[Chapter 792: Holding Back]
"Happy events? Of course, there are!"
"What events?"
"There are! Oh my God! I just got back from the hospital, and I'm going to have a child!"
"Ahem, Nastassja, don't get too worked up; it's not good for the baby. You need to be cautious; I'll arrange for someone to take care of it."
"Hmph, how do you know it's yours?"
"I'm certain; I've been quite helpful lately."
"Pfft, who asked for your help?"
They say that hard work pays off, and there's definitely some truth to that. As long as you work hard, you will surely reap some rewards.
After calming down an overly excited Nastassja, William White felt quite happy himself. Even though he was still young, this indeed stirred up emotions. My goodness, he didn't even know if this trait was hereditary.
Honestly, he guessed he was right. Otherwise, how would you explain the predicament the White family found itself in?
As to how to provide for Nastassja, he didn't need to worry. He treated his own woman quite well; that was practically an open secret.
Moreover, Nastassja had made quite a bit of money over the years. Having this baby could also be seen as a kind of accountability for himself.
What? A scoundrel?
Ahem, don't say that; she was also doing it for the family's honor. Doing this was quite hard too; you just didn't know.
Desperation knows no limits; this saying truly held some wisdom. Just look at William White now. The most he had to do was go to church a few more times. As long as the boss was satisfied, a few confessions wouldn't hurt, right?
...
"Raymond, do you know someone named Stephen Chow?"
"Of course! That guy was famous for comedy; his movie probably isn't suitable."
"Not that; I'm actually interested in their current script, A Chinese Odyssey. But does he have the background or the strength to pull it off?"
"Hoho, what does it matter? If you can make money off making films, strength isn't really necessary."
"This script is interesting, to say the least. You know, I have a general plan for the market in China. If possible, I wouldn't mind collaborating on this. What do you think? Can you handle it?"
"Sure, no problem. I know that director; as for Stephen Chow, he's just a little guy. If someone supports him... William, what exactly are the terms?"
"Their script is too chaotic. I just like this storyline. If we take it to Hollywood, do not even think about it; the Writers Guild wouldn't even accept it. Tell Stephen Chow he can continue as the lead, but the script needs to be reworked."
"Alright, I'll speak to him."
"Good, arrange a time to start filming; you can take charge of that."
William White didn't say anything about the money, and Raymond Chow didn't ask either. The practices in Hollywood were quite transparent. Unless a film was particularly dreadful, no one was willing to manipulate box office returns.
...
[Chapter 793: The Revenge of the Big Boss]
...
[Chapter 794: The So-Called Attention Economy]
"Sir, check out this website," said Tom.
"Ha, Tom, what's up? Did you find something interesting?"
"Not much, but you should know this company," Tom said.
"Yahoo, hahaha, what a crude name! I thought that was just the company name. Is the traffic really that high?"
"Yes, sir, in just a few months, their traffic has nearly matched NBC Online's."
"What? That impressive?" William White inhaled deeply; he realized the problem could be quite troublesome. With such rapid growth, his stake would inevitably decrease during the Series A funding.
"Yes, sir, many investment banks have started to pay attention to this company. However, there are significant disagreements on the company's valuation."
William White smiled slightly; the attention economy was still a mirage. Perhaps it appeared in economics books, but for investment banks, they didn't recognize that valuation.
You can lose money; that doesn't matter. But if you want to avoid being pressured on price, it's best to clarify your profit goals. What plan do you have to achieve those goals?
If such questions weren't resolved properly, they might not affect your IPO, but the price wouldn't meet your expectations.
Of course, it had been just this past couple of years. Since 1996, tech stocks had been on a steady rise. By the end, you only needed to be associated with technology.
No profit model?
That wasn't a problem; you just needed to be able to tell a good story. Didn't one famous con artist say, "Let's choke on our dreams"?
Ha, this phrase could be unpacked. I achieve my dreams, and you're the ones choking on them.
"Tom, those idiots on Wall Street still don't know how to evaluate this situation. Let me tell you, this is called the attention economy - it's just like television ratings.
Higher ratings lead to higher advertising costs. A public broadcaster doesn't charge fees; how do they profit? Cable networks charge fees, yet their valuations can't compare to public networks."
"Sir, while that's the case, advertisers aren't very keen and keep prices low. Logically, these are all potential premium customers..."
"Haha, still, it's a numbers game. A successful show starts with fifty million viewers. How many users do you have on the internet?"
However, your TV station's ratings had peaked, and any further breakthroughs seemed impossible. As for the internet, though there were competitors, our click-through rates remained solid.
Those advertisers, as the saying goes, "Today, you could care less about me, and tomorrow, I'll be out of your league."
"Okay, I got it, sir."
"Since Yahoo's doing well, we need to keep trying at NBC Online. We should push the less engaging material to secondary pages."
"Got it, I'll follow up."
Since William White had said so, Tom didn't argue. Those banks that were reluctant to lend to the boss back then must be regretting it now.
Rainy day, gather an umbrella?
It was indeed sweet to watch those guys fail up close. Of course, if one managed a successful comeback, they could forever forget their hopes.
...
For well-known reasons, William White had always had a bit of a spat with the Wall Street bankers. As his economic footprint expanded, those once lofty figures now looked up to him.
Regretful?
Perhaps, but if the situation was to repeat, no one would help that young kid.
He couldn't blame fate for backing the wrong horse. The Hunter family was now officially bankrupt. Even though life was still tolerable for them, it was nothing compared to William White's.
Over the past decade and a half, the world had turned upside down. The once-mighty Silver family had fallen, and that guy forced to sell off his assets was now a mere shadow.
What of those top ten syndicates? If they provoked him, they'd pay the price.
...
"Andy, what's the deal with Yahoo? Do they have Series A plans?"
"They do, they're not short on funds anymore. White Bank just granted them a hundred million dollars in credit. They've gone completely mad, with valuations surpassing ICQ."
The head of Morgan Stanley felt dizzy. "What? You're asking for five hundred million as a starting point for Series A? Don't even say they're making money; they probably have no revenue at all. Andy, get me an appointment with Don Valentine. He must be having a rough time lately."
"William White's picking on the little guys; it's quite unreasonable. Many investors are going to White's economics based on Sequoia's conditions. Sequoia is just a venture capital firm with a pretty bad reputation. The White group still has angel rounds, which are much friendlier for those just starting out."
"Damn, isn't that a bit reckless?"
Andy found it hard to know what to say; things had started out happily enough. If Citigroup and Sequoia were going to create some problems, well, they had just run into someone even more unreasonable.
The old Morgan boss decided it was time to chat with someone who actually understood the situation. He genuinely found it hard to wrap his head around this new internet thing.
Burning cash was the Silicon Valley buzzword of the day. Where it all began was anyone's guess.
From emails to portal sites, from search engines to ICQ, everything was relentlessly burning money.
How to make a profit was lost on the old man; the purpose of burning cash was indeed crystal clear. It was all about clearing the field: if you didn't have the corresponding cash to burn, you'd simply be unable to play with them.
*****
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