Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 467

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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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467. Since it’s a gift we’ll share together, please take it.

In the Hotel Meeting Room with its crimson carpet, two young men with dark hair sat in palpable tension, waiting for someone to arrive.
Though they were more accustomed to hoodies and jeans, today they had dressed in ill-fitting suits, having come to seek investment for the venture company they intended to establish.
The person they had come to meet today was Seok-won, a legendary angel investor renowned even throughout Silicon Valley.
Sergey Witkov, of Russian-Jewish descent, lifted the water glass sitting on the table and moistened his parched mouth.
Watching him drain the entire glass in an instant, Michael Brown, his companion of the same Jewish heritage seated beside him, offered a reproach.

“Are you nervous? Why are you drinking water like that? You’ll upset your stomach.”

Witkov set down the glass, turned to face his friend, and replied curtly.

“And why are you bouncing your leg like that?”
“Huh…?”

Brown, who had unconsciously been tapping one leg beneath the conference table, let out an awkward cough and forced a strained smile.

“Did you notice?”
“How could I not notice when you’re shaking like that?”
“Damn it.”

Brown exhaled softly and placed his hand on his trembling leg.

“Phew. When I think about actually starting a company with the search service we created… I worry whether we can pull it off. I’m so nervous.”
“Me too. And when I think about how this titan who invested in Yahoo and Netscape is about to put money into us… I’m even more on edge.”

Brown nodded his head as he spoke.

“They say he’s not just a venture investor but the head of a hedge fund with such remarkable skill that Wall Street gave him the nickname ‘the Midas Touch.’ He must be incredibly cold and exude charisma, right?”
“He’s a true titan who moves hundreds of millions of dollars with a single phone call, so he must be.”

They couldn’t even imagine what it would feel like to handle such astronomical sums of money when they didn’t even have a thousand dollars in their bank account, let alone a hundred thousand.

“I still can’t believe we’re actually here.”
“Same here. When I first got the call from Eldorado Fund, I thought my friends were playing a prank on me.”
“Or that it was definitely some kind of scam. But it was real.”

Brown had no idea how shocked he was when he heard that Park Seok-won was interested in the search service they had created and willing to invest directly.
Originally, the two of them had no interest in starting a business at all.
In the first place, the search service they created was merely a project conducted as a team assignment at the university.
Because of this, they didn’t have enough money, so instead of using commercial internet servers, they scavenged CPUs and circuit boards lying around the school and assembled them by hand.
However, once they completed the search engine and launched the service, it drew far more popularity than expected, and before long, daily access exceeded ten thousand, which created a problem.
As too many users flooded in, it began causing serious disruptions to Stanford University’s network.
As it became difficult to continue using the university’s network, the two decided to sell the search service to another buyer rather than start a company.
But they approached Yahoo and many other IT companies that might be interested in internet search, only to be rejected repeatedly.
Yet it seemed too wasteful to simply abandon the search service they had worked so hard to create, so while they were deliberating, contact from Seok Won-han came like a miracle.
Brown asked with a slightly anxious expression.

“We quit school and started a company, so it was the right choice, wasn’t it?”
“Of course. The university network kept going down because so many people wanted to use our search service. Honestly, I don’t think our search engine was inferior to Yahoo or Lycos—if anything, it was superior.”
“That’s true.”

As Sergey Witkov spoke with deliberate confidence, Brown nodded his head as well.
It wasn’t just because they had created it themselves; the two possessed genuine pride that Google’s performance far exceeded existing search services.

“The fact that Park Seok-won, who is famous for his keen eye in discovering Yahoo, Netscape, and Hotmail, came forward with an investment proposal first—isn’t that recognition in itself?”

At Sergey Witkov’s words, Brown’s expression regained confidence.

“That’s right.”

In truth, Seok-won’s contact had been the decisive factor in their decision to commit to starting a company while they were still deliberating.

“But why is he taking so long?”

Brown muttered, as if they had been waiting quite a while.
Sergey Witkov then checked his wristwatch and shook his head.

“We arrived early. There’s still ten minutes until the scheduled time.”
“Ah, is that so.”

Just then, as a knock sounded and the closed door opened, the two men rose to their feet simultaneously as if by prior agreement.
A tall man in a suit that fit him perfectly, unlike them, entered the meeting room with his entourage.
It was Seok-won, who had just flown in from Moscow on a private jet.
Though his face bore a gentle smile, his youthful and charismatic presence allowed the two to immediately recognize who Seok-won was.
Seok-won approached them with a broad smile and extended his hand first.

“I wish I’d known you were already here—I would have come a bit earlier.”

Witnessing Seok-won’s composed yet confident demeanor, Sergey Witkov shook his hand with a slightly intimidated expression.

“It’s an honor to meet you. I’m Sergey Witkov.”
“Michael Brown.”

After exchanging a light handshake with Brown standing beside him, Seok-won spoke in a friendly manner.

“There’s not much of an age gap between us, so please don’t be so formal.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Understood.”

Yet they couldn’t help but feel the weight of the situation—they were seeking investment as mere university students with nothing to their names, while Seok-won was a billionaire and a titan of Wall Street with immense wealth.
After these brief introductions, both sides took their seats across a long conference table.
Seok-won placed his interlaced hands on the table and opened his mouth, his gaze fixed on Witkov and Brown.

“I’ve tried the search service you two created. Your search engine’s performance is superior to other competitors, making it remarkably easy to obtain desired results. It was truly impressive.”

At Seok-won’s compliment, Witkov smiled with a hint of bitterness.

“We’ve actually been told that the search engine performs too well, which is itself a problem. Thank you for viewing it favorably.”

Brown spoke from the side, his expression tinged with frustration.

“I’m not sure if you’re aware, but we once tried to sell the search engine we developed to Yahoo. But they said that if users get results too quickly, they’ll leave the search site immediately, which would be a disadvantage.”

Seok-won, having grasped the reasoning behind their reaction, shrugged and continued.

“If users browse multiple pages and spend more time on the search site, page views increase, and with those accumulated page views as justification, you can charge higher rates for advertisements. It’s not entirely wrong logic.”

Though Witkov and Brown’s expressions stiffened slightly, he proceeded as if unaware, speaking calmly.

“But you mustn’t forget the fundamental purpose of a search service in pursuit of advertising revenue.”
“.!”
“Users seek out search sites to obtain desired results quickly. If you intentionally degrade engine performance to waste their time, the moment a better search service emerges, they’ll migrate immediately. You’ll end up losing something great by grasping at something small.”
“That’s exactly what we’re saying.”

Brown’s eyes gleamed as he spoke.

“While users might spend less time on the site compared to others, if we attract more people through accurate and fast searches, we can command higher advertising rates.”

At Sergey Witkov’s words, I nodded in agreement.

“No matter how long users stay on a site, if the user base is small, advertising effectiveness drops and advertisers hesitate to spend money. I believe the winner in the search market will be determined by whoever secures the most users.”

I pulled the corner of my mouth up slightly and looked at Sergey Witkov and Michael Brown.

“That’s also why I decided to invest in both of you.”

Sergey Witkov and Michael Brown’s spirits lifted at the acknowledgment of their search engine’s superiority and the suggestion that they, not formidable competitors like Yahoo, could emerge as victors.
Their delight was evident—perhaps from receiving direct recognition from a heavyweight like myself.

‘They’re still green.’

I thought to myself, observing how transparently their emotions displayed themselves.

“You’ve reviewed the contract I sent, correct?”

Sergey Witkov and Michael Brown, receiving my gaze, nodded.

“Yes.”
“If there’s anything in the contract you don’t understand or any terms you’d like to modify, speak up now.”

Michael Brown hesitated before speaking.

“To be honest, the terms are so generous that I suspected there might be hidden poison clauses.”
“So I consulted a lawyer to verify, and he said there were no issues whatsoever.”

Sergey Witkov continued, gauging my reaction.
It was understandable—I had valued the company at six million dollars despite it not even being established yet, and offered a two million dollar investment in exchange for a 33% stake.
I leaned back in my chair and spoke with ease.

“If you nurture a venture company well and achieve a successful IPO to list on the market, you can make substantial profits. It would be foolish to deceive your business partners for short-term gains.”

The two men nodded in agreement.

“Then, if there are no other modifications to the contract, let’s proceed with signing right away.”

From the moment Seok-won decided to attend today’s meeting, he had already made up his mind to accept their investment, and as the conversation unfolded, his confidence and trust only deepened—so Sergey Witkov and Michael Brown readily agreed.

“Excellent.”
“Let’s proceed.”

Seok-won turned his head to look at the Lawyer sitting beside him.
The Lawyer then retrieved a file containing the contract from his leather briefcase and laid it open before the two men.

“This is identical to the contract we sent earlier. Let’s verify there are no discrepancies.”

At the Lawyer’s words, spoken from behind gold-rimmed glasses, Sergey Witkov and Michael Brown carefully reviewed the two-page contract once more.
It was only natural—a single phrase or number could result in substantial losses or place them at a significant disadvantage.
Once they confirmed everything was in order and straightened up, Seok-won signaled with a subtle nod.
Han Ji-sung, who had accompanied him, then produced two new, elegant Montblanc fountain pens and set them before Sergey Witkov and Michael Brown.

“Please sign with these.”

The two men exchanged a brief glance before Sergey Witkov picked up the fountain pen first and signed at the bottom of the contract.
Michael Brown then took the contract and without hesitation inscribed his name right beside it.
Watching this, Seok-won also signed the separate contract handed to him by the Lawyer, and after exchanging documents and signing once more, all procedures were complete.

“Now that we’re all in the same boat, I’ll support whatever you need. Pursue your visions freely.”
“Thank you.”
“We look forward to working with you.”

Sergey Witkov and Michael Brown responded with visibly flushed faces.
In the eyes of the two young men gazing at each other, anticipation and hope for the future rippled and overflowed.
When Sergey Witkov attempted to return the fountain pen he had used, Seok-won raised his hand lightly.

“It’s a gift to commemorate our partnership. Keep it.”
“But it seems like an expensive pen…”

At his hesitant words, Seok-won smiled.

“All you need to do is work hard and multiply the investment I’ve made today significantly.”
“Then I’ll accept it gratefully.”

Sergey Witkov bowed his head slightly and tucked his fountain pen away.
Michael Brown beside him carefully cradled his own fountain pen in his grasp.
The two men, having secured two million dollars through Seok-won’s investment, felt their hearts swell with exhilaration and fervent determination as they envisioned bringing their passion and ideas to life.

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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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