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墨書 Inktalez
Touching the pager on his waist, Jiang Yizhou felt that it should be time, but he still hadn't seen the person's figure. Could it be that he was being stood up?
Jiang Yizhou looked out through the glass window at the street outside the café, feeling a bit anxious. He had contacted Wu Ming, who had shown great interest in this software from the beginning. If it really came to fruition, he had even suggested starting a business together.
He had called Wu Ming yesterday and arranged to meet at this café.
"Ding dong~" The bell on the door rang as it opened, and Wu Ming scanned the seats in the café, searching for Jiang Yizhou.
Jiang Yizhou raised his hand and waved to signal, his expression slightly surprised; it was good that he had come.
Along with Wu Ming came a waiter, and both of them ordered a cup of coffee before starting their conversation.
"Did you get the investment?" Wu Ming asked urgently, getting straight to the point.
Jiang Yizhou admitted, "No investment yet. I recently made some money, and if I save a bit and do some extra work, I think I can last three to four months."
Initially excited, with both hands propped on the table and leaning closer to Jiang Yizhou's face, upon hearing this news, Wu Ming seemed a bit deflated. "Isn't that still risky?"
Jiang Yizhou himself wasn't entirely confident either. The key was that even if he ended up with nothing, he had the courage to start over. Worst case scenario, he could go back to working on construction sites; who was afraid of whom?
He organized his thoughts and encouraged Wu Ming, "Why can't we attract investment? It's because we haven't produced a qualified product and launched it to demonstrate its value. If you were an investor and someone came to you with a plan saying how successful it would be and how bright its future is, but you had no way of seeing it for yourself, would you believe it?"
Currently, venture capital was still quite conservative; the impact of the Internet Bubble hadn't been that significant yet. If in two years he proposed a plan in an unexplored field, there would definitely be investors. But now it was different.
Wu Ming fell into deep thought; he had to admit that Jiang Yizhou made a lot of sense. Now it was all about creating a product first and gaining recognition before it could have value.
"However, I have one question," Wu Ming said thoughtfully, his eyes fixed on the patterned tabletop. "Do I need to invest for equity or just take a salary?"
"I naturally think it's better for you to invest some money," Jiang Yizhou also wanted to buy a little more time, as success was just a matter of time, but the risks were too great. He wasn't sure whether he would end up going back to manual labor or becoming wealthy. "However, I certainly respect your opinion."
"Then I'll just take a salary! If it works out, just give me a bonus!" Since he didn't have to spend his own money, trying it out didn't seem bad at all. Wu Ming thought with some relief; on one hand, he really wanted to start a business, but on the other hand, he was quite conservative and preferred not to spend his own money if possible.
Jiang Yizhou didn't know much beyond what his mother sold. These days, not only were venture capitalists conservative and stingy, but even the partners he brought in were the same. Only Ma Ge was willing to invest; for the sake of his interests and hobbies, he even set up a so-called luxury configuration horse station.
He could only sigh and hope to gain the attention of venture capitalists before burning through all the money.
After reaching an agreement on the basic issue—money—they began discussing the details.
In the end, Wu Ming would be responsible for specific technical aspects, while Jiang Yizhou would handle broader issues. Mainly because Jiang Yizhou's technical skills were not as good as Wu Ming's, but he had a keen eye for opportunities.
...
"I announce that Zhengyi Technology is officially established today! We are about to embark on a great venture. I believe that in the future, each of you will be proud of Zhengyi Technology, and everyone will become millionaires or even multi-millionaires!"
They rented a small space of several dozen square meters near the Telecommunications Bureau. Jiang Yizhou, Wu Ming, and several university interns recruited by Wu Ming and Qin Yi were celebrating the birth of Zhengyi Technology here.
However, others looked confused and did not give Jiang Yizhou much face. Even the applause was led by an intern who seemed somewhat puzzled by the atmosphere before everyone else joined in.
Is this boss really reliable? Who does he think he is? Yang Zhiyuan? Or Bill Gates?
At this time, Yahoo had already gone public, and the myth of wealth had long been spread. Being in university and connected to the educational network made it at least easier and cheaper than being outside; especially for students in Computer Science, they wouldn't be unaware of this and were quite envious!
But admiration was one thing; when it came to actually pursuing that goal, it was like asking someone who had lived their entire life in the Qilu Plain, gazing up at Mount Tai, to climb an unseen Mount Everest.
Wu Ming broke the awkward atmosphere, "Jiang Yizhou has a point. As the saying goes, 'A soldier who doesn't aspire to be a general is not a good soldier!' Even though we are just starting out, we must have this ambition. What if we actually achieve it?"
Although the group of interns had been selected by the two of them and were knowledgeable and skilled students, they never expected to join such an unreliable company. Most of them were there to gain work experience.
"Lao Wu, you assign them tasks first. I still need to contact people at the Telecommunications Bureau!" Jiang Yizhou felt he lacked the eloquence of someone like Jack Ma, who could persuade a large group of people even when just starting out, and even had big names to help him. Meanwhile, he couldn't even convince a bunch of college students; he could only rely on social connections.
Holding the freshly issued documents, Jiang Yizhou approached Li Yuanqing, whom Fang Chang's father had introduced to him.
Actually, they had already met through Fang Chang's father's introduction, and most of the relevant matters had been discussed.
"Brother Li, how's it going?" Jiang Yizhou asked hopefully. If he could pay in full through formal channels, he wouldn't bother with so many connections; making connections was just to see if he could save a few months or get a discount—every extra month counted.
"I negotiated with the higher-ups. The first two months will be free, and after that, if you can continue to increase user online duration, I should be able to get you a 20% discount!" Li Yuanqing, in his thirties, was a mid-level employee at the local Telecommunications Bureau. Having traveled abroad, his understanding of the Internet was significantly higher than others', which was why Jiang Yizhou held hope for him.
As for the online duration, it was a powerful bargaining chip that Jiang Yizhou had come up with to adapt to current conditions. It was similar to America Online; its main revenue came from users dialing in to access the Internet—the more users there were and the longer they stayed online, the more revenue generated, just like with the Telecommunications Bureau.
Instant Messaging could significantly enhance user online duration; as the name suggests, you needed to stay online continuously to chat with others. In an era without offline messages, this was even more crucial.
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