New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 158

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 158. Organizing and Tidying (3)

Rollbook continued its dazzling growth year after year.

Especially this year, it rose to become the most-used website in Korea, establishing itself as a truly national platform.

“Manager Kim, are there any problems?”

“None at all. If anything, things are going so well that it’s almost a problem.”

I gave Kim Sang-sik the title of team manager.

As the number of staff increased, he needed to hold the organization together.

Since he had been in charge of overall Rollbook operations since graduate school, and most staff members were his university juniors, having him in the highest position was necessary for the organization to run stably.

“I heard Rollbook Radio’s popularity has skyrocketed.”

“Opening internet radio to the general public really hit the mark. What’s interesting is that it’s actually more popular in the United States than in Korea.”

“That’s probably why advertising inquiries are pouring into US Rollbook.”

Rollbook Radio started by putting university broadcasts on the internet.

But now ordinary people could freely create and upload content, and it was growing into an industry of sorts.

“It’s probably thanks to Apple, isn’t it? Users surged because they could download radio broadcasts with the Rollbook-exclusive player and listen on iPods.”

Apple is also showing great interest in that aspect. They’ll probably add radio broadcast functionality separately soon.”

“We’ve already received several cooperation requests. However, creating and launching a Mac-exclusive service would take at least 2 years.”

Two years was enough.

If Rollbook could preoccupy and dominate the radio broadcast market in that time, even if Apple entered late, market leadership would already be in our hands.

“In exchange for providing technology, we can receive part of Apple’s radio broadcast revenue as royalties, so there’s nothing bad about it.”

“But the US market scale is growing more rapidly than expected. It seems to be because iPod sales are highest in the United States.”

“America has always been a country that loves radio, hasn’t it? Long-distance driving is part of daily life, so the number of listeners is overwhelmingly high.”

Radio was essential for long-distance driving.

Now that people could load as many broadcasts as they wanted onto their iPods according to their tastes, it was natural for users to increase rapidly.

“And perhaps because it’s America, advertising rates seem definitely different from Korea.”

“It’s still just the beginning stage, but we’ve already received tens of billions of won worth of advertising. At this rate, we might expect hundreds of billions of won in advertising revenue next year.”

“Since they can target specific listeners, advertisers seem to prefer it more. However, I’m a bit concerned that political circles are starting to utilize it.”

Just looking at the download rankings, I could understand why Manager Kim said that.

The top ranks were already dominated by comedians, journalists, and politicians.

While it wasn’t at a concerning level yet, once internet radio’s influence spread to political circles, it would definitely expand explosively.

“If we try to block it unnecessarily, the backlash will come to us instead. America is a country that values freedom above all. However, since general users might be uncomfortable, let’s consider separating and making the politics section independent.”

“Clearly dividing categories would make things much cleaner.”

“Moreover, if we separate the politics category, the growth rate will actually accelerate. We’d be directly providing a stage for politicians.”

No field drew people’s attention like politics.

Even in Korea, when family members gathered during holidays, political talk was inevitable.

America was the same. If anything, America was more sensitive to and interested in politics than Korea.

“I’ll proceed with the category work as quickly as possible. It’s not difficult work, so it can be applied within this week.”

“And while it may be difficult right now, please steadily prepare video services as well, not just radio.”

“Do you mean to provide videos as downloads like radio?”

“That’s right. Ultimately, set the direction so people can watch videos in real-time.”

“Radio alone is causing traffic to surge. Video consumes several times more traffic than radio. With the current internet environment, real-time video playback is practically impossible.”

The era of real-time video viewing would inevitably come someday.

The portable device market was growing rapidly, and what would naturally follow DVDs was real-time video streaming.

So we had to prepare from now to preoccupy the market.

Rollbook had sufficient capability to complete all preparations before such an era arrived.

“This isn’t a service to launch right now. It might take over 10 years for such an era to come. So have the development team handle this, not the Rollbook team.”

“The development team already has over 300 people. I felt bad about tying up so many people, but I’m glad work like this has come up.”

“It’s only 300 people now, but I plan to quickly increase it to 500.”

Manager Kim couldn’t close his mouth in amazement.

Even global internet companies rarely had that many developers.

However, more personnel were needed to realize the picture I was drawing, and honestly, even 500 was far from enough.

“Do you need that many people?”

“Rollbook Mart’s growth rate is too fast. Thanks to same-day delivery, users are increasing exponentially.”

“Requests are pouring in to start same-day delivery service in rural areas too.”

“Expanding regions requires a more perfect system. For that, we need more developers, and to handle work related to other affiliates, 500 is definitely not a large number.”

There were countless functions still not implemented.

Since internet users were surging, we had to secure development capabilities to respond more quickly and flexibly.

“Then how many developers do you ultimately plan to employ?”

“It’s hard to define ‘ultimately,’ but long-term, we’ll need over 1,000 people. Only then can we respond to any era of great upheaval.”

“Hasn’t the great upheaval called the internet already arrived? Will there be another big change?”

“If mobile phones become usable like PCs, another massive change will come at that moment.”

The mobile phone revolution was inevitable.

This was also why I invested in semiconductors and batteries.

The gear structure I designed was already turning in that direction, so I could be certain.

“Just because internet is possible on mobile phones, I can’t imagine such a big change coming.”

“An era when mobile phones become the center of the world is bound to come. To dominate that era, we must prepare thoroughly from now.”

I had to let Manager Kim know part of the blueprint.

For him, who held Rollbook’s core, to lead the company in the right direction, he had to share the same thoughts as me above all.

“When you put it that way, it doesn’t resonate well. It’s too abstract.”

“It’s simple. Just implement all the functions currently possible on PCs on portable devices too.”

“Like a PDA, you mean?”

“Exactly. iPods and mobile phones will eventually evolve into forms like PDAs. So develop gradually starting with small functions.”

PDAs weren’t very successful portable devices.

They were devices used only by some enthusiasts or businessmen, never popularized.

But if PDAs combined with mobile phones, the path to popularization could open.

Of course, it would take over 10 years for that to happen, but I was certain such an era would come.

“To develop services exclusively for portable devices, our current developers would definitely be insufficient. Now I understand what you meant by those words, CEO.”

“Please trust me and proceed. I’ll take full responsibility.”

“Aren’t we people who came this far trusting you, CEO? If we can’t trust the CEO who created Rollbook, who can we trust?”

Manager Kim’s eyes held firm trust.

This was possible because my instructions had never been wrong.

Thanks to that trust, I could lead Rollbook in the desired direction without wavering.

***

A 3-story building located on the outskirts of Seoul.

The first floor was a gym, and the second floor was occupied by a mixed martial arts training ground.

Only upon reaching the third floor did an office finally appear.

Next to the entrance, the name ‘Redline’ glowed quietly in small letters.

“Branch Manager, you’re here! Is there any problem with the report?”

“No problem at all. Thanks to the reports Redline sent, I could quickly identify problems with the affiliates.”

Redline, established by Park Dae-hyeok, a former National Intelligence Service agent.

Through this organization, I could quickly identify crimes like embezzlement and corruption in affiliates.

Thanks to Tiger Fund’s support, Redline grew rapidly, and now had so much personnel that even the 3-story building was insufficient.

“We’re making various attempts to secure more precise information. We’ve especially recruited many former military intelligence personnel.”

“Good. But now it seems time for Redline to move on two tracks.”

“Two tracks… do you mean to take on other missions too?”

“That’s right. Information gathering in the shadows has its limits. Now we must develop into an organization that can also operate in the light.”

CEO Park Dae-hyeok was definitely outstanding talent.

However, since the current Redline structure had limited utility, I proposed a new direction.

“Would it be okay for us to operate in the light? Most of our information gathering methods so far have been close to illegal.”

“That’s why we need to split into two tracks. A team dedicated to shadow activities, and a team that moves legally in the light. Operating in two branches will let us secure broader and more diverse information.”

“In the light… specifically what kind of activities do you mean?”

Representative Park Dae-hyeok sent me a look filled with anticipation.

He too must have been feeling RedLine’s structural limitations.

So he was gazing at me as if looking at a savior presenting him with a new opportunity.

“Now we need to move beyond simple investigations and expand into security and risk management.”

“Are you telling me to establish a new security company?”

“Not just a security company where sturdy people guard the entrance. I’m talking about recruiting IT experts, encryption specialists, and legal experts to build an organization that can block both internal corporate risks and external threats.”

If I were going to create a simple security company, there would have been no reason for me to come here like this.

I wanted to develop RedLine not as a simple security company, but as an organization that proactively blocks risks through information gathering and analysis.

“RedLine doesn’t have the financial capacity to recruit such experts.”

“Naturally, Tiger Fund will provide both recruitment funds and operating funds.”

“…Of course I’m very grateful, but is there a reason you’re going this far? I understand that Tiger Fund’s internal organization already surpasses most external auditing organizations.”

Tiger Fund’s internal organization was above the level of large corporations.

So it was natural for Representative Park Dae-hyeok to have such doubts.

“Internal monitoring alone clearly has its limits. We need a highly flexible organization that can handle both legal and illegal matters. And having an organization that focuses solely on information will help with situational judgment.”

“Do you need an independent intelligence organization for yourself, Branch Manager?”

“You could see it that way. Do you dislike the idea?”

“No! It’s excellent! I’ll definitely do it!”

Representative Park Dae-hyeok answered in military fashion.

Though I didn’t explain everything, my reason for wanting to develop RedLine was simple.

To grasp all variables and control situations, and to use it as a tool to support the massive structure I was designing.

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