Real-time Online Translator had already exploded in popularity on the campus. He believed that it wouldn't take long before its presence spread outside of campus. The charm of a circle of friends could easily spread a topic through the internet.
And Ren Hong knew very well that launching this product alone wasn't enough to turn Real-time Online Translator and XlouS into a hot talking point. He needed an even more explosive topic.
He always believed that this topic would come. He waited for actions from the other side of the ocean. The one thing he was incredibly confident of was that as long as the important parties didn't lose their minds, they would definitely make a move.
As time passed, the news of Real-time Online Translator spread to numerous groups of students. It might not be quick, but the traffic to XlouS's official website was getting increasingly higher, and the growth curve of users was unusually pleasing.
The news of XlouS and Real-time Online Translator only spread within small social circles, so the general public basically didn't hear of the company and product.
But some people with a keen foresight already smelled the big dollar bills from the company's product.
Ren Hong's phone rang. He gave a hand gesture to the boisterous crowd, requesting them to quieten down and stepping onto the corridor to answer the call. "Yes, Director Yu?"
"I saw your company's product, and you've caused an uproar in the campus, Ren Hong. Many of our school officials have also taken notice of your name." A cheerful laughter sounded from the phone.
"Thanks for the compliment, Director Yu." Ren Hong responded with a smile.
"I've learned about this product of yours; it's remarkable, has a bright future, and even venture capitalists have approached," Director Yu said.
"Venture capitalists?" Ren Hong was stunned. "They sure have a keen sense of smell…"
"Even keener than a dog's nose, and that's because you're a piece of runny fat meat here, and anyone can smell it." Director Yu said, continuing in a more solemn tone. "Ren Hong, are you well aware of the value of this product?"
"I'm very clear of that." Ren Hong said with incomparable certainty.
"These venture capital firms are definitely interested in investing in your company. They can be a bunch of money-suckers, though. Do you need the school to help you with the negotiations?" Director Yu asked.
"Thank you for your concern, Director Yu, but I don't wish to bother the school. I can handle it myself!" Ren Hong spoke his mind.