New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 22

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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 22. Negotiation (2)

 

 

 

The legendary figure, Bill Gates, entered our booth.

Just like with Jobs, the moment I saw him, various gears appeared.

And I reflexively pulled out the magazine and paper that the research lab members had given me, but Manager Kim quickly blocked my hand.

 

“You, did some ghost who died without getting an autograph possess you?”

“My hand moved first.”

“Put it away for now.”

 

While we were bickering over the autograph paper,

Bill Gates was slowly unfolding and reading the pamphlet displayed at our booth.

 

[This company has many brilliant ideas. The UI-related technology is particularly impressive.]

[Which UI are you interested in? I’ll explain it in detail.]

[Implementing screen transitions with a slide method is truly innovative. Until now, we’ve switched using tabs or menu buttons, but I never thought of this approach.]

 

Manager Kim was responding skillfully in English.

I didn’t understand exactly what they were saying, but it was clear he was showing deep interest in the UI technology.

 

But suddenly Manager Kim gestured toward me.

Bill Gates also turned his head in my direction.

 

[Mister Lee created all the UI-related technology. If you need a more detailed explanation, I’ll connect you directly.]

[That would be appreciated.]

“Employee Lee! CEO Bill Gates wants to have a conversation with you.”

 

Was he passing the buck?

The person who usually talked so much was now keeping his mouth shut in front of Bill Gates and pushing me forward.

But it wasn’t bad. I wanted to hear the beautiful harmony coming from around him directly from his mouth.

 

“Nice to meet you. I’m Employee Lee Jung-hoo. What technology explanation do you need?”

[I’m curious about the slide method screen transition, and the icon touch method is also innovative. The interface where options appear when you press firmly with your hand is truly intuitive.]

“I designed the UI to be operable with one hand as much as possible. The slide method was most efficient for reducing finger movement, and the icon touch method was also developed in the same context.”

 

Bill Gates nodded with deep interest.

Actually, if you trace the roots of this technology, it could be said to have started from Microsoft’s existing technology foundation.

 

It was a combination of Windows’ icon structure and PDA input methods, refined in Nexpin’s own way.

 

The person who created the source of the patent I made.

Just having such a person show interest in my technology made my heart swell with emotion.

 

[It has much superior operability and efficiency compared to Palm OS. It seems Nexpin is filling the gaps we lack.]

“Thank you for the compliment. UI technology is continuously under development, and we’re currently proceeding with patent application procedures for several cases.”

[Did you create all the UI technology?]

“I developed it together with my colleagues. However, my share is just a bit larger.”

 

I answered as humbly as possible.

It was courtesy for the one who created the source of the technology.

Perhaps pleased with my attitude, Bill Gates nodded lightly.

 

[Good. Then, should I proceed with the contract with you?]

[You can make the contract with me. Nice to meet you. I’m Kang Dong-ju, in charge of Tiger Fund Korea Branch. Please feel free to call me Mike.]

 

Once again, Branch Manager Kang Dong-ju appeared at the perfect timing.

He naturally stepped between me and Gates.

Bill Gates slightly frowned at the word ‘Tiger Fund.’

 

[So you’re a company belonging to Wall Street. I wondered why a Korean company was in the US Pavilion.]

[Although Tiger Fund holds all of Nexpin’s shares, we don’t interfere with operations at all. I’m only in charge of contract-related support.]

[Hmm, it’s a bit awkward to have this conversation here. Shall we move to a quiet place? And I’d like Mister Lee, who created the UI technology, to join us as well.]

[Then let’s go to the event venue VIP room.]

 

The Branch Manager and Bill Gates exchanged words with somewhat stiff faces.

I received their conversation through an interpreter and stepped forward.

 

“Employee Lee will come along too. CEO Bill Gates says he wants to proceed with direct negotiations with Employee Lee as well.”

“I was hoping to ask for that myself. I may not be much help in negotiations, but I’ll participate.”

“Even just roughly telling us what technology you’re planning would be a great help in negotiations. An interpreter will come along too, so don’t worry too much.”

 

Following the Branch Manager’s guidance, we headed to the 2nd floor of the event venue.

At the stairs, security personnel were strictly controlling general visitors’ access.

But when Bill Gates led the way, we could pass straight through to the VIP room without any interference.

 

[Since we’re all busy, let me get straight to the point. I want to acquire Nexpin.]

[We’re receiving acquisition proposals for two consecutive days. Apple also expressed acquisition intentions, but we flatly refused.]

[That Apple showed interest makes it even more appealing. I don’t know how much they offered, but I’ll give you twice that amount.]

 

I heard those words through the interpreter a beat late.

Apple tried to acquire Nexpin?

And today Microsoft is directly proposing an acquisition?

 

A situation I never imagined was unfolding.

I pictured every scenario.

The case of being acquired by Apple and the case of being acquired by MS.

In both cases, gears meshed to create beautiful harmony.

But it was harmony where Nexpin’s presence couldn’t be felt at all.

 

Does the Branch Manager also understand my feelings?

He had rejected acquisition proposals one after another.

 

[Even if you offered five times instead of twice, I would refuse. I’m not foolish enough to sell the goose that lays golden eggs.]

[That’s unfortunate. Then let me make a different proposal. I want to make an exclusive license contract for UI-related technology. As you know, we’re currently losing in the portable device OS market to PALM. We want to supplement the relatively lacking ‘convenience’ and ‘intuitiveness’ with Nexpin’s technology.]

 

Microsoft dominated the PC operating system market.

But in the PDA or mobile operating system field, the situation was reversed.

Palm OS was mainstream, and MS hadn’t secured a solid position even with the CE platform.

 

[Unfortunately, an exclusive contract for the UI technology is difficult. If you had come just one day earlier it would have been possible, but yesterday we signed a non-exclusive license contract with Apple for the UI technology.]

[The contract has already been completed?]

[We’re currently coordinating the detailed clauses, but the contract itself cannot be overturned. There’s something called moral responsibility, isn’t there? Especially private equity funds like ours consider moral responsibility quite important.]

 

The fact that a contract had been signed with Apple finally hit me.

Just imagining my UI technology being incorporated into Apple products sent shivers through my entire body.

And now, even Microsoft wanted that technology.

 

[It’s fortunate that the contract isn’t completely finished. I want to combine Nexpin’s UI technology with MS’s system to

create a new standard for portable device OS. I trust you understand what that means.]

[You’re saying that just like you dominated the PC market with Windows, now you want to monopolize the portable device market as well.]

[That’s right. If our technology becomes the standard, Nexpin can grow into a large corporation in one leap. Not just a simple supplier, but becoming a core axis of the platform.]

 

Standard meant monopoly.

Thanks to dominating the PC market standard, Bill Gates became the world’s richest person.

Although the portable device market wasn’t as large as PCs yet, it was growing noticeably fast.

And the fact that just having our name on that market’s OS standard would bring tremendous profits was something even I, with limited technical knowledge, could intuitively understand.

 

[It’s certainly an attractive proposal. But it’s difficult to overturn a contract that’s already been signed.]

[This opportunity won’t come again. This isn’t a proposal based only on the technology Nexpin has created so far. I’m sitting here believing in Nexpin’s future growth potential.]

[I’m well aware of that point too. So I propose this. How about signing a limited exclusive contract where we provide our UI technology only to Apple and MS? We can keep our promise to Apple, and from MS’s perspective, you can block competitor entry.]

 

The portable device OS market was virtually monopolized by Palm.

Since Apple hadn’t yet released a clear product, it wasn’t Microsoft’s direct competitor.

 

[Hmm, Apple’s Newton PDA was discontinued, wasn’t it. Certainly in the portable device OS market like PDAs, the rival isn’t Apple but Palm.]

[Even if both Apple and MS sign licenses, the only place that can actually utilize the technology is MS. Isn’t it virtually no different from an exclusive contract?]

[Still, it’s not a complete exclusive contract. Since it’s shared monopoly or limited exclusive contract, the contract amount will inevitably be smaller. Would that still be acceptable?]

 

When money was mentioned, the Branch Manager’s gaze turned toward me.

Since I was the person holding the most shares after the private equity fund, he seemed to be asking for my opinion.

 

“I want to collaborate with both MS and Apple. I can come up with more patent ideas, so the contract amount isn’t important.”

[The developer has agreed as well. Then let’s proceed with a limited exclusive contract that only Apple and MS can use.]

[I’d like to make one more proposal. I want to proceed with an OS joint development project with Nexpin. Rather than receiving completed technology in contract form like now, wouldn’t it be much more efficient to develop together directly?]

 

Joint development with MS.

This was a proposal that had to be accepted unconditionally.

Although we were once affiliated with GL Group, the current Nexpin was just a small company surviving on technology alone.

 

If such a Nexpin became a development partner of Microsoft, the world’s number one company.

It would mean an even higher status than when we were affiliated with GL Group.

 

[The joint development project is an attractive proposal, but wouldn’t there be issues with the ownership of patents developed by Nexpin? Nexpin is a company that operates on patent revenue.]

[Of course. If it’s technology developed under Nexpin’s leadership, naturally Nexpin should have more ownership. However, since it’s joint development, Microsoft must also hold a certain portion of ownership.]

[Even so, ultimately the technology from joint development will only go into MS OS. It essentially blocks contracts with other companies, which would make Nexpin’s revenue structure completely dependent on MS.]

 

An intense battle began.

The Branch Manager charging to get even one more thing, and Bill Gates smilingly deflecting his attacks.

 

Their negotiation process was entertaining to watch.

Interlocked gears moving fiercely to gain more control over each other.

 

In fact, it was true that MS was in an overwhelmingly advantageous situation.

There was realistically no way to provide jointly developed technology to other companies.

Even if we wanted to provide it, if MS blocked it, Nexpin couldn’t do anything.

The Branch Manager was pointing out that issue. He was arguing that to participate in joint development, appropriate compensation was needed.

 

[That part should naturally be compensated. First, just starting joint development, we’ll invest 1 million dollars annually in research funds. And separately, we’ll guarantee a minimum revenue of 2 million dollars per year. Of course, royalties based on sales volume are separate.]

[May I add one condition to that?]

[I’ll decide after hearing the content.]

 

Again, the Branch Manager looked at me.

 

“If you have any conditions you want from MS, please tell me.”

“I want the Nexpin logo displayed on the OS created through joint development. And in future media exposure, I’d like the Nexpin name to be exposed together, even if small.”

“That’s a very good condition.”

 

The Branch Manager listened to my answer very satisfactorily.

He immediately conveyed that content to Bill Gates, and the conference room fell silent for a moment.

 

Was it too excessive a condition?

A logo wasn’t just a simple design.

If Nexpin’s logo was engraved on MS products, that would be more powerful marketing than any advertisement.

It had greater value than even the 2 million dollar revenue guarantee, and I proposed this condition for Nexpin’s long-term brand value.

 

[In fact, although we call it joint development, the reality will be Nexpin supplementing MS’s OS or providing ideas at that level. Nevertheless, I’ll accept the logo display condition.]

[Thank you for accepting an unreasonable proposal. Let’s work together on the joint development project.]

[MS doesn’t propose joint development to just any company. We’re making this proposal because Nexpin’s UI technology showcased at this expo was clearly differentiated from existing technology. However, I’d like you to remember one thing. If the joint development results are below expectations, the contract can be terminated early.]

 

Anyone could see this contract was advantageous for Nexpin.

It meant MS was evaluating us highly.

It was proof that the technology we created was sufficiently attractive.

 

[There won’t be any disappointment. Rather, I’m confident we can show results that exceed expectations.]

[If such results come out, let’s also include a clause for upward adjustment of royalty rates in the contract.]

 

The Branch Manager and Bill Gates finished negotiations by shaking hands.

When the handshake ended, Bill Gates extended his hand to me too, and I held out paper instead of my hand.

 

“Please give me your autograph.”

[Hahaha! Of course I should!]

“Please sign the magazine too. And here, if you could also write my friend’s name, I’d be really grateful.”

[It’s really been a long time since someone made this kind of request to me. And I’m always ready to sign MS job application documents too, so if you’re thinking of changing jobs, come find me.]

 

He smiled and signed all the papers and magazines I had prepared.

Only after shaking hands with me once more did Bill Gates finally leave the VIP room.

 

“Are you happy about getting the autograph?”

“It feels like I’ve finished my homework. Now I can finally return to Korea with peace of mind.”

“Before you go back, we need to have a negotiation of our own.”

“What kind of negotiation are you referring to?”

“I’m talking about that website Employee Lee created. I want to proceed with negotiations regarding the Rollbook.”

 

Without realizing it, I took a step backward.

I never dreamed that the word ‘Rollbook’ would come out of the Branch Manager’s mouth.

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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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