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墨書 Inktalez
For Jiang Yizhou, this trip to Silicon Valley was somewhat rushed, with many events occurring. In addition to the planned failures, Yahoo China and the financing matters with Google, he also invited Bill Campbell, whom he encountered by chance, to invest in Hastings.
Of course, all of these required him to make decisions but did not necessitate his direct involvement. Following the schedule, he attended meetings at several Venture Capital Firms where he served as a board member and communicated with the founders. These interactions were the real test for Jiang Yizhou.
Having just finished his work at DoubleClick Company, Jiang Yizhou fell into deep thought. It seemed that DoubleClick Company and the Adsense Platform were on two different paths. The operational approach of DoubleClick Company involved tracking user behavior and analyzing data to provide users with the most suitable advertisements, while Ailumese Technology's Adsense Platform offered ads that matched the content of personal websites. The former was user-oriented, while the latter was website-oriented.
However, isn't the purpose of advertising to get users to agree with the content of the ads so they will purchase or use the products?
Moreover, in history, DoubleClick Company was acquired by Google, which clearly indicated that the latter had the upper hand.
Nonetheless, DoubleClick Company's target market has always existed; it remained viable even after the bubble burst. Furthermore, after going public in 1998, DoubleClick Company's stock price increased thirtyfold in just three years. However, the subsequent bursting of the bubble caused its stock price to plummet back to its original state, which also required careful planning.
Currently, Alumetis Capital holds 1% of the equity structure in DoubleClick Company, which is sufficient for a board seat. Jiang Yizhou did not intend to pursue an acquisition at this moment; it was time for harvesting. The best time for acquisition would be when its stock price returned to its original state.
There were simply too many things to handle; he truly lacked motivation. Every step needed to be planned for two years down the line while also considering market fluctuations. By then, the value of the stocks he held could potentially reach hundreds of billions of dollars.
How did the Internet Bubble collapse?
Aside from Microsoft's antitrust lawsuit, on a Monday in March of the new millennium, a massive sell-off of tech stocks triggered a series of chain reactions.
The deeper reason was that the Federal Reserve raised interest rates to 6%, leading to reduced liquidity. Many unprofitable Internet companies revealed their true colors, prompting many people to realize it was time to exit and take profits.
This was not something that could be explained by a coincidental Microsoft antitrust lawsuit; that was merely a trigger. After most of the crazed individuals believed that previous declines were just temporary adjustments, they uncovered deeper issues regarding Internet companies, which truly initiated the process of bubble bursting.
Jiang Yizhou had already invested his entire fortune; if he did not continue to strategize, his initial preparations would be in vain. Thus, he had no choice but to press on.
Feeling that he is more suited to be reborn in the year 0, he believes that the sports betting of that time is absolutely not to be missed. Having spent a long time in Longkong in his previous life, he has some understanding of this opportunity and aims to make his first pot of gold.
Then he plans to obtain a Hong Kong pass to buy stocks of Tencent. Tencent had once dropped below its issue price, and buying in was not difficult at all, even simpler than obtaining a Hong Kong pass. He could just coast along until it surged nearly three hundred times before his rebirth, becoming a billionaire without any difficulty, as long as he doesn't accidentally die during the process.
The advantage of having information from a past life is still quite significant, especially if one only wants to make money.
However, he now feels somewhat constrained, having become the boss of several companies and an investor, director, and advisory consultant for several startups.
Even without the pressure from venture capitalists that he felt when managing Qi back then, he is busier now. Especially since he needs to rush back to the capital before Lunar December for a family reunion.
In fact, there is only one month left; after spending Christmas in Silicon Valley, he should return to the capital.
"Oh, Reed, have you received your check yet?" When Jiang Yizhou returned to Alumetis Capital, he happened to see Hastings waiting there and greeted him with a smile.
Hastings patted his chest and indicated, "Of course! This is the first time I've received venture capital investment so smoothly. I heard you're coming back soon, so I wanted to talk to you again!"
"Okay, but I can't give you any advice!" Jiang Yizhou did not have high expectations for this kind of business that merely shifts offline operations online, especially since Hastings limited this business model to the narrow scope of DVD rentals.
So essentially, this business remains traditional commerce; it simply uses the Internet as a tool to make DVD rentals more convenient and efficient while facilitating communication.
Of course, most e-commerce startups fall into this category. Jiang Yizhou has nothing much to advise on; fundamentally, it is still traditional business—marketing and service quality—beyond Jiang Yizhou's expertise.
In his office, waiting for his assistant to bring drinks for both of them, Jiang Yizhou spread his hands in impatience.
Hastings first clarified the established company structure and the services they provided. To be honest, Jiang Yizhou wasn't particularly interested in investing if he didn't know what the future held.
This was merely a business model that had changed its operational approach, relying more on the talents of the founder and his team rather than on random ideas from an investor to illuminate the company's future.
Jiang Yizhou was not skilled in assessing capabilities, especially across different professional fields.
"I understand; you simply lack confidence in your own business, which is why you're seeking my advice. My response to you is to keep going first.
I know even less about how to run a DVD Rental Business. In fact, I've never rented anything before. I don't understand this area; I just feel that you are someone worth investing in—very planned and measured!" Jiang Yizhou said, staring into his eyes, Soothe added.
To be honest, Netflix scored relatively well in this bubble; at least it had achieved real profits before going public, although it faced strong competition and threats due to its high substitutability.
Amazon and Walmart could launch similar features at any time, while Blockbuster, currently the largest video rental and sales company in the U.S., was also the company that charged Hastings a $40 late fee, posing a significant barrier to overcome.
Because of these factors, Netflix was viewed unfavorably by investors regarding its future prospects, receiving less support than companies with unclear business models that had not yet turned a profit or even fabricated their performance, enduring hardships before finally going public in 2002.
"And if you have any management or personnel issues, feel free to come to me. However, if you're uncertain about your company's development direction and still want to consult me, I might as well offer three million to buy your company outright!"
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