Chapter 126: What?

“Huh?”

“What did you just say?”

I simply smiled at the two men who hadn’t quite caught what I said.

“You two are lucky. I’m actually letting go of my greed this time.”

I chuckled at their bewildered expressions, unsure of what to say.

“So, how about we do this?”

The two of them leaned closer to me.

“I’ll invest up to thirty million dollars sequentially. If you need more investment after that, either the company will have grown tremendously or you’ll have blown all the money. Isn’t that right?”

The latter is just another way of saying you failed. If Google fails, something fundamentally went wrong, not just with your algorithms.

“If the company grows and you need additional investment, you won’t have trouble attracting investors even if it’s not me. Get funding from them. On good terms.”

“Wait, Howard. I have a question… please don’t misunderstand me.”

The initial shock of hearing thirty million dollars had already faded. Now, a difficult-to-understand doubt was creeping in.

“Anytime. Go ahead.”

They exchanged glances before cautiously speaking.

“If the company is doing well enough to need additional funding, why would you stop investing? Didn’t you say you have enough money?”

“Get money from various sources. These are people with a lot of investment experience, right? Living witnesses to Silicon Valley’s countless successes and failures. Additional funding means it’s time to get their advice. Don’t push away the people who might nag you. They’ll be spouting invaluable wisdom.”

They probably never expected to hear something like that. After all, engineers hate investor interference the most.

“But don’t abandon your own values either. Your goals might shift a little as the company grows, but it’s best not to do anything that would compromise your core beliefs, okay?”

“Okay, what about the latter case? Are there terms for recovering your investment if our business fails?”

“Then I’ll pour money into it until you can start over and succeed. Every single penny if it takes a hundred million, a billion dollars. How’s that sound? Does that answer your question?”

It must have been an excellent answer. Waves of emotion washed over their faces.

“Howard, you genuinely believe Google will succeed, don’t you?”

‘Don’t talk nonsense. Google has to succeed for the Fourth Industrial Revolution to begin,’ I thought, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it aloud. I just nodded.

“I appreciate your sentiment, but investments can’t be based purely on abstract faith… So, can you give me the specific numbers now?”

I was still a little confused about their names. They both had dark brown hair, so I had to distinguish them by their looks. The better-looking one was Sergey, right?

“Alright, Sergey. As you know, I’m not planning to have any voting rights. You two can jointly exercise the voting rights equivalent to my shares. And in return for the thirty million dollars I’ll invest, I want the average of your current shares.”

At the word ‘average,’ they looked at each other and blinked.

“What? Don’t tell me you two made some kind of vow to share everything equally forever… Are you kids or something?”

Even founders get kicked out in the US. Co-founders’ shares can drastically change at any time depending on their individual circumstances. Isn’t this the paradise of capitalism?

Fortunately, it seemed like there was no such childish vow. They took ‘average’ to mean ‘equal’ at the starting point.

“So, the starting point is that the three of us have the same stake?”

“Exactly. You two have the brains, I have the money. Seems fair, right?”

They waved their hands dismissively.

“It’s not fair, Howard. You’re the one losing out. With that much investment, you could demand 50%, and we’d be fools not to accept it.”

“That’s right. Even if you offered to buy us out for thirty million dollars, it wouldn’t be an unreasonable demand.”

“Alright then. In that case, guarantee my stake in the future. Whether it’s a rights offering or a stock dividend, always maintain the average of your two shares.”

Sergey suddenly reached out his hand.

“Let’s close the deal before you change your mind.”

“I’ll have the contract drawn up for you to review tomorrow. Along with a million dollars.”

I smiled and shook his hand.

And I listened to their dreams of the internet age while sipping beer. The revolutionary ideas they would create—Google Earth, Maps, Translate, Project Gutenberg, artificial intelligence, self-driving technology—hadn’t emerged yet.

That’s because it’s not something they’ll do alone, but the result of merging with the services of various geniuses who will appear later.

We talked until dawn before getting up.

“Here’s my New York office number, my Korean office number, and my personal phone number. Contact me anytime you need anything.”

They accepted my business cards, unable to hide their surprise.

“You’re Korean?”

“Why? Did you think I was Japanese?”

“No. You use the surname Jin, so I thought you were from Hong Kong.”

I left the two men, who would be losing sleep tonight, in the garage and stepped outside.

I declined their offer to drive me to a nearby motel. I wanted to enjoy the cool night air as I walked slowly.

As I walked away, I heard a shout from behind me.

“Hey! Are you really twenty years old?”

* * *

They didn’t even glance at the contract.

The two Google founders were examining the million-dollar check, even slapping each other’s faces.

“Aren’t you seeing things a bit off this time?”

Rachel, who had flown to the residential garage in Silicon Valley that morning with the contract and check, started glaring at me as if she couldn’t trust what she was seeing.

It’s understandable that she can’t imagine these two dimwits will outstrip Microsoft by a mile and become the owners of the world’s most valuable company.

“Trust me. This time, it’s not just about making money from stocks. It’s because we’re witnessing the moment when the main players who will usher in a new era are acting like clowns right in front of us.”

No matter how grand my pronouncements were, Rachel just shook her head and sighed.

“You’re the one who told me to pull out of dot-com companies. Are these guys any different?”

“I told you, the dot-com companies will collapse one after another in 2000. These guys are the real deal in a Silicon Valley that’s shedding its bubble. Watch closely. The ones emerging now are the genuine article. They’re the talented ones filling the void left by the con artists.”

Still sighing, she slammed her hand on the desk and shouted.

“You guys! That check is real, so stop examining it. More importantly, check the contract and sign it. I don’t have time to watch you two goof off!”

“Ah, sorry.”

Sergey and Larry hurriedly put the check in a drawer and faxed the contract somewhere.

“Hey! It’s common sense that third parties shouldn’t see the contract’s contents. Where are you sending it?”

When Rachel asked in surprise, the two just grinned.

“Don’t worry. It’s the lawyer at the school’s startup support center. They check everything for us before we sign with a separate law firm. These lawyers know more about confidentiality than anyone.”

Typical Stanford.

They provide ample support for students’ startups.

Rachel grabbed my hand and led me out of the garage.

“Howard, about Amazon.com that you mentioned at the meeting. Why aren’t you investing there? You said it was promising too. That seems like a safer bet?”

“Of course, that company also has enormous potential.”

“But?”

“I’ve shifted my focus from just making money from stock price increases to building relationships with geniuses like them. Besides, Amazon’s business structure isn’t particularly helpful to me.”

“So you’re giving up on investment returns now?”

Rachel asked with an anxious look, but I shook my head.

“If the goal is to make money, do investments have to be limited to stocks? There are many better places.”

“Like what?”

“Think about where the money will flow when the dot-com bubble bursts. The devils on Wall Street won’t just let that money sit idle.”

“The next target after dot-coms?”

As Rachel tilted her head in confusion, a voice called from the garage.

“We’ll sign right now! The school lawyer said they’ve seen hundreds of Silicon Valley contracts, but this is the most groundbreaking one they’ve ever seen. They’re urging us to sign no matter what!”

“Our Howard always thinks big. You guys have met a real angel.”

There wasn’t even time for a party to celebrate becoming Google’s first investor.

“Let’s go back quickly. Your father should be finished with his meeting with DreamWorks by now. I can’t wait to hear the results.”

The two men’s eyes widened at Rachel’s words.

“Dr, DreamWorks?”

“Howard! You’re investing in Hollywood too?”

I puffed out my chest and said to them.

“Make sure you watch Saving Private Ryan. It’s a movie I invested 35% in. Haha.”

Rachel added another remark.

“Once you receive thirty million dollars, spread the word. If you say Miracle invested, investment firms will line up with money in hand. We’re a symbol of invincibility on Wall Street.”

* * *

When we returned to LA, my father took me to Santa Monica Beach. In the Rolls-Royce provided by the hotel.

“Why the beach all of a sudden? It’s scorching hot….”

“Let’s talk quietly. I have a lot of questions.”

We each grabbed a cold beer and plopped down on the sand.

“How did the conversation with DreamWorks go?”

“The atmosphere was good. They also showed a positive reaction.”

But why does Father’s expression look so stiff?

“Did DreamWorks make unreasonable demands?”

“Unreasonable? Well… they demanded something obvious, but for me, it’s unreasonable, to be precise.”

“Like what…?”

“They want us to establish an Asian distribution network, excluding the Middle East.”

“I see. That’s a natural demand.”

Half of the movie business is distribution. DreamWorks’ three giants aren’t fools enough to hand over distribution rights just because you give them money.

“I heard that the Asian distribution rights alone cost 500 million dollars. And to properly establish a distribution network and expand into secondary platform businesses, it will cost astronomical amounts of money. The problem is that there’s a risk of losing all that money.”

Perhaps my father would have started with a much lighter heart if the investor wasn’t his son. Investors are destined to live with the risk of losing money.

But the disgrace of a father losing his son’s money is worse than a foolish son losing his father’s money.

This fear is holding my father back.

“If you’re not confident in succeeding, you can stop. But put aside the thought that you can’t do it because the investor is your son. Money doesn’t have a name tag. It’s good to be more cautious because it’s my money, though.”

“It will cost quite a bit of money.”

“I still have a lot of money. And I’ll continue to earn more. Don’t worry about the money.”

“That money is for a bigger purpose, isn’t it? To take over Soonyang Group. No matter how much money you have, it won’t be enough, will it?”

This is a bit awkward, as he’s being too direct. Why is the conversation heading in this direction?

“There are things that money can’t buy, no matter how much you have.”

“Now that I think about it, that’s true. Even if you buy up all the stocks in the stock market, the governance structure isn’t set up for a takeover.”

What you can’t buy with money, you have to take. The minimum weapon you need to take it is money.