You call this entrepreneurship?
Chapter 261 Bill Gates' Olive Branch
Chapter 261 Bill Gates' Olive Branch (6K)
The storm did not end there. After investigating the situation of YouTube, Bill Gates personally called and invited the founder Qin Shaoyan for a meeting.
Unlike the last time they met in the Microsoft office, Bill Gates invited Qin Shaoyan to his home.
Speaking of Bill Gates' home, it is the most famous landmark building in the area, known as the house of the future. Its design concept is to combine beautiful natural ecology with top-notch advanced information technology.
This luxury mansion located in the Medina district of Seattle, Washington State in the northwest of the United States, the "House of the Future", has become the most watched celebrity residence in the world.
The villa is located on the east shore of Lake Washington, only a 25-minute drive from the city center, far away from Seattle and close to Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond.
Covering an area of approximately 6600 square meters, the lakeside villa took seven years to build with the most advanced technology at the time and has a total value of more than 7 million US dollars.
As soon as Qin Shaoyan and Zhang Pingyi got out of the luxury car that greeted them, they were shocked by the villa in front of them.
Putting aside the sci-fi concept of smart technology home, the entire villa is located by the mountain and the lake, and the design is very exquisite.
In front of the villa is the vast Lake Washington, and behind it is a hill on the east shore of the lake. For the sake of this mansion, Bill Gates dug almost half of the hill on the shore. It is a "earth-covered building" and is like a fortress.
The home is surrounded by lush greenery, including native alder, maple and Douglas fir trees.
Most of the sidewalks are paved with flagstones, and the cement exterior walls are inlaid with sandstone and granite.
Zhang Pingyi was amazed by such a luxurious building. "These rich people really know how to enjoy themselves."
"When you have money, you can build one too, and yours must be better than his." Qin Shaoyan said with a smile.
"Forget it. I heard that this mansion cost tens of millions of dollars." Zhang Pingyi shook his head, "I don't have that much money."
"You can get it by selling your shares in Facebook." Qin Shaoyan made a quick estimate. "According to the current valuation of Facebook, you are worth several hundred million US dollars."
"Ah?!" Zhang Pingyi was stunned for a moment, "Are there so many?"
He thought about it and found that he seemed to be very rich indeed.
But if you ask him to spend tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars to build a villa, he really would be reluctant to do so.
"Forget it. It's a waste of money to build this thing." Zhang Pingyi shook his head. "Even if you have money, you can't waste it like this."
Qin Shaoyan looked at Zhang Pingyi with some surprise, and couldn't help but praise him: "As expected of you, you are Master Zhang. Your indifference to fame and gain is worth learning from."
"I was just thinking about where to build the villa, and I didn't think about saving money at all."
Zhang Pingyi estimated Qin Shaoyan's worth and encouraged him, "Your worth isn't bad either. Why don't you build one next to Bill Gates? Make it more impressive and advanced than his and put him ahead of him."
"How crazy must I be to spend so much money in the United States just to build a villa, and then have it confiscated in 20 or 30 years." Qin Shaoyan rolled his eyes, "You can't waste your money like this."
Zhang Pingyi was stunned for a moment, a little confused, "How could it be confiscated?"
"When the landlords have no surplus food, they will naturally covet other people's property." Qin Shaoyan couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the scenery in front of him.
At that time, the empire was still at its peak and invincible. Who could have imagined that it would become so decadent twenty years later.
"Isn't private property protected?" Zhang Pingyi said in surprise.
"Sacred and inviolable, right?" Qin Shaoyan sneered, "Do you really believe this?"
"I heard that this is written in the U.S. Constitution." Zhang Pingyi frowned, "Is there something wrong with it?"
"That's right." Qin Shaoyan said with a smile, "Americans mean that except for the sacred and inviolable things, anyone can violate them."
"Fuck?!" Zhang Pingyi was shocked. Could it be explained this way?
The two talked as they walked, and after passing security check they entered the villa. Bill Gates was already waiting for them in the living room.
Stepping into the wooden-framed living room, Bill Gates extended his hand enthusiastically and greeted Qin Shaoyan.
The last time the two met was at the introduction of Gabe Newell. They chatted briefly, took a photo together, and then said goodbye. They can't be said to be very familiar with each other.
This time Bill Gates was much more enthusiastic than last time, and he had a very happy chat with Qin Shaoyan, as if the two were old friends who had known each other for many years.
The two of them sat on the sofa and first talked about the weather, then their mutual friend Gabe Newell, and then naturally talked about Facebook and YouTube.
After all, this was only their second meeting, and they had very few common topics, so they had nothing to talk about and could only talk about career.
Zhang Pingyi sat aside somewhat stiffly, listening to the two people chatting about all sorts of things, feeling a little bored.
With his level of English, he could understand their daily conversation. Later, when they started talking about the Internet, Qin Shaoyan started to get more intense.
"The traditional Internet is still obsessed with the online virtual world, and the businesses it develops are mainly virtual businesses."
"For example, Facebook is mainly a social networking site for acquaintances. It helps teenagers make friends, chat, and share interesting things and photos on the Internet."
"Although the Internet has made it easier to make friends, it has also squeezed out real-life friendships. People only need to chat online, and meeting in person has become an optional option."
"Another example is video websites, where friends used to get together and chat and complain while watching TV programs."
"With video websites, you can watch videos and leave comments below, interacting with friends or strangers."
“The Internet is not just about social networking, so the future development direction and business model of Facebook and YouTube are worth thinking about.”
"With the development of the Internet today, what else can we do with it?" Qin Shaoyan said thoughtfully while drinking coffee, "Break the mindset and think about the Internet itself from a new perspective. The development direction of the Internet is about to enter the 2.0 era."
Bill Gates asked with great interest, "What do you think the Internet 2.0 era will be like? What is the direction of development?"
"I call the new generation of Internet 2.0 the Internet+." Qin Shaoyan put down his coffee and made a plus sign with his fingers, "It means the Internet plus traditional industries."
“Using Internet thinking and platforms, the Internet and traditional industries are integrated, and the advantages and characteristics of the Internet are used to optimize, upgrade and transform traditional industries, so that traditional industries can adapt to the new development of the current situation and create new development opportunities.”
"This is a great concept," Bill Gates said happily. "The Internet is about online communication, which then gave rise to the combination of online and offline. The combination of the Internet and traditional industries you mentioned is indeed a new idea."
"This is just my immature idea." Qin Shaoyan said modestly, "The concept of Internet plus is just an idea of mine, a bold attempt to explore the business model of the website."
"If the website's value-added is only based on virtual business on the Internet, its business model will be too single and will also limit its potential."
"So we should open our eyes to the outside world, break down old industry barriers, break through ideological barriers, realize the extraction and transformation of business theories, analyze the attribution of all categories in the Internet market, find new handles, and open up new tracks."
"For example, Facebook's user base is mainly composed of teenagers. They are used to trying new things and have a strong impulse to consume. With just a little guidance and promotion, they can become customers of new business models."
"We are trying to cooperate with the catering, tourism, hotel, film and other industries to create a one-stop entertainment service from online to offline."
Bill Gates applauded and said, "This is indeed a good idea. I am optimistic about Facebook and I look forward to its performance."
"I wonder what potential Facebook could have if it could work with Microsoft further?"
Qin Shaoyan immediately became alert. Why did what Bill Gates said sound wrong?
"Mr. Bill Gates, what do you mean by cooperation?" Qin Shaoyan asked tentatively.
"What would happen if we at Microsoft put Facebook on the recommended homepage of IE browser?" Bill Gates said with a smile.
If we were to say who is the undisputed number one traffic leader in this era, it would definitely be Microsoft.
To surf the Internet you need a computer, and the computer operating system is dominated by Windows XP, with a market share of over 80%.
That is to say, 80% of users in the market are using Windows and the bundled IE browser.
If you put the Facebook website address on the homepage recommendation of IE browser, it will be equivalent to a super traffic diversion for Facebook.
The proposal made by Bill Gates can be said to be quite tempting, but Qin Shaoyan understands that there is no free lunch in the world.
The other party has laid out such a big bait, surely they want to get a generous reward.
Qin Shaoyan looked at the other party expressionlessly, "Mr. Bill Gates, what is the price?"
Bill Gates said in a relaxed tone: "At present, the cooperation between Facebook and Microsoft is not close, there are only some equity connections."
“I think the cooperation can be further deepened and become all-round cooperation.”
"Microsoft can provide Facebook with sufficient funding and some excellent business channels."
I see, you are here to take over Facebook.
If Qin Shaoyan still doesn't understand Bill Gates' hint at this time, he would be really stupid.
No wonder he invited me to his home so enthusiastically. Qin Shaoyan had been thinking to himself before that this guy must have some purpose, and it was definitely not for making friends.
I was just about to start my speech when Bill Gates interrupted me and made it clear.
You should have told me earlier that you were interested in Facebook. It’s actually not impossible.
It’s just that I worked hard to build Facebook, spending a lot of money and energy on it, and I’m closer to it than my own son.
Qin Shaoyan thought for a moment and said slowly: "I also think that the cooperation between Microsoft and Facebook is a great idea."
"When I was looking for financing, my first choice was Microsoft, because from then on, I felt that the two sides could seek further cooperation."
“It’s a pity that investors were too conservative during the Series A round of financing, so we had to choose several more venture capital firms, such as Sequoia and Goldman Sachs.”
Bill Gates also expressed some regret, "It is indeed conservative, but it is not too late to cooperate now."
He is certainly not blaming the investment department. In fact, there was nothing wrong with what the investment department did.
No one can predict how far an Internet company in its early stages can grow, and no one can see through the future.
Saying that investors have good vision is all exaggeration after the fact. In fact, when investing, everyone is gambling. If they win, they will naturally brag about it, but if they lose, no one will mention it.
"I also tend to give priority to Microsoft in Facebook's next round of financing." Qin Shaoyan said with a smile, "Facebook is still in a stage of rapid development and will need a lot of funds."
"What if we acquire it?" Bill Gates asked tentatively, "What is Facebook's valuation?"
"Acquisition?!" Qin Shaoyan thought seriously, "That would probably cost 10 billion or 15 billion US dollars." "Walter?!" Bill Gates was confused, "The last time we raised funds, the valuation was still 5 billion US dollars, how could it be so high?"
"The past is the past, and the present is the present." Qin Shaoyan shrugged and said, "Facebook's development is no longer what it used to be."
"This summer, Facebook will hold an international summer camp for college students. This is an important event for Facebook to expand its overseas market and will greatly increase the number of registered users on Facebook."
"Facebook is also actively exploring business models other than Internet advertising and will soon be conducting experimental trials."
“We call this e-commerce model C2B, Consumer to Business!”
"That is the group purchase model. This was already agreed upon during the previous round of financing. At that time, investors generally believed that the conditions were not yet mature, so it has never been launched."
"Facebook now has the scale of users to implement this business model."
Bill Gates frowned. It seemed that the situation of Facebook was more complicated than he thought. The information he had previously completely underestimated this social networking site.
It’s not that Microsoft cannot come up with $10 to $15 billion, but the amount of money is too large, so there are more concerns when making an acquisition.
The biggest problem is whether it can be approved by the shareholders. This is how running a business works. As the founder and chairman, he only needs to consider running the business diligently, while the shareholders behind him have a lot of things to consider.
Qin Shaoyan continued with a smile, "We can take our time in cooperating with Facebook."
"Facebook is not very useful to Microsoft. If it were me, I would consider another website."
"What website?" Bill Gates asked curiously.
"YouTube." Qin Shaoyan said seriously, "From the perspective of Microsoft's ecological layout, Facebook is a social product, and Microsoft already has MSN. Facebook only plays a supplementary role."
"YouTube is different. It is a video website and a brand new Internet product."
"YouTube can complement Microsoft's product line, and as an emerging Internet category, it has a very eye-catching performance in the market and has huge potential."
"Secondly, compared to Facebook's valuation, YouTube's valuation is only $1.2 billion, which is a bargain."
Bill Gates smiled and said, "YouTube is really good. I am also optimistic about it."
He was indeed interested in YouTube, and the main purpose of calling Qin Shaoyan over this time was for the two websites, Facebook and YouTube.
At first he set his sights on Facebook, and while he was still thinking about it, the news of Yahoo's acquisition of YouTube broke out.
Various news have been reported in the media and on the Internet before, and there has been great attention on this acquisition.
But Bill Gates didn't expect that there would be so many things behind this acquisition.
After all this commotion, the YouTube website also attracted the attention of Bill Gates.
In the increasingly hot Internet wave, Microsoft has been coveting the throne of dominance.
Unfortunately, there are more and more new upstarts rising in the Internet, while the former dominant players still occupy their positions and are very powerful.
And the challengers behind appeared one after another, each of them showed extraordinary potential.
For example, companies like Google, Amazon, and Facebook.
Although these companies have not been established as long as Microsoft, the shortest one is only a little over a year.
However, these companies are growing so fast that their valuations have been inflating in the capital market, and it seems that they will surpass Microsoft in just a few years.
This is not alarmist. Bill Gates has witnessed the madness before the Internet bubble.
Yahoo was founded in 1994, and by 1999 its market value reached $ billion.
Of course, this is related to the Internet bubble caused by the crazy pursuit of the stock market.
After the bursting of the Internet bubble, many Internet companies died, and those that remained were the essence that emerged from the test of time.
After enduring for a few years, these Internet companies have regained their strength, and the Internet has become hot again in the past two years.
Unlike those empty shells before the Internet bubble, today's Internet companies are all real and powerful.
For example, Amazon's e-commerce is not only a future concept that the capital market is optimistic about, but its business is also expanding continuously.
Google is also making inroads into its search engine business, relying on continuous technological iteration and R&D innovation to continuously squeeze Yahoo's market share.
Facebook focuses on the social field. It is not only popular on American campuses, but also actively explores overseas markets. As its popularity increases, its advertising business revenue is also rising steadily.
Not to mention the video website YouTube, which became a popular trend on the Internet shortly after its establishment.
The previous Ice Bucket Challenge has become popular across the United States and has become a popular fashion among young people.
Bill Gates is very jealous of these emerging up-and-coming companies. After all, Microsoft also needs new achievements to maintain its position.
Microsoft has also been continuously investing in Internet companies in the past two years, and has also established various Internet business departments within the company.
For example, chat tools, email, search engines, online videos, you should also have what others have.
However, the products that Microsoft has developed are either not competitive enough or have only been around for a short time and have no market.
The quickest way right now is to buy rather than make.
Bill Gates was glad that YouTube was not acquired by Yahoo, and was happy to become its shareholder. What made him even happier was that the major shareholder and founder were also willing to make a move.
Qin Shaoyan was also very happy. The YouTube project was originally intended to make a quick buck, and he had long planned to inflate the valuation and sell it off quickly.
He himself was away from the United States for a long time, and Facebook and YouTube were not under his control at all.
Compared with other websites, the cost of video websites is much higher. Not only do they have high server fees, but they also have to spend a lot of money every month to buy bandwidth.
And the project has almost reached the time to launch.
Facebook is growing at an ever-increasing pace, and if we delay any further, it will only cause a lot of trouble.
YouTube would ideally be sold this year, while Facebook would have to dispose of its shares by 2007 at the latest.
Therefore, now is the time to consider how to cash out safely and securely, otherwise it will be difficult to escape once you are targeted.
Now that Bill Gates took the initiative to speak, Qin Shaoyan felt that this was a good opportunity.
So he began to strongly recommend YouTube and brokered an acquisition of YouTube by Microsoft.
YouTube is currently valued at $1.2 billion, but it may be worth more than that when it is sold.
After all, other venture capitalists have already bought in and are hoping that the website's valuation will increase further. If Microsoft doesn't give a suitable price, other venture capitalists will not agree to sell.
Therefore, there will definitely be some premium at the time of the acquisition. Qin Shaoyan estimates that it will be around US$16.5 billion. Although there is a slight gap compared to the US$ billion that Google paid to acquire the original version, he is very satisfied.
What more bikes do you want?
The original version took 20 months to make and was sold at this price.
YouTube has only been established for half a year, so it is not losing money no matter how you look at it.
Besides, if Microsoft wants to acquire the company, it will not make a hasty decision now. If it delays for another month or two, YouTube's valuation will probably increase.
The two of them happily chatted about the development prospects of the video website, and their conversation was very speculative.
Bill Gates also enthusiastically invited Qin Shaoyan and Zhang Pingyi to stay overnight in the mansion to enjoy the luxurious services in this house of the future.
Then Qin Shaoyan and Zhang Pingyi saw that in addition to the trees scattered throughout the manor, there was also an 18-meter-high waterfall and a huge swimming pool.
The swimming pool building is nearly 4,000 square feet. It has an underwater music system, animal fossils are painted on the bottom of the pool, and swimmers can not only swim under the glass roof, but also swim outdoors. The dressing room next to it has four showers and two bathrooms.
Of course, apart from the smart homes of this era, what impressed the two most was Bill Gates’ enormous fish tank.
That can't be called a fish tank, it's simply an aquarium with a huge whale shark in it.
The whale shark is the largest fish in the world. Not only is it extremely rare and endangered, it is also one of the oldest creatures in the world.
It is not as easy to feed as other fish. Whale sharks are filter feeders that feed on plankton, giant algae, krill and small free-swimming animals.
In order to raise this whale shark, Bill Gates must have a dedicated scientific team. In addition, the maintenance cost of this fish tank is also quite high.
Just changing the water in the fish tank is a rather troublesome project.
While looking at the whale shark, Qin Shaoyan explained to Zhang Pingyi how difficult it was to feed this animal.
Zhang Pingyi was stunned and kept sighing that rich people really know how to have fun.
Qin Shaoyan turned to look at Bill Gates and asked, "It's not easy to raise this whale shark, right?"
Bill Gates said proudly: "It is indeed expensive, but it is also a small contribution to protecting endangered species."
Yes, yes, yes, I just like your sanctimonious and righteous faces.
They are clearly responsible for the most serious damage to the environment, but they always talk about protecting it.
"Mr. Bill Gates is so passionate about charity, we should work hard to learn from him." Qin Shaoyan said with a smile, "I have a presumptuous request. I wonder if Mr. Gates is willing to contribute a little to the charity of rare diseases?"
"No problem. I'll give you as much as you want." Bill Gates said generously, "Will you accept a check?"
"No, no, no, this charity doesn't require any money." Qin Shaoyan showed a weird smile, "You just need to participate in a small game. Have you heard of the Ice Bucket Challenge?"
"Ice Bucket Challenge?" Bill Gates was stunned. Of course he had heard of it, but the temperature was a bit low now.
"This is for YouTube promotion." Qin Shaoyan added.
"No problem, I can participate." Bill Gates said decisively.
(End of this chapter)
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