Allow Some Scientists to Escape the Winter First: Prospectus Filed for IPO

The following content is purely fictional; any resemblance to actual persons or events is purely coincidental.

Da Kui earned his bachelor’s degree from a “pit” major at a prestigious Project 985 university in China, then completed a three-year postdoctoral fellowship under a renowned mentor in the United States, solidifying his status as a returnee from North America.

After returning to China upon graduation and facing repeated rejections in his search for a faculty position, Da Kui found a long-lost sense of belonging in the Pearl River Delta. He promptly rallied his fellow alumni from the same research group, leveraging patents and pitch decks to secure funding from US dollar funds during the final frenzy of capital splurging in this hot sector.HeBelieving that the day of ringing the bell for an IPO was just around the corner, and fueled by aspirations to expose short-sellers like Muddy Waters, champion the cause of domestic substitution, and publish his own eponymous memoir, Dakui joined the ranks of returnee entrepreneurs.

However.

“A Great Dream, Several Autumns of Chill.”A Major Upheaval in the Venture Capital Industry: In just a few short years, Da Kui has experienced his first rounds of layoffs via interviews, chasing outstanding payments, shutting down production lines, and seeing valuations slashed in half. As the frenzy subsides, everything returns to the fundamentals of business. Investors were encouraging rapid and aggressive hiring one moment, only to turn around and press for immediate cost reduction and efficiency improvements the next.

On a weekend night, Da Kui, seeking to clear his mind, went to vent his frustrations to his friend Mr. A, an avid Texas Hold'em poker player.Last year, Mr. A returned to China to launch a wrapper-based large language model business, which has been thriving. Even on weekend nights, their building remains the most brightly lit in the entire high-tech park, with coffee cups piling up on the delivery racks at the entrance.. Truly worthy of being a new quality productive force.

Sitting at the card table, staring at the account balance displayed on his phone, and calculating the tight cash runway for the next few months, Da Kui wore a face full of worry.

“Da Kui, have you been hit with a consumption restriction order? Are the investors demanding a buyback, or has the company run out of cash?”

Upon learning that Dakui’s company merely had limited cash reserves left, President A’s face actually showed a hint of relief.

“Da Kui, have you gotten so muddled from running the company that you’ve forgotten whether you even have a STEM background? Look, I’ve been playing all night and losing steadily; now I’m down to just a few dozen big blinds. If I don’t raise, I can only afford to see a few more hands at most. I might hit a strong hand on the next deal and sweep the table, or I might not hit until the very last hand and finally get back in the black.”The key point is that each hand here is an independent event, with no correlation to how many big blinds I have left or how many months of cash you have remaining.。”

(Note:Big BlindThe fixed bet required before the start of a hand is generally equal to the table's current big blind; therefore, players typically measure their chip stacks in terms of the number of big blinds.On Water) Refers to being above the cost basis, i.e., generating revenue; conversely, “underwater” indicates being below the cost basis, i.e., incurring losses.

Mr. A said, “In your line of work,”Everyone is striving to stay afloat through cash flow management. New funding may come in to provide support as early as this month, or you might just manage to hold on until the final month before landing a mega deal that turns things around.“As long as you haven’t left the table, just focus on playing each hand well.”

It sounds strangely reasonable, and the emotional value provided by Mr. A is indeed maximized.

There is a saying in the Texas Hold'em community:Tight on the Surface, Turbulent Beneath. When making money, they strictly adhered to careful budgeting; however, once facing floating losses, they tended to become impulsive. At this point, a fellow player who had exhausted their chips directly called the chip leader’s bet and bought in five additional stacks. The atmosphere at the poker table instantly grew tense.(Note: When a player's chips are depleted, they may rebuy up to the same amount as the chip leader, i.e., the player with the most chips at the table.)

Sure enough, before long, the same poker player from earlier hit a straight and aggressively raised the stakes. By the time the fifth community card was revealed, another player had correctly bet on a full house (three of a kind plus a pair), causing more than half of the buy-in chips to be lost in an instant.

“Our purpose in starting a business is to solve problems with high-quality products; fundraising is merely a means, not an end. Do not let peer pressure, market fluctuations, or investors’ check sizes distract you from this core mission.“Given the current landscape, everyone is following the lead of state-owned capital from Series A onward. How can you survive without genuine problem-solving capabilities?” Mr. A continued.

At that time, driven by a major global trend, institutions frantically sought domestic counterparts, conducted rapid due diligence, and invested heavily. Founders, having secured financing, also expanded aggressively—hiring hundreds of employees at high salaries and spending billions to build factories within a year. However, once the hype subsided, corporate development ultimately had to return to core technological and managerial capabilities.Is the financing really not successful?Represents successful entrepreneurship。

“Don’t fixate on fundraising,” said Mr. A, dealing cards to the other players. It was his turn to be the dealer. The three community cards revealed were offsuit 2, 6, and 8. After a round of betting and folding, only two players, A and B, remained in the showdown.

“First, this certainly belongs toIn the hard-tech sector, where there is a high proportion of top-tier talent, subsidies for talented professionals can always be effectively implemented in certain regions."Ma."

The fourth community card, the turn, is an Ace. Player B opens with a raise, suggesting they likely hold at least one Ace in their hand. After considerable hesitation, Player C chooses to just call.

“Furthermore, you can sort out your area”What research projects are available for leading experts in the academic community to undertake, which also come with substantial subsidies?。”

The fifth community card, the river, was dealt. Everyone held their breath. Mr. A gently flipped his cards, and the tension in the room instantly dissipated. It was a seemingly insignificant 3. Player B, holding an Ace, went all-in to seize the initiative, but Player B called without hesitation.

Mr. A gave a mysterious smile: “It’s even possible that one of them…”The Big Shot Retires After Achieving Success, we decided to back these hard-tech sectors.Purely Non-Profitnature, wow!”

Both players revealed their cards, as expected: Player B held a pair of Aces, forming the hand AAA86. However, Player C, holding 4 and 5, completed a straight with the final community card, a 3, making 2-3-4-5-6, and won the pot.

“Boss spirit!” Mr. A said with a grin.

Player C casually tossed out a large chip to thank Mr. A for his good luck.

(Note: When there is a dramatic showdown with high cards, the winner is willing to give the dealer a certain "tip" as a token of appreciation.)

Watching President A discard hand after hand for the sake of demonstration, Da Kui couldn’t help but feel an itch in his heart, constantly stealing glances at the card table.

“Da Kui, I know what you’re thinking. I believe that starting a business,”It is essential to overcome the fear of missing out, reject FOMO, and maintain focus and discipline.。”

For several hands in a row, Mr. A kept showing me his cards. Pocket sixes, fold; pocket sevens, fold; Q-8 offsuit, fold; 8-9 offsuit, fold. Even when the flop later revealed that folding would have missed a winning hand, not a trace of regret appeared on Mr. A’s face.

“We are not yet a major tech company, so I believe our cash-burn model should be quite different.”Spreading limited funds across multiple options to engage in probabilistic betting fails to account for our constrained operational resources and the substantial opportunity costs involved.. It is said that large pharmaceutical companies can afford to shrug off a Phase II clinical trial failure with ease, whereas for small companies, poor Phase I data can be devastating, leading directly to delisting. Therefore, I believe it is stillConcentrate superior resources, expect reasonable output, and pursue reasonable returns。”

“Don’t believe me? Take a look.”

Mr. A held pocket jacks, called a round of raises, and the pot grew substantial. The flop came 5-8-K. With an impassive expression, he quickly calculated his odds and decisively folded. Da Kui was being unreasonable.

“It’s a pity,The additional K in this flop represents the variable in the market. Since other market factors (58) offer no clear advantage to me, it is best to cut my losses and walk away.。”

Sure enough, the player who finally showed their hand easily defeated their opponent with a single King.

Mr. A’s focus and discipline remained unwavering from start to finish.。

Focus and discipline reminded Da Kui of the grueling days under his supervisor’s rigorous mentorship during his academic years. The scientific rigor and the sweet taste of achievement had both returned.

Looking back, it was the day-in, day-out adherence to perseverance that allowed us to witness the publication of articles, the granting of patents, and the commercialization of products."The current ups and downs of setbacks may be just a small point on an extended timeline.". Only by upholding integrity can one seize the opportunity to achieve extraordinary growth amid the curve’s ascent.

The current capital environment undoubtedly presents a new challenge for entrepreneurs like Da Kui. Yet adversity is ubiquitous; achieving results, or even merely persevering, constitutes a victory in such times.

As Mr. A also noted, amid funding constraints, fundraising is not the only lifeline for entrepreneurs. Proactive founders should prioritize self-rescue measures. Indeed, the sale of drug pipelines and manufacturing facilities by numerous innovative pharmaceutical companies in the past has served as one such self-rescue strategy. Even when both fundraising and business operations face significant challenges, there remain viable and reasonable sources of income, such as talent subsidies and research project grants.

As a scientist interviewed by VCBeat noted, while entrepreneurship and scientific research differ in many ways, they share one key similarity: volatility and setbacks are the norm. Upholding integrity and perseverance are the most certain anchors amidst uncertain changes. Having endured the harsh winters that others could not, one looks back to find that the light boat has already passed ten thousand mountains.

As the poker session wound down, Mr. A capitalized on several opponents’ mistakes and lapses in composure to secure a few large pots, turning paper profits into realized gains. On the way home, Da Kui curiously asked Mr. A how he applied Texas Hold’em strategies to close the major deal that saved the company. Mr. A replied:“Don’t joke around. If you want to achieve great things, you still need to play Guandan!”