Chapter 1 Two Million Dollars

Hearing Su Yehao's question, Larry and Sergey were taken aback.

After they looked at each other, they both felt that super-rich people were indeed terrifying, with amazingly well-informed sources.

Larry Page explained:

"It seems you've already investigated our company, haven't you? I like the word 'googol,' ten to the power of one hundred, representing the massive resources of the internet. But when we registered, we found it had been used in 1995. So, combining our technology, we named the company BackRub."

Upon hearing this.

Su Yehao nodded in sudden realization.

If he felt there was a seventy or eighty percent chance that this company was Google just now, now that probability had soared to over ninety percent because Larry Page looked familiar, and they had considered using the name googol.

He vaguely remembered seeing somewhere that they didn't use googol and later used Google.

In any case, since this BackRub's patented technology was pretty good, Su Yehao saw investment potential. He gestured and said, "Have a seat. I wasn't home this morning, but I had someone analyze your algorithm. It seems interesting. Actually, I also have a search engine company called tot."

"tot?"

Larry Page looked at Sergey.

Sergey Brin pondered and then shook his head imperceptibly, indicating that he hadn't heard of it either.

Su Yehao saw their little gesture and said with a smile:

"It's just a small company with about 300,000 monthly active users, currently developing in China. People are already used to using Yahoo, and it's hard to compete with Yahoo without an advantage, right?"

Larry Page was instantly speechless.

He only knew that Su Yehao owned TVT and ICQ instant messaging software, and was also the seventh-largest shareholder of Yahoo.

He suddenly learned that Su Yehao's "small company" had about 300,000 monthly active users, more than ten times the monthly active users of their BackRub search engine. A sense of frustration welled up in his heart.

The gap between them was like a chasm.

Both Larry and Sergey were clearly aware of this.

These two belonged to the tech-nerd category. Larry Page, being American, was a bit better at socializing than Sergey Brin, who came from Moscow.

Therefore, Larry took the lead in seeking investment, bringing Sergey along for moral support to avoid stage fright.

After organizing his thoughts, Larry replied to Su Yehao:

"That's right, so we came to you today, hoping to seek your help."

"I know, both TVT and ICQ have recently been acquiring startups such as games and news forums, obviously planning to monetize their huge user base and convert it into actual revenue. Online chat software can't have too many ads, as it will affect the user experience, and the virtual goods business doesn't seem to be going too well."

"If our two companies can cooperate, you'll have another revenue growth point, and our BackRub company can also rapidly grow through your user base. It's a win-win…"

After all, he had been in Silicon Valley for so long and had always been thinking about starting a business.

Larry Page had noticed Su Yehao's recent moves. The boss of the Iron Steel Mecha game company they knew had sold his startup team to Su Yehao, which undoubtedly showed that ICQ and TVT were trying to utilize their massive user resources and beginning to focus on revenue.

Tech nerds are just not good at socializing, but they are quite smart, having entered Stanford University to pursue a doctorate in computer science.

Su Yehao took two bottles of beer and handed them to them. While clinking bottles and drinking, he looked at the girls dancing on the stage and asked:

"How do you plan to cooperate? Sell the company to me directly, or get financing from me? You need to know that the initiative is on my side. Once I fully promote your… BackRub, you'll have the opportunity to attract millions of users in the short term. Calculated according to the cost of attracting traffic, it may be worth millions of dollars. Moreover, this will affect my interests in Yahoo."

Just as he said, Larry Page could also think of the problem.

Yahoo is now dominant, and Su Yehao is the seventh-largest shareholder of Yahoo. If he cultivates a competitor, it will inevitably impact Yahoo.

Although Larry didn't think his BackRub company was capable of competing with Yahoo, he thought that Su Yehao would definitely be squeezed out by others at Yahoo and might even be marginalized.

This was guessing Su Yehao's outcome from the perspective of an ordinary person, relying on imagination.

In fact, Su Yehao didn't participate in the specific management of Yahoo and had never even attended a shareholders' meeting. He was just investing. Once he earned enough satisfactory profit, he would immediately cash out and run away, with no conflict of interest at all.

But Larry Page didn't know this and asked, "Do you mean that if the shareholding ratio is too low, it's not worth supporting us?"

"… That's right. If I acquire you, then it doesn't matter if I fully promote the BackRub search engine. But if you only want me to own a small amount of shares, then I'll definitely be the one who suffers."

Su Yehao thought that talking to smart people was comfortable and continued with a smile:

"To be honest, the entire value of your BackRub can't even buy three days of advertising space on ICQ. Of course, since we both have the idea of cooperation, I think we can talk first and reach a mutually satisfactory condition."

Larry and Sergey both felt troubled at the moment.

Occasionally, they would hear that some investors gave too much, which made the entrepreneurs feel troubled. They didn't expect the same thing to happen to them.

Because the company was too small, getting too much funding or resources would inevitably require giving away a large number of shares, which could lead to the loss of control and the founding team being kicked out.

It was like selling the child they raised with their own hands, which was of course a headache.

Sergey spoke at this moment, tentatively asking, "Mr. Su, if you were to acquire our BackRub company, how much would you be willing to offer?"

This question made Su Yehao consider for a few seconds.

He felt that offering too low a price might lose the opportunity. He readily held out two fingers and said:

"Two million U.S. dollars. Your technology may be slightly useful to me, but in my opinion, it's not worth that much money. There are many companies that want to copy Yahoo's success model, and maybe there are even more powerful products than your algorithm. The reason why I'm willing to offer two million is mainly because I'm optimistic about your abilities. As computer science Ph.D.s from Stanford University who understand search engine technology, you are the talents I need."

After listening, Larry and Sergey were very excited and couldn't help but drink to calm their nerves.

They had been living a hard life before starting their business, worrying about failure and bankruptcy. It was the first time someone appreciated their product and offered a "surprisingly" high price. They were simply overjoyed.

It was just a small company with a few thousand users, and Su Yehao was willing to offer two million U.S. dollars, which was undoubtedly a lot, about twice their psychological price.

Larry Page couldn't help but ask, "The founder of Iron Steel Mecha game company is our friend, and he suggested we go to you. If we accept your acquisition offer… can we continue to work at the company afterward?"

"Yes, how much salary can you offer us?" Sergey also asked.

"…"

Su Yehao was stunned after listening. This performance was different from what he had imagined.

He originally thought it would be a tug-of-war, with them saying things like "I can't possibly lose control of the company" or "Sorry, I'm only willing to accept financing."

What about dreams?

What about the ambition to succeed in entrepreneurship?

Why were they all starting to talk to him about salary and benefits…