American History 1988
Chapter 308 - 298: The Nasdaq Bell Ringer

Chapter 308: Chapter 298: The Nasdaq Bell Ringer

"Mr. Kennedy?... No, it’s fine... OK, we’ll talk later."

Dean hung up the phone once again; he had lost count of how many calls that made.

Today, Intuit’s IPO was buzzing not just on Nasdaq but also on his phone.

Just like with Clinton, in the final round of financing before the IPO, Dean had brought in many friends from Washington.

From the First Lady to the Supreme Court Justices, to Senators, Dean simply bundled their investments into a fund.

The fund’s backers were all insiders, temporarily managed by a financial team appointed by Dean.

Usually, after a year, it would be liquidated, far earlier than the typical five-to-seven-year operation period of ordinary funds.

Moreover, even if someone wanted to cash out early, that was no problem; the fund would take care of it.

For these insiders, Dean only helped them cash in on the first wave of profits from the IPO.

That was more than enough, as today their investments had effortlessly more than tripled.

No fund in America could match such a high return rate; it was more like a venture fund dressed up as a regular fund.

And because the return rate was so astonishing, these people were now calling one by one to express their gratitude to Dean.

After all, everyone could see Intuit’s share price. They knew how much they had invested and how much they had earned; a quick calculation told them everything.

The best part was that this was legitimate business, not some shady deal or quid pro quo transaction.

So... Dean had already received five or six party invitations, the kind only core figures were invited to.

After hanging up, Dean went to take a shower in the bathroom; he had worked up quite a sweat.

"Dean, can we stay in New York for a couple more days?" Jenny No. 2 was greedy for her alone time with Dean.

In California, she could only see Dean once or twice a week; they were both too busy, especially Dean.

Now that they finally got away, Jennifer felt like she was on a honeymoon.

Private jet, shopping, luxurious mansion by Central Park...

My God, this was the happy life she had dreamt of.

"We can stay for three more days, but next week I have to go to Washington."

Slipping on a T-shirt, Dean opened the fridge and took out a can of ice-cold Coke.

"Yeah~!" Jennifer Aniston cheered and then flopped onto the soft sofa.

Ding dong~ Ding dong~, the doorbell rang.

Dean and Jennifer looked at each other; they didn’t expect any friends visiting today.

Wiping his hair, Dean went to the door and activated the camera on the digital peephole.

On the screen was a middle-aged man in a suit, "Is this Mr. Dean Price?"

"Who are you looking for?" Dean asked through the microphone.

This villa was equipped with a remote control system; he did not need to open the door to know who was standing outside the front gate.

"I’m Mr. Spielberg’s consultant, Wells," the man showed his business card to the camera.

"Mr. Spielberg would like to visit you; he lives next door, I wonder..."

"Spielberg?" Dean paused, the name sounded vaguely familiar.

"Oh~ Shit!" Hearing the mention, Jennifer jumped to her feet.

She ran barefoot to the peephole and asked the figure on the screen, "Steven Spielberg?"

"Yeah~" The middle-aged man smiled and nodded.

"Dean! It’s Spielberg!" Jennifer was extremely excited.

Dean’s eyebrows shot up as it dawned on him.

"’Raiders of the Lost Ark,’ ’E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,’ and the recently released ’Jurassic Park’!"

"OK, I get it now," Dean finally realized who he was.

"Mr. Wells, please tell Mr. Spielberg we would be thrilled to have him visit us here."

"Thank you, Mr. Spielberg will come to visit in two days; he is currently in France."

Wells was just stopping by to greet and then left.

"Our neighbor is a Hollywood big-shot director?" Dean shrugged; Central Park nearby was indeed full of celebrities.

"God~ I’m going to meet Spielberg so soon!" Jennifer was still in an excited state.

For her, an obscure actress, a famous Hollywood director was indeed a big deal.

...

Two days later, Dean and Spielberg were already sitting together in the garden of the villa, having coffee.

"I had no idea we were neighbors~" Dean, wearing sunglasses, chuckled while watching Jennifer and Kate Capshaw barbecue on the lawn.

The latter was Spielberg’s current wife, also an actress.

"When my consultant told me that a superstar from Silicon Valley had moved next door, I knew it was you."

Spielberg, who still looked somewhat suave and debonair at his age, was also having his moment in the sun.

The blockbuster release of ’Jurassic Park’ once again echoed his name around the world.

"I’m just a businessman, but your movies are known in every household."

Dean couldn’t tell if it was just his feeling, but the Hollywood director seemed to be deliberately flattering him.

"Speaking of movies, the special effects in ’Jurassic Park’ were made possible thanks to the technology from Silicon Valley.

The engineers at Silicon Graphics are magical; they’ve done an incredible job."

The special effects for the movie were indeed enabled by Silicon Graphics’ 3D graphic display technology.

"Jim’s engineering team is indeed excellent, I have also been helped by him."

Clark, well, he was an old acquaintance of Dean’s. Look, chatting away, they soon found common ground.

"My son Max also uses your products; he loves them."

"Hmm?" Dean was puzzled for a moment; Byte Company didn’t have any consumer products yet, as far as he knew.

"He uses your software for learning at school; it’s a fun way to gamify education."

"OK, I get it now," Dean suddenly laughed.

Spielberg was referring to the educational gaming software that Byte Company had been working on in partnership with the Department of Education this year.

In the past two years, office software like Teams has made its way into schools, and Byte Company has gradually expanded into the education market.

Beyond the serious office software, to cultivate children’s interest in learning,

Byte Company also launched a suite of puzzle games, such as a typing game where you catch thieves, and arithmetic problems with frogs jumping on lily pads, among others.

These puzzle games were first promoted in primary and secondary schools, with schools responsible for the purchases.

Each set sold for just over a dozen US Dollars—very cheap.

Honestly, Dean didn’t expect to make much money from this venture; it seemed more like a vanity project.

It was also a convenient way to test Byte Company’s capabilities in the consumer business.

It was just unexpected that Spielberg’s son’s school had also purchased this batch of software—it seemed they were selling quite well.

"I’m glad little Max likes it. This is the most precious praise Byte Company has received," said Clark.

As for business schmoozing, Dean now had it down to an art.

"I really appreciate what Byte Company is doing, and I’m very interested in educational software," said Spielberg, setting down his coffee and turning his gaze seriously.

Uh-huh? Dean caught a whiff of something unusual this time.

"So, Steven, when you say ’interested,’ you mean...?"

"I’ve followed Byte Company’s development path, and it’s incredibly impressive.

I don’t mean to offend, but I want to work with you on a product related to educational software."

"What kind of software product do you have in mind?" Dean asked calmly.

"I want to create a software product that allows children to experience movie editing.

Then, through this, understand what thinking goes into a film sequence."

Spielberg spoke eloquently, making it clear he had really thought this through.

"I’m sorry, I don’t know much about films, Steven. How do you plan to do this specifically?"

Programming was a breeze for Byte Company, but when it came to film knowledge, Dean was a novice.

"I’ll figure it out," Spielberg assured him confidently, "This is my idea, and I’m the director.

I’ll find cinematographers, then get a few actor friends involved.

We’ll shoot some scenes, and I’ll handle the narration.

I will tell the children what happens in each shot, what visual effects I’m striving for.

Then, I’ll let them edit the shots and arrange them according to their own ideas, to tell their own stories."

"Wow," Dean nodded, impressed, "That sounds really cool."

Now he was sure Spielberg wasn’t just being whimsical; he clearly understood the goal of the software.

"So, Dean, do you think this idea is feasible?" Spielberg looked at him intently.

With his status as a top Hollywood director, numerous small companies would clamor for a chance to work on this.

But Spielberg wasn’t interested in them; he believed in Byte Company, or rather, he believed in Dean.

There was no helping it—Dean was just too dazzling now.

Everyone had seen how he took company after company public, and how he built his fortune time after time.

AOL brought him a fortune of over a hundred million US Dollars, and this time, Intuit was even more staggering, with over three hundred million US Dollars.

Who knew how much it would be the next time he struck?

This wasn’t something that could be explained by luck; ordinary spectators might just laugh it off.

But smart people like Spielberg had already come knocking.

Upon hearing that Dean had been seen next door to his New York house, Spielberg had halted a movie halfway through filming.

He took leave from France and flew back just to pitch his idea to him.

"How about this, Steven," Dean tapped the arm of his chair, "We set up a new company."

"A new company?" Spielberg’s eyes lit up.

"Yes, I’ll take care of the technological side, and you’ll handle the film shooting."

Dean calculated roughly that developing such an engaging educational software would cost next to nothing.

If that was the case, then he might as well have a bit of fun with it. As for making money, he couldn’t guarantee that.

"No problem, I’ll take care of all the scenes, actors, and shooting," Spielberg took charge of everything confidently.

This was Dean Price, the man who rang the Nasdaq bell year after year.

"By the way, what shall we name this new company?" Spielberg couldn’t wait.

He was ready to finish his current work and dive straight into this project.

"Since it’s about learning games, let’s call it ’Knowledge Exploration Company,’" Dean suggested casually.

"Good, I like it," Spielberg finally relaxed.

He knew that for the elite at the pinnacle of wealth, their promises usually came with expiration dates.

However, once the preliminary work settled, the project was sure to go ahead.

Dean was unaware of the great director’s thoughts; at the moment, his gaze was on Jennifer Aniston, who was grilling under the sun on the lawn.

"Hey, Jenny!" Dean called out to her.

"What?" Jennifer looked over, tongs in hand.

"Steven needs some actors to help him shoot a few scenes. Can you help out?"

"Oh, of course!" Jennifer exclaimed, almost jumping with excitement.

"There’s no pay, you know~" Dean added with a smile.

"I can bring my own tent."

"Haha," both Dean and Spielberg laughed.

The young lady’s path was getting broader by the day.