American History 1988
Chapter 274 - 265 "Durell-style Arrogance

Chapter 274: Chapter 265 "Durell-style Arrogance

Is Go Company about to collapse? Seeing Durell’s despondent appearance, Dean couldn’t quite grasp what was happening.

"Durell, if I remember correctly, the Penpoint System has already been applied in products like the NCR 3125, Gridpad, and Fujitsu’s Lifebook, hasn’t it?"

Following Dean’s suggestion to transition Go Company into an operating system developer, Durell immediately embraced his advice.

Then, with Durell’s strong connections, the Penpiont 1.0 System quickly entered the supply chains of the aforementioned manufacturers.

Dean remembered that after securing the contracts, Durell even expressed his gratitude to him.

How could it be that, in the blink of an eye, Go Company seemed on the brink of bankruptcy?

"It’s all Microsoft’s damned fault!" Durell cursed through clenched teeth, "Their methods of competition are filthy and despicable, they’re robbers! Thieves!"

"OK, let’s sit down and have a coffee first, then we can slowly sort this out."

At Dean’s gesture, Anna quickly brought over a steaming cup of coffee.

"Oh~, thank you, Anna." Durell was a regular in Dean’s office, he could come in without knocking.

The aroma of the coffee helped to slightly ease Durell’s irritability.

"Do you remember when I spoke to you about Microsoft’s handwriting system, Pen Windows?"

"I have some recollection." Dean walked around his desk and sat down on the sofa opposite Durell.

"They’ve released it, right after the Windows 3.1 System." Durell’s voice was somber.

Released alongside Microsoft’s desktop system? Dean seemed to have realized something, "So Pen Windows is a suite for the 3.1 desktop system?"

"Exactly, their underlying code logic is the same, and the API interface authorization is completely identical.

Do you know what this means, Dean?" There was a sense of helplessness in Durell’s eyes.

"I think I’m starting to understand." Dean had guessed the inevitable outcome, "It means that developers can quickly adapt their software for the 3.1 system to the handwriting computer system as well."

"Exactly, you know how tempting this is for third-party developers."

Even someone like Durell, who had a rudimentary understanding of technical issues, knew that developers would prefer to write software for Pen Windows.

Because they would only have to do the programming work once, yet they could reap benefits for both Windows 3.1 and Pen.

This was a case of getting twice the results with half the effort, and over time, no one would be willing to develop software for the Penpiont platform anymore.

Furthermore, as a quite mature operating system, the Windows software library was already very rich.

As long as hardware manufacturers chose Pen Windows, their products would quickly have a variety of software available for users.

Look, from the development source to hardware manufacturers, Microsoft’s advantage was clear at a glance.

But if it were just that, Go Company wouldn’t be facing a crisis, and Durell wouldn’t be cursing Gates as a robber.

"Dean, Go Company isn’t afraid of competition, but that does not include egregious monopolistic behavior."

"Monopoly?" Dean raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, Microsoft not only pressured programmers to not write applications for Penpoint,

what’s vile is that they even forced hardware manufacturers using the Penpiont system to pay licensing fees for the Pen Windows system to Microsoft!"

"Wait a second..." Dean was getting confused, "The manufacturers use Go Company’s system, and then Microsoft collects the licensing fee?"

"Yeah! That’s Microsoft for you!" Durell’s voice shook with anger.

"But why?" Dean spread his hands, showing his confusion, "They have no right to do this."

"Microsoft’s excuse is that these manufacturers used their API interface protocol!

However, the truth is Pen Windows’ API protocol is just a rip-off of Go Company’s Penpiont!"

First, they steal someone else’s ideas, then turn around and use it against the original creators.

That was Microsoft’s tactic, undoubtedly filthy, but undeniably effective.

In order to avoid the high licensing fees, the hardware manufacturers all switched to Microsoft’s free Pen Windows.

Thus, not long after Penpiont started gaining traction on other handwriting computers, it was forced to face being abandoned.

Over the past few days, Go Company received numerous notices terminating partnerships, the reasons behind which, of course, were Microsoft’s doings.

This was why Durell was so angry, Gates’s methods were too dirty!

He not only stole someone else’s ideas but was also ready to use them to crush the original creators.

The nickname ’Seattle Bandit’ wasn’t given to him for nothing; Microsoft lived up to this title.

"Alright, Durell, so what’s Go Company planning to do now?" Dean couldn’t help feeling relieved that he hadn’t taken over Go Company back then.

Otherwise, he would be the one with a headache today, as there weren’t many immediate measures to counter Microsoft’s shameless actions.

"Kapur and the others have already reported Microsoft to the Federal Trade Commission for suspected violation of antitrust laws.

But you know, Dean, these kinds of disputes usually take a long time to resolve.

By the time it’s settled, Go Company will have already gone bankrupt!"

Microsoft dared to plagiarize Go Company’s ideas so blatantly because they knew precisely this point.

They knew that the latter was just a startup, and by the time all the lawsuits were finished and it came to compensation,

Go Company might no longer exist, and by then, any so-called compensation or apology would be meaningless.

To put it bluntly, small companies hardly ever make it to the end when facing unfair competition from big companies.

And Durell was a venture capitalist, meaning that if the Go Company went bankrupt, he would lose all the money he had invested.

Durell wouldn’t allow this to happen; he was a top-tier venture capitalist on the West Coast.

He had invested in Byte Company and brought back more than a 60-fold profit return for KeyPoint Ventures.

Since then, everyone blindly believed in him, and "Durell" had become a trademark in the venture capital world.

Now this trademark risked falling, so Durell began desperately searching for remedial measures.

But his powerful network was of no help against Microsoft, as Seattle and Silicon Valley were inherently incompatible.

"Dean, do you have any suggestions?" In the end, Durell still turned to Byte Company.

Dean had saved the Go Company once before, so maybe he had a way out this time as well.

However, facing such a situation with enemies on all sides, Dean was also temporarily clueless.

"Durell, Go Company has almost reached the end of the road in both hardware and software,

IBM has already launched their own Thinkpad, Apple has the Newton Assistant, and both Grid and NCR have their own brands.

If Go Company shifts towards an integrated hardware and software approach, all of these companies will become its competitors.

As for software..." Dean paused, "Microsoft is least scared of a war of attrition, so..."

Dean, apologetically spreading his hands, was truly powerless this time.

Go Company had missed too many opportunities, and Kapur and his team had botched the concept from the very start.

The contract signed with IBM ultimately pushed them out of the hardware field, and repeatedly allowing Microsoft to spy on their ideas was a terrible move.

Now, almost five years since the founding of Go Company, the final result was almost nothing.

Durell knew it was difficult to save Go Company; he just couldn’t let go of the burden of being a top-tier venture capitalist.

"Dean, if Go Company were to be sold off, would you be interested?"

The project was a failure, but if a bit of the cost could be recovered and returned to the investors behind it,

then, at least, Durell would have a way to step down, since venture capital was always full of uncertainty.

"How much do you plan to sell it for?" Dean asked tentatively.

Hearing Dean ask for a price, Durell’s eyes lit up, "All the research findings, plus the Penpiont System itself, one flat price—ten million US dollars!"

"Too expensive," Dean shook his head, "And Go Company has a lot of problems itself."

"This is already rock bottom, Dean," Durell said with an equally helpless expression, "Do you know how much funding Go Company has raised since its inception?"

"How much?" Honestly, Dean was curious too.

"75 million US dollars!" Durell revealed a pained expression for the first time.

Dean took a sharp breath, "What?! 75 million! But the figure you told me last year was 37 million?"

"That was last year," Durell shrugged, "We were ready to do something big after deciding to switch to an operating system company."

Indeed, Durell’s old habits had resurfaced.

He had raised funds for Go Company once again, with a valuation far beyond any previous round.

With the prospect of being the "Microsoft of the handwriting computer world," along with the halo of investing in Byte Company,

Durell had easily secured nearly 40 million US dollars in substantial funds from investors lined up at his door.

These investors didn’t even care whether the project could make money or not.

They were just blinded by Durell’s aura, joining him in the madness.

Dean shrugged helplessly; he didn’t know what to say.

Once venture capitalists lose their reason, the damage they cause can be catastrophic.

"Dean, this is venture capital. It’s either a home run or it’s time to go home."

Once he accepted reality, Durell regained his composure.

The investments by KeyPoint Ventures had always been like this, in the never-ending gamble of raising the stakes.

It didn’t care if startups struck out, they either grow big or disappear—one or the other.

Otherwise, how could Durell have earned more than a 60-fold return on his investment in Byte?

After entering the game not long before, he had even bought out the remaining shares from Mayfield at a premium price, that was raising the stakes.

Alright, from Durell, Dean saw KeyPoint Ventures’ investment method’s characteristic "arrogance."

Sometimes, this "arrogance" could cause trouble.

Of course, this wasn’t for Dean to worry about; his attention was now on Go Company in front of him.

"Durell, no matter how you put it, buying a company that doesn’t even have any products with ten million US dollars is not a good deal.

But if you want to sell it for a good price, it’s not impossible.

We just need to find a buyer who is interested in it and isn’t too short on cash,"

Durell’s eyes brightened, "So if I’m not mistaken, Dean, you’re going to introduce me to such a buyer, right?"

"There’s such a potential client, but I need a little, insignificant compensation," Dean said with a seemingly harmless smile.

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