Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

Thank you, CTOnews.com netizens. Hello, rabbit clue delivery! Do you remember ofo ofo? Maybe your deposit ofo hasn't been refunded yet, but its founder, Dai Wei, has started a business again, this time in the United States.

Last February, ▲ Davy opened a small coffee shop with red neon signs in Gramercy Park, one of the most leisurely neighborhoods in New York City. Soon, the coffee shop called About Time Coffee opened four more stores in prime locations in downtown Manhattan, selling chilled pearl coffee (boba coffee, similar to the domestic pearl milk tea), which suddenly became a trend on TikTok and Instagram in the United States.

▲ About Time Coffee Cafe this is not an ordinary community cafe, but a tech-savvy startup with the support of some large Chinese venture capital firms. It was founded by ofo founder Dai Wei, and investors include ZhenFund and the China subsidiary of IDG Capital.

Dai Wei, an American entrepreneur in his early 30s, is a controversial figure who was once a symbol of the bike-sharing craze in China. At the time, investors invested billions of dollars in shared bikes with no clear business model. In 2018, ofo stopped operating after its funds dried up, and its iconic yellow bikes piled up on the streets of China. Later, Dai Wei was almost out of the public eye.

This time, he made a comeback in the United States, which has not been reported before. This is another example of China's technology industry looking for growth, hoping to take advantage of the rapid growth of popular short video app TikTok and retailer Shein in the United States. The "copy China" strategy is becoming increasingly attractive for Chinese start-ups and their venture capitalists, who seek to replicate proven business models in markets such as south-east Asia and the US.

"We have a model that has been proven to work in China," About Time CEO Marianne Chen (Marian Chen) said in an interview. "the coffee we sell tastes better, but cheaper than Starbucks."

According to a person familiar with the matter at ▲ About Time CEO, Dai Wei has been shuttling between China and the United States since the new crown epidemic, opening a portable battery leasing startup in Seattle and then a coffee chain in New York. Despite the collapse of ofo, the entrepreneur once again received money from investors who trusted him, including IDG, ZhenFund and Beijing Weihunter Capital. Only Hunting Capital was an early investor in ofo. So far, About Time has raised more than $10 million at a valuation of $40 million, says Marianne Chen.

Although Dai Wei is not involved in the day-to-day operations of About Time, he helped set up the About Time team and arranged meetings with investors, and "he brought us together", says Ms Chen. Dai Wei is a minority shareholder in the company, she said. Dai Wei declined the interview request.

Following the example of Luckin Coffee, About Time hopes to attract New Yorkers with some Chinese coffee recipes. The company modelled on Luckin Coffee's technology-driven business model. A few years before the accounting fraud scandal was exposed, Luckin Coffee had more stores in China than Starbucks. Like Luckin Coffee, About Time processes orders and payments through its mobile app and collects customer data to customize discounts and coupons. The lower price is also a selling point: its signature chilled pearl coffee, freshly made and sealed in cans, sells for $4, while the average price of Starbucks in the United States is about $5.

"place an order online," read a billboard outside About Time Gramacy Park. "the first five drinks are on us."

The aggressive pricing model of ▲ 's signature Pearl Coffee seems to be winning over young customers. On a recent Thursday afternoon, at least seven students from Baruch College at the nearby City University of New York entered the About Time Gramacy Park store within 15 minutes.

Mansoor Wardak, a 22-year-old finance major, is one of them. He has been a regular here since he received a text message promoting him to register for free coffee on the About Time app. "I don't want to buy Starbucks for $7." He said.

Some American consumers are increasingly wary of technology-focused coffee companies that are rapidly changing the streetscape. For example, Brooklyn-based Blank Street Coffee, backed by venture capital firm General Catalyst Partners and Tiger Global Fund, has opened dozens of stores in New York City in the two years since its inception. According to media reports in December last year, the company is seeking new financing, valued at $200 million.

▲ About Time modelled on Luckin Coffee's business model, About Time CEO Marianne Chen, said that currently, About Time has no plans to open more stores or raise money, and now the company's focus is to try to launch new drinks and make a profit. She has worked for nonprofits such as Save the Children. "We're not the financial elite who don't really like coffee," she said. "that's not the impression we want to make."

In addition to brands, About Time faces some more pressing challenges. First, mobile payments account for only 15% of the chain's total sales, because Americans still prefer to pay in cash or credit cards. This is not a good start for a company that wants to keep loyal customers in their apps.

But, at least for Mr Dai, none of this is a big problem if investor money continues to pour in.

"in the early stages of a company, expansion is more important than defense," he said in an interview in 2016. "the faster and more efficient you spend, the more money you raise, the stronger you are. and then you control the market."

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