Venture Spirit 2
Rachel studied my face intently over her coffee cup.
I avoided her gaze, letting my eyes wander around the office. As the head of the U.S. branch and a key player in Miracle’s financial operations, the opulence was overwhelming.
Though it wasn’t to my taste, I decided to accept and adapt to the culture here. The line between thrift and extravagance was often blurred.
“Howard, be honest. Why did you come to America?”
“You saw it yourself. I came to warn against the excessive optimism surrounding dot-com companies.”
“Is that really all?”
Rachel was watching me like a hawk, determined not to miss anything. Was there another reason?
“You seem to have something to say. What is it? Just be honest.”
She hesitated for a moment, then burst into laughter.
“Oh, you! I can’t keep up with you. Haha.”
“Is this a proposal? A request? Or a suggestion?”
“A proposal.”
“Go ahead, then.”
“How about we go to LA?”
This time, I was the one caught off guard.
How did she know I was considering California?
“What? Are you thinking about LA too?”
“Not quite. I was actually considering San Francisco.”
“San Francisco? Where exactly?”
“Stanford University.”
“That’s a great school.”
Rachel nodded, clearly under the impression I was preparing for further studies.
“It’s a place that has produced many business geniuses like you.”
A breeding ground for young billionaires who take leaves of absence to start their ventures. A place that has already given rise to the founders of GAP, Nike, Victoria’s Secret, Yahoo, Hewlett-Packard, Dolby, and Sun Microsystems.
But studying there? Not likely. I was more interested in meeting those who were taking leaves of absence or planning to.
Still, LA intrigued me more.
“But why LA? Because of the movies?”
“Yes. There’s a premiere for ‘Saving Private Ryan’ next month. We’re always invited to these things. We’ve been investing in every DreamWorks film since its inception, just like you suggested. We’re practically partners.”
“If that’s all, I’m not really interested.”
I’ve seen it countless times in theaters and on TV. Must have watched it over twenty times.
Rachel shook her head with a slight smile.
“DreamWorks sent us a signal.”
“A signal?”
“Yes. They know Miracle’s funds come from Korea and are wondering if we’d be interested in betting on the Asian distribution rights.”
“Are they looking for investment?”
“Exactly.”
Back in 1994, when Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen founded DreamWorks, there were plenty of opportunities, but I wasn’t interested. Movies exist independently; I only invest in those likely to be profitable. There’s no need to pour money into a production company.
Spielberg doesn’t always hit home runs, after all.
But now, things are different.
Asian distribution rights could be a powerful asset for my father. Just the association with DreamWorks could make him a giant in the Korean film industry.
It could be quite a gift.
“Have any terms been discussed?”
“DreamWorks started with $1 billion, but their initial offer is $500 million for a 25% stake and the Asian distribution rights.”
“Have you responded?”
“No, just a positive consideration. That’s all.”
This means negotiations haven’t even begun. If Miracle shows interest, DreamWorks will start scrutinizing whether we can effectively manage Asian distribution.
“With Spielberg’s name, there must have been other Asian companies negotiating.”
“Plenty. Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, even China.”
Rachel smiled lightly.
“DreamWorks is also looking for communication.”
I quickly grasped what she meant, as she didn’t use the word “conversation.”
“They must have talked about costs instead of production budgets, and thrown around terms like profit margins, expenses, efficiency, and management rationalization.”
“Exactly. They said it was exhausting.”
She clapped her hands and laughed again.
“To them, spending on lead actors and throwing lavish parties must seem like wasteful extravagance. But that’s the essence of entertainment. It’s not easy to understand that people in this industry draw energy from indulging their instincts.”
I nodded, and her eyes sparkled.
“So, are you interested?”
“I’m not, but I know someone who would be very interested.”
“Who?”
“My father.”
“Oh…! He’s a film producer, right?”
“Yes. Let’s do this. I’ll accept DreamWorks’ initial offer, but my father will handle the negotiations. If he’s not interested or confident in Asian distribution, we’ll drop it.”
“Okay. Let’s schedule a meeting.”
Rachel immediately pulled out her phone to make a call, and I called my father, urging him to fly to LA right away.
He seemed thrilled at the prospect of meeting the DreamWorks giants, even more than the deal itself.
When we both finished our calls, I made a discreet request to Rachel.
“This trip to LA is our family’s first time abroad together. Can you make it unforgettable? Cost is no issue.”
She beamed.
“Really, no concern about the cost?”
Suddenly, I felt a pang of fear.
Upon arriving at Los Angeles International Airport, two men in chauffeur uniforms were waiting for us.
They led us to a Phantom Rolls-Royce limousine parked outside the gate and opened the doors for us.
I was a bit surprised, but my mother and brother, Sang-jun, were utterly speechless.
“This is a service provided by the hotel. We can use it anytime during our stay, so don’t be too shocked.”
Rachel’s explanation was even more surprising.
What kind of room did she book for such a service to be complimentary?
When my mother and brother got into one car, and Rachel and I took another, I asked urgently.
“Rachel, which hotel is it? It’s definitely a suite, but how much is the room?”
“Sixteen thousand dollars.”
“Six… sixteen thousand? You can’t be serious…”
“Yes, that’s the price per night. Haha.”
Damn.
I shouldn’t be surprised, but it was too late.
I’m a third-generation chaebol and one of the wealthiest young people in Korea. Such luxury should be routine for my family.
I must have shown my surprise. Rachel quickly clarified to avoid any misunderstanding.
“I’m trying not to be shocked myself. I’ve never spent more than $500 on a room.”
I should stop being surprised, but my mind was already calculating, and I couldn’t stop.
We booked three rooms, so that’s $48,000 a night. My mouth went dry, and my legs felt weak, but the Rolls-Royce glided smoothly into LA, as if there was no turning back.
The Ritz-Carlton Presidential Suite came with two bedrooms, a private study, a personal kitchen, and an infinity pool on the rooftop with a view of the Los Angeles skyline. A luxurious steam sauna was standard.
Additionally, it offered a personal butler, trainer, therapist, wine cellar, private fitness center, and helicopter service.
The opulence was so overwhelming that it made me momentarily forget the staggering cost.
That night, when my father arrived late, his reaction was no different.
Though I was surprised when he gave me a thumbs-up.
“Thanks to you, son, I get to feel like I’m on a luxurious honeymoon. Don’t bother us for the next 24 hours.”
With that, he wrapped an arm around my mother’s waist and disappeared into their room.
“How much are you making, exactly?”
My brother, sharing the same suite, asked with a shocked expression as I opened the bedroom door.
“I think I’m about to go bankrupt.”
For two days, I forgot everything and enjoyed quality time with my family. Sang-jun occasionally had deep conversations with our father, sharing his concerns about the future.
Rachel attended the ‘Saving Private Ryan’ premiere and finalized a detailed meeting schedule with the DreamWorks trio.
“Are you really okay with this?”
“I never do anything that doesn’t benefit me. Don’t worry about the money; just judge if it helps with the plan I mentioned.”
“Rachel hinted that it’s a $500 million deal… I’m not sure it’s worth it.”
“Don’t measure dreams in dollars. If you can buy it, it’s not a dream. Money is just a tool to achieve dreams. Tools are meant to be used and discarded. Spend the money. Haha.”
My father was speechless for a moment, then finally spoke.
“I thought I was the son of a cold-hearted chaebol chairman, but it turns out I’m the father of a wise chaebol son.”
Feeling both embarrassed and grateful, I headed to Stanford.
I boarded a plane from LA to San Francisco.
If you combined the companies founded by Stanford alumni and future graduates, their economic power would surpass that of a country like Korea.
People often think Stanford graduates or dropouts flock to Silicon Valley because of its proximity, but it’s actually the other way around.
The university actively supports its graduates’ startups, sparking a venture boom. As they gathered to prepare and establish companies, Silicon Valley began to form around the school.
Upon arriving at Stanford, the first place I headed was the library.
This is where the search would begin.
I started searching for papers in the library index. They needed to be recent and focused on algorithms.
Honestly, I thought it would be easy to find what I was looking for.
But there were over a thousand papers on algorithms published in just the last three years.
It was a clear indication of where American college students’ interests currently lie.
Instead of relying on precise memory, I had to dig deep into the recesses of my mind for a vague recollection.
If only it were as easy to remember as a name like Jerry Yang, the founder of Yahoo. I grumbled to myself as I continued to sift through the papers.
How many hours passed?
I stumbled upon a paper with the rather lengthy title, “The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine.”
The words “Web Search Engine” caught my eye first, followed by the authors’ names, “Sergey Brin and Lawrence Page.” Computer science, huh…
Damn, my memory was too hazy to recall anything clearly.
Are these the guys?
No choice but to read through it carefully and hope for some clues.
The thought of wading through a paper likely filled with technical jargon was daunting, but as soon as I read the first line, I couldn’t help but cheer.
The librarian shot me a glare, pressing a finger to her lips, but I didn’t care.
Bless these guys.
In the abstract, they had included the very word I was searching for.
Hello, Google!