American History 1988
Chapter 212 - 206: Vortex

Chapter 212: Chapter 206: Vortex

"Shit! Jack, it looks like we’re about to close this deal."

Having stepped out of the Dell company gates, Danny swung his fist excitedly, things had gone smoother than he’d expected.

"Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. We’ve landed an opportunity to showcase the IP phone to Dell’s top brass.

Whether we can secure the order will depend on how well your tech team prepares for what comes next," Jack replied.

Jack’s job was to make the deals, the rest needed the team’s support.

"No problem, we’ll definitely deliver an exceptionally vivid demonstration," Danny said, full of anticipation for the work ahead.

They were tapping into an entirely new market, and America’s future telecommunications landscape might even change because of it.

"Alright, next, we’ll follow the list and visit the next company," Jack said as he shook the list in his hands.

He was more familiar with some companies on it and less so with others.

But according to feedback from KFC, all these companies had many employees and made frequent phone calls.

Targeting them to sell IP phones was certainly right since the greater the demand, the more advantageous the low cost of IP phones would be.

As the CEO of World Link, Jack would only handle the sales for the first few companies.

He would use these experiences to write the company’s sales strategies and case studies; the rest could be handled by the sales team.

"When we’ve secured all the companies on the list, we’ll make another trip to KFC."

"Is it to check the color of the girls’ underwear?" Danny’s eyes lit up, the boldness of Texas girls had exceeded his expectations.

Jack glanced at him sideways, "KFC is also our target customer. Their parent company is PepsiCo.

KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, A&W, and Habit Burger, can you imagine how many stores they have?

And how many calls they make every day? World Link doesn’t need to provide complex platform management solutions.

We just need to offer the low cost of IP phones to sway them."

World Link provided different business solutions for different customers.

Even though those chain stores mostly only needed local calls, one can’t ignore that the cost of IP phones was very low.

Local calls almost cost nothing, but as the saying goes, ’every little bit helps,’ and World Link was in urgent need of business to grow itself.

Jack’s strategy for promoting IP phones was quite simple, taking a circuitous route.

Start from the periphery and gradually encroach on AT&T’s market in the southern states.

Especially those small companies, they chase the ultimate in cost reduction, and they surely wouldn’t reject the affordably priced IP phones.

During the initial stages of business promotion, World Link could completely use the fast food shops on the streets as the centre of its marketing network.

From them, obtain a list of the surrounding companies, and then break through them one by one, until World Link’s customers spread throughout the southern states.

As the saying goes, encircle the cities from the countryside; this tactic is well suited for World Link at the moment.

Jack had already decided, he needed to set up several sales teams to start promoting IP phone business in several southern states at the same time.

Though MCI had limited operations here, that could serve as a resource channel for World Link.

Not taking advantage of it now would be a true waste.

Jack was one of World Link’s people now, and he was thinking about getting some of MCI’s wool for himself.

The seeds in the southern states were sprouting quietly, and the tide on the West Coast was growing more intense.

With Byte Company completing its third round of funding, its expansion strategy was becoming increasingly aggressive.

Aside from the established global strategy, Byte Company’s spending on public relations also shot up drastically.

Starting from March, advertisements for Byte Company began to slowly appear on networks like ABC, NBC, and CBS.

On United Airlines flights traveling back and forth between the East and West Coast, the planes also bore Byte Company’s spray-painted logo.

Byte Company’s presence was becoming more frequently seen by the public, at a visibly rapid pace.

The revenue those advertisements brought to Byte Company wasn’t really important.

What was important was to familiarize the public with Byte Company, because it was preparing for an IPO this year.

The stock market is for everyone; aside from investment institutions, ordinary investors are the main force.

To ensure its IPO would be successful, Byte Company, of course, needed to make its presence widely known.

It wasn’t just about advertisements but also various interviews and TV shows.

As the CEO, Dean was naturally the first to get out there and hustle.

Dean, having just come out from ABC television, was now enjoying dinner with Orion’s Eric.

Of course, as the only person familiar with Hollywood at Dean’s side, Jennifer Connelly was also accompanying him.

"Dean, your performance on the show was perfect to the extreme.

The audience below the stage welcomed you like a star, genuinely fond of you," Eric said enthusiastically, raising his glass and taking the initiative to clink with Dean and the others.

"To be honest, I wish they would reserve their cheers for Byte Company," Dean shrugged, more adept at making deals than sitting in front of a camera.

Even coding would be more relaxing than constantly watching his every word and action.

"Haha~" Eric laughed, tilting his head back, "People will like Byte Company, I guarantee it."

Eric was now a minor shareholder in Byte Company, having put in a modest investment of half a million US Dollars during the third round of funding.

In exchange, Eric brought several film resources to Jennifer Connelly.

Look, big business has its own ways, just as small business has its own rules.

Last Christmas, Eric had been trying to get in touch with Dean Price through Jennifer Connolly.

As for the purpose, of course, it was to invest in Byte Company. There was no shortage of news about Dean on the West Coast, and Eric frequently saw updates about him.

Especially after exchanging business cards at a party last year, Eric had been keeping an eye on Byte Company.

Sure enough, the financial report at the beginning of the year turned heads in the capital circle, and Eric started making moves then.

He had a keen sense of crisis. The situation at Orion was more serious than outsiders imagined.

Despite last year’s "Dances with Wolves" and the currently hot "The Silence of the Lambs" achieving explosive box office success,

Eric, the CEO, couldn’t be clearer about Orion’s internal finances.

This year, it was expected to lose over forty million US dollars, and what was frightening was that this situation had persisted for several years.

Just last month, John Kluge, the man backing Orion, had discussed a buyout with Marvin Davis, the boss of 20th Century Fox.

John Kluge wanted to sell Orion for 1.265 billion US dollars to 20th Century Fox, but the latter refused.

From that time on, Eric knew things were not good for Orion, and as the CEO, he needed to take responsibility.

If his hunch was right, his time as CEO of Orion was counting down.

Before leaving, it was only normal for him to make a little money for himself, hence this resource exchange.

The soon-to-be unemployed Eric was toying with the idea of investing in Silicon Valley, which is why he had come to see Dean today.

But upon hearing his plans, Dean just laughed and shook his head.

"This isn’t for you, Eric."

"Why not?" Eric was baffled, "As long as you find a good project, just like Byte Company.

I’ll just put in money, won’t meddle with anything. I know entrepreneurs are just like directors, they don’t like interference with their creation, I respect that."

"Then you’ll lose money even faster!" Dean gave his blunt assessment without holding back.

"What’s the difference?" In Eric’s view, a good project was the key.

"In Silicon Valley, eight out of ten start-ups fail, one gets acquired along the way, and only one lucky one can barely grow.

As an investor, if you let go completely, then there’s a 100% chance that all ten will go bankrupt.

Venture capital is not just about investing money, it’s about investing resources. Eric, your resources are in Hollywood."

Dean didn’t deny that a successful investment in Silicon Valley could yield a return far exceeding the box office of a movie.

Put plainly, to make big money, go to Silicon Valley; to make small money, go to Hollywood. The risk of the former is much higher than the latter.

Sometimes, a total wipeout is the norm, but out of ten movies, there will always be one or two that do well at the box office.

Eric didn’t expect Dean to have such an extreme view of Silicon Valley when the newspapers mostly praised the bloated wealth of star companies like Byte Company.

"Alright, maybe it really isn’t suitable for me." Eric thought for a moment, realizing he had almost no resources to leverage in San Francisco.

"So what are your plans after this?" Having quenched his enthusiasm for investment, Dean chatted with him casually about his future.

"Maybe Time Warner, maybe Samsung Media, or New Line Cinema." Eric shrugged indifferently, "Who knows?"

Having hustled in this industry for so long, it was very easy for Eric to find his next job.

"Oh, our former governor has been showing up in Hollywood again lately."

"The former governor?" Dean paused, then realized who he meant, "The Brown Family?"

"That’s right, he’s well-liked in Hollywood. Warren Beatty and Coppola are his loyal fans.

The people of Hollywood think Brown has a romantic quality, which resonates peculiarly with the artistic atmosphere of Sunset Boulevard."

Dean shrugged. Not a word of an American politician should be trusted.

Whether he really had the "spirit of freedom" or just wanted to use Hollywood’s influence to help his campaign for the party’s candidate, who knew?

Dean might even have to meet him later, which was something he found slightly bothersome.

"Well, Eric. I have to head back to Silicon Valley tonight, so let’s call it a day for this dinner."

Dean stood up, preparing to leave. If it wasn’t for promoting Byte Company, he probably wouldn’t have come to Los Angeles.

"So soon? I had a party planned for you." Eric didn’t understand Dean’s rush.

"Byte Company is in the early stages of preparing for an IPO, and later I might have to make a trip to the East Coast."

"Oh, that’s a big deal." Eric stood up, somewhat envious. After the IPO, Dean’s net worth would surpass most people’s.

That’s the allure of Silicon Valley, and the place that Eric aspired to but could not enter.

Dean, rising to leave, bade farewell to Jennifer Connolly and Eric. This was his second connection in Hollywood.

That’s what doing business is about, slowly getting in touch with more and more things.

Just as Dean stepped out of the restaurant, his Motorola rang again.

"This is Dean Price..."

"Dean, an old friend has come looking for me again." David Morgentaler’s voice came through the phone.

"Who is it this time?" Dean was no longer surprised by such calls.

"A senator from Sunnyvale, Larry Stone, but he’s just the middleman."

"Who’s he brokering for?" Dean got straight to the point, as with the ’92 elections approaching, he was inevitably pulled into the whirlpool.

"The governor of Arkansas, Bill Clinton."

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