I'm finally seeing Yahoo up close!" He Zhengcheng arrived at Yahoo, and Yang Zhiyuan's enthusiastic reception genuinely made him feel overwhelmed.
Yang Zhiyuan currently has a net worth of several billion US dollars, making him a top billionaire in the Chinese community, but He Zhengcheng is just an ordinary financial professional.
"Yahoo is just like this, nothing special," Yang Zhiyuan said modestly.
"This is the world's first internet listed company, almost destined to be in the annals of history, and Mr. Yang will also be remembered for it. For most of us Chinese, this is almost the greatest honor, not to mention the legend of Mr. Yang's wealth," He Zhengcheng said.
"Haha, this is just luck, I never expected to have today," Yang Zhiyuan replied.
Walking through Yahoo, He Zhengcheng did not see the free lunches rumored in Silicon Valley companies, nor did he see IT Programmers bringing their pets to work. The company's environment was not luxurious.
"Come, I'll take you to see the editorial department. Based on your suggestions, we've established a more professional editorial department, as well as news journalists with outstanding professional abilities," Yang Zhiyuan said.
Ever since their last interaction, when He Zhengcheng got Yahoo to publish an article about Long-Term Capital Management, he and Yang Zhiyuan began communicating via email. He Zhengcheng suggested to Yang Zhiyuan that Yahoo News's content should be more professional, especially in the finance, sports, and audio-visual entertainment sections. This could attract the attention of most internet users.
A portal website, isn't it all about the attention economy? Only with more users and longer retention times will there be more value.
"This is the former associate editor of the Los Angeles Times, now Yahoo's editor-in-chief. Almost all of your suggestions have been accepted by us," Yang Zhiyuan said.
"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you!" He Zhengcheng greeted the editor-in-chief.
"Hello!" This was a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties.
After a few polite exchanges, Yang Zhiyuan took He Zhengcheng away.
"That's great then. I'm a shareholder of Yahoo after all, so the better Yahoo does, the more I benefit," He Zhengcheng said.
"Oh, you bought Yahoo stock? When did you buy it?" Yang Zhiyuan asked.
"Just a few days ago, I bought 35,000 shares," He Zhengcheng replied. He came to America and leveraged up to buy an additional 17,000 shares.
"Haha, then you won't lose money this time," Yang Zhiyuan said.
"Yes, I'm very optimistic about Yahoo's long-term development," He Zhengcheng stated.
At this time, the revenue source for internet companies was basically display advertising, and Yahoo likely accounted for more than half of it.
In a short time, He Zhengcheng and Chao Yang met most of Yahoo's management, accompanied by Yang Zhiyuan.
"How was it? Any suggestions for Yahoo?" Yang Zhiyuan asked.
"Successful people don't need to change!" He Zhengcheng said.
"You're not being honest," Yang Zhiyuan retorted.
"The internet is a new industry; everything is still being explored. Who knows what's right and what's wrong?" Chao Yang said.
"That's true, Yahoo is making history with every step, but it's not without the possibility of making mistakes," Yang Zhiyuan admitted.
"What company in this world doesn't make mistakes?" He Zhengcheng asked.
"But we can make Yahoo better and make as few mistakes as possible!" Yang Zhiyuan insisted.
"Then I'll say a few words!" He Zhengcheng offered.
"Please do, I'll listen carefully. I listened to your last suggestions, and the results were good. Perhaps in a few years, Yahoo will be the authoritative media of the internet," Yang Zhiyuan said.
"Is Yahoo ultimately an innovative technology company or a traditional media company? I always feel that the technological content of portal websites is not high enough," He Zhengcheng pondered.
"The technology for portal websites is indeed not difficult, but not everyone can do it well," Yang Zhiyuan said.
"To surpass Yahoo in portal websites, only a few companies like AOL have that possibility, but it's just a possibility," He Zhengcheng added.
"That's right, but you're right, Yahoo's investment in technology is indeed not much. We should increase our investment in this area," Yang Zhiyuan agreed.
"Also, those tech giants don't lack money or status, and they are responsible for innovation. Will their required working environment be different from traditional companies? Is Yahoo's management copied from traditional companies, or does it have its own improvements?" He Zhengcheng asked.
"Technical personnel are indeed difficult to manage. If management is too strict, no one can stand it; if it's too lax, things don't get done well. I'm also very troubled!" Yang Zhiyuan confessed.
"No more, that's all my thoughts!" He Zhengcheng said.
"You, you've hit the nail on the head, but it's very difficult to solve!" Yang Zhiyuan sighed.
"I see a lot and think a lot. I want to invest in Silicon Valley. If the next Yahoo appears, maybe I can become the next Sun Zhenyi," He Zhengcheng mused.
"Mr. Sun is indeed a good person. Perhaps without his initial investment, there would be no Yahoo today. Do you have an investment target?" Yang Zhiyuan first expressed his gratitude to Sun Zhenyi, then asked him.
"Yes, I do, but it seems a bit difficult right now," He Zhengcheng replied.
"What difficulties? Can I help you?" Yang Zhiyuan offered.
"We want to invest in a company that's about to IPO and join its board of directors, but we're short on cash right now, and they're a bit unwilling. After all, we're country bumpkins from Hong Kong," He Zhengcheng explained.
"There aren't that many experts in the internet; everyone is exploring. You're talking about eBay, right? That company sought cooperation with Yahoo some time ago," Yang Zhiyuan said.
"Yes, this morning I was still in New York, and in the afternoon I flew to Silicon Valley just for Yahoo. Tomorrow, I also have a meeting with eBay's founder, Pierre Omidyar," He Zhengcheng confirmed.
"Your investment in eBay, this is not a good time," Yang Zhiyuan said. He was referring to Yahoo's stock price also falling in this downturn, and it hadn't stopped falling yet, with the stock price between $60 and $70. The deterrent power of Long-Term Capital Management's trillion-dollar asset size potentially collapsing at any time was simply too great.
"But it's only at this time that we have a chance. If everyone was scrambling to get in, wouldn't we have even less of a chance?" He Zhengcheng argued, then he explained the underlying logic of investing in eBay.
"You're still short on cash, how much do you need?" Yang Zhiyuan asked.
"We still need 20 million US dollars. We need to buy 5 percent of eBay's shares to have a chance to join their board of directors," He Zhengcheng explained.
"20 million US dollars? That's not much," Yang Zhiyuan said. He currently has a net worth of over a billion US dollars, so he was qualified to say that.
"But eBay is going public on September 24th, and we need to sign the contract these days, so time is a bit tight," He Zhengcheng said, as it was already September 18th.
"No problem, I have it!" Yang Zhiyuan declared.
"???"
"You're willing to give us the money to invest, why don't you buy it yourself?" He Zhengcheng asked.
"I'm the founder of Yahoo and a major shareholder, it's not appropriate!" Yang Zhiyuan replied.
"Uh!!!" He Zhengcheng didn't know how to describe his feelings at the moment.
"Tomorrow, I'll go with you to meet Pierre Omidyar," Yang Zhiyuan said.
"This! I can't refuse," He Zhengcheng admitted.
"Haha, you gave me good advice. I originally wanted to recruit you to work at Yahoo, but after meeting you, I felt you wouldn't agree," Yang Zhiyuan said.
"I…" He Zhengcheng wanted to deny it, but he never spoke the words.
"Sometimes I even feel that your understanding of the internet is more profound than mine. Investing in you at this time might yield good returns in the future. Just like Mr. Sun invested in me!" Yang Zhiyuan concluded.
Passing on the torch, that's all.