Huayu: I'm reborn, but you still force me to be a scumbag?

Chapter 605 The Giant Who Created TikTok
October 2, 2013, Menlo Park, California.

A spacious and impressive conference room.

A rectangular conference table made of dark brown solid wood was surrounded by seats filled with people. Laptops were placed side by side, and behind each seat, one or two people sat against the wall, some taking notes, while others sat upright, listening intently.

The speaker was a white man in his forties who looked very shrewd and capable. He spoke quickly but clearly, “Mark, I must reiterate my concerns. Three billion dollars, all cash. That’s an astronomical premium, even more aggressive than when we acquired Instagram. Keep in mind, this company doesn’t even have a stable profit model! What are we buying? Just a toy social media app for teenagers?”

Sheryl Sandberg immediately brought her mouth to the microphone, "Peter, I'll reiterate, Snapchat is not just a social tool for teenagers. It pioneered a new interactive mode that is full-screen, instant, and visual, and it also has AR filter technology that teenagers are going crazy for. All of these can complement us perfectly."

"A brand new full-screen, real-time, visual interaction mode? You mean that mode where you turn the screen vertically to view photos and videos?" The middle-aged man said with a chuckle. "Sydney, I've invested in hundreds of tech companies, and I don't really think this is a revolutionary update. As for that AR technology, it's even more ridiculous. I don't think any adult in the world needs it to beautify themselves, except for teenagers. Sydney, I really think this is an extremely stupid app with very limited applications. What can it do besides being used by teenagers to send lewd pictures? I don't think it's worth 30 billion at all."

Another elderly man in a tweed jacket, with gray hair, sitting in the conference room chimed in, "Moreover, this deal has a huge strategic flaw. Before attending the meeting, I did some research; Snapchat's app runs extremely poorly on Android, lagging, draining the battery quickly, and producing low-quality photos. Keep in mind, over 70% of mobile phone users worldwide use Android. A product with fatal technical flaws during its global expansion—we're going to pay three times its estimated value to buy it? That's incredibly risky."

After the old man finished speaking, more people around the table chimed in.

“Will is right, this is Snapchat’s fatal flaw.”

“Yeah, Mark, are you sure Spiegel can solve this? If not, we’re spending three billion on a half-crippled Apple exclusive.”

“I think three billion dollars is too high for an arrogant and flawed teenage company.”

"And his founder, Evan Spiegel, is known throughout Silicon Valley to be arrogant like a peacock and is definitely not a good partner."

"Yes, that's right."

Amidst the cacophony of voices, Mark Zuckerberg, seated at the head of the table, turned his gaze toward an Asian man of similar age in the conference room.

The person was sitting at the other end of the rectangular conference table, directly opposite him, engrossed in reading the meeting materials.

In fact, for more than half an hour since the meeting started, this individual investor, who holds the most shares in the entire conference room besides himself, has remained silent.

In fact, his shareholding is far higher than that of Peter Thiel, the famous Silicon Valley investor who just spoke.

Zuckerberg knew perfectly well that after Facebook went public, Peter Thiel quickly sold off his shares, leaving him with only a few million. Yet this man seemed oblivious as Facebook's stock price plummeted to a mere third of its IPO value just over a year later. He never sold any shares, nor did he ever make a single complaint call; it seemed all his energy was focused on his movies.

It must be said that if you were to find the best investor and board member in the world in his mind, this person would undoubtedly be the one.

So, what was he thinking?

A surge of curiosity welled up in Mark Zuckerberg's heart, and he couldn't help but ask, "Chen, what's your opinion?"

As soon as he spoke, all the directors in the conference room fell silent, and all eyes turned to him.

Chen Nuo snapped out of his daze and said, "Uh, I have no objection."

After saying that, he smiled, threw the documents on the table, as if to say, "I'm just a damn moviemaker, here to make up the numbers, don't fucking come looking for me with this stuff."

Zuckerberg let out his signature low laugh: "Chen, I know you just finished filming a movie and you're tired. Feel free to say anything, I really want to hear your thoughts."

Chen Nuo touched his nose, glanced around at the directors in the conference room with their various expressions, and his smile became even more sincere: "I really have no opinion, Mark. I believe in you, and I support you, whatever decision you make."

Mark Zuckerberg laughed heartily, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes. He turned his gaze back to the center of the conference table and said in a deep voice, "Okay, I've made my decision. We'll offer them $30 billion."

That was all the information given, and the meeting ended.

Chen Nuo tidied up his things, but there wasn't much to tidy up. He just had Gulnazar put away the meeting materials on the table, which were Snapchat materials, and then grabbed his phone and prepared to leave.

But Mark Zuckerberg stopped him, walked over with a big smile, and said, "Chen, would you like to come to my house for dinner tonight? Priscilla would love to hear you talk about your new movie."

Chen Nuo smiled and said, "Thank you very much for the invitation, but I'm sorry, Mark, I already have an appointment tonight."

"Oh? Who is it? Can't it be rescheduled?"

“An old friend of mine here. I’m going back to LA tomorrow, so I’d like to meet up with him. Sorry.”

“Alright then.” Zuckerberg shrugged and held out his hand. “Goodbye.”

Chen Nuo smiled, shook hands with him, and said, "Goodbye."

After separating from Xiao Zha, Chen Nuo thought everything was fine, but as soon as he got down to the first floor, he heard someone calling him from behind.

"List."

Looking back, the person who came in was none other than Peter Thiel, who had just delivered a passionate speech in the conference room, leaving Sheryl Sandberg speechless.

Speaking of which, this investor, who has been a prominent figure in Silicon Valley for over a decade, is meeting Chen Nuo for the first time in person, but the two have a history together.

Peter Thiel is an old friend of Donald Trump.

In order to successfully acquire Facebook shares, Chen Nuo hired Tang as an advisor. Tang persuaded this investment tycoon to give an interview in the newspaper, promoting his video website that supposedly "automatically pushes videos to people who like it," which caused Zuckerberg a lot of trouble and laid a solid foundation for him to eventually acquire Facebook shares.

So strictly speaking, Chen Nuo still owes the other party a favor, which is neither too big nor too small.

Peter Thiel did not come alone; he was surrounded by several bodyguards and assistants.

He walked up to Chen Nuo with a warm smile and asked, "Are you free tonight, Chen? Could I invite you to dinner?"

Chen Nuo laughed and said, "I really did make an appointment." Thiel was nearby when he was talking to Zuckerberg, and he didn't believe that the man hadn't heard him.

Peter Thiel wasn't offended at all; he just laughed even harder and said, "I know your friend. Could you introduce me to him? By the way, it's on me."

"Haha." Chen Nuo immediately burst out laughing.

He liked people with a sense of humor. After thinking for a moment, he put away his smile and said with a slight smile, "Okay, let's go together then."

Perfect, this way I won't bother using Facebook's official vehicles anymore.

Led by Peter Thiel, he got into a dark-colored Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan, while Gulnazar, Linghu, and Allison got into the car behind with their assistants. Meanwhile, another car of the same model, belonging to bodyguards, led the way.

There were no fancy features, just a low-key fleet of three S-Class cars – that's the kind of setup that truly belongs to Silicon Valley's top tycoons.

After getting in the car, Chen Nuo checked his phone and gave an address. Peter then gave the instructions, and the convoy started moving.

Then, the two started talking about the movie that had just finished filming.

It's clear that Peter Thiel did his homework; he not only knows the cast inside and out, but he also knows the gossip about the conflict between Chen Nuo and Leonardo DiCaprio.

After hearing Chen Nuo say that it was all just gossip and tabloid hype, Thiel changed the subject and asked about Huanxin.

They asked questions like whether they wanted to bring in investment or list their company in the United States.

Chen Nuo, of course, laughed it off, using domestic policies and the timing not being right as excuses.

Even at this point, Chen Nuo still didn't quite understand the true intentions of this Silicon Valley investment tycoon who had contacted him. Could it really be about his Huanxin Company? Impossible.

They arrived at the location Chen Nuo had mentioned shortly after they started chatting.

Menlo Park is hardly a big city, with a total radius of about 18 miles. From Facebook headquarters, the drive between any two points will not exceed 15 minutes.

Two S-Class sedans slowly pulled up in front of a seemingly ordinary restaurant.

Peter Thiel looked at the exterior and seemed somewhat surprised, but he didn't ask any questions and got out of the car with Chen Nuo.

The restaurant was packed with diners, and their large group—two big shots accompanied by bodyguards and assistants—immediately attracted attention when they entered. However, Chen Nuo stood in the middle, head down, and no one noticed him.

The restaurant manager was a worldly person, or rather, the restaurant managers responsible for greeting guests in Silicon Valley knew what top billionaires and important figures looked like—it was a basic skill.

Therefore, upon seeing Peter Thiel in the crowd, the manager, who had been waiting for guests, paused for a moment, then his expression brightened with surprise. He rushed forward, and a welcoming waiter pulled him aside, beaming, "Mr. Thiel, welcome. Are you here for a meal? Do you have a reservation?"

Peter Thiel said, "There should be."

Chen Nuo then chimed in, "John Omar. That should be the name that determined the location. Has he arrived?"

As soon as Chen Nuo spoke, the manager's gaze immediately shifted to him.

Although Chen Nuo's baseball cap was pulled low, he wasn't wearing a mask, so he wasn't fully armed. The restaurant manager, a slightly overweight man in his fifties, looked at Chen Nuo's face. If his previous surprise at Peter Thiel's arrival was one of delight, this was now one of shock. His mouth gaped open, his eyes widened, and he stared at Chen Nuo as if he had seen a ghost.

The blonde receptionist in her twenties standing next to him did the same. The woman hadn't spoken until now, but at this moment, she first let out a suppressed gasp, and then hurriedly covered her mouth with both hands.

This exclamation immediately drew the attention of many people around the door. Fortunately, Peter Thiel's bodyguards were different from Linghu's; they were all burly and strong, and two of them lined up together formed a wall of flesh, enough to block Chen Nuo's view. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't have been able to finish his meal.

The restaurant manager realized what was happening, first glaring at the waitress, then forcing a smile and saying, "Mr. Chen, I'm sorry, welcome. Could you please repeat that? Who made the reservation?"

"John Omar."

……

……

Omar's family began their preparations at 2 p.m.

Joey Omar put on his treasured wig, changed into an evening gown, and meticulously applied makeup down to every single eyelash. John Omar also changed out of his police uniform and into a slightly fitted dark gray suit that he had only worn once before, at his wedding. The two children were also carefully dressed by the couple, their bow ties perfectly tied and their little leather shoes polished to a shine.

At five o'clock in the evening, they arrived at the city's most upscale steakhouse, The Sterling Steakhouse, and sat in the private room prepared for ten people. The family felt a little uncomfortable looking at the overly exquisite decorations around them.

Joey Omar, for the thirty-ninth time, asked in that distinctly Black accent, "John, I have to double-check! Are you sure it was Chen who called you? Not some damn prankster, huh?" John, who had been so certain before, now felt inexplicably guilty. He hesitated, saying, "It should be him, baby. At least the phone number is the personal number he gave me last time. Besides, I don't think anyone would dare call a police officer to play this kind of prank...right?"

Joey rolled her eyes at him. "I still can't believe he would really ask you to dinner? Was he really just joking that time? You were just an ordinary cop who stopped his car. After all this time, he still remembers you?"

John smiled wryly, "I can't believe it either, but he just called me."

"Alright, anyway, I'm warning you, this damn restaurant will eat up half a month's salary in one meal, so you better not mess it up! If you're Motherfucker wrong, you're not going anywhere this month, and you'd better get the hell out of here every day after get off work!"

John said with a worried look, "I understand."

Just over ten minutes after Omar and his family sat there anxiously, footsteps came from outside the door.

A man in a suit opened the door and said with a smile, "Mr. Omar, Madam, your distinguished guest has arrived."

As he stepped aside, a handsome young man with dark hair entered the room. He casually took off his baseball cap, revealing a face that was highly recognizable in global media.

He grinned at John Omar, who was wearing an ill-fitting suit, and spoke with a familiar tone, as if they were neighbors who had bumped into each other on a street corner.

Hello, John, long time no see, how are you?

……

……

"So, you made an appointment with him, the policeman who almost gave you a ticket?"

“Yes.” Chen Nuo looked up at the dark sky, then looked back at the group of people following them a dozen steps away, and said, “Peter, just say what you have to say. It’s getting late, I think we should go back.”

After having dinner with John Omar and his family, Peter Thiel insisted on taking him out for a walk.

Chen Nuo had no interest in chatting or taking a walk with a man, and unable to refuse, she lost interest after walking for two minutes.

But Peter Thiel wasn't about to let him off the hook. He stared intently at him and said, "Is it really just because you promised to treat him to dinner that you came to keep your promise?"

"Yeah, I don't have anything else to do tonight anyway."

Peter Thiel stared at him for a while, then suddenly laughed and said, "You turned down Mark Zuckerberg's dinner invitation for this one meal. That's called 'nothing else'."

Chen Nuo laughed and said, "Please, Peter, Mark and I are friends, so having one more meal or one less meal won't make any difference."

Peter Thiel chuckled. "So what's the real story of your relationship with Mark?"

Chen Nuo smiled and said, "What do you think?"

The two looked at each other and then burst into laughter.

After a while, the two finished laughing. Peter Thiel then said, "Mark is a business genius. To be honest, no matter what others say, I know that Facebook would never have reached where it is today without it."

Chen Nuo nodded and said, "I believe you."

"That's why I really didn't expect that you could actually get that 2% super voting power from Mark. It's simply a miracle."

"Thank you too."

"No, no, no, I just lent a hand, at most I helped a little bit, and I wasn't lying, Chen, I'm really very interested in that video website you mentioned. Think about it, a video website that can use algorithms to automatically push content that users are interested in, that's simply a revolutionary advancement! It must be more engaging, efficient, and commercially valuable than YouTube and all the current video websites."

Chen Nuo smiled and said, "So you had someone try it? Did you manage to make it?"

Peter Thiel paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "You knew I would do that?"

Chen Nuo laughed and said, "Because I also hired someone to do it, but several years have passed and nothing has been accomplished."

Peter Thiel laughed and said, “Oh, Chen, now I understand why Donald is your friend. You’re so honest. Yes, I did it too. I assembled a super team in Silicon Valley for this, and after three years, I spent tens of millions of dollars on salaries alone. And guess what? Last month I fired them all.”

"Hahahaha." Chen Nuo couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Damn, it's so pleasant to talk to this person!

Now that you mention it, the millions invested in that tech company really seem like a drop in the ocean.

“The calculations required to achieve the desired effect are just too difficult to implement,” Peter Thiel said with a wry smile. “I don’t understand the technology, but I’ve heard them say that it really feels like creating magic.”

Chen Nuo nodded with deep feeling.

Who said no?
At the same time, he mentally calculated the time.

It wasn't until the end of 2013 that the first 4G operating license was issued in China, lagging behind Europe and the United States by more than a year. However, the speed of its adoption in China astonished everyone.

By 2016, 4G networks had covered major cities and rural areas across the country, with a user penetration rate of over 50%, achieving leapfrog development.

And Douyin, it was launched in 2016 as a result. Of course, even a fool would know that.

However, when was Douyin's core recommendation algorithm developed?
Not many people know this.

Since Zhang Yiming should still be working on "Toutiao" in 2013, when will he realize the huge commercial value of fragmented time?

This is also a mystery.

However, there are several answers that are readily available, which are well known to those who study the history of ByteDance's development, such as him, a novice investor in the stock market.

For example, the emergence of TikTok did not happen out of thin air, but rather it stood on the shoulders of giants.

That giant was none other than Snapchat, the very object of their meeting today.

Snapchat pioneered the change from the current mainstream landscape video mode to a portrait mode, allowing users to watch videos in full screen on mobile devices. This greatly optimized one-handed operation and visual experience, making it possible for TikTok users to watch videos with one hand.

Snapchat was the first to use AR, or Augmented Reality, to create the filter feature, allowing every ordinary person on TikTok to easily create fun and expressive videos and photos.

Similarly, Snapchat fragmented and made instant images and videos, making future TikTok videos fast and easy.

No one knows exactly how much inspiration Zhang Yimi gained from Snapchat.

But actually,

Snapchat, the app that launched in the Apple App Store in 2011 for sending erotic photos with its "disappearing messages," had introduced a short video feature called "Stories" by 2013.
At this point, compared to Douyin which emerged in 2016, it was really only lacking an algorithm.

However, that's the key point.

Without a magical algorithm that Peter Thiel couldn't create, Snapchat remains confined to push notifications among acquaintances, unable to truly enable every ordinary person to find content of interest and gain massive attention, thus failing to achieve viral content dissemination.

Therefore, this software missed the opportunity to become the world's largest content distribution platform, and ultimately could only be limited to the niche market of social networking among acquaintances and brand promotion.

If Zuckerberg knew that the ideas from the emerging tech company he offered $30 billion for today would give rise to a multi-billion dollar company in the future, would he still have only offered $30 billion and been rejected in the end?

Chen Nuo couldn't help but let his imagination run wild again.

No one but him should know that the meeting they were having today was a meeting destined to fail.

This failed deal is so famous in later generations that...

Because after Snapchat went public in 2017, its market value exceeded $100 billion in just four years.

Therefore, this failed acquisition in October 2013 was repeatedly brought up and discussed. The story of Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel rejecting Zuckerberg's $3 billion offer was circulated in great renown, and anyone who follows the US stock market even slightly knows about it. Of course, Snapchat quickly collapsed after the emergence of Amazon, but that's another story.

Why didn't he say more at today's board meeting?
That's because it's none of his business!

The board of directors is inherently dominated by Jewish individuals; it's just that the law dictates that acquisitions exceeding $10 billion must go through this formality. In reality, Zuckerberg's 65% voting power is more than enough for him to do whatever he wants, so whatever he says is pointless. Besides, Zuckerberg isn't his biological son; he'd be crazy to reveal such secrets.

"By the way, Chen."

After walking silently with him for a while, Peter Thiel suddenly said, "Are you really going back to Los Angeles tomorrow? Can't you wait another day?"

Chen Nuo was now developing a favorable impression of this witty and straightforward billionaire, so instead of immediately confirming it, he asked curiously, "The plan is like this. What's wrong?"

Peter Thiel said, “I have a small investor dinner tomorrow night. If you’d like, you can stay another day and I’ll introduce you to some friends.”

Chen Nuo was about to say forget it. After all, he was just an actor; knowing a lot of tech tycoons wouldn't be of much use. At most, it would just be a lot of bragging. These days, almost all the companies he was interested in were already listed. If he really believed in something, he could just buy it on the secondary market. The extra cost would be negligible compared to future profits.

But before he could finish speaking, Peter Thiel continued, "For example, Elon Musk. I don't know if you've heard of him, but he's an old friend of mine. He's now the founder of a car company called Tesla and a rocket company called SpaceX. I think you two should get along."

And our main speaker today, Snapchat's Evan Spiegel, will also be there. You can talk to him then, and you'll see he's a complete, utterly ignorant and arrogant jerk. He doesn't deserve $30 billion for his lewd company! Mark definitely made a terrible decision.

Chen, how's it going? Can you come...? Chen, hello?

"Huh? What did you say?" Chen Nuo suddenly came to his senses.

Peter Thiel, with excellent composure, remained unperturbed and smiled, saying, "Can you come to my party tomorrow night?"

Chen Nuo said, "I think it's fine, Peter. For your sake, I'll postpone my return by one day."

Peter Tilton beamed. “Thank you, thank you Chen. Wow, this is fantastic. I guarantee everyone will be eager to meet you.”

(End of this chapter)