New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 23

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

Chapter 23. Negotiation (3)

Most companies had clauses prohibiting concurrent employment.

Operating Rollbook could also be an activity that violated those clauses.

If the Branch Manager raised this as an issue, I might have to choose between the company and Rollbook, making my fingertips tingle with nervousness.

“I didn’t expect you to know about Rollbook. It’s a website I made as a hobby while learning C Language.”

“In case there’s any misunderstanding, I have absolutely no intention of seizing Rollbook or pressuring you legally. Whether it’s a hobby website or has other purposes, Rollbook is an asset that Employee Lee owns 100% of.”

That was a relief.

Hearing that he wouldn’t make Rollbook an issue put my mind at ease.

I didn’t want to give up Rollbook, which I could control entirely.

“But what do you want to negotiate regarding Rollbook?”

“I learned about Rollbook’s true identity through a very coincidental opportunity. While investigating patent applicants, I discovered there were more patents registered under Employee Lee’s name. And I soon confirmed that those patents were related to Rollbook.”

Since I had filed patents, the fact that I created Rollbook could be traced easily enough.

Moreover, since Nexpin colleagues had helped with the application process, it was perhaps natural that the Branch Manager knew about it.

“It started as a hobby, but it grew too big. For a website made as a school project, the number of users increased excessively fast.”

“It’s currently one of the most attention-grabbing websites in Korea. That’s why I want to make a formal proposal. Tiger Fund wants to purchase shares in Rollbook.”

“I have no intention of selling shares right now. Especially if I receive funding, it would become difficult to operate the website in the direction that the Research Lab Members and I want.”

Because I had confidence, I could refuse calmly.

Rollbook’s gears were meshing precisely and turning, and that flow was stable.

Since the financial situation wasn’t bad either, there was no particular reason to join hands with a private equity fund.

And my control authority would inevitably decrease.

The moment a fund intervened in the current structure, it would become difficult to control Rollbook in the direction I wanted.

“Of course, we have no intention of interfering with website operations at all. We don’t want enough shares to threaten management rights either. Exactly 30%. We want to purchase only that much.”

“The revenue structure isn’t even complete yet, so transferring shares now would be difficult.”

“You might change your mind when you hear the amount. We’ll purchase 30% of the shares for 3 billion won. This means we’re valuing Rollbook’s corporate worth at 10 billion won. As you well know, even large websites that advertise on TV are often valued at less than 10 billion won.”

It was certainly a tremendous proposal.

Although the IT industry was rapidly rising, websites valued at 10 billion won were rare.

But I had no desire to change the current structure for 3 billion won.

“I’m sorry. I’ll decline. Not because I’m confident of value exceeding 10 billion, but because my desire to maintain complete ownership of the shares is stronger.”

“I fully understand Employee Lee’s intentions. You’re refusing because you think you don’t particularly need a private equity fund’s help. Then from now on… let me explain why you should join hands with Tiger Fund.”

The Branch Manager spoke like a professor preparing a lecture.

He actually took out a pen and notebook, continuing to speak gently as if he were standing at a podium.

“First, cooperation with a private equity fund is necessary even to protect Rollbook. We can block attempts to seize the website, and unexpected legal problems can also be handled at the fund level.”

“Are there other reasons?”

“Of course there are. Next is scalability. Right now, Rollbook is growing fastest among recently launched websites. At this rate, it will grow more than double its current size by next year.”

This matched my expectations too.

It was also a figure derived from running simulations multiple times with the Research Lab Members.

As a result of analyzing server costs and user growth trends, I was confident it would increase two to three times by next year.

“I think 1 million people within 2 years, possibly even up to 2 million, is achievable. So there’s even less reason to sell shares now.”

“That’s exactly why I’m telling you this. If you join hands with Tiger Fund, not just 2 million but even 5 million people is sufficiently achievable.”

I couldn’t continue speaking for a moment.

The number 5 million was a figure that far exceeded my expected range.

No matter how much I ran hopeful calculations, it was an impossible figure, and the feasibility was close to 0%.

“That’s unrealistic. Rollbook’s main user base is students. Of course, we plan to expand to office workers in the future, but even so, considering Korea’s total internet users, 5 million is an unreachable figure.”

That was actually true.

As of 1999, Korea’s internet users numbered about 10 million.

Even combining all university students and high school students nationwide didn’t reach 4 million.

The number 5 million had no theoretical possibility.

It was a figure that never emerged even after dozens of discussions in the research lab.

“Employee Lee is still viewing the world too narrowly. That’s why you’re setting limits for yourself.”

“Even if we joined hands with domestic large corporations rather than a private equity fund, 5 million would be an impossible figure.”

“That’s correct. If it were a Korean large corporation. But Tiger Fund is different.”

The Branch Manager expressing confidence.

But it didn’t seem like baseless confidence.

As my conversation with the Branch Manager continued, new gears appeared and began making beautiful sounds.

I honestly didn’t understand the current situation.

How could we attract more than 5 million subscribers?

“I’d like to hear an explanation.”

“It’s naturally impossible in Korea. But what if we launched the service in the United States? If Korea has 10 million internet users, the United States has 100 million. The market size itself is more than 10 times larger.”

Expansion to the United States.

The moment I heard those words, a thrill ran through my entire body.

And somewhere in my head, gears that had been blurry began to move.

Parts of structures that hadn’t been clear began to emerge distinctly.

“Are you saying we should expand to the United States together with Tiger Fund?”

“That’s right. Just the fact of expanding to the United States would provide tremendous promotional effects. There are no Korean websites that have expanded to the United States yet.”

“Would just expanding create promotional effects?”

“Would the media stay quiet? Right now the government is pushing the IT industry as a national growth engine. The title of ‘global venture’ that expanded overseas would become a regular topic for media companies. Investors would naturally be interested, and corporate value could jump dozens or even hundreds of times higher than now.”

Is this how private equity funds think?

Certainly, it was an idea that ordinary people would never conceive.

The Branch Manager was someone who instinctively knew how to maximize profits.

“But wouldn’t expanding to the US market require enormous costs?”

“The fund intends to cover all of that. It means we’ll not only purchase 30% of shares for 3 billion won, but also separately invest at least 5 billion won or more in expansion costs.”

“What if you invest such a large amount and it fails?”

“Even if we fail, it’s fine. I’m confident we can generate that much profit in the Korean market. And if we succeed in the United States too, then we could easily make 50 times the investment or more.”

There’s no investment without risk.

And the people most sensitive to risk were financiers, and the Branch Manager was a financier who had succeeded even on Wall Street.

For such a Branch Manager to make such a definitive statement.

It must mean he sees the possibility of Rollbook’s success as very high. And I was thinking the same thing.

“I too am confident in Rollbook’s success. It’s a service that can definitely work in the United States as well.”

“May I complain just one more time? Even if we succeed, we actually won’t get as much profit as we think. Even if we purchase a 30% stake, Tiger Fund will ultimately be unable to hold more than 10%.”

“I find it difficult to understand what you mean.”

“Do you know why American IT companies have complex ownership structures? They deliberately distribute shares among multiple financial companies to create allies. Rollbook needs to do the same. That’s the only way to establish itself quickly in the United States.”

It was a world I had never considered.

The concept of dividing shares to create allies.

The moment I heard those words, uncertain structures began fitting together one by one.

The concept of allies was like adding gears, meaning creating a stable structure with multiple cogwheels.

“I will sell the shares.”

“You’ve made a good decision. And I found out that the costs Employee Lee has personally shouldered so far are considerable. From now on, the fund will take full responsibility for such burdens. Actually, providing this level of support just for a stake acquisition isn’t common. We’re making a special exception because it’s a website Employee Lee created.”

“Thank you. However, I’d like to ask for a few more favors.”

Since I had decided to sell shares,

I wanted to hand over all the complex problems to the fund.

To create a situation where I could focus solely on the routine I had set, I needed to utilize the fund’s financial power, connections, and infrastructure.

“By all means.”

“Currently, we’re operating the website from the Korea University Research Lab. We plan to form a company centered around the research lab members soon. Could you help with that process as well?”

“Of course we should help. From company establishment to securing an office, we’ll support everything. There happens to be an empty office in the Nexpin Building, so you can move in there.”

For me and the research lab members, forming a company was a difficult problem.

But for the Branch Manager, it was such a simple matter that he had already decided on the office location.

“I’ll decide on the share sale under those conditions. Phew, this is the first time in my life I’ve been this nervous.”

“Negotiation is inherently difficult. But this kind of experience isn’t something everyone gets to have.”

“Too many variables occurred during COMDEX. Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and even the Rollbook negotiation. They were all outside my expectations, so I couldn’t respond properly.”

Situations I couldn’t control.

Such situations were stressful, but they weren’t entirely bad.

Thanks to the various variables, I was able to create a more magnificent gear structure.

“They weren’t unintended variables. They were closer to deliberately created variables. Because they were the result of Tiger Fund’s planning and movement.”

“Are you saying this current situation was designed by Tiger Fund?”

“Apple showed interest in Nexpin’s UI patents even before COMDEX began. But I rejected the contract. Not a firm rejection, but one that left room. Like giving bait to a fish.”

So it was a designed game.

When I thought about how he had moved Jobs and Gates, giants of the IT industry, like chess pieces, the Branch Manager began to look different to me.

More precisely, I envied him.

I strongly felt the desire to design and control a bigger game like the Branch Manager.

“Are you saying Steve Jobs was lured by that bait to come to our booth?”

“That’s right. And once Jobs moved, getting his rival Bill Gates to move wasn’t too difficult. I casually let slip to the MS side that ‘Apple covets Nexfin technology.'”

“So everyone was dancing in the palm of your hand.”

“No. It was possible because of the technology Employee Lee created. No matter how elaborate the design, fish won’t bite if the bait is poor.”

“I think choosing good bait is also part of the angler’s skill.”

I showed an embarrassed smile at the Branch Manager’s praise.

But the Branch Manager had no intention of stopping his praise, and the scope of his praise expanded further.

“And I heard that Employee Lee also led the investments in Saera Technology and Dream Rain. Both companies will remain as successful investment cases. Your investment insight is also excellent.”

“That was really just good luck.”

“In the financial industry, we say luck is also skill. In the end, the person with high returns is the skilled one, the one who becomes king. So I want to ask you something. At this COMDEX, did you see any companies that might skyrocket like Saera Technology or Dream Rain?”

The Branch Manager was asking for my judgment.

I was newly surprised by the fact that he wanted to reference my opinion, but I waved my hands dismissively.

“I was only at our booth, so I didn’t have a chance to look at other companies.”

“Then let’s visit other booths starting tomorrow. That’s why we came to COMDEX, isn’t it? To see, feel, and come up with new ideas from various technologies. And if there happens to be a company you like…, just give me a little hint.”

The Branch Manager’s eyes were sincere.

At his gaze filled with such sincerity, I found myself nodding without realizing it.

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