Venture Spirit 3
As soon as I burst out of the library, the vast expanse of the campus stretched out before me.
Damn it, I almost swore again.
What kind of university is so ridiculously huge?
I bet I’ll spend more time finding the computer science office than I will searching for my thesis.
Later, I found out that Stanford’s campus, at 3,310 hectares, is about the same size as Songpa District, which is 3,388 hectares. It’s like trying to find an office in Songpa with just a single signpost to guide you.
With so many buildings named after donors, there are times when a dozen buildings share the same name, and every student I ask points me in a different direction.
When I meet those two guys, I should urge them to create Google Maps as soon as possible.
When I finally found the computer science office and asked about their whereabouts, it felt like the sky was falling.
“They were staying in the dorms until recently, but they’ve moved to Silicon Valley.”
Am I too late? Have they already secured funding and started a company?
I really wish Google existed right now.
If it did, I could easily find out what’s going on. It made me realize just how incredible the Google those two created is.
“Could you give me their address?”
Before the office staff could look at me suspiciously, I quickly pulled out my business card.
Isn’t Stanford always welcoming to investors?
The staff scribbled down the address on a notepad faster than I could pull out my card.
Clutching the note, I dashed out like a bullet, hopped on a campus shuttle, and left the university.
I hailed a taxi and headed to Silicon Valley, a 20-minute drive away.
When I arrived at the address, I breathed a sigh of relief. It was a quiet residential area.
These guys.
Still stuck in a garage, huh?
I approached cautiously and peeked inside the garage.
A few desks and computers, soda cans, and pizza boxes scattered around.
I felt relieved. Judging by the modest setup, it was clear they hadn’t received any major investments yet.
I crouched in front of the closed garage, waiting for the two to show up. If they’re running a garage startup, they should be eating and sleeping here, so where on earth are they wandering off to?
As it started to get dark, a pickup truck pulled up in front of the garage.
Two young men spotted me and quickly approached.
“Who are you? What are you doing in front of someone else’s office?”
“Larry Page? Sergey Brin?”
As I confirmed their names, their expressions grew more hostile.
If I had been a middle-aged man in a suit, they might have immediately bowed, sensing I was an investor there to save them.
“Who are you? What do you want?”
“Can’t you see? Both of you need glasses.”
“What?”
“The wings spread wide on my back. Also known as angel wings.”
If they still didn’t get it, they were just stubborn engineers. But they were sharper than that.
“No way…”
They dropped the pack of beer they were holding. The opportunity they had been dreaming of was right in front of them, but it was hard to believe. They never imagined their angel investor would be a young Asian guy.
“How long are you going to stand there in shock? Let’s go inside. I’ve been running around all day, and I’m thirsty. You can at least offer me a beer, right?”
“This garage belongs to someone we know. He works at Intel.”
As I took a sip of beer, the two of them glanced at me and spoke up.
“But who are you really? Are you really an investor?”
To make the conversation easier, they needed to trust me completely, without any prejudice about my age or ethnicity.
As I pondered with the beer can to my lips, a simple solution came to mind.
The best way to make them look at me with awe and respect.
“Hold on. Does that phone have a speaker?”
I pointed to the phone on the desk, and they nodded.
“Then let me make a quick call.”
I pulled out my cell phone, scrolled through my contacts, and found the name I wanted.
I turned on the speaker and dialed the number. After a few rings, the voice I was waiting for came through.
― This is Michael.
“Michael. How have you been? It’s Howard. Howard Jin.”
― Wow! Howard. It’s been ages! Are you in the States?
His voice, unable to hide his excitement, came through the speaker.
“Yes. I’m in California right now. I’ll visit if I have time after finishing up here. But I have a favor to ask first….”
― Anything, just say it.
“There are two people listening to this call. They’re the ones I want to invest in. But they keep looking at me with suspicion.”
― Haha. Oh dear. If Howard found them, I’d want to invest in them too!
I looked at the two, who were listening intently to the call.
“Say hello. It’s Mr. Michael Dell.”
“Dell…? Dell! That Dell?”
I nodded and spoke into the speaker.
“Michael, feel free to chat. I’ll step out for a moment.”
Leaving the two with bewildered expressions, I stepped out of the garage.
It was already dark outside.
I pulled out my phone and informed Rachel and my father that I wouldn’t be returning today.
Damn.
Leaving that luxurious Ritz-Carlton suite behind, I was going to spend the night in a Silicon Valley motel. It felt like such a waste of money.
About thirty minutes later, the two called me back.
It seemed they had gathered all the information they needed. I spoke into the still-connected phone.
“Michael, I’ll be in the States for a while, so I’ll call you again.”
― Okay. Call anytime. If you’re busy, I’ll fly to California.
When the call ended, the expressions and looks in the two men’s eyes were exactly what I wanted.
Now, whatever I said would be taken as gospel.
“Did you really invest nine million dollars in Dell Computers when you were ten?”
“Yes.”
“And you gave up all shareholder rights, leaving everything to the founder? Even with nine million dollars?”
“You heard it, didn’t you? Do you think Michael was lying?”
“No, it’s just… hard to believe.”
“It’s true, so believe it.”
“You… I mean, you’re Howard, right? Howard Jin.”
“Yes.”
“Michael said that you finding us is a sure sign our business will succeed. He even said he’d like to invest himself.”
Their flushed cheeks weren’t from the beer but from excitement. Being able to start a business without worrying about money is a blessing. If billionaire Michael Dell invests, it means they won’t have to worry about money in the future, right?
“Forget about Michael Dell. He’s already a successful billionaire. He’d impose his success formula on you. Dell Computers is fundamentally different from Google. Dell is essentially a distribution business that uses online.”
“But…”
“Are you under the impression that you’re short on money? I invested nine million dollars when I was ten. Do you think my assets are less than Michael Dell’s now?”
The two whistled loudly and shook their heads.
“Howard. Can I call you Howard?”
“Of course.”
“Let me ask you one thing first. Why us?”
“What?”
“There are countless ventures in Silicon Valley waiting for rain-like money to quench their dry land. Why us?”
A knight in shining armor appearing out of nowhere is something that only happens in fairy tales. Such suspicion, or rather curiosity, is natural. But I couldn’t exactly say I knew their future ten years down the line. I tossed the printed thesis at them.
“This was quite impressive.”
The two immediately recognized it as their thesis, but they still hadn’t let go of their doubts.
“And I hate Yahoo. Their search results are complete garbage.”
“You think we can surpass Yahoo?”
“Do you need to ask me that? Isn’t that your goal? A search engine that shows users the best possible results. Right?”
Seeing them nod, I clapped my hands once.
“Alright. Let’s talk specifics. What’s your most pressing need right now? A decent office? Staff to work with?”
“Servers!”
As soon as I finished the question, they both shouted in unison.
“Our search engine is already open. People at Stanford and in Silicon Valley are using it. We’ve indexed quite a bit. The servers we’re using are those over there.”
They pointed to a couple of PCs in the corner of the garage.
“The connection is lacking, and the specs aren’t enough to deliver optimized performance.”
“You must have already calculated the cost of setting up satisfactory servers, right?”
“Of course.”
I stopped them from rummaging through the messy desk and sat them back down.
“Let’s do it all at once. Expand the servers, move to a decent office, and hire the staff you need. Oh, and change your car. A Lexus should do, right? If you keep driving that rattling pickup truck and get into an accident, I won’t be able to recover my investment.”
Seeing their jaws drop made me feel good. That look of having caught a lucky break. I’m their angel.
I wanted them to live comfortably and focus solely on development. They’re different from some of the trashy venture companies in Korea. How many scammers are there who blow through investment money without making a single sale?
But these guys have different goals.
They dream of becoming the next Bill Gates and Jerry Yang. They’re not drooling over hundreds of millions in investment; they’re aiming for a new world built in this garage, dreaming of becoming billionaires with stocks worth trillions.
“So, how much will it take?”
Aren’t they brilliant engineers? After some quick mental calculations, they cautiously offered a number.
“Fifteen, no, twenty thousand dollars should be enough.”
They blinked and watched me closely.
Twenty thousand dollars is what it costs for my family to stay at the Ritz-Carlton for just five days.
Thinking about it this way, I’m really living in luxury. Once again, it feels like such a waste of money.
“Alright, I’ll invest a million dollars for now. Show me what you can do with it. The next round will be in tens of millions, so be prepared.”
The two young men erupted into wild cheers and rushed at me, lifting me off the ground and carrying me around the garage in a celebratory lap before finally setting me down.
After reveling in their incredible stroke of luck, they calmed themselves with a can of beer. They knew the path to success, one that many before them had walked.
They understood that the money I was offering wasn’t free; it was a share in the wealth they were about to create.
“Hey, Howard. So, what are the specific terms? I mean, I’ve heard you’re an extraordinary investor from Michael Dell, but we still need a contract.”
What terms should I propose?
It’s a pointless question.
Imagining myself haggling over the future value of a company worth hundreds of billions is absurd. I must abandon the notion of controlling these two who are destined to change the world, just because I know a bit about the future.
Compared to them, I’m just a man clinging to personal desires and private goals.
They will change the world, while I only need to change the future of Sunyang Group.
If I let myself be consumed by greater ambitions, I might lose the only weapon I have.
I should only act to the extent that the future I know remains unchanged.
Just this much… no more.
I steeled myself in front of these two young men who had yet to realize their own worth.
“Don’t be evil.”
I murmured my resolve. Whether they understood my intentions or not, I couldn’t be sure.