In the business investment community, people often have mixed views on those investors who see business opportunities at an early stage and accumulate huge wealth as a result.

Some people think they are clairvoyant, while many others think they just happen to be lucky.

This difference in perception is a phenomenon worthy of further study in the investment community. It inspired us to dig deeper into the diverse roles investors play in business growth.

Some well-known enterprise development cases in the past have vaguely exposed this controversial point.

In the early days of personal computers, industry giants like Intel and HP were not optimistic about their future. Even well-known venture capitalists like Don Valentine missed the opportunity to invest in Apple because of Jobs's iconoclastic image.

Unlike ordinary investors, he did not come from the venture capital industry, but he was able to see Apple's huge potential and became Apple's first angel investor.

It’s hard to say there was no luck at all, as Markkula may have just stumbled upon Apple’s potential.

His unique insight into the operational strategies necessary for Apple to achieve its desired scale, despite the relatively limited user base of early computers, reflected his unique insight.

Similarly, Tencent also faced this situation in its early days.

After Wang Shu learned about Tencent's situation, he found that although the number of OICQ users had exceeded one million, a profit path had not yet been found.

Judging from Wang Shu's initial judgment, this was a project with an uncertain future.

At that time, Tencent's development lacked a clear direction, and its subsequent rapid rise prompted people to think: did those early investors choose Tencent based on luck or foresight?

Investors cannot just take a glance at a company's projects because each investor's level of involvement in the company they invest in varies.

After Markkula invested in Apple, he not only invested money, but also contributed his own capabilities.

At that time, the computer user base was relatively stable, and if you wanted to achieve the scale Apple envisioned, you had to become an expert in the market. It just so happens that he has a lot of research on marketing and can build a bridge between customers and products. As a result, he became personally involved in Apple's operations and mentored founders like Steve Jobs.

Not all venture investors are willing or equipped to be as deeply involved in the day-to-day management of a company as Markkula is.

Under normal circumstances, investors are only suppliers of funds, such as those who invested in Tencent in its early stages. They may decide to invest only because of certain data or appearances, and will not provide guidance on business operations. The company mainly relies on its founder team. Let’s explore the business model.

In major events such as corporate mergers, the role of venture capital investors is often critical.

The merger of Meituan and Dianping was obviously partly driven by venture capitalists.

After the merger, the newly established company expanded rapidly, reaching 10 times the size when Dianping was sold to eBay.

This shows that venture investors have unique insights into market trends, and they know that cooperation between enterprises can often bring higher business benefits.

In this cooperation, the venture capital investors of both companies may discuss a number of important matters in the merger and evaluate and compare these matters.

For example, the distribution of equity and the future management model of the company all need to be considered.

Without the communication and coordination of venture capital investors, the process of corporate mergers may not be so smooth, and its intensity may not be so strong.

Investors will continue to come up with new ways to obtain more high-quality investment projects.

Botha and his team innovated just as growth investing emerged.

Entrepreneurs find that the time to profit from start-ups is delayed, which makes it difficult for them to invest in angel investments as their funds are tied up in business operations.

Botha and others suggested that entrepreneurs could be provided with $100,000 as investment capital, with the proceeds split equally if the project was successful.

This model brings many benefits to Sequoia Capital.

Scout invested in the Health Guard project, a move that prompted Sequoia Capital to join the Series A round of investment. In the end, Sequoia Capital received more than $1 billion in profits.

In the investment case of "Stripe Payments", the situation is similar. Scout gave Sequoia Capital a head start on the seed round, making it the largest investor in the project.

These are all positive effects brought about by new investment methods.

Investors with different backgrounds will also play a unique role.

Wang Qiong wanted to find American investors for a certain project, so she contacted Huang Gongyu. Huang Gongyu proposed contacting Russian technology investor Yuri Milner.

Zhou Shouzi, as a partner in DST's Beijing office, recognized Zhang Yiming's abilities after meeting him. The meeting may have laid the groundwork for future investments.

Investors from different regions and backgrounds gather together like a big network.

This large network covers entrepreneurial projects in many regions. For example, Yuri Milner relies on his unique investment philosophy and perspective, which may be related to his Russian background and business thinking.

Based on his observation experience in the Chinese market and the resources owned by DST, Zhou Shouzi is able to evaluate entrepreneurs with development potential in China.

From an end-game perspective, Masayoshi Son invested in Alibaba after 2000.

However, it is difficult to accurately predict Alibaba's direction in the early stages.

Investors' views of a business change over time. They may be skeptical or difficult to understand at first, but as the business grows to a certain stage, they decide that investing is a wise move.

But this endgame perspective has limitations.

Some unfavorable factors in the early stage may lead to missing the best investment period.

And the end-game perspective does not mean that we can completely and accurately judge the future of the company.

There are often some unforeseen or unknown factors that interfere with the growth of an enterprise, such as policy changes and the unexpected rise of new competitors.

In the future business world, will investors continue to make successful investment decisions based solely on intuition or luck?