Zuckerberg agreed with Versailles. Since the enemy had already thrown away their shame, it was understandable for him to do the same.
Most importantly, Zuckerberg didn't want Versailles to cultivate other social websites. He had realized that even a fool could achieve success by simply copying Chinese websites.
Of course, Chinese websites might not be localized enough when operated in the US. However, it didn't matter. With his own ideas combined with this template, he was sure to create the most suitable Facebook for America.
Thus, Zuckerberg rallied a few of his roommates. In just one week, they built the prototype for the American version of Facebook and excitedly presented it to Versailles for review.
After taking it back and reviewing it for a whole night, Versailles told Zuckerberg that his product was fine and they could proceed with the launch.
"Boss, this thing still needs a name. Could you come up with one?" Zuckerberg asked proactively. He had originally wanted to name it Facebook, but since that name was already taken, he lost interest and dutifully passed it to Versailles.
"I think it should be called Webo!" Versailles said without hesitation after a moment's thought.
"Webo? Meaning a web-like structure!" Zuckerberg nodded upon hearing this. A web-like structure meant a network, and the name had a certain significance, fitting well!
"Furthermore, it's also a compound noun. 'We' means us, and 'bo' is short for blogger, meaning a small blog. Unlike my current blog posts that run into hundreds or thousands of words, Webo will mainly feature short articles within 200 characters. By updating them rapidly, we can achieve high-speed information dissemination and fragmentation, thereby..." Versailles explained the meaning behind the name Webo, captivating Zuckerberg.
Finally, he said to Versailles with genuine admiration, "Boss, you must never say you don't understand the internet again. What you just said is enough to be our teacher!"
"Mmm..." Versailles remained silent. In reality, she didn't understand most of what she had said. Huang He had told her these things, and she had simply memorized them.
"Alright, starting tomorrow, Webo will descend upon the great continent of America and become the most powerful social networking site in the world!" Zuckerberg declared with full confidence. Versailles simply smiled indifferently.
In truth, she wasn't sure how capable this Zuckerberg was. It was just that Huang He had a good opinion of him, so he must have some abilities. However, the boss had given Zuckerberg too much authority, saying that as long as he didn't betray the company's interests, he could do as he pleased. It was an excessive amount of trust, especially since these two individuals shouldn't have even met.
"Boss, I'll use my computer as the server to get the website online for now. Shall we register the company tomorrow, find an office space, and figure out how to get some servers and dedicated network lines? I estimate that in a few days, my laptop won't be able to handle the demand for large data access!" Zuckerberg said excitedly.
"Here." Upon hearing this, Versailles handed a piece of paper to Zuckerberg. He took it and glanced at it, seeing an address written on it.
"What is this?"
"This is the company address for Webo. The company was registered a month ago, and the address was also settled at that time. It's a three-story building near Silicon Valley, which should be very convenient for your work."
"Also, I've already recruited administrative and financial staff for you in advance, and there's $10 million in cash in the company's account that you can mobilize freely. The company is currently operating normally and awaiting your arrival as its CEO. However, you'll need to recruit a team of technical personnel. I don't understand these matters, so you'll have to handle them," Versailles added.
"Boss, you've made everything so complete, I'm practically moving into a ready-made setup!" Zuckerberg exclaimed with excitement. To become a company CEO in the blink of an eye, with the freedom to mobilize $10 million, while he was still an ordinary university student who hadn't even graduated – this was an unimaginably incredible start.
"Hmm, I should write a book about this someday, titled 'Starting with Ten Million Resources'!"
Seeing Zuckerberg's excitement, Versailles also showed a hint of a smile. Giving this company to Zuckerberg was not a mistake, but the administrative and financial staff were all sent from her parent company.
If Zuckerberg worked diligently, these people would cooperate fully. However, if Zuckerberg harbored any improper intentions, these individuals would immediately take control of everything in the company, leaving Zuckerberg with nothing.
"Oh, right, you'll be coming with me to Apple in a few days!" Versailles suddenly said.
"Go to Apple? Really? I can really go to Apple? Can I meet Mr. Jobs?" Zuckerberg became incredibly excited. Zuckerberg had two major idols in his life: Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.
One was a business idol, and the other was a technological idol. Now that he had the chance to go to Apple, he might get to meet Jobs. This would be fulfilling his dream of meeting his idol.
"Naturally!" Versailles nodded. "Apple has invited our company to the second round of bidding. This meeting will formally determine the winner of Apple's server procurement. Jobs will make an appearance, and you'll get to see him, though I can't guarantee if you'll be able to talk to him."
"And the main goal this time is to sell our company's servers, and also to give you some exposure!"
"Does our company also engage in the business of operating and manufacturing servers?" Zuckerberg asked with shock, then joy. "Then will Webo get its servers for free?"
"No, although both companies are subsidiaries under the parent company, they operate independently, so they need their own separate finances. You'll have to pay the full amount, not a single cent less!" Versailles crushed Zuckerberg's hope of getting a freebie.
—————
"Yang, thank you very much for finally choosing HP Compaq. You won't regret today's decision!"
[PS: HP merged with Compaq in '02, becoming HP Compaq. I didn't notice this before, so I've made a correction.]
"Yes, Mr. Packard, I believe so too!" Yang Zhiyuan and Packard shook hands tightly at a signing ceremony.
Packard was the General Manager of HP Compaq's marketing department and the person in charge of bidding for the Yahoo order. He had successfully secured 1.6 billion out of Yahoo's 2 billion order, thus taking the largest slice of the pie.
HP Compaq's success in winning this order wasn't due to any insider dealings. After all, it was a commercial transaction between private enterprises where the most important factor was value for money.
Within their qualifying criteria, they chose the product with the highest cost-effectiveness, and Compaq was the most perfect option.
They could deliver all orders within six months while guaranteeing the lowest price in the industry. Although HP Compaq's servers sometimes experienced glitches and were less stable than IBM and Samsung servers, it didn't matter given the price.
As for the remaining 400 million US dollars, it went to Samsung. Because Samsung's high-end storage servers had superior data performance compared to HP Compaq's servers, and considering that some business operations required faster data response speeds, they purchased 400 million US dollars worth of Samsung storage servers.
Thus, Yahoo's 2 billion pie was completely divided.
It was truly pitiable that our boss Huang traveled all the way to America only to lose this 2 billion US dollar order.
"Mr. Packard, would you like to stay for dinner tonight? I know a very good club, perhaps we could go relax together!" Yang Zhiyuan said with a smile.
Some might wonder why Yang Zhiyuan, as the purchaser in this transaction, seemed so enthusiastic towards Packard, given that his position should be higher.
That was naturally because Packard was wealthier than Yang Zhiyuan.
Although Yahoo, behind Yang Zhiyuan, had a market value of 120 billion US dollars, due to layers of equity dilution, Yang Zhiyuan's ownership as the founder was only 6.6% (it seems I mentioned 10% before, but a reader pointed out it was incorrect; Yang Zhiyuan only held 6.6% of Yahoo's shares at this time). Calculated by market value, this was about 7.3 billion US dollars in wealth.
However, Packard was different. His father, Old Packard, was the Chairman of HP. Therefore, even though the merger of HP and Compaq diluted shares, the Packard family still owned nearly 20% of the new company's shares. HP Compaq's current market value was 110 billion US dollars, so purely in terms of net worth, based solely on HP Compaq shares, the Packard family surpassed Yang Zhiyuan.
Furthermore, the Packard family's fortunes began over a hundred years ago. In addition to owning shares in HP Compaq, they also held stakes in many other companies, making their combined wealth even more formidable.
And this current Packard, as the next generation leader of the family, possessed extremely terrifying economic and political power behind him. Internet new money like Yang Zhiyuan would not dare to act high and mighty in front of Packard.
For example, Yang Zhiyuan was like a nouveau riche who got rich through speculation in the 1990s.
Packard, on the other hand, was like an old revolutionary who fought alongside great leaders with his father and grandfather. Although Packard himself was still a businessman, he had old comrades, classmates, and connections all over China. Seeing Packard, how could Yang Zhiyuan not show respect?