American History 1988
Chapter 235 - 229 The Second One

Chapter 235: Chapter 229 The Second One

The roadshow in Chicago was even hotter than in New York, with Dean being besieged by 350 media outlets.

Okay, to say ’besieged’ may be an exaggeration, but he was indeed blocked at the hotel entrance by reporters, unable to budge an inch.

Now it wasn’t just Wall Street, but a great part of the East Coast that was watching Byte Company’s IPO.

Dean could hardly recall how many people he had entertained these past two days; he only knew his cheeks were about to stiffen from so much smiling.

Because there were so many interested investment banks, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch’s people were even persuading him to issue more shares.

They hoped to increase the percentage of equity released in the IPO to 10%, in exchange for convincing their clients to accept a higher stock pricing.

Dean and Valentine were discussing this matter, no doubt it would be a good thing for them if the share price was raised appropriately and there was no lack of buyers.

That would undoubtedly be beneficial for Dean and his fellow major shareholders, as their net worth would rise with the surging tide.

"Dean, you need to consider hiring some security personnel for yourself."

After the trip to Chicago, David Morgentaler expressed his opinion.

At the local Hyatt Hotel, due to a lack of prior arrangement, Dean and his team were entangled by the media for nearly an hour before they could escape.

This incident left a deep impression on David Morgentaler; Dean was no longer just an average person.

"OK, that’s exactly what I was planning to do." Then Dean, on his way back to the West Coast, made a detour to Connecticut.

When he reconvened with David Morgentaler next time, a young man named Ryan was already following him.

"Who is he?" David Morgentaler frowned, sizing up the silent young man.

As a retired senior military officer with the rank of colonel, David Morgentaler’s instincts told him that this young man exuded an extraordinary air.

Dean gave him a brief explanation, of course not divulging too many key details.

"No, you don’t need to listen to other people’s arrangements." David Morgentaler was quite averse to this young man.

"I will introduce you to some former Marines; they are all skilled hands."

When it comes to military resources, David Morgentaler is quite renowned throughout the West Coast.

Even behind Morgentaler venture capital, many of the investors are current or former military officers.

As a fellow Ohio native, he felt obligated to ensure the reliability of the personnel around Dean.

Of course, David Morgentaler had a bit of a personal agenda; he noted that many of the people who had been dealing with Dean lately were of Irish descent.

Being Jewish, although they were both minorities, David Morgentaler did not want Dean to end up only accepting those of Irish descent.

He saw that Dean had many innovative ideas in his mind that might create another Byte Company in the future.

Naturally, Morgentaler venture capital did not want to miss out on the next grand slam, so he wanted to secure his place beside Dean.

"Fine, I will arrange suitable positions for them." Dean wasn’t too concerned about this.

After all, he was doing legitimate business and wasn’t hoarding it all for himself.

The kind of thrilling scenes from movies were highly unlikely to happen to him.

He needed security personnel merely to deal with minor troubles in daily life.

Such as paparazzi or some brazen petty thief.

But once actually back on the West Coast, Dean made a call to his Uncle Bill.

When it came to truly trustworthy people, of course, it was his own family.

Plus, his Uncle Bill also had military service experience and definitely had his own connections for reliable security personnel.

After two back-to-back roadshows, Byte Company temporarily stopped such PR activities.

They had entered the quiet period, just two days ago, Morgan Stanley had already submitted the registration application to the SEC.

Until the SEC completes its review, Byte Company is prohibited from releasing any guiding public opinions.

This is a phase every going-public company must go through, during which, not just Byte Company,

but also Morgan Stanley, Wall Street analysts, and other parties are restricted by federal law in discussing or promoting the upcoming IPO.

So to avoid trouble, Byte Company and Morgan Stanley both ceased all PR or promotional activities.

Only with the SEC’s permission, will the roadshows in Los Angeles or Europe commence.

And when all these activities are over and Byte Company begins listing on the stock market, there is another quiet period.

It starts from the first trading day and ends after the tenth calendar day.

During this period, IPO insiders and underwriters are not allowed to release any Byte Company-related earnings forecasts or research reports.

Dean and his team were now experiencing the first quiet period, and with no PR activities, they simply returned to Silicon Valley.

As it was now July, Dean could take some time to entertain the Governor of Arkansas and his spouse.

...

"Bill, when we were conducting market research, we found an interesting company."

In a shady park in the northeastern part of downtown Seattle, Steve was reporting to Gates about the task he had once been given.

"I hope that’s good news," Gates put down the "Time Magazine" he was reading; the cover made him a bit jealous.

He had also been featured on TIME and had been a favored guest on "Fortune."

Pam Edstrom, the head of his PR team, modeled after Regis in crafting an image for Jobs, also fashioned an image for Gates as a wunderkind.

Through a series of imitations, Pam Edstrom had successfully turned Gates into a household name in the computer magnate world.

Indeed, when it came to imitation, Microsoft was thorough.

They not only snatched Apple’s graphical user interface, but also their PR tactics.

Now, with Jobs fading into obscurity, Regis had begun crafting his next Silicon Valley celebrity.

The Time magazine on the table was the best proof that Gates was worried Dean would steal his spotlight.

Dean was younger, had a more storied personal history, and even in appearances, he was more than one cut above him.

Well, including the Teams software that Microsoft had long been coveting, Gates now had even more reason to loathe Dean.

However, strictly speaking, there was no feud between him and Dean, and they had even cooperated pleasantly in the past.

Compared to a paranoiac like Jobs, Gates preferred talking to Dean, who wasn’t as overbearing.

But business was business, and they were making profits that made Microsoft envious, so now Gates had to beat him.

"Steve, which company has caught your interest?" Gates redirected his attention from the Time magazine.

"A start-up on the East Coast, they are also developing a product similar to Teams software."

Steve passed over the documents he held, information his subordinates had taken note of when they accidentally saw the news of Byte Company’s first roadshow.

"RAS CALL?" It was the first time Gates had heard of this company.

"Yes, it’s said that they showed up at Byte Company’s roadshow. But mainstream newspapers didn’t report it, only a few tabloids did an introduction."

With financial giants like Morgan Stanley looking after them, mainstream newspapers would of course cooperatively ignore such a minor hiccup.

But for those with intent like Microsoft, RAS CALL still entered their field of vision.

"How far along are they? Have you tried their software?" If there was a shortcut, Gates would not hesitate to take it.

Byte Company’s Teams had already captured a considerable market share; Microsoft needed to be fast to get a slice of the pie.

"We’ve already made contact. According to the documents they submitted, the RAS CALL software already has text and voice communication functions."

Hearing this, Gates’s eyes lit up. In his view, voice functionality was a key factor in Teams’ success.

"Talk to them, Steve. If the price is right, buy them out."

Gates was determined this time, not to make the same mistake as before.

He had missed out on Byte Company, a succulent opportunity, precisely because he had not taken it seriously enough.

Now, presented with another example, Gates was certain about what he needed to do next.

"Bill, I suggest that after the acquisition, let Microsoft’s team take over the development of RAS CALL.

And change it to a name that has a Microsoft style, such as Microsoft Call."

Steve looked down on their amateur setup and when it came to software development, Microsoft was the expert.

"Proceed as you see fit, but let’s not be known as the ones who introduced the technology.

We want to be second, and make money from that position."

Yes, being second – that was Microsoft’s business philosophy.

It’s curious, but it was the exact opposite of Byte Company’s creed of being first.

"Good artists copy, great artists steal," was the shared motto of Jobs and Gates.

They let pioneers test out the pros and cons of an idea, then improved upon it with their own second version.

Microsoft excelled in this, and that had always been their approach.

...

In mid-July, the Clintons visited the sweltering heat of California again.

The previous event was just the beginning; this time around, they received extraordinarily warm treatment in Silicon Valley.

"He is very astute and approachable; he listened to what we had to say," Baram enthusiastically introduced to his peers.

Because of Clinton’s impressive performance last time, Silicon Valley executives began to spontaneously advocate for him this time around.

Consequently, the fundraising dinner months later drew far more people than before.

Of course, this also included introductions by Dean; founders of companies such as Sun Microsystems, Oracle, and MITS were invited by Dean to the event.

"Do you think he has potential, Dean? Isn’t he too young?" Ellison from Oracle was skeptical about Clinton’s youth.

"I think he’s good, at least he’s willing to listen to what we have to say," Dean said, eliciting nods of agreement from his Silicon Valley peers.

After all, these days, not many politicians were willing to listen to their talk about the tedious details of computers and software technology.

"Dean, oh my, I saw you on the cover of Time magazine.

The photo was very charming; William is very proud of you."

As Clinton busied himself socializing, Hillary came over and affectionately linked arms with Dean.

"Will you join us for a party later?" They were already prepared for the campaign.