Chapter 285 Crisis is Opportunity

    With numerous companies in Silicon Valley struggling, Google, supported by Su Yehao, appeared to be handling things with ease.

    This was partly because they had just completed financing before the crisis hit.

    Another reason was their streamlined operations and personnel, resulting in lower expenses compared to other companies.

    Not being listed on the stock market also had its advantages.

    At least they didn't have to face pressure from the market and shareholders, nor be constantly scrutinized by the media, who would relentlessly mock how dire their situation was.

    The mainland internet market was so small that any loss would be met with cries of despair, whereas Nasdaq had already seen trillions of dollars evaporate, making the situation seem even more serious.

    As for Larry Page, as long as Su Yehao was unconcerned, he could live comfortably.

    The new shareholders who had joined the company during the financing round were unable to control Su Yehao. In the end, they only received shares without the corresponding decision-making power.

    One of the reasons why internet companies from various countries flocked to Nasdaq for listing was because it recognized the "dual-class share structure" policy, preventing company founders from losing control of their companies due to fundraising out of a lack of money.

    At this moment.

    Su Yehao drank the tea brewed by Linda Yun and asked, "How is Yahoo doing? Are they still targeting our company?"

    Larry Page's lips curved upwards as he rummaged through his bag and took out his laptop.

    "Su, half the reason I came to see you was about Yahoo. Take a look at this email from Yahoo's new CEO, Tim Koogle. If nothing goes wrong, our company will win this round soon."

    Larry Page opened a document on the desktop, containing an email in pure English.

    Fortunately, it was only a few short lines. Su Yehao scanned through it, didn't find any unfamiliar words, and was stunned after reading it, exclaiming in surprise, "Yahoo wants to cooperate with us and use our search engine!?"

    "That's right. Mr. Tim Koogle sent me the email last night. I haven't dealt with him before, but I heard he's a gentle and mild-mannered gentleman who likes to play the guitar."

    "But... why?"

    Su Yehao was puzzled.

    He had been doing business for quite a while now, and he couldn't understand why Yahoo would abandon its previous suppression tactics and instead start "nurturing a threat."

    For a moment, terms like "a dagger hidden in a smile," "passing off a fake for the real," and "releasing in order to capture" flashed through his mind. He felt that things were not so simple.

    Larry Page drank the Longjing tea, feeling warm and comfortable. He was thinking that it was indeed an ancient country that knew how to enjoy life. He thought about setting up a tea table like this back in Silicon Valley and learning how to brew tea, feeling that it could calm his mind.

    Hearing Su Yehao's question, Larry spread his hands and explained:

    "I also thought about it for a long time and asked around before I found out that users are very dissatisfied with Yahoo's search engine. Investors also believe that it has neither completed the update of new-generation search engine technology nor has software to handle search advertising. Mr. Tim Koogle spoke to me on the phone, and his additional requirement is to invest in our Google, taking at least 20% of the shares. This will be the basis for Yahoo to support us, and they will pay us a technology usage fee every year."

    Su Yehao understood upon hearing this.

    In short, Yahoo had recently changed its leadership and was facing internal and external troubles. Since it couldn't completely crush Google, it thought of investing in it, while also improving users' and investors' perception of Yahoo.

    Thinking deeper.

    Their approach was not without the intention of restricting Google's development, trying to put Google in a cage.

    The search engine itself only provides search services to users. Whether it is maintaining servers or upgrading, providing better products to users requires a lot of money.

    However, if Google's search engine is used on Yahoo, the most important advertising business would be taken away by Yahoo, leaving Google to earn only small profits from technology licensing and other aspects.

    Thinking of this.

    Su Yehao immediately shook his head and stated:

    "We don't need to become Yahoo's appendage, trapping ourselves in a bottle. We should try our best to seize more market share while Yahoo's business is weak."

    Larry Page immediately replied, "That's what Danielle and I think too. She inquired and found that Yahoo is also in contact with Overture. In fact, Yahoo's board of directors even planned to acquire Overture and absorb the company's search advertising business."

    Su Yehao knew this company. It was also a popular competitor with Google, with a user base similar to Google's, but the valuation given to it by assessment agencies was much higher than Google's, reaching as high as three to four billion US dollars last year.

    He first heard of Overture from Yahoo's board meeting records. This company had developed a service called "pay-for-performance," which is the so-called "bidding for ranking."

    It determines the price advertisers need to pay each time a user clicks through bidding and links it to specific keywords. The higher the bidding amount given by advertisers for a certain keyword, the higher the ranking of the relevant website when visitors search with that keyword.

    Thinking of this, Su Yehao's eyes twitched, and he finally knew where a certain search engine company got its idea from.

    Although this technology is annoying to internet users, it is quite profitable for companies that provide search services. As long as the user base is large enough, accumulating small amounts can result in a considerable income.

    Suddenly relieved, Su Yehao said in English:

    "We have an old saying, 'If the heavens want to rain, and a mother wants to remarry, let it be...' It might be more accurate in Chinese, but that's the idea."

    "Also, although Overture's bidding ranking is good, the search results are not accurate enough, and the web pages are too complicated, lacking our simplicity and precision. So, just continue to develop according to the original ideas. However, you can study Overture's profit model, package it in a way that users are more willing to accept, and then improve our products."

    "..."

    Larry Page said quietly, "Actually, we are already doing this. Sergey suggested that I set up an advertising alliance, but because of Yahoo's influence before, our user growth has slowed down, and the scale has not reached expectations."

    Su Yehao smiled after hearing this and added:

    "The financial crisis in the internet industry has just begun. Other peers will desperately decorate their data to make it more attractive in order to attract investors. This leads them to spend money on advertising, and the search engine industry is the same. Next, you can adapt to the situation and appropriately increase the scale of advertising."

    "I understand what you mean. If you encounter a really suitable company, can you merge or acquire it?" Larry Page asked.

    "Oh? Larry, have you encountered a company you want to acquire?"

    "Not yet, just asking for your opinion first. The merger of ICQ and tvt instant messaging had a synergistic effect, and I think this crisis may be an opportunity for our Google."

    As soon as Larry Page finished speaking, Su Yehao patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile:

    "Be bolder, remove the 'maybe', this is an opportunity for us. Although I don't want to carry out a second round of financing too early, we can also launch a Series B financing when the time is right for the company's future. You don't have to feel pressured..."