Chapter 26: The Miracle Investment Company, Part 2
I carefully observed the expressions of the five people, including Oh Se-hyun.
Oh Se-hyun looked bewildered.
My uncle was out of the loop. He seemed to know too little about America, perhaps because he had lived in Korea for too long.
The reactions of the three men varied. One shook his head, another began to ponder deeply, and the last one was visibly surprised.
The woman, however, reacted the quickest.
“How… how do you know…?”
She stammered, looking at me, then turned her gaze to Oh Se-hyun, realizing too late that she had spoken in English to someone who seemed too young to understand.
Oh Se-hyun, already aware of the questions they were about to ask, quickly intervened.
“Dojun, how did you know about Dell Computers?”
How did I know? I used it, of course.
But what came out of my mouth was different from my thoughts.
“Didn’t I mention it before? The guy who made two thousand dollars selling stamps at twelve and a fortune from newspaper subscriptions in high school—that’s Michael Dell.”
“Oh…!”
Oh Se-hyun snapped his fingers, recalling our previous conversation.
Born in 1965, Michael Dell was a natural at making money.
A friend’s father was a stamp collector, and Dell noticed that auction fees were high. So, he started listing stamps collectors wanted to sell and advertised in magazines with money he earned from waiting tables at a Chinese restaurant.
By eliminating auction fees and directly connecting sellers and buyers, he became a stamp dealer at just twelve years old.
In high school, he delivered newspapers and realized he could earn incentives for each subscriber he brought in.
People usually stick with the same newspaper, but when they move, they subscribe again. Dell focused on this.
He obtained lists of newlyweds from courthouses in Houston, Texas, and targeted them.
That year, Dell earned eighteen thousand dollars in incentives—more than a high school teacher’s salary—and bought a BMW with the money.
Simplifying distribution and focused marketing—these would later become Dell Computers’ business strategies.
Of course, these facts weren’t known at the time. They would only come to light after Michael Dell became a billionaire.
“So, you’re willing to invest a fortune based on his childhood stories?”
“He was already making money at my age. He didn’t have a rich grandfather like me. Doesn’t that mean he’s bound to make a lot of money?”
Oh Se-hyun stared at me for a moment before addressing his staff.
“Get me all the information on Dell Computers and Michael Dell. Right now.”
They were all professionals.
As soon as Oh Se-hyun, the boss, gave the order, they swiftly sat down at their IBM PC ATs and inserted 2MB floppy disks.
Once a decision is made, they follow it. No complaints, no doubts—just doing their best.
I felt a sense of pride again.
I had lived my life as a mere employee, but now I had four soldiers receiving salaries from me. They were of different races and skin colors.
They focused solely on gathering information, seemingly forgetting my presence.
Watching them with satisfaction, I realized I couldn’t just sit idly by.
I went to the office pantry and brewed some coffee. The aroma filled the room.
I placed five cups of coffee on a tray and set them on each desk.
“Oh, thanks.”
They patted my head affectionately, finding my actions endearing.
They hadn’t yet realized I was the major shareholder and owner of the company. But they would, in a few years.
When I returned to the hotel, my mother and brother were nowhere to be seen. They must have gone out with a guide to explore the city.
Feeling a bit tired, I was about to lie down when Oh Se-hyun tossed a stack of documents onto the bed.
Despite our thorough discussions at the office, he was reviewing everything one last time.
I felt embarrassed. I still had a long way to go.
“Uncle, are you still not convinced? The staff seemed positive…”
“How do you know? Do you understand English?”
Oops.
“Oh, no. Just from their expressions… they were all smiling…”
“Hmm… I’ve never been certain about anything in my life. I always have doubts.”
He spoke without taking his eyes off the documents.
Always doubting. It was unexpected.
“Whether it’s business, a project, or an investment, there’s never a hundred percent certainty. Don’t trust anyone who claims otherwise. They’re irresponsible. The job is to minimize doubt and anxiety.”
He was clearly speaking for my benefit. Had he changed his mind? Was he finally going to stop treating me like a child?
Anyway, dealing with top-tier professionals, I realized I had learned nothing.
Everything I knew came from experience and effort.
The higher-level knowledge was shared only within their world and never leaked out.
I had only focused on doing what they asked, without understanding the true reasons or purposes behind their tasks.
“Think of a scale. Weigh the good and bad outcomes and measure the difference. I only start when the good outweighs the bad by nine times. Set your own standard. Decide how many times it should be.”
A 90% success rate. Quite high.
It’s the natural stance of an asset manager investing with clients’ money, not their own.
How should I set my standard?
While pondering this, Oh Se-hyun began organizing the documents.
“Dojun, stay here with your mother.”
“Where are you going?”
“I think I need to go to Texas.”
“To meet him in person?”
“Yes. The performance is good, but the scale is small. Even if we want to throw a money bomb, the company might not be able to handle it.”
We intended to invest the entire fifteen million dollars, but it wasn’t possible.
Last year, Dell Computers had already received a thirty million dollar investment. Of course, I didn’t remember such details.
I overheard it during discussions at the office.
Could we be too late?
Should I shift focus to Microsoft stocks, which would only rise about fifty times?
As this thought crossed my mind, I smacked my head.
How could I still be so weak?
I was ashamed of myself for looking for another path as soon as the possibility seemed distant, without even trying.
“I’ll go too.”
“What?”
“I admire him… I want to meet him in person.”
“Hmm… Alright. You should see for yourself. Even when buying a snack, you look at it first. After seeing him, I’d like to hear your thoughts.”
Oh Se-hyun quickly booked tickets to Texas and a hotel, then contacted the company to arrange a meeting with Dell Computers.
“Uncle, have you already set up a meeting?”
The phone conversation hadn’t confirmed anything, but Oh Se-hyun was already packing.
“I can’t give up just because they refuse. If they won’t meet, we’ll barge into the company. There’s nothing to lose, right?”
In moments like these, he was the epitome of a Korean bulldozer.
Ultimately, one must adapt to the time, place, and situation.
Humans can have countless facets, each with an unknown end.
Texas, home to the Dallas Cowboys, the most valuable sports team according to Forbes, and a symbol of American football.
A land 25% larger than France.
We arrived at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and headed to the car rental office.
Oh Se-hyun called the company from the rental office to confirm the meeting, then silently got into the car.
I expected us to head to Dell Computers’ headquarters or the hotel, but the car took an unexpected direction.
“Uncle, where are we going?”
“Mount Bonnell.”
“What?”
“From Covert Park at the summit, you can see all of Austin. The view over Lake Austin is breathtaking. You shouldn’t miss it. Especially today, with the weather being so nice, we’re lucky.”
Texas weather is notoriously unpredictable. Some days, the sun blazes all day, only for rain to return a few days later. Sometimes, it rains and clears up multiple times in a single day.
“Have you been there before?”
“No. I just saw it in a tourist guidebook at the airport.”
It was hard to tell if he was making the most of his spare time or trying to calm his nerves in case the meeting fell through.
I leaned back in my seat and began to enjoy the scenery of Austin.
I wasn’t worried about whether we would meet him or not.
I had faith in Oh Se-hyun. We would meet him, for sure.
If the meeting didn’t happen, I would stay in Texas and insist that Oh Se-hyun and the Miracle Investment staff make it happen.
I was no longer a servant but a master. I needed to shift from a servant’s mindset to a master’s mindset.
But I also knew what needed to be done. To be a confident master, one must be physically strong.
“Whew, whew… Uncle, how many steps are there?”
“Well… I don’t know. It’s my first time too… whew, whew.”
Climbing the steep limestone steps from the parking lot halfway up the mountain, we both became exhausted.
For a moment, it was nice to forget the anxiety.
Exhausted, we checked into the Hyatt Regency and lay on the bed, waiting for a call.
“Dojun.”
“Yes.”
“The chances of investing in Dell Computers are low.”
“Because they’ve already received thirty million dollars?”
Investments are for those who are cold and hungry. Investing in someone who is already warm and full is like forcing them to eat another bowl of porridge.
“See? You catch on quickly. If this were last year, that guy Dell would have been anxiously waiting for us. Timing is everything. Knowing when to get in and when to get out is the essence of investing.”
“So, we’re too late now?”
“That’s how it looks.”
Lying with his arm as a pillow, Oh Se-hyun’s expression was tense.
Just then, the phone rang.
Oh Se-hyun sprang up and answered it.
From the way he was saying “Yes, uh-huh, good, all right,” it seemed like an appointment was being set.
“What?”
Suddenly, his eyes widened in surprise as he sought confirmation.
What happened? Did something go wrong?
After hanging up, Oh Se-hyun shrugged his shoulders.
“It’s done. They’re willing to meet.”
I couldn’t help but clap my hands in excitement.
“But… there’s a catch, haha.”
“What’s the matter?”
“They can’t set aside a separate time, so they suggested we talk over lunch tomorrow.”
“That’s great news.”
“Well, it’s just… it’s at a Wendy’s. They want to meet there.”
Oh Se-hyun looked at my bewildered expression and tilted his head.
“Why? Don’t you like hamburgers?”
There are people like me who aren’t fond of hamburgers, especially when it comes to business meetings, which are usually held in nice restaurants. I couldn’t help but look a bit dazed.