American History 1988
Chapter 162 - 156 I’ve Told You Before

Chapter 162: Chapter 156 I’ve Told You Before

"As you can see, the entrance leads directly to a lush green lawn, with an open-air swimming pool to the right.

There are sun umbrellas and lounge chairs. Mr. Price, perhaps you and this lovely lady can relax here together. It’s the perfect time for it."

It had to be said that in the sweltering heat of California, the clear pool so close at hand was indeed a temptation.

Anna shrugged at Dean to indicate she wouldn’t mind resting for a while and taking in the view of the sparkling water, with a light breeze causing ripples on its surface.

"Let’s go inside and take a look first," Dean said, standing in the yard and so far quite pleased with the villa.

"No problem," Martin led the way across the lawn towards the detached mansion not far away. "The entire estate, including the lawn, garden, and pool, totals eight thousand square feet."

Passing by the large lawn, Martin paused to gesture, "You could even plan a miniature golf course here."

"Nice idea," Dean nodded slightly, wearing sunglasses. The spacious lawn could indeed use some adornment.

While speaking, the group had already arrived in front of the ivory-colored villa, "Two stories, five bedrooms, a combined living room and kitchen that can accommodate fifteen people, and thirteen rooms altogether, not counting the garage.

With a built-up area of six thousand square feet, as I just mentioned, you can even see the Inner Bay to the north from upstairs. It’s simply a masterpiece of California."

Martin spread his arms wide as if he wanted to embrace the entire villa. The building, which combined Italian style, indeed looked stunning.

Following Martin’s guidance, Dean and Anna explored every corner of the mansion.

The mix of classic and modern decor also pleased Dean very much, although he found the place a bit too large for just one person, seeming a bit empty.

"If you need, we can also provide a full butler and maid service. Subi has an excellent reputation and is a benchmark in the Bay area."

Well, the superficial Dean hadn’t even thought that such a house would need someone to look after it.

"Give me a price," Dean couldn’t be bothered to go see another house in Redwood City, which was farther away from Stanford and Byte Software.

"$980,000, a bargain!" Martin respectfully handed over a detailed house introduction, already sensing that the man before him was that super client type.

"OK~" Dean took the house introduction and looked it over carefully—he found the price quite reasonable, even a bit cheap.

In the Bay Area, the median selling price for a villa is $1.9 million, note that this price is for villas and not apartments.

Now, the residential property they were in was priced at $980,000, about five times that of an average villa. Honestly, that price in the eyes of the average person was sky-high.

Although Silicon Valley already had a growing reputation at that time, it was still a notch lower than New York or even San Francisco.

With the real estate market being down during those two years, a mansion that might be worth close to ten million dollars in the future was still under a million at the moment.

Before the internet took off, there weren’t as many newly rich people in Silicon Valley as one might imagine.

"Let’s go for it," Dean decided on his first residence in the Bay Area without much thought. It was located between Palo Alto and Mountain View.

Geographically speaking, it was at the very heart of Silicon Valley. Moreover, it was close to Stanford and Byte Company, with a commute time of less than ten minutes.

Dean had just finished his sophomore year, and for the next two years, Stanford wouldn’t require students to live in dormitories, so he was considering finding a place for himself.

Martin instantly perked up after hearing the brief statement, "Great! Subi will handle all the procedures, and we can even introduce you to a bank for a loan..."

"Cash~" Dean flicked a bank card with his fingers and passed it over.

Martin, who had been speaking nonstop, abruptly halted. His earlier estimate was conservative—this was definitely a super client with assets of over ten million.

"Subi at your service!" Martin gave a European court bow, then cautiously accepted the bank card.

"When can I swim here at the earliest?" Dean couldn’t wait to move out of the dormitory.

"Anytime, the complete paperwork will be in your hands within a week," Martin was now serving Dean like a butler.

"OK, I’ll come back in a week," just as well, as he was going to Los Angeles in a couple of days, and he would leave the property in Subi Real Estate’s care for now.

"Please contact me if there are any problems."

...

Los Angeles International Airport, Dean, with his luggage in tow, was standing in the bustling terminal, shrugging aimlessly at Valentine walking towards him.

"So? Where’s the professional you were talking about?"

"Could he have run into some trouble?" Valentine looked unsure, glancing at his watch—they had already been waiting for half an hour.

"Maybe we should find a place to sit down?" suggested Anna, who was carrying a small backpack.

Dean and Valentine exchanged glances, "Good idea~", the airport was busier than San Francisco’s, and they didn’t want to stand around waiting foolishly.

To their left, there was a Starbucks, but before they could sit down, Valentine’s bulky phone began to ring.

"I guess it’s that guy Brad," Valentine answered the call with a slight complaint, "Brad, is that you? Guess what? We’ve been gawked at like monkeys at the airport for thirty minutes!"

"Sorry, Don, there was a little accident, I’ll be there in a sec," a breathless voice came through.

"We’re at Starbucks, just come in and you’ll see us," Valentine hung up with a huff.

"He’ll be here soon," Valentine explained a bit awkwardly under the curious gazes of Dean and Anna.

Before coming, he had bragged to Dean and the others about knowing a partner at a Hollywood brokerage firm.

Well, now that he had been left waiting for over half an hour, Valentine felt his face as a top venture capitalist was a bit hard to save.

As the group relaxed and enjoyed their coffee, a portly figure in a dark suit squeezed through the glass doors of Starbucks with difficulty.

"Sorry, Don~ There was a bit of trouble with an artist, so..." Brad, stout of build, spread his hands in apology.

"At least you made it," Valentine got up generously and gave him a pat on the shoulder, "Let me introduce you."

Valentine gestured toward Dean, "The man of the hour, Dean Price. And his assistant, Anna."

"Dean, this is Brad Gray, a partner at Bristane Entertainment (BEP)."

"Oh my God~" Brad Gray exclaimed with exaggerated open arms, "Dean, are you interested in becoming a star? I have a feeling you’ll be Hollywood’s next big thing!"

"Hello, Gray~" Dean shook his hand with a smile, "I’d be fine with it if you’re not worried about Bristane going bankrupt."

"Don, who says all Silicon Valley guys are nerds, that’s an outright lie!" Brad Gray patted Dean on the shoulder warmly, "If I didn’t know you’d started a company, I’d be doing everything to sign you up."

Brad Gray certainly knew what Dean was here for, after all, he had been orchestrating the matter.

"Brad, Dean might be headed to Nasdaq next year. So instead of signing him on as a talent, it might be more probable to seek an investment for a movie."

While Hollywood in Los Angeles may be America’s entertainment hub, sparkling with stars that attract countless ordinary people’s attention,

in Valentine’s eyes, it wasn’t a money-making business.

A movie with a decent box office might struggle to turn a profit of more than 20 million US dollars.

But even a modestly failing venture investment starts with double the return, and if you hit a grand slam, that return could be tens or even hundreds of times higher.

Venture capitalists usually enter the scene with only a few million dollars, but hitting a grand slam means they could reap profits of tens of millions or even hundreds of millions.

Remember, that’s the profit for a single venture capital firm. Companies like Genentech, Tandem Computers, and Apple have all yielded over a hundred times the return for their investors.

No such scenario will ever unfold in the film industry. The "risk" in "venture capitalism" perfectly illustrates the most enchanting aspect of capital.

So, having experienced the thrill of a hundredfold return, Valentine wasn’t too excited about so-called Hollywood business, which was also the arrogance of capital.

Just one trip to Nasdaq for Dean might equal the combined income of several Hollywood movie companies.

Brad, unfazed by Valentine’s slightly arrogant remarks, nodded his head in agreement.

"You’re right, Don. With a good script, Bristane has one more potential collaborator to seek out.

It’s unbelievable, such a young CEO already worth more than most in Hollywood."

Brad Gray’s Bristane Entertainment, established in ’86, only had an annual turnover of a few tens of millions of dollars, which was already at the top in Hollywood.

But Byte Company, in just over half a year’s time, was rumored to have already topped twenty million dollars in revenue. This was incredible, something perhaps only the tech industry could achieve.

Dean shrugged in response to Brad’s interested look, "Those numbers don’t mean anything to me right now, shall we talk about the show instead?"

"Yeah~" Brad’s spirit picked up when it came to his professional field, "This time, the program is a Bristane Entertainment venture, acquired from NBC."

"Hmm~NBC! Dean, have you heard of it?" Valentine lifted his chin proudly, see, this is the energy of a top VC.

"If you mean NBC, one of the big three traditional television networks, then of course I’ve heard of it," Dean, who didn’t watch much TV, still knew the Peacock Network.

"Good, it’s a broadcast television network spanning the whole of America. Dean, Byte Company just got itself a massive advertisement."

This was exactly the opportunity Valentine had been scheming to land for Dean, for which he had expended not just favors but also a substantial activity fee.

"Don is right, ’The David Letterman Late Show’ is something countless stars want to be on, and it can bring you an unexpected boost in popularity," Brad said as he handed Dean a rough outline of the show, "Later on, I’ll talk to you about the do’s and don’ts and things to be aware of when recording a television show."

"Wait a second~" Dean looked up confusedly after glancing through the introduction in his hands, "This is a talk show?"

"Yeah," Brad looked at him strangely, "Didn’t Don tell you?"

Dean turned his gaze, and Valentine shrugged innocently, "I told you."

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