Back to the prime of life

Chapter 220 Trading
"Yuri Milner is Russian, but he is actually Jewish. His father was a university professor, and his mother worked at a physics institute; it was a typical family of highly educated people. When the Soviet Union collapsed and was privatized, he made his fortune by reselling computers. Later, he simply came to the United States and happened to be there when the internet industry was booming in the 90s. Since then, he has been investing in the internet, and Jews seem to be particularly good at this..."

After saying this, Zhou Shuang glanced at Shen Mo and continued, "Yesterday we talked about the 2% thing, which might be a coincidence... because there really was a case of him exchanging $2 million for 2% of the company, which was Facebook. However, at that time, Facebook was already a well-known rising star company. Later, he also invested in Twitter, and in the same way: offering a high price but not wanting any decision-making power."

Lu Changge analyzed, "I didn't understand this strategy well at first, but now that I think about it, this method allows him to invest in a company and then invest in its competitor. Venture capital often yields returns of hundreds or thousands of times, so if one company in the same industry succeeds, he will make a fortune."

From this perspective, Chatter is just one of the social networking companies he's been following.

But even if you understand the other party thoroughly, it's actually meaningless, because they have an open strategy: offering a high price and not interfering with the company's operations. Which venture capital firm can offer such terms?

Two days later.

DST and Chatter have begun formal contact, with their personnel and Shen Mo handling specific business matters.

Lu Changge was 'called out' because Milner really wanted to see him.

Lu Changge originally thought it was some kind of grand occasion or special moment, but in reality, the billionaire was just wearing casual jeans and asked him to sit for a while at the Starbucks downstairs from Chatter Company.

It's probably because everyone's time is so valuable that they don't have time for idle chatter.

"So we only discussed three questions?" Zhou Shuang found it somewhat unbelievable.

Lu Changge didn't think this meeting was anything special.

"What did he ask?"

"The first question is, why would a Chinese person like me go through so much trouble to come to the United States to start a business? My answer is the same as what I told you before: Apple's release of smartphones will change everything."

Does he approve?

"Recognition."

"What about the second question?"

"The future profit model," Lu Changge said calmly, "I'm telling the truth, the future of chatter doesn't lie in making a profit, but in capturing users' mobile phones and making it an indispensable chat application through social networks. At that time, any price is possible."

He then went on to say, "The third question was what project I should invest in in China right now if I were him. That was actually the question he cared about the most."

Zhou Shuang frowned slightly; so this was the question she was most concerned about.

That means this person has done thorough research and consideration on the chatter project, and whatever the decision was, it was made a month or even two months ago.

Now that they've made their decision, no other factors will affect them.

"So basically whatever you say today is pretty much the same."

"Pretty much. Successful people are all confident and determined. And I've recently met a lot of investors and noticed something different from what I used to think." Lu Changge rubbed his nose. "Actually, venture capitalists aren't as concerned about investment failures or losing money as we imagine. Venture capital is all about risk. When they enter the industry, they know the success rate is extremely low. Sometimes losing three, five, or even ten times is acceptable. The key is how to win just once."

So even if Chatter ultimately fails, he probably won't be too upset; what interests him are the emerging companies in China.

Afterwards, the two companies discussed the specific investment terms.

The $5000 million offer for a 10% stake was rejected outright by Shen Mo, who was so resolute in her stance that she was willing to accept the outcome even if the investment deal fell through.

The DST people were somewhat unhappy, and Ivanovic was probably going to get a scolding when he got back.

The final offer was $3000 million for 6.6% of the shares. Compared to the offer that was vehemently rejected, this offer resulted in a slight disadvantage in valuation.

However, if the company has a bright future, then it's worth it, because nobody knows how much the 3.4 percentage points that Shen Mo forcibly cut off will ultimately be worth.

At first, everyone thought she wouldn't succeed, but Yuri's tolerant attitude surprised even Ivanovic.

But he actually knew the reason, because that guy had started talking to him about China very seriously.

The Chinese internet is no secret in Silicon Valley. Aside from early figures like Zhang Chaoyang and Li Yanhong who returned to China to make their fortunes, many Chinese are still active in Silicon Valley today. It's another fertile ground, and Yuri's interest in it even surpasses that of many Silicon Valley companies. Mentioning this, Shen Mo also felt there was an element of luck involved, but when she thought of the Jewish man's identity, she said, "This guy really knows how to do business. I knew it; how could he let himself lose money?"

Lu Changge smiled and said, "Likewise, I also had them contact companies in Silicon Valley for me."

"Which one?"

Have you heard of Tesla cars?

Even Chi Yongsheng shook his head at this, "In the automotive industry? That seems a bit far-fetched, doesn't it?"

"I've never even heard of this in the US. Looks like you're really living the life of a programmer geek. This is just a personal hobby of mine. It's an electric car company."

Shen Mo asked curiously, "How did you come up with the idea of ​​trying this?"

"I also work in e-commerce in China, and there's an unavoidable aspect of e-commerce: payment. And the company that made a fortune in payment is PayPal. In 2002, eBay acquired PayPal for $15 billion, making a lot of people rich, including PayPal's owner, who is now the owner of Tesla Motors."

That's one reason I'm interested in him. Another reason is... I'm still a young guy, and people our age are always interested in sports cars; I'm no exception.

Lu Changge had even come up with a reason for himself, which was practically flawless.

The real motivation wasn't a hobby or any fangirling; it was simply that coming to Silicon Valley in 2009 and not participating in this grand event would be a huge waste.

Back in China, the discussions eventually turned Lu Mang into an add-on. This wasn't meant to be disrespectful; it was just that Lu Changge saw it as something he could participate in... How could Lu Mang not be an add-on?

"Even if DST successfully connects you with them, what can you negotiate if you don't have enough cash? Just go there as a car enthusiast?"

Lu Changge frowned. Shen Mo's words were crude but true. To outsiders, he seemed to be very rich and had many titles, but damn it, all of his wealth was on paper. You would have to use a calculator to know how much his assets were actually worth.

"Who says otherwise? It would be great if we could sell the extras."

It's not that it's impossible, but running a small business is exhausting, and the potential is limited. Besides, it's just selling clothes, what's the point?

At the time, the main consideration was to start a business with a few friends, and also because the mobile internet era had not truly arrived yet. People like Zhou Shuang haven't accomplished anything significant to this day.

It was only under these circumstances that they made a show of their talents together.

Of course, hindsight is always 20/20. Without revealing his abilities, when he finally needed funds, he didn't even have any assets to sell.

"Add-ons? What add-ons?" Zhou Shuang asked, puzzled, but she could guess what was going on, since Lu Changge didn't have many things that could be sold for a lot of money. "You're not implying something, are you?"

Lu Changge is considering it; the key is to offer a suitable price.

Zhou Shuang was immediately surprised when he didn't answer, and then she was both amused and exasperated. "I heard you just poached someone? Aren't you just bringing them along for fun?"

"As long as I can get a good price, what's the purpose of changing jobs?"

Lu Changge instructed, "Don't tell anyone. Let me think about it."

It's mid-09 now. By next year, the hardware infrastructure for Pulseego will be much better, and various mobile phone manufacturers will start to launch smartphones into the market. Of course, what those crappy phones actually look like is another matter. Xiaomi was founded in 10, wasn't it?

Changing tracks and focusing your efforts isn't a bad idea.

On the other hand, whether it's getting some Tesla stock or selling a company, it's not something that can be done in a few words; it always takes time.

Therefore, the remaining six months until the first quarter of next year is a window of opportunity, a period when Luman's performance will grow rapidly. During this time, many things are easier to discuss.

Vancl, too, started to decline after 2010. People in the same industry can influence each other; when one company is struggling, Luman will also be affected.

Thinking about it this way, the real window of opportunity may not be very long left!

(End of this chapter)