American History 1988
Chapter 343 - 332 I like the sound of cannon fire!

Chapter 343: Chapter 332 I like the sound of cannon fire!

"Sequoia Capital is a solid choice; they are a top-tier venture capital firm here in Silicon Valley."

"You know? A lot of emerging companies lean on their reputation when they go public."

"For investors, seeing a company about to list that’s backed by Sequoia Capital or KeyPoint Ventures."

"They’ll actively subscribe to the company’s initial stock offering because tales of these top venture firms’ returns have been told in the American stock market for many years."

Dean walked and talked on the phone; he was on a call with David and the others.

Moritz had persuaded David and Yang Zhiyuan, but because of Dean’s involvement, they needed to consult his opinion.

How coincidental, right?

So naturally, Dean gave them positive feedback, as he had just verbally agreed with Valentine.

"The company’s departmental structure can take pointers from Sequoia’s suggestions, including some of the executives—they have the right connections."

Dean agreed to Valentine because the latter truly was the best mentor a founder could ask for.

He didn’t have the time to help David and the others build a company from scratch.

The upcoming launch of the Explorer browser, the Price index, Bit Company, and so on—these were taking up too much of his energy.

So now, bringing Sequoia into the mix was the best decision, offering everything from lawyers, financial services, to executive management—a one-stop shop.

"OK, call me anytime if you have any questions." After a few more instructions, Dean hung up the phone.

Yahoo didn’t need his attention for the moment—the promotion was set, the servers were ready; next was a change in the office location.

Oh right, and Moritz.

He was preparing a business plan for Yahoo, taking the perspective of the media industry.

All things considered, Yahoo’s framework was almost fully established. What followed would naturally unfold.

"Dean, there’s someone named Julie Delphi looking for you; who is she?"

Just as Dean was pondering Yahoo’s affairs, Jennifer waved a black phone at him.

"Uh..." Dean paused, momentarily puzzled—that phone was his backup.

Typically, calls from there were not business-related...

No, that’s not quite right; its business was always big.

"Jenny, it’s probably a wrong number." Dean searched his memory; he didn’t recall having an in-depth conversation with that girl.

"Really?" Skepticism filled Jennifer’s eyes.

"I’m sure of it." Dean went over to take his phone, "Alright, baby, the playground for Arthur is almost finished—let’s go check it out."

"I also want to add a mini ranch; I feel he’s interested in horses."

"No problem. Maybe we should buy a farm in Ohio or near California.

There, we’ll find real racehorses, and it’ll give us another vacation option."

"I’ll listen to you, dear, but I worry about getting a tan; I know you like me fair."

Jennifer fretted as she touched her pale arm; she had spent a great deal on skin care and whitening.

"As long as you don’t think about reducing that pair on your chest, you’ll always be my Jenny."

The idea she proposed last time had really startled Dean.

What would be the appeal of a Jennifer Connelly without her headlights?

"Fine, I promise. I just want to act in a few more films while I’m young; it’s my dream."

Jennifer’s life was long secured from wants and needs, but everyone has their own aspirations.

Dean didn’t mind that. As long as the script was fine, he let her do it.

"I’ll contact some directors for you, or maybe just buy a film company outright.

In any case, you decide, but let’s shelve those bold ideas from before."

"Really!" Jennifer hugged his arm tightly.

"What?"

"A film company~"

"I’ll think about it." Dean was perfectly composed.

"I have something prepared for us tonight." Jennifer licked her red lips.

"Hmm~" Dean was noncommittal.

"And a few outfits."

"Mhm~" His gaze shifted slightly.

"I also invited a few Hollywood friends over, they’d like to visit."

"Cough~" Dean cleared his throat, "Check for any news in Hollywood about this, and I’ll make a trip there myself another day."

"I’ll call them right now." Jennifer was action-oriented.

...

Durell was also an action taker; after urging numerous times, Dean finally agreed to talk with him about Netscape’s valuation.

So, after receiving a definitive response and hanging up the phone, he drove straight to the Netscape building in Mountain View.

"Dean, Jim, we need to get this business going ASAP!" The moment he walked in, Durell couldn’t wait to start waving his arms around.

"Explorer is the greatest invention of the internet! Everyone needs it! Everyone!"

"Hey, buddy. How about sitting down for a cup of coffee first? The business is about to kick off."

In the office, Dean and Clark, along with others, sat quietly in their chairs waiting for something.

"What’s this...?" Durell looked around and finally noticed the unusually quiet atmosphere of the whole Netscape office.

The usual hustle looked like an illusion, as if it had never been there.

If he wasn’t sure he hadn’t been drinking, Durell would have thought he was in the wrong place.

"Just like you see, Explorer 2.0 is about to be launched." Dean smiled.

Everyone was now waiting for this thrilling moment; they had given so much for it.

"But..." Durell instinctively looked at his wrist, "it’s 7 o’clock in the evening now."

What company schedules a product release for the evening? It was unheard of.

Moreover, it was so eerily quiet, without even a single advertisement.

"We just finished the last patch for Explorer 2.0, and everyone thought it was a moment worth commemorating.

So..." Dean spread his hands, "we all believe the time has come, so let’s get started."

The internet is unlike any other industry; press releases and news conferences aren’t necessarily the way to go.

The millions of computers connected to the internet are Netscape’s stage, and it is always ready.

Netscape was also all set, so it was time to take the stage.

"Okay then~" Durell accepted the reality, "So, how do you plan to do business? I mean, how much is it priced at?"

"Free for the general public, academic institutions, educational organizations, and non-profits."

"Phew~" Durell took a deep breath, "Although I was prepared, it still sounds hair-raising."

Dean smiled, "Durell, Microsoft taught us a valuable business law."

"What?" Durell looked up.

"Market share is everything!" Dean said with fervent eyes.

"Today’s market share equals tomorrow’s profit; lose the share, and it’s hard to have the last laugh."

So, to capture as much market as possible, Explorer was free for most groups.

"What about enterprise users? Netscape still needs to turn a profit."

At that moment, nobody, including Durell, believed that a completely free product could bring profits to a company.

"Of course," Dean nodded, "the enterprise version is $39 per copy."

"It’s cheaper than I thought, I was expecting something like $99."

Durell finally relaxed, glad that Dean hadn’t gone mad with an absolutely free service.

Clark, sitting opposite him, also spoke up, "At first, I suggested the same, but Dean thought that a lower price would help us build our market more quickly."

"To succeed, you must first build a network. Only with an awesome industrial scale does success follow."

Dean didn’t hide his opinion, and even Explorer had a "try for thirty days for free" policy.

Yes, for the first month, Explorer 2.0 was open to everyone, including corporate users.

Durell was astonished by Dean’s bold marketing strategy; if successful, it would definitely be a textbook case for the internet industry.

"The time is coming." Dean glanced at his wrist and then stood up and walked to the office door.

Clark and Teresa followed suit, as if something outside was drawing them.

"Dean?"

"Shush~" Dean raised his finger to signal him to be quiet.

As Durell was wondering, he suddenly heard a strange noise.

"Moo~"

This time Durell heard it more clearly—it was... a cow mooing?

"Moo~" "Moo~" "Moo~"...

As if a signal had been opened, the office was filled with this sound.

"Haha~ we won! Drink up! Drink!" Marc Andreessen stood from his seat, egging on, while the other two groups beside him reluctantly raised their beer mugs with wry smiles.

"What are they doing? And this noise?" Durrell now had too many questions and didn’t understand what was happening.

"They designed an alarm system to track the downloads," Dean explained, clapping and laughing with Durell.

"A bell represents a Mac version download, a cow mooing for a Windows version, and an explosion for a Unix version.

The three development groups were each responsible for one platform’s development; whichever side was loudest could force the other two to drink."

"Oh~ My God," Durell’s eyes were widened in amazement.

In the meantime, the office was filled with the sound of cows mooing, drowning out all other noises.

Clearly, the Windows version took the lead, and the gap kept widening.

Durell’s head was now filled with "moo" sounds, and he could barely hear Dean speaking.

"Boom~!" Suddenly, a cannon shot sounded above all others.

"What’s that?" Durell turned and asked loudly.

"The download count has surpassed ten thousand, represented by cannon fire," Dean and the others laughed.

"I love the sound of cannons!" Durell exclaimed with delight.

Soon enough, his favorites were realized.

Following that, the office resounded with the cannon fire more and more frequently, making the mooing fade into the background.

And as the sound of the cannons roared, everyone jumped and shouted in jubilation.

Until at one moment, the alarm system’s loudspeaker suddenly fell silent, and then everyone stopped and looked at each other.

"The loudspeaker burned out!" a programmer announced loudly after checking.

"How many times did it sound?" Clark asked, arms crossed.

The programmer checked the computer screen, "101 times!"

"Yeah! One million times!" The celebration resumed.

Dean looked at his watch, 8:15 pm, exactly one hour.

"Okay, Durell, let’s talk about Netscape’s financing," Dean said, showing his neat white teeth. The time had come.

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