Rebirth of America, this is my era

Chapter 170: Mr. Jones, Mr. Rockefeller sends his regards

Although judging from the current development situation, the prospects of Apple Computer Inc. do not seem as bright as that of the Destiny Game, because the Destiny Game has temporarily defeated all enemies and achieved a pseudo-monopoly in the field of electronic games, but Apple Computer Inc. is still a project that Ethan Jones wants to manage well. This is not because the memory of his previous life tells him that Apple Computer Inc. will be renamed Apple in the future and become a technology giant with a market value of one trillion, but because the computer business they operate is the foundation of the era.

The computer age was born with the promotion of computers, and computers are a platform that carries countless content. When Ethan Jones realized that computers were the productivity of the times, he would naturally hold on to them as he had already made a move.

As for the saying that Apple in its previous life eventually lost the computer war?

This kind of past life memory actually has no meaning to Ethan Jones now, right?

Although he had a very partial understanding of this period of history and was not clear about why Apple failed, it did not mean that he would give up on Apple. Because now he was engaged in industry, not value investment as in his previous life. When President Fred Terman asked him on behalf of his friends on Wall Street whether he had any intention of going public, he refused without a second thought. Because he knew that once industry was attached to finance, all business development would serve the financial report. In this case, the decision-makers would definitely make short-sighted mistakes, because many layouts would cost money in the early stages.

Ethan Jones knew very well that he didn't care whether the company he was involved in could make profits in the early stages. To put it bluntly, in the electronics field, no one knew how to make money better than him!
Since he doesn't even care about profits, it is even more impossible for him to hand over the company he regards as a strategic plan to others. And now... a Wall Street company has set its sights on Apple?

'What the hell!'

'This is just like an old man hanging himself to death!'

"Bang!" He slammed the table hard as he originally wanted to go home for the holidays.

“Read!” he yelled at Steve Ballmer.

"Okay."

The boss's order made Steve Ballmer clear his throat and read the newspaper.

"It is reported that Venrock, a well-known New York investment company, has repeatedly expressed its optimism about the booming computer industry in the past few years and wants to get involved in it. According to people familiar with the matter, they are currently interested in three companies. In the past six months, they have conducted multiple surveys on Apple and have recently contacted Apple. If nothing unexpected happens, Venrock may reach an investment agreement with Apple in the near future and become a part of the high-speed express train."

'? ? ? '

Steve Ballmer's announcement left Ethan Jones with countless question marks.

"What the hell, Venrock has been eyeing Apple for half a year?"

'How come I don't know about this?'

At this moment, Ethan Jones felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

The feeling of being targeted by locusts made him extremely uncomfortable.

Although he understood that this kind of secret research before investment was a routine operation in the financial industry, unless the investigator conducted the research in the founder's bed, the person being researched would generally not find out that someone was researching him or her, but knowing is one thing, and accepting is another, right?

and……

Venrock has already contacted Apple?
How could he not know?

Good guy!
Did Steve Jobs, the guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes, also betray the revolution?

Ethan Jones became furious when he thought about the bad things that had happened in the past two months.

He stood up and said, "Come with me to Cupertino!"

He wants to raise an army to hold the culprit accountable!
While waiting for Steve Ballmer to act as a driver and take his angry boss to Apple Computer, Steve Jobs, who was arranging his annual vacation there, was pleasantly surprised.

"Wow - Ethan~ Why are you here? You're not here to look at the annual report, are you? That thing hasn't come out yet! If you're in a hurry, I'll send it to you after the holiday, at the beginning of next year!"

"Oh, by the way, how many days off does your company have for Christmas and New Year this year? I was thinking of starting from Christmas Eve and going on holiday until January 8th, and then going back to work on Monday the 9th. Sixteen days will allow everyone to relax, after all, it's been a busy year."

"Hey, that's not right. Why do you look so bad? And this one... Is he your driver? Or your secretary? Wow - where is the original Julis? Where did she go?"

The continuous flow of words made Steve Jobs jump up and down like a monkey.

Thinking of how much this guy had helped him in the past three years, whether it was the initial cooperation with Atari, which made him earn his first pot of gold in the shortest time; or the subsequent news that Nolan Bushnell was going to sell Atari, which allowed him to sort out all the situations; or the acquaintance with Steven Spielberg, which helped him solve the patent problem of electronic games; or taking him to see the birth of the first Apple computer, which allowed him to touch the cheapest chip in history, 6502... Ethan couldn't get angry at all. To put it bluntly, this guy might not be as handsome as himself, but his luck attribute was indeed full.

Faced with these facts, the eagerness also made Ethan Jones sigh.

"Are we friends, Steve?" he asked, suppressing his anger.

Steve Jobs was stunned at first, then shook his head decisively, "No——"

'WTF?'

Ethan Jones' eyes widened.

"Damn it! This guy has betrayed me as expected!"

But before he could curse, Steve Jobs opened his arms and hugged him, laughing and said, "Oh Ethan - we are brothers, okay -"

"I will never forget that it was you who helped me make money!"

"You could have just stayed at home and waited for your dividends, but you still took me to the West Coast!"

"As I said, I took the money back home."

“My parents are very happy.”

"Huh..." Ethan breathed a sigh of relief at Xiao Qiao's response.

He nodded and motioned to go into the office to talk.

Xiao Qiao didn't hesitate and closed the door directly.

And Steve Ballmer...

This funny guy stood at the door acting as a security guard.

"What's going on?" After sitting down, Ethan took out the Wall Street Journal.

The random inquiry made Steve Jobs frown slightly, and after he read the report in the Wall Street Journal, he finally reacted.

"Oh Ethan - is this what you're mad about?"

"What do you think?" Ethan's attitude was very direct.

Jobs scratched his head and smiled. “How can I explain this matter? Uh… I can only say that the report in the Wall Street Journal is half right. Venrock did contact me, and just a few days ago, they expressed their investment intention to me, but I did not agree to them because this matter is not something I can decide alone.”

"I originally wanted to wait until after Christmas to tell you about this."

"But who knew..."

"You knew already?"

Jobs looked at Ethan with a smile on his face.

Those calming words made Ethan feel relieved.

"So what do you think?" he asked, "Since I'm here, why don't we talk about it?"

"Of course!" Jobs smiled and stood up, pouring Ethan a glass of water.

Sitting down again, he pursed his lips while holding the cup and said, “Ethan, to be honest with you, I actually have the idea of ​​absorbing external funds, because our company’s current development has reached a bottleneck. In my opinion, we need external forces to break through.”

"Although our company's current product sales are good on the surface, we currently only have two ways to sell our products. The first is mailing like Altair 8080. When we receive a customer's order call or letter, we will contact them by phone and ask them to pay by post. Then we will mail the product to them. This method has a postal guarantee and is very safe, but it is too slow."

"The second way is to talk directly with merchants and ask them to put our computers on their shelves. But so far, the merchants we can influence are limited to California. My goal is to get all electronics stores in the United States to put our products on their shelves, just like Coca-Cola did. Only in this way can we make more money."

At this point, Jobs paused and looked at Ethan with pursed lips.

And his words also made Ethan nodded.

Building their own sales channels is a problem that all companies will face. How to sell products to more target customers is a headache for all companies. In later generations, when the Internet was popular, e-commerce websites solved the problem of difficulty in selling goods for countless small and medium-sized sellers, but before the Internet appeared, connecting with physical business districts was the only way out for countless consumer product companies.

Ethan admits that Destiny suffers from the same dilemma in this regard.

To be honest, his two rivals, Atari and MILOVA, are ten thousand times better than him in this field. The former's parent company Warner has been operating in the entertainment field for many years, and the all-American distribution network built based on North American theaters enables them to spread their products throughout America more quickly, not to mention the latter. MILOVA itself is a star enterprise in electrical sales, and it has operated a sales network for decades. Moreover, the sales network of its parent company Philips is global.

It was precisely because of the need for a sales network that Ethan reorganized the company's structure.

And now...

Does Apple also have this demand?
"It's understandable because I'm facing the same problem now."

Ethan nodded and said, “But accepting external investment just for this?”

"I don't think it's necessary?"

“We can get a loan from the bank.”

"They will be happy to do so." "If that doesn't work, I can lend you some money in the name of the game of fate."

Ethan didn't say to continue investing because if he continued to invest, the company's share ratio would be wrong.

He could add more money, but what about Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs? They couldn't invest as much money as he did.

When his follow-up investment would seriously dilute the shares of the two founders, this kind of thing is not advisable. Firstly, he really does not have time to manage two companies at the same time. Secondly, Apple must have Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs. The former is the real technical guarantee and background guarantee, and the latter... Ethan admits that even if the current thin version of Jobs is not the future fat version of Jobs, his personal luck is definitely first-class.

Ethan didn't believe in luck, but Jobs did help him solve countless problems.

“Oh Ethan, I personally think that outside investment is necessary.”

Jobs smiled and said, "It's not enough to rely on bank loans to build a complete sales network in North America. As for you borrowing money? Of course I'm willing to ask you to lend me money, but how much can you lend to the company? You said you need a North American sales network. Is the money earned from Star Wars enough for you to squander?"

'...'

This question actually caught Ethan's attention.

Because he also didn't know how much it would cost to build a sales network in this era.

Especially since he also needs to study optical storage.

Although video games can make money quickly, you still have to spend it sparingly.

As for Apple and Destiny Game jointly investing in a subsidiary company and jointly establishing a sales network? This is impossible. He can borrow money, but the two companies cannot be tied together in public.

"Okay, you make sense." Ethan nodded in agreement.

Jobs sighed and said while touching the cup: "There is another reason. After I founded the company, I realized how difficult it is to run a successful company."

"On the surface, absorbing external funds means selling company shares, which only allows the company to enter the fast lane of rapid development. But in fact, those investment companies can not only bring us money, but also bring us certain resources, such as suitable managers and more channel partners."

"To be honest, after more than a year, I found that I might only be suitable for product development for the time being."

"When Stephen and I are together, we can always come up with interesting ideas, but managing a company... we may not be very good at this..."

"If it was just a small company, I would definitely run it alone, but Apple is already too big to be managed by one person. And if I want it to continue to grow, I have to attract some talents. They may be in finance or management. After all... I'm just a kid who didn't finish college..."

"…" Ethan was speechless.

"Oh Steve! Why are you imitating me?" he shouted angrily.

At this moment, the resentment in his heart was also dispelled by Jobs' sincere words.

“Hahahaha—” Jobs laughed and slapped his thigh, “I’m telling the truth.”

What Jobs said was indeed true. Not everyone can invest in this industry.

Unless they are companies that are extremely short of money and may go bankrupt at the next second without the help of external funds, any company that needs investment actually desires not only simple money, but also the resources and connections held by those investors.

If Jobs' goals were these...

Then Ethan had no reason to stop it.

most……

'Hold on to your shares.'

"Don't let the investors kick me out of the company."

'That would be hilarious.'

"Okay, your thoughts are very thorough, and it seems that you have already made your decision."

"Then do you support me?"

"If you are going there for the better development of the company, then I will definitely support you."

"Oh Ethan - my brother - thank you so much for understanding me -"

"You don't have to be like this. I want to know what's going on with Stephen? What does he think?"

Steve Wozniak had a simpler idea.

When Ethan and Xiao Qiao arrived at his house, the fat boy who was sitting in front of the workbench raised his head and said, "My idea? I'm not interested in money because my dad is rich."

"So, whether or not to accept external investment is up to you two to decide."

"I have only one requirement from the beginning to the end, that the company's decisions must serve the product. If attracting external investors can make our computers serve more people, then I will definitely support it!"

Got it!

The little fat boy is indeed an idealist.

And since the fat guy has no objection, this matter will be easier to accomplish.

Although this kind of cooperation cannot be finalized before the Chinese New Year, it is still okay to look at the terms.

However, when Xiao Qiao asked Venrock to meet at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, the Venrock staff who came to discuss investment matters offered a price that seemed stupid to the three of them.

"According to Venrock's calculations, Apple Computer is currently valued at $100 million... We are willing to pay $10 million and certain supporting resources to acquire 20% of your shares... At the same time, we require you to establish a nine-member board of directors... We must obtain at least three seats. Finally, we need to obtain the right to appoint and dismiss the company's CEO and CFO, and we also need anti-dilution clauses for future financing and an agreement to go public within three years."

The three of them were shocked to hear such a price.

"Are you sick?" Steve Jobs was the first to rant. "Our company's revenue this year has already reached 100 million! Under such circumstances, you give us a valuation of 100 million?"

"Did you forget to bring your brain when you went out?"

"Uh... I don't think your terms are sincere." Steve Wozniak also nodded and said, "Our company is worth more than 100 million, and you want to get 20% of the shares with 10 million and verbal promised resources? This is impossible..."

Since both Steves were dissatisfied, Ethan stopped talking.

He just looked at Venrock's people as if they were idiots.

Even though he was scolded by Jobs, the white investment manager of Venrock was not angry. He looked at the unshaven Steve Wozniak with a smile and said, "Lockheed?"

Then he turned his gaze to Ethan, "Vinton Cerf? Barbara Babcock?"

"Your background will not help you build a sales channel for consumer electronics in North America."

The investment manager spread his hands and showed his white teeth.

Upon hearing this, Woz and Ethan frowned immediately.

The white manager's straightforward words and actions also made Steve Jobs somewhat unhappy.

"You mean you can?" Xiao Qiao looked fierce.

"Of course, if you don't believe me, I can invest in your competitors and prove it to you. Do you want to give it a try?" Venrock's investment manager smiled.

"Are you threatening me?" Ethan thought this guy might be crazy!
He took the initiative to come to the door and try to get shares in the company, and then acted so arrogantly?
What the hell!

Who gave you the courage!
Liang Jingru?

As if seeing Ethan's surprise, Venrock's investment manager immediately smiled and said -

"Mr. Jones, I'm just stating the facts."

"We, the founder of Venrock, regret not having invested in your game of destiny before."

"Now, he thinks Apple is good, so he wants to help you grow faster."

"Before I came here again, our founder asked me that if I had the honor to meet you, I must convey his sincere greetings to you on his behalf."

"Mr. Jones, Mr. Rockefeller sends his regards—"

As he spoke, he took out a business card holder from his jacket pocket.

He took out a gold-embossed business card and pushed it in front of Ethan.

I took it and saw only three words on it:

Laurance S. Rockefeller
Note: ① Venrock is the venture capital company of the Rockefeller family, and in reality, it invested in Apple. The fact that Apple can grow recklessly is actually related to the fact that no one can afford to offend its backers. As for Sequoia Capital... it's just little Karami. This company has always been there, and it is currently operating its eighth fund. In the past few decades, they have invested in a series of successful companies such as Intel, Apple, 3com, DoubleClick, etc. That's right, the survival rate of the companies they invested in is over %. Rockefeller has never disappeared and has always been there.

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(End of this chapter)