American History 1988
Chapter 373 - 362: Arrogant

Chapter 373: Chapter 362: Arrogant

Sun Zhengyi was surprised by the sudden arrival of Dean, whom he certainly recognized.

As one of the top tycoons in America, even though he was far away in Neon, he had heard of Dean’s reputation.

It was just that Dean’s appearance here caught Sun Zhengyi completely off guard.

Honestly, he had just arrived in California not long ago and hadn’t even had the time to investigate the shareholder background of Yahoo before he hurriedly came to visit.

"Mr. Sun, if you invest one hundred million US dollars in Excite, I’ll also invest an equivalent or even larger sum in Yahoo.

You know I can do it, and I am one of the major shareholders of Yahoo,"

Dean, who pushed the door open, nonchalantly took a seat opposite Sun Zhengyi and then fixed his gaze directly on him.

This was his business; nobody could touch the cake on his plate, no one at all.

Sun Zhengyi felt the pressure, knowing that Dean was asserting his sovereignty.

However, with a determination to go all out, he wasn’t so easily compromised.

"Mr. Price, there can only be one winner in the search engine websites!

It largely depends on who has more funds, and SoftBank Group isn’t as weak as you might think."

"You’re right, there can only be one winner," Dean generously admitted this point, "and Yahoo will definitely be that final winner!"

A surge of anger forced Sun Zhengyi to want to retort, but Dean cut him off.

"But meaningless competition doesn’t add any extra value to a search engine website.

Imagine, if SoftBank-supported Excite and Yahoo fall into a war of burning money, what will be the outcome?

Merely you burn one hundred million dollars, and I follow. I burn one hundred million dollars, you also follow, until both sides are exhausted.

Is it worth it? A market that could originally be dominated with one hundred million dollars ends up having several times that amount burnt by both parties.

That’s not how business is done," Dean said with a voice filled with deep meaning.

Sun Zhengyi seemed to have an epiphany; he no longer carried the aggressive posture he had just displayed.

"So, it’s not that SoftBank cannot invest in Yahoo?"

"This is Silicon Valley," Dean chuckled softly, "a company can have multiple investors, and not all investors are necessarily in competition with each other."

"The venture capital business is a business of connections," Moritz, who stood behind Dean, opportunistically added.

He was extremely grateful for Dean’s presence in Yahoo’s investment team; otherwise, faced with Sun Zhengyi’s unconventional tactics, Red Shirt might not be able to stop SoftBank’s entry.

Sun Zhengyi could write a check for one hundred million dollars without blinking an eye, but he could not.

If it weren’t for Dean, even if he disagreed, he ultimately would not be able to refuse SoftBank’s terms.

It must be said, this slight figure before him had truly grasped Yahoo’s vulnerability.

Moritz had already made up his mind that he would never again be bullied by wealthy investors.

Similar to his sentiment, Sun Zhengyi also felt a certain "bitterness" at this moment.

He came with an all-or-nothing attitude, and the decisions he made were far bolder than his peers in Silicon Valley.

He was not lacking in an investor’s resolve, nor the advanced tactics and audacity.

But he had met Dean; the ambition swelling in his chest had not even had a chance to express itself before Dean pressed it back down.

Nevertheless, business still had to be discussed, and he heard another implication in Dean’s words.

"So, how much of this round of financing for Yahoo can SoftBank take?"

Sun Zhengyi had never considered truly turning to find Excite or Lycos, just as they had just discussed.

The market was winner-takes-all, and Yahoo was already the front-runner; it made no sense for him to go after the second or third place.

Moreover, with Dean’s presence, burning money would not make any sense.

In response to Sun Zhengyi’s inquiry, Dean turned his gaze toward Jerry Yang.

"Jerry, we have until next spring. How much capital does Yahoo need now to maintain its market lead during this period?"

Jerry Yang murmured a few words with David and then provided a rough figure.

"Between forty and fifty million dollars, we need to ensure we get the homepage recommendation from Navigator."

Dean ignored the hopeful look in Jerry Yang’s eyes; matters with Navigator would follow rules.

He turned his attention back to Sun Zhengyi, "Yahoo’s round of financing is 45 million, releasing a 15% equity stake."

"SoftBank can take the whole lot!" Without a second thought, Sun Zhengyi claimed all the shares.

Although this was half of the 30% he had wanted, 15% was still very significant.

"No, SoftBank can take at most 12%," Dean cut another small piece from the cake.

"Why?" Sun Zhengyi looked at him, utterly confused.

"Because we need to leave some benefits for media companies like Reuters and ABC, Yahoo’s portal information relies on them.

Mr. Sun, brash and decisive moves might get you the meat, but they can also offend many people beyond your imagination."

Dean’s reminder gave Sun Zhengyi something to ponder.

He was an outsider, who could ignore the human relations of Silicon Valley.

But if he wanted to continue investing in Silicon Valley in the future, he had to learn to blend in.

Venture capital is a repetitive game; in order to win trust, you must respect the relationships you’ve established.

"Well, gentlemen, the funding matters will be handled by specialized personnel, and that’s all for today’s meeting,"

Dean stood up, stretching his shoulders, preparing to return to Navigator, but after taking a few steps, he turned back around.

"Oh yes, this is Yahoo’s last financing round. Next spring, we go public."

"What?" This time, it wasn’t just Sun Zhengyi; Moritz and Yang Zhiyuan were also taken aback.

"I forgot to tell you, this is the news from Wall Street.

Excite and Lycos have already doubled down, and they will soon announce their IPO plans.

The battlefield has shifted; Yahoo must go public before them."

After saying this, Dean left the office with his people, leaving everyone else looking at each other in bewilderment.

...

On August 24, Gates hosted the Windows 95 launch event in Seattle.

Also on stage was comedian Jay Leno, who talked a lot about the new system and cracked many jokes.

This event was destined to attract a lot of attention, including that of the media and everyone in Silicon Valley.

Barksdale and Clark were also glued to the TV, which was undeniable.

Although they despised Microsoft, they understood that, barring any surprises, Windows 95 would end the long-standing desktop operating system war.

They weren’t interested in other details of the new system; they just wanted to know its price and the details about that "Plus" add-on pack.

Then, the answer was revealed—Windows 95 was priced at 210 US dollars.

As for the Plus add-on pack, which supported internet access, it included MSN, dial-up networking components, and Microsoft’s own browser.

Unexpectedly, this Plus add-on pack required customers to spend an additional 50 dollars to purchase.

When Clark and Barksdale saw this news, they both burst into laughter.

"Quick, tell Dean about this!" Clark laughed so hard he doubled over.

In fact, he didn’t need to inform him, as Dean happened to have just entered the office.

"The look on your faces tells me it’s good news, right?" Dean said with a smile as he sat down on the couch.

"Microsoft is still so arrogant!" Clark pointed to the TV screen on the wall, "Their browser isn’t free."

"Oh?" Dean raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"Microsoft bundled the browser, MSN, and everything else together into the Plus add-on pack.

Users need to spend an extra 50 dollars to unlock these applications—it’s typical of their style," Clark explained gleefully to Dean about the subtleties involved, pleased that Microsoft hadn’t let them down.

The add-on pack did indeed have some practical small tools, like the 3 hours of free online time per month with MSN, visual enhancement features.

It also included hot software like the browser and other plug-ins to help users connect to the internet.

Yes, even though Microsoft didn’t set a separate price for MSN or their browser, fundamentally, they weren’t free.

Because if users wanted to use this part of the function, they had to pay an extra 50 dollars.

Although the cost was averaged out over each app in the Plus add-on pack, with none of them costing more than 6 dollars each,

the Plus add-on pack couldn’t be sold separately; it was bundled for sale.

Now, what was the commercial selling price of Netscape Navigator before this? 39 dollars!

After realizing this point, Dean almost laughed out loud.

So after all that effort, Microsoft’s browser ended up costing more to use than Netscape’s?

Did Gates have that much confidence in Microsoft’s browser? Dean couldn’t fathom the thought processes of those in Seattle.

Actually, before Windows 95 was released, there were people within Microsoft who suggested to Gates that they make their browser free.

But Gates was brimming with confidence, especially after a brief exchange with Dean over the phone, he decided to beat Dean head-on.

He wanted to tell Dean that, relying on the unparalleled platform of Windows 95,

even if they charged for their browser and it was behind Netscape Navigator, they would still emerge victorious in the end.

Of course, Gates wasn’t so arrogant as to maintain the same pricing as Navigator, given their technical disadvantage.

On the contrary, the Plus add-on pack was a very nice choice.

A variety of application tools all for 50 dollars was truly a bargain.

Well, Clark was right, Microsoft was still unable to shake off their habitual thinking of making money off every ordinary person.

"What’s their browser called?" Dean was very curious about this.

Clark thought for a moment, "I think it’s called ’Navigator.’"

Dean was stunned; damn, Gates was quite the joker after all.

"Dean, now that Microsoft has made their move, shouldn’t we also announce our Explorer 3.0?"

Clark was rubbing his hands together, eager to slap Microsoft’s arrogance with urgency.

"Wait for two more days; Microsoft’s momentum with Windows 95 right now is too strong.

Their advertisements are everywhere, announcing Explorer’s plans now might not be as hot as expected."

Beneath Microsoft’s deep pockets, the launch of Windows 95 had stolen all the media limelight.

Didn’t you see that on the TV news on the wall, they were all reporting on the various spectacular events of the new operating system release?

Dean planned to wait until the initial excitement had passed, before bringing out Explorer 3.0 right after.

----

PS: IE 1.0 was not free when it was initially released; it was a function within the Plus add-on pack.

This information can be verified through public channels like Wikipedia.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.