Speaking of the name Michael Morris, many people who pay attention to the development of the American Internet probably have heard of him.
As one of the partners of Sequoia Capital, Morris has led many successful investment cases since joining this world-renowned venture capital firm in 1986, including investments in Yahoo and Google.
This time he returned to England - Morris was born in Wales, and became interested in the website Woaw after discovering it in America.
After hearing the name Morris and the name of Sequoia Capital, Khalid immediately paid attention.
Facing the CEO of Woaw, Morris went straight to the point and stated his purpose directly. He hoped to invest in Woaw on behalf of Sequoia Capital.
"If that's the case, Mr. Morris, you need to talk to my boss..."
"You mean Mr. Barron Cavendish?"
"Yes, Mr. Morris, but in England you'd better call him His Royal Highness the Duke of Cavendish."
…
In fact, since he was interested in Woaw, Morris naturally investigated information about the company before coming to London.
Morris knew that Woaw was very different from the Internet companies he had invested in before - not only because it was a company born in Britain, but also because this company was different from other Internet startups. It was not founded by entrepreneurs with ordinary backgrounds and needed funds from venture capital firms like Sequoia Capital and some operational guidance.
The owner of Woaw is Barron Cavendish, who is not only a British aristocrat, but also a very successful business operator. Therefore, he has no shortage of funds. In this year's British Rich List, this Duke, who is said to have a net worth of 1 billion pounds, ranks 35th among the richest people in Britain.
He also has experience in running a successful business, as evidenced by the fact that his companies are currently developing well and are among the largest in the UK.
"So what I want to know is, Mr. Morris, what kind of help can you bring to Woaw?"
When he met this young and handsome British Duke who was well-known even in America, the other party asked this question calmly. This was also the question Morris asked himself before deciding to come to London.
"I know you have neither lack of funds nor experience in running a business, Your Highness, but what Sequoia Capital can bring to you is the vast market in North America and even the world."
Barron laughed when he heard Morris' words.
They are now in Barron's office at DS Financial Center on Financial Street.
Choosing this place to meet Morris was also meant to remind him of his financial strength.
At this moment, Barron stood in front of the French window, looking at the vehicles and people moving like ants on the streets of the financial city below, and said softly:
"As far as I know, Woaw is developing well in North America and will soon become our second largest market outside of the UK. In the near future, the number of users may even surpass that of the UK."
"This is why I came here, Your Highness, but you have to know that the center of the Internet is always Silicon Valley. Many great companies will be born there, just like Yahoo and Google. Maybe there will also be the future king of social networking. And the fact is that even now, there are websites similar to Woaw there, such as MySpace, which just appeared last month. At present, this website seems to be very dynamic. Although the number of users is far less than Woaw, who knows about the future. Maybe if we can't invest in Woaw, we will choose MySpace..."
"oh?"
MySpace Barron knew that in the original time and space, this social networking site was once a strong rival of Facebook, and was acquired by Murdoch's News Corporation for a high price of US$580 million in 2005, but its subsequent development was not satisfactory...
He turned to look at Morris and said meaningfully,
"Are you threatening me, Mr. Morris?"
"You misunderstood. I am only telling you our sincerity, Your Highness."
Morris said sincerely:
"I can predict with certainty that, without the help of Sequoia Capital, Woaw could become a popular social networking site in Europe, but that's all, because it's not that easy to enter the North American market, especially for a European company. Perhaps when there are no strong competitors now, Woaw can occupy a certain market share, but when everyone realizes the potential of this field, competitors, especially local competitors backed by strong capital, will quickly occupy the market. This is not my groundless speculation, but something that has been verified many times."
"I'm curious, Mr. Morris, why did you choose Woaw instead of the MySpace you mentioned? As far as I know, it's a startup company, so it's easier for you to control more shares. And according to what you said, MySpace, a local American company, has more advantages than us in the North American market."
In response to Barron's question, Morris' eyes flashed with joy. He said,
"I did think so, but after studying both Woaw and MySpace, I think that with our support, MySpace might be able to surpass Woaw in terms of user numbers for a period of time, but in the end, it would probably still lose."
"Why?"
"I really appreciate Woaw's restraint in user registration in the early days. This successfully created a good social atmosphere and a foundation for real social interaction. Therefore, most of Woaw's users participate in social interaction with their real identities. In comparison, MySpace is more virtual on the Internet. Although the number of MySpace users has grown rapidly, it has also brought many problems, including the spread of some bad information. The later it gets, the more energy they need to spend on reviewing this aspect. Woaw is much easier in this regard."
It has to be said that Morris is worthy of being one of the most well-known investors of Sequoia Capital, and his vision is indeed very sharp.
"In addition, there are the more distinctive features launched by Woaw, such as photo tagging. Although this kind of innovation is easy to imitate, I can also see your creativity from this, which I also appreciate very much. Therefore, I would say that with the help of Sequoia Capital, Woaw can succeed and may even become the next Google. Of course, the premise is that you can gain a foothold in the American market, because the English market is the most important and largest market in the world, and in this market, North America is a key market with decisive significance. Only by succeeding in the United States can you become a global giant. We can help you do this, which is due to our success and layout in the Internet field over the years."
"You've almost convinced me, Mr. Morris."
After hearing Barron's words, Morris did not rush to show his joy, but continued to look at him calmly. He heard the young duke continue to say:
"But like Sequoia Capital, there are many companies with such strength in the United States. Why should I choose you?"
"What do you mean?"
"I need you to prove your strength."