Author: Li Xiaolei

Source:Tech Planet

The Storm Group is slowly disappearing.

What first disappeared was the valuation of companies reflected in the capital market. The storm, which reached a market capitalization of 40 billion dollars at its peak, now has a market capitalization of only 488 million yuan, a contraction of 98.8%. Net assets are already negative, and they are facing the fate of delisting.

From July 7 to now, after Storm's trading was suspended, the stock price has stayed at 1.48 yuan. Soon, on September 21, Storm Group will delist from A-shares and enter the delisting period. I'm afraid this is the end of the storm that founder Feng Xin never anticipated.

But it's an ending that won't surprise too many people.

This company, once known as a “demon stock,” recently disclosed a total of 10 people, and there are still cases of employee wage arrears; due to the company's delays in recruiting CFO (chief financial officers) and auditors, it is not even possible to disclose financial information for the first half of 2020; with the exception of founder Feng Xin, all of the company's executives have left their jobs.

With Feng Xin's official arrest and the main business cessation, the whereabouts of Storm Group's headquarters is also a mystery.

Recently, Tech Planet (WeChat ID: tech618) visited a number of offices where the storm had stayed. The locations are becoming more and more remote, and the quality, price, and size of rental buildings are gradually declining.

On September 14, Tech Planet visited Room 806 on the 5th floor of the Dimon Tower, the newest office of Storm Group, and found no trace of Storm employees.

A Dimon Tower insider pointed out to Tech Planet that the room located in the elevator entrance was the storm's office. However, the company's doors are closed, and there is no one inside. Looking through the transparent glass, you can only see a computer, a file storage box, and three pots of green pots. Storm hasn't even changed its own logo. The logo of the last company called “Tianshi Technology” (the storm agreement transferred part of its shares) still hangs on the door of the office. The word “stone” in the logo has long since dropped.

During this period, Tech Planet also called Storm Group several times hoping to get more information about the company, but no one answered until the end of the press release. Had it not been for news of the termination of listing, apart from issuing risk alerts every few days about possible termination of stock listings, the company Storm, along with its products, would be in a corner of being forgotten by the outside world.

Since the end of 2019, the storm moved away from the first science and technology building in Shanghai, which had witnessed their glorious moments, and the whereabouts of their office space has been shrouded in mystery. However, as the storm broke away from central positions in the stock market and Internet companies and gradually declined, Storm employees completed repeated migrations, and the number of team members became smaller and smaller.

People go to empty buildings, disappear headquarters

The managers and security guards of the first science and technology building all remember the storm.

“The storm is over. They have moved away for over a year,” the building security guard recalled to Tech Planet (WeChat ID: tech618). This place can be considered one of the landmarks of the Zhongguancun business district. The First View Science Building also witnessed the prosperity and decline of the storm.

At the stage when the storm was expanding most, the entire 6th floor, the 11th floor, and part of the 10th floor were rented out in one go. A former employee of Storm Technology told Tech Planet that until he left his job in September 2019, the company was still working in the Science Building for the first time, but there were only “a few dozen older people” left in the company.

Tech Planet recently visited the former storm headquarters againlocationEnjoy the Science Building for the first time,I haven't been able to find itTraces of the storm's presence.On the floor guide, newSettlementThe company name covers the location before the storm.Originally, there was a sign with the name of the company Storm at the elevator. MorningAlreadyTaken down.Although the new company has been moving in for a while, the name of the new company is still not marked on the signs at the elevator entrance.

officesitedIt has always been one of the factors confirming the rise and fall of an enterprise.Company developmentGood momentum, staff expansion,Naturally, there is a need for a larger or more decent officeWorkplace.Many enterprises moved from the earliest residential buildings, campuses, and small office buildings to landmark commercial office buildings, and even bought their own properties and parks.

Conversely, as business declines, cutting back on office expenses is also a common solution — moving to a location where rent is cheaper and more remote.

When they moved out of the First View Science Building in the second half of 2019, the number of people in the storm had shrunk from a peak of 1,345 in 2016 to less than 100. According to an announcement issued by Storm Group at the time, Storm next moved its office to the 5th floor of Building 21, No. 2, North Taipingzhuang Road, 4 kilometers away.

However, the Tech Planet search found that many map software was unable to specifically display this address. If you follow the map, you will walk into a residential area. Actually, there is no “Building 21.”

Community security told Tech Planet that “5th floor of Building 21, No. 2, North Taipingzhuang Road” actually refers to the Deheng Business Hall on the right side of the district, but currently the 5th floor is being renovated, so no businesses have settled in yet.

Deheng ShangThe government hall has a total of 5 floors.SettledMost of the companies are small and micro enterprises.Compared to the Beijing Aerospace University, which is on the north side of the first science and technology building, across the river from Yuandadu Ruins Park, it is surrounded by commercial office buildingspreponderanceGeographic location, new to the stormOffice spaceThe surrounding area is full of civilian housing and residential areas.

A security guard at Deheng Business Hall recalled that the storm had been working here for less than a year, and he couldn't remember exactly when he moved, but after the epidemic eased and he returned to Beijing from his hometown, the storm had already moved out of this area. “There were a lot of people at the beginning. There were 7 and 80 people; in the end, the number of people in the office was just a few people, about 5 or 6.” As to where they went after moving out, he didn't know.

According to the announcement issued by Storm on December 2, 2019, a large number of storm personnel had been lost at the time. “Except for Mr. Feng Xin, all senior management of the company have resigned... Currently, there are only 10 people left in the company. Due to the tight financial situation, the company still has wage arrears to some employees.”

The latest news that Tech Planet has learned is that around February of this year, the storm moved again. Like Deheng Business Center, the new office is also located near the “Mudanyuan” station on Line 10. The name of the new office is Dimon Tower, and the subway exit was changed from exit C to exit A.

On September 14, after a field visit, Tech Planet (WeChat ID: tech618) discovered that Storm leased a 180-square-meter office on the 8th floor of the Dimon Building, but there were no signs relating to Storm Group or any traces of normal office work here. There was no house number marked at the door, and the name of the previous rental company was still hanging on the left side of the door. Building insiders confirmed that this is the current newest office space for Storm Group.

It's been half a year since the storm moved to a new office, “but they haven't come to work.” Dimon Tower staff told Tech Planet. “The rent is paid directly online. From renting an office during the pandemic in February until now, I haven't seen anyone come to work for a day.”

In other words, according to the daily price of 6.5 yuan per square meter for the Dimon Tower, the storm paid an average of 35,000 yuan in office rent every month. However, in this area, it is difficult to find a trace of the “remaining 10 or more people” described in the company announcement.

Stalled storm video, popular hosting

It's not just a physical disappearance in space. In fact, Storm's products also gradually fell apart along with the company's decline.

Everything started to get out of control on July 28, 2019.

That otherwise normal Sunday brought the storm into a truly darkest hour. On the same day, Storm Group issued an announcement stating that Feng Xin, the actual controller of the company, was subject to coercive measures by the public security authorities due to his alleged crime.

The storm was swaying in the midst of wind and rain, and bad news followed:Storm TV employees blocked the original office site for the first time and received banners at the entrance of the Science and Technology Building to ask for pay. All senior executives such as Storm Group CFO Zhang Lina and Deputy General Manager Zhang Pengyu resigned. Even Yu Zhaohui, the company's securities representative, submitted a resignation report.Feng Xin is the only executive left, and Feng XinBeing imprisoned.

At the most difficult time, “Storm Video”, the main business of Storm Group, once defaulted on hosting fees for the partner's computer room server, which caused the client and company website to display a “504” error code, that is, “the gateway has timed out.” Simply put, it is “disconnected.”

The “shutdown” of Storm Video, the main business, has accelerated the complete collapse of Storm Group's business.

A former employee who worked for Storm for more than 7 years lamented to Tech Planet (WeChat ID: tech618): “It's not easy for people to stay.” She witnessed the entire process of Storm, from its unrivalled “shareholder” to its decline. Like most of her colleagues, Feng Xin submitted a resignation report shortly after her arrest.

“In the last period of time, all things that cost money were suspended.” With the loss of Feng Xin and executive management, the storm worsened every few days. Since then, almost every few days, Storm Group will publish “indicative reports on the risk of stocks being suspended from listing.”

The suspension of Storm's video business has caused Storm to face a situation of “cutting off food” with no source of income. You need to know that at the time, Storm's office space rent was only paid until the end of February this year. Storm admits in its announcement: “If business does not resume, Storm Group will not be able to afford rent, and may not even have office space.”

Storm Video is a key product for Feng Xin to break through in the Internet domain. In the era when the storm dominated the video player market, it was a “must-have for installation” software second only to Tencent QQ and Xunlei. Feng Xin also once proudly said, “Our products are updated 100 times a year on average, while our rivals are updated once or twice a year.”

Of course, this kind of update frequency has long ceased to exist. The rise of iQiyi, Youku, and Tencent Video, and the audiovisual industry's awareness of copyright protection have quickly caused aggregate video products to lose their market volume.

The last major update to Storm Video was in June 2019, when “Storm 16” was released, meaning Storm Video is a video player that has been around for 16 years. At the time, on Weibo, Feng Xin described this new version as “a new seed planted today.” However, Feng Xin did not wait until this seed germinated.

Storm Video's “Storm 16” version is compared with the “Storm 5” version. Source/Feng Xin Weibo

Tech Planet noticed that the current Storm video client has been renewedrevivedOperation and video resources all come fromAs with popular video, Storm Video still has paid video memberships. Currently, the minimum is only 1 yuan per month, which isallLowest prices on video sites.

A popular online developer to Tech Planet(WeChat ID:(Tech 618)It has been confirmed that currently the Storm Video App, PC, and advertising systems are all operated by Fengxing Online on behalf of Fengxing Online.In fact, since February 7, Storm has signed a cooperation agreement with Fengxing. Storm Video is operated by Fengxing on its behalf. The agreement period is 15 months.During this period, excluding costs, the benefits obtained by Popular Online will be in accordance with 3:The ratio of 7 is divided with the storm, and the storm accounts for 30%.

According to the agreement, Fengxing Online will pay a one-time agent license fee of 1 million yuan, and at the same time promised to give Storm Video a monthly revenue share of no less than 200,000 yuan. This has become the current meager but fairly stable source of income for Storm Group.

However, this kind of profit is nothing but a drop in the balance when it comes to improving the current state of the storm.

Falling from the “Eye of the Storm” to the edge of a cliff

The boots hit the ground one by one.

The creditor sued. The court ordered Storm Group to pay a total of 470 million yuan in transfer prices, liquidated damages, etc. to Shanghai Gefei Asset Management Co., Ltd. For Storm Group, this is a debt that is no longer able to be repaid. Storm stated in the announcement that the company has a legal risk arising from not being able to pay the above expenses.

The latest financial report released by Storm is also the third quarter report of 2019. Financial reports show that Storm Group's net assets at the time were -633 million yuan, and there was a risk of delisting.

On August 28, the official website of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange disclosed information that due to Storm Group's failure to disclose its 2019 annual report within one month after its listing was suspended, according to the stock listing termination situation in section 13.4.1 (9) of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange's “GEM Stock Listing Rules (November 2018 Revision)”, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange decided to stop listing Storm Group and enter the delisting period on September 21.

From the glorious listing in 2015 to the current delisting, the storm's crazy capital story has come to an end for the time being.

On the stock market chart that has been suspended since July 7, Storm Group's stock price reached 327.01 yuan at the highest, but now trading is suspended at 1.48 yuan

Obviously, the only 10 or so people left in the Storm Group announcement are no longer able to save the company. However, after checking the recruitment website, Tech Planet discovered that just a month ago, Storm Technology had also issued external recruitment positions. The positions included positions such as mini-program front-end R&D engineer, PC client-Windows development engineer, financial accountant, and advertising operations.

However, under the current circumstances, I'm afraid it is already difficult to have fresh blood willing to participate in the center of the storm.

Storm's recruitment information. (Source: Hiring Network)

Some left at the last minutestormThe employees are full of regret and nostalgia for Storm and Feng Xin.“The old owner is still“Very good”, one who worked for Storm for more than 3 yearsoftheMid-level directionTech Planet (WeChat ID:(tech618) introduction,She was at the timeResponsible for monetization businesses such as Storm Video and Storm TV, “I love Storm. How will Boss Feng come out and continue to work with him? There's nothing else I want to talk about.”

“Boss Feng is very kind to his employees. He's not the kind of bossy boss. I remember when it went public, the company made money, and each person sent an iPhone 6S at the annual meeting, which was the latest model at the time.” Another former employee recalled to Tech Planet that after leaving the storm, he hardly paid attention to Storm's news. “It was all bad, so bad.”

The storm was once called “Little LeTV,” which is not a good prediction. Today, Jia Yueting is hiding his debts in the US, and Feng Xin is also behind bars.

One investor concluded that the reason behind this storm is that in the transformation of the main business, it is impossible to find a new innovative profit model. However, everything is being followed, and has even taken the old path of LeTV. From VR and AR to AI now, the hot concepts in the Internet industry are all the hot concepts of the Storm Group.

“This model is like learning about Jia Yueting's new LeTV ecosystem, similar Internet thinking, similar expansion methods, and similar stock price charts.” The investor mentioned above said.

When Storm went public, it was labeled a “demon stock.” “After listing, there were 29 consecutive ups and downs. After opening the market on the 30th trading day, there were 5 consecutive ups and downs; after 2 days of falling, there were 3 more consecutive ups and downs.” This rare event has been written into a large number of books on how to play with funds and how to invest and manage money.

Storm Group has long been thrown out of the first camp on the Internet. Most of the time, it appears as negative textbook. To some extent, the decline of the storm means that the myth that “every day you throw money in the sky, everyone is a stock god” has long been destroyed, and the most typical Storm Group is also gradually disappearing from the public eye. In terms of physical space, stock market, and market influence, it has almost completely collapsed.

In an interview in 2018, Feng Xin said, “I have always played the same way. I have fought until now, and I have never had the desire to succeed.” He believes that doing a career is a tool and tool to place meaning in one's life, but in the process, what needs to be overcome is: one's animality, greed, and fear.

This year, at his residence in Beijing, Feng Xin had a conversation of more than two hours with Richard, the head of Storm's marketing department at the time, about why was it in the midst of a storm three years after the relisting of Storm. After listing, Storm had a multi-directional layout, including business modules such as Storm Mirror, Storm TV, and Storm Sports. Although the initial momentum of establishment was very strong, it did not have much of an impression in reality, and even caused a series of financial difficulties.

Feng Xin summed up the three reasons at the time, which may also explain everything Storm Group has experienced today: the listed company did not complete any financing or mergers and acquisitions; did not understand the different attributes of money; did not understand debt financing and equity financing; and was also greedy in terms of business layout.

“No one else is to blame for the third thing; you can only blame yourself,” Feng Xin said.