The collaboration between Google and Overture Network Company (the company founded by Shi Hongwen, with Music Player as the product name) was settled. Initially, Overture would certainly be at a disadvantage, but He Zhengcheng was now the big boss, wasn't he?
Well, saying He Zhengcheng was the boss wasn't entirely accurate. The investment in Google and Overture came from an offshore financial investment company, which outwardly had no connection to him.
This was a service he entrusted Citigroup to provide for him. Confidentiality was secondary, as his deep involvement with Google made it difficult to change that. The main reason was tax avoidance. America's taxes were too high; even if he didn't need to pay taxes now, having an offshore company would be easier to manage as a precaution.
With financial support, both Google and Overture moved to new office locations, and they weren't situated together.
The only commonality was that, at his suggestion, both companies provided free lunch for their employees, ensuring everyone ate well.
While large office spaces couldn't be guaranteed, a comfortable working environment could be achieved.
Of course, there were difficulties, such as recruiting suitable and excellent employees, which was a significant challenge.
Page complained more than once that the people he interviewed were truly terrible; they knew nothing, and people who weren't even in the right field were showing up.
"Although there are many talents in Silicon Valley, there are probably even more startups in Silicon Valley. If this situation doesn't change, we can only find ways to adapt," He Zhengcheng said.
"That's why we offer free, delicious lunches. If I were in a similar income bracket, I might choose to work here," Brin said.
"I see, Christopher..." Page trailed off.
"I'm still somewhat useful, aren't I? At least I can provide good service for everyone during the startup phase," He Zhengcheng said with a smile.
"Haha, we are friends..." Brin exclaimed.
Free lunch was also a good thing for Overture, allowing those Programmers to devote more energy to network and software maintenance.
As for the abnormal practice of the 'version emperor,' it was very unsuitable in the current internet environment. internet speed was the biggest limiting factor; ordinary users now only had about 2M of broadband.
"Mr. Hall, here is the information on the semiconductor chip companies you requested!" Nice Campbell, an assistant at Shanhai Capital, said.
"Okay, are there any targets worth noting?" He Zhengcheng asked.
"There's a company called Nvidia, a leader in the 3D graphics card industry. They plan to go public in January next year," Nice Campbell replied.
"Who is the underwriter?" He Zhengcheng asked. If it was Goldman Sachs, perhaps he could buy a bit; he hadn't collaborated with other American brokerages yet.
"Morgan Stanley and Prudential Securities, among other institutions," Nice Campbell stated.
"Then forget it!" He Zhengcheng reluctantly chose to give up. When one's strength isn't strong, one cannot randomly seek partners, because the preferential treatment originally obtained could very likely be lost as a result.
Last time, he loaned 5 million, invested 3 million in Google, 1 million in Overture, and had another 1 million US dollars. He wanted to buy shares in a chip company. After looking at Intel and AMD, he still gave up. Intel Corporation's market value was too high, and AMD was too disappointing at this time. He originally wanted to buy Nvidia, but unfortunately, he didn't discover it.
Finally, he found SanDisk in the storage field and bought 80,000 shares at around 12 US dollars. At the same time, he also kept an eye on Nvidia.
"Are we just giving up?" Nice Campbell asked.
Nvidia's valuation wasn't high, around 200 to 300 million US dollars, but unfortunately, it was discovered too late. Pre-IPO funding had closed, so they could only wait for the IPO.
"We have to give up. I think NASDAQ might be due for an adjustment; this wave of rapid increase is very abnormal," Edward Bell commented.
"You're saying NASDAQ is going to adjust?" He Zhengcheng asked. He also felt that such a rapid increase was too fast. If it kept rising like this next year, wouldn't NASDAQ hit 10,000 points?
"The most obvious example is eBay. In less than half a year, its stock price has risen more than tenfold. This could very likely be the beginning of the internet bubble," Edward Bell explained.
eBay's increase exceeded tenfold? He hadn't noticed that; this was truly insane... "So, we should be a bit more cautious with our investments?" He Zhengcheng asked.
"Venture capital should be fine, but stock market operations should be more cautious!" Edward Bell advised.
"Alright then!" Although He Zhengcheng knew that investing in Nvidia wouldn't result in a loss, the time horizon would be very long. He also knew that internet companies would still see significant growth next year.
"Mr. Hall, I've found an internet search company established last year, and they've already built a good business model," Marcia Hill, his other female assistant, said. Her looks were merely average; his aesthetic leaned towards the East, and he had no interest in 'Western horses.'
"Tell me in detail!" He Zhengcheng said. It wasn't that he didn't know Google's profit model, but he had some selfish reasons and wanted to protect his own interests, so he hadn't mentioned it.
"This company is called GoTo, a very memorable name. It adopted a business model based on a pay-per-click fee, attracting many advertising clients to participate.
It is said that AOL has already signed a cooperation agreement with them, where GoTo will provide search technical support. Of course, this news is currently not very certain," Marcia Hill explained.
"Pay-per-click?" He Zhengcheng was stunned. This was his trump card.
"That's right. Advertisers can purchase services according to their needs, choosing the projects they require. No clicks mean no fees," Marcia Hill said, then she opened her computer and guided He Zhengcheng to view GoTo's advertisements.
What He Zhengcheng didn't know was that Google's later legend was indeed great, but along the way, it experienced many crises, the most serious being the patent dispute with GoTo. Later, this company transformed its business and changed its name to Overture.
He wondered if it was a coincidence that Shi Hongwen and his team also chose this name.
Google's AdWords and GoTo's CPC payment model had an astonishing consistency. Later, they were entangled in patent disputes for a long time. It wasn't until GoTo was acquired by Yahoo that Google paid one percent of its shares to obtain a lifetime license for GoTo's patents.
Besides this, Google encountered many other problems in its development. It wasn't that Google's technology was powerful, so it could dominate the world. If Google were run by ethnic Chinese, 70 to 80 percent of it would be ruined. The fact that Marvell Technology was scammed out of 700 to 800 million US dollars by two university patents is very telling.
"You guys go contact this company and see if there's an opportunity for us!" He Zhengcheng instructed.
"Okay," Marcia Hill said, revealing a triumphant smile.
After leaving the company, He Zhengcheng quickly called Zhi Ling.
"What have you decided?" He Zhengcheng asked directly.
"I'm still considering it," Zhi Ling replied.
"I don't have that much time to wait for you. I've encountered an unexpected situation now; the business model I prepared for Google might already have been implemented by another search company.
This is the last chance. I'll tell you now, and then you, based on your understanding, formulate a written plan and email it to me before 9 AM tomorrow.
I'll take your document to Google and say that this is the profit model you came up with. Once they adopt this profit model, you'll be a founding member and a meritorious employee of the company. At that point, you won't be just an ordinary employee, but part of management.
What do you think? Are you interested? If so, you might not have any rest tonight. If you don't do it, I will. There must be a result tomorrow," He Zhengcheng pressed.
"I, I'll try!" Zhi Ling said.
"Not 'try.' Time waits for no one. I need a definite answer," He Zhengcheng insisted.
"Okay, I will definitely finish it," Lin Zhiling said firmly.
"Then I'm counting on you..." He Zhengcheng replied.