Mr. Liu, making such a decision might negatively impact your work at Lenovo and hinder our long-term cooperation. I'd like to offer you an insurance, and at the same time, it's a gamble for myself. I wonder if you're willing?" He Zhengcheng asked.
"What insurance?" Liu Chuanzhi now truly dared not underestimate him.
"Under the premise of being certain of success, is it better to completely annihilate your enemy, or to allow that enemy to also achieve some success?" He Zhengcheng asked.
"What are you trying to say?" Liu Chuanzhi's face instantly darkened.
"Actually, I've said a bit too much today, I apologize. If I were to stay in Hong Kong and could frequently appear in Daxia Country for a long time, I should have used more time to build mutual trust among everyone.
But they assigned me to work in Silicon Valley, so I had to seize the opportunity, even if it meant offending Mr. Liu," He Zhengcheng explained.
"Forget it, just say it," Liu Chuanzhi softened his tone.
"I want to establish a chip enterprise, but I lack a core technical person. Uh, a management person. Forget it, to be honest, besides funding, I lack everything. It's just that I have this idea, and Daxia Country has this market.
So I want to take a gamble, to see if I can use capital to build a successful chip design enterprise," He Zhengcheng said.
"You mean...?" Liu Chuanzhi prompted.
"Exactly. That person is no longer suitable to stay at Lenovo. If he can dedicate himself to a chip enterprise that he is passionate about, it would be a win-win situation," He Zhengcheng replied.
"I have no objections, but I can't persuade him," Liu Chuanzhi thought for a moment and gave his answer.
"I'll persuade him. This is an insurance for our deal. Who knows, the higher-ups might get excited and give a bit more," He Zhengcheng said.
"Are you sure you really want to invest in the chip industry, and not just use this as an excuse to raise funds?" Liu Chuanzhi finally let go of his reservations.
"How much money can one raise by doing this? And after doing such a thing, can I still thrive in Daxia Country's tech circle?
To speak a bit presumptuously, a net worth of one billion is easy for me; perhaps I can achieve it in a few years," He Zhengcheng suddenly burst out at this moment.
"..."
This time, even Xu Xin thought He Zhengcheng was boasting.
"Does anyone here know John Doerr and Khosla, the two giants of KPCB?"
"..."
"Then it's hard to prove. I invested in a company founded by my classmates, which owns a very popular music software in America called Music Player. Before I returned to Hong Kong, I accepted KPCB's offer of 20 million US dollars for a twenty-five percent stake. I hold 36% of the shares in that company.
Furthermore, I own 150,000 shares of eBay. However, 50,000 of those shares were purchased with approximately 1.8 million US dollars I borrowed, and another 100,000 shares were bought with less than 500,000 US dollars borrowed from eBay," He Zhengcheng explained.
"So, your current net worth is approximately 65 million US dollars?" Xu Xin asked.
"Plus the ten million US dollars from Lenovo," Liu Chuanzhi added.
"Cheng Zai's investment, I heard Ji Jiasheng mention it. I didn't expect you to actually succeed. Ji Jiasheng probably regrets refusing to invest in you back then," Xu Xin commented.
"He doesn't know yet. I'm afraid to discourage him, so I haven't told him!" He Zhengcheng replied.
"I didn't expect you to be so formidable!" Liu Chuanzhi exclaimed.
"Therefore, unless I am willing to abandon my career in Daxia Country, I will not sacrifice long-term interests for a bit of short-term gain," He Zhengcheng stated.
"Then what is your reason for investing in the chip industry?" Liu Chuanzhi asked.
"Of course, it's for profit, and also to gain more additional benefits. I am willing to use ten million US dollars, or even more, to prove my sincerity to Daxia, hoping that my future investments and ventures in Daxia can receive the treatment of a quasi-state-owned enterprise," He Zhengcheng declared.
"Is it worth doing this?" Liu Chuanzhi questioned.
"Mr. Liu's Lenovo is considered a state-owned enterprise now, right? So, if one day Daxia's GDP becomes the second largest globally, how much room for development do you think the enterprises within it will have?
And if Shanhai Capital has such a powerful government as its backing, won't it have a chance to surpass Sequoia Capital and KPCB?" He Zhengcheng asked.
"Cheng Zai has always believed in the future of Daxia, and this is the core philosophy of our investments in Daxia," Xu Xin affirmed.
"Alas, I might be a bit out of touch with the times," Liu Chuanzhi sighed.
"Mr. Liu is a person who creates an era..." He Zhengcheng said shamelessly.
"Haha... I'm not, I'm far from it," Liu Chuanzhi quickly waved his hand, but the joy in his heart was impossible to hide from his face.
"I can find someone to help introduce you to him, but I won't interfere in your affairs, otherwise, it might disrupt your cooperation with him," Liu Chuanzhi said.
"I understand. But, Mr. Liu, do you have any good technology management personnel? He doesn't need to understand the market, just needs to be good at internal management," He Zhengcheng inquired.
"People who understand management are harder to find than people who understand sales," Liu Chuanzhi replied.
"Then I can only cultivate them myself..." He Zhengcheng said, a little displeased.
As they chatted, Yang Yuanqing and a few others arrived. He Zhengcheng had to start again from the market prospects of USB drives, discussing how to leverage patents to enter the international market and become a leading technology enterprise in Daxia Country.
There was also an implicit meaning he didn't state, which was trade-industry-technology. Lenovo always needed to see where an influential technology came from, otherwise, how could they confirm the correctness of Liu Chuanzhi's approach?
Then he talked about e-commerce, portal websites, gradually explaining, making the Lenovo managers suddenly enlightened.
People all need time to grow. At this time, Lenovo's highest market value had not exceeded 10 billion Hong Kong dollars, and it certainly wasn't the 10 billion US dollar market value giant it would become a few years later. Moreover, Liu Chuanzhi did not have much flexible capital at his disposal. To put it bluntly, at this time, they were just beginning to understand the power of capital.
"If you are willing, you can form a joint venture with eBay, which would boost the stock prices of both sides," He Zhengcheng suggested.
"Our Shanhai Capital is a major shareholder of eBay, Ji Jiasheng is a board member of eBay, and this He Zhengcheng is eBay's Chief Strategy Officer. Omidyar, eBay's founder, lent Cheng Zai money at employee price to sell him 10 shares of eBay stock to keep him," Xu Xin once again created momentum for He Zhengcheng.
"What you're saying is just a possibility; the market might not recognize it!"
"I'm more inclined towards cooperation. After all, their asking for shares instead of cash also carries risks," Liu Chuanzhi said calmly and unhurriedly, which immediately ended the dissenting voices that had just emerged.
Strong strength is the foundation of all cooperation. If He Zhengcheng were just a fledgling entrepreneur, he would never be able to sell his patent for a high price.
Capital has many tactics; even just waiting can bankrupt you. Only by demonstrating one's achievements, potential, and connections, making partners wary, can one ensure that even if there's no cooperation, there won't be malicious sabotage.
The results proved that He Zhengcheng's various preparations and efforts were beneficial.