Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 161

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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161. Why does my ear keep itching like this?

Silicon Valley, California, United States.
A Lexus luxury sedan pulled to a stop in front of a six-story building located on the outskirts.
An East Asian man stepped out from the back seat, removed his sunglasses, and looked up at the building.
He then turned his head and asked the Attendant Secretary who had accompanied him.

“Is this the Yahoo Office?”
“Yes, sir. They lease the fifth floor here and use it as their office.”

The Attendant Secretary replied in polite Japanese.
The man with his hair neatly combed to the side was Jo Jung-gwang.
Under his Japanese name, he was known as Jo Masahiro, a Korean-Japanese entrepreneur.
Last year, he had taken the IT venture company he founded public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, securing a staggering 200 billion yen, and had suddenly emerged as a star venture entrepreneur in Japan.
Armed with the capital secured through the IPO, he had been aggressively expanding his business through M&A when he learned of Yahoo and immediately flew to Silicon Valley.

‘As the internet age unfolds, portal sites will become as essential a tool as web browsers.’

If Netscape served as the gateway opening the path to the internet, then portal sites were like treasure maps or compasses that helped one find what was needed in the vast, boundless world of the internet, as expansive as the Pacific Ocean and overflowing with countless pieces of information.
Though it was an unremarkable small company now, Jo Jung-gwang believed it would soon become a leading enterprise that would pioneer the internet age.

‘Considering that Netscape, which is currently writing legends on NASDAQ, was just a tiny venture company that no one paid attention to a mere year ago, there’s no reason Yahoo couldn’t follow the same path.’

He was convinced that if a second Netscape were to be born, it would be Yahoo.
Then he recalled the person known to have invested in Netscape from its early days and struck an enormous jackpot.

‘His name was Luke Park, if I remember correctly.’

Given that he bore the uncommon surname Park in America, there was a high likelihood he was Korean-American like himself.

‘If he succeeded in his investment, there’s no reason I can’t do the same.’

Beyond that, he also harbored the ambition to secure exclusive rights in Japan and create Asia’s largest portal through a joint venture with Yahoo.

“To do that, I first need to secure an equity investment somehow.”

At that, the Attendant Secretary beside him tilted his head, having heard the murmur.

“What did you say?”
“Nothing. More importantly, you’ve already scheduled the meeting, haven’t you?”
“Yes, of course.”

The Attendant Secretary rolled up his sleeve and checked the watch on his wrist.

“We have about ten minutes to spare, but you can go in now if you’d like.”
“Then let’s go.”

Jo Jung-gwang nodded and strode purposefully into the building.

Inside the office bearing the [YAHOO] sign, two co-founders and roughly a dozen newly hired employees were absorbed in their work with feverish intensity.
Among those diligently laboring was Patrick Chang, one of Yahoo’s co-founders.
A Chinese-American who had been pursuing his doctorate in electrical engineering at Stanford, he had founded Yahoo alongside Randy Grossman, his former research lab colleague, and now found himself consumed by relentless, exhausting days.
So pressed for time that even lunch breaks felt like a luxury, half-eaten pizza slices and cola cans lay scattered messily across the corner of his desk.

“Hmm…”

Patrick Chang, staring at the monitor, furrowed the bridge of his nose as if something wasn’t working out.
As he sighed and brought a cola can to his lips, someone approached and spoke.

“Patrick, we have a visitor.”

Lifting his head, he found Randy Grossman, his business partner, standing before him with an equally exhausted expression.

“What kind of visitor?”

Patrick Chang adjusted his horn-rimmed glasses and asked.

“SoftBank or something. Anyway, you said someone from a Japanese IT company reached out wanting to meet.”
“Oh. Was that today?”
“Yeah. They’re waiting in the conference room right now, so come on.”

Patrick Chang, interrupted mid-task, wore a slightly annoyed expression.

“Can’t you just handle it alone?”
“I’ve got plenty to do too. And since it’s about investment, you should hear it too.”
“We’ve already received investment.”

Randy Grossman shrugged his shoulders.

“Still, who knows? They might offer better terms. As the service scales up, we’ll need continuous investment to match that growth, so having more liquid capital on hand is always better.”

With his co-founder Randy putting it that way, Patrick Chang couldn’t hesitate any longer.

“Ugh.”

He rose from his seat with a groan, stretching his arms overhead to loosen his stiffened body.

“Fine. Let’s hear what they have to say.”

Jo Jung-gwang, who had been sitting in the sparse conference room—furnished only with a long table and chairs, befitting a venture company—alongside his Attendant Secretary, stood up as the door opened and the two men entered.

“I apologize for making you wait after coming all the way to our office.”

Randy Grossman extended his hand first in apology.

“Not at all. We’re the ones grateful that you’ve made time for us despite your busy schedule.”

Hearing the fluent English flowing from Jo Jung-gwang’s lips, Randy Grossman looked slightly surprised.

“Your English is quite fluent.”
“I studied economics at the University of California.”
“Ah, I see.”

After shaking hands with Patrick Chang beside him, Jo Jung-gwang withdrew a gilt-edged business card from his card wallet and handed it to both men.

“I’m Jo Masahiro, serving as the representative of SoftBank.”

He introduced himself using his Japanese name.

“I’m Randy Grossman, and this is my business partner, Patrick Chang.”
“I see.”

Jo Jung-gwang, who had conducted thorough preliminary research on Yahoo and its two founders, met their gazes without any sign of surprise.

“Let’s sit down and talk.”

At Randy Grossman’s words, the four of them arranged themselves around the conference table, sitting in chairs facing one another.
It seemed that Randy Grossman typically led the conversation in such settings, and true to form, he spoke first this time as well.

“To be honest, I didn’t expect the chairman to visit us in person.”

Jo Jung-gwang responded with a smile, his expression relaxed and composed.

“I do tend to be impatient by nature, but the moment I learned about Yahoo, I simply couldn’t sit idle. I had to come see for myself.”

Patrick Chang, who had been wearing a rather indifferent expression, suddenly interjected with newfound curiosity.

“Is that so? I’m curious what aspects of our company caught your eye.”
“As the internet era truly takes off, I’ve been searching for a company that would be indispensable—one that simply cannot be overlooked. To my eye, Yahoo is precisely that company.”

Hearing such high praise for the company they had founded, both men felt genuinely pleased.
Jo Jung-gwang, perceptive as ever, immediately recognized their satisfaction and seized the favorable moment to broach the main purpose of his visit.

“Ideally, I’d love to spend considerable time discussing matters with both of you, but I understand you’re busy. So let me get straight to the point.”
“Very well.”
“Let’s do that.”

Both men, who were already pressed for time, nodded in agreement simultaneously.
Jo Jung-gwang turned his head slightly and gestured with his eyes, whereupon the Attendant Secretary retrieved the proposal documents prepared in advance from the briefcase resting on his lap and placed one copy before each of them.

“The proposal details this, but in addition to making an equity investment in the company you two founded, I hope to establish a joint venture that holds exclusive rights within Japan.”

Taken aback by this unexpected proposal, Patrick Chang blinked and asked for clarification.

“Did you just say a joint venture?”

Jo Jung-gwang, receiving his gaze, nodded his head.

“Precisely. SoftBank, which I own, would establish a joint venture with your company on a 51-to-49 equity basis to operate the Yahoo portal service in Japan.”

Leaning forward in his seat, Jo Jung-gwang passionately persuaded the two bewildered men before him.

“I’m sure you both understand how critical first-mover advantage is in internet business.”
“….”
“Before competitors like AOL and Lycos can catch up, I believe the fastest path to success is to move with greater capital and seize the global market—not just America—one step ahead of them.”

Jo Jung-gwang glanced at Patrick Chang and Randy Grossman’s faces.
Both were listening intently to his words, and it was clear that his persuasion was working.
He continued speaking, thinking inwardly that things were progressing well.

“If you decide to invest, I will mobilize all of SoftBank’s capabilities to support Yahoo. And I will take personal responsibility for the Asian market, including Japan.”
“…!”
“I am confident that I can make Yahoo the largest internet portal in Asia within three years, or five at most.”

With that, Jo Jung-gwang presented a proposal that would be nearly impossible for them to refuse.

“As you can see in the proposal, I am valuing Yahoo’s company at a minimum of forty million dollars.”
“Forty million?”

Randy Grossman was startled and picked up the proposal in front of him.
Patrick Chang did the same, and indeed, the proposal clearly valued the company at forty million dollars, just as Jo Jung-gwang had stated.
Not long ago, when the Eldorado Fund had invested, the company’s valuation had been five million dollars.
Many had said that was already quite generous, so calling it eight times higher was understandable.
Seeing both of them unable to take their eyes off the figures in the proposal, Jo Jung-gwang thought his deliberate high valuation had worked perfectly.
At this rate, the investment was as good as confirmed.

‘The question now is how much equity I can secure.’

He knew that the Eldorado Fund had already invested first, but he was confident that a bold bet would allow him to acquire a larger stake.

‘Since I’m prepared to invest over one hundred million dollars, that should be more than sufficient.’

If necessary, he was even prepared to pay a premium to acquire the stake that the Eldorado Fund had secured.
Just as he was thinking that all that remained was to sign the investment contract, feeling inwardly triumphant, Randy Grossman set down the proposal.
He then pursed his lips regretfully and placed his interlaced hands on the table.

“We appreciate your high valuation of our company, but there is a problem.”

Jo Jung-gwang, as if he had anticipated such words, asked without showing surprise.

“Is it because of the Eldorado Fund’s prior investment?”
“Exactly. Our contract with them includes a pre-emptive rights clause, so if we secure new investment, the Eldorado Fund has priority.”

Jo Jung-gwang’s brow furrowed as he encountered this unexpected obstacle.

“Surely you’re not saying that we can only receive seed investment through the Eldorado Fund exclusively?”

Randy Grossman waved his hand dismissively as he answered.

“That’s not quite it. When investment proposals come in, the Eldorado Fund simply receives first priority.”

At that, Jo Jung-gwang’s rigid expression softened, and he spoke with confidence.

“Then there’s no problem. It would be difficult for them to match terms like these.”

Randy Grossman and Patrick Chang likewise believed that the Eldorado Fund would not accept such conditions or exercise their priority rights.

“And there’s one more issue.”
“What is it?”

Randy Grossman, his expression somewhat awkward, glanced sideways at his counterpart before speaking.

“You mentioned wanting exclusive rights in Japan earlier.”
“That’s correct.”

Jo Jung-gwang, who had been answering with an air of ease, felt a foreboding sensation and furrowed his brow.
Randy Grossman scratched the back of his head awkwardly with one hand as he spoke.

“The exclusive rights for Asia, including Japan, have already been taken by someone else.”
“Don’t tell me the Eldorado Fund holds those as well?”

Randy Grossman nodded before Jo Jung-gwang, who asked with a serious expression.

“Yes.”
“This is infuriating!”

Contrary to his expectation that matters would proceed smoothly, Jo Jung-gwang’s face twisted sharply as he belatedly realized that the Eldorado Fund had already firmly staked its claim on Yahoo.

* * *

“Is someone talking about me?”
“What do you mean, sir?”
“It’s nothing.”

I handed the stack of approved documents to Na Seong-mi, who was standing in front of my desk.
As Na Seong-mi left the room, I leaned back in my chair and let out a low groan, scratching the inside of my ear with my pinky finger.

“Ugh. Why is my ear so itchy?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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