Reborn Tech Maniac

Chapter 11 Big Gathering of Future Giants

Deng Lijun, the shareholder, came to Zerone for the first time. Seeing more than a dozen busy employees in the office area, she couldn't believe it. Such an inconspicuous small company has only been in operation for more than a month, and its sales have already It has exceeded 500 million.

When Wang Xuehong saw Deng Lijun, her eyes were immediately full of little stars, and she ran over to ask for an autograph. Even though she is majoring in economics now, when she first arrived at Berkeley, she chose music as a major, which shows her interest in music. love it.

Tang Huan's camera was usually kept in the company and had already taken a lot of commemorative photos, so Wang Xuehong took it near the water tower terrace and took a photo with Deng Lijun.

Seeing this, Tang Huan shook his head secretly. You revealed the name of the Wang family early, and you still have to wait until the United States to get a group photo to sign?It's too low-key.

The invitation to Apple's top executives to visit has been confirmed by the other party. Jobs promised to come and have a look in the afternoon, and the company has made preparations for the reception.

It has to be said that although Zerone is still in the entrepreneurial stage, Tang Huan’s salary to employees is very competitive among peers, and it also provides various benefits including lunch, so that they can still work even under high pressure. Can be full of motivation and contentment.

Tang Huan thought of Sun Zhengyi who he met not long ago. Isn't this old man always thinking about visiting him? He was too busy a while ago and didn't have a chance to receive him. So let's invite him over this time and learn a lot from him.

After Tang Huan made the call in person, Sun Zhengyi readily agreed and asked if he could bring his entrepreneurial partner Lu Hongliang with him. Of course, Tang Huan had no reason to refuse. The future founder of UTStarcom is also a great person. of archaeological value.

In the afternoon, Sun Zhengyi arrived first, which shows his sincerity.Lu Hongliang is tall and tall, walking with Sun Zhengyi, there is a sense of joy in contrast.

After exchanging pleasantries, Tang Xuan took them to look at the latest version of CGrid. Sun Zhengyi's eyes were straightened at that time. Obviously, hearing is believing, seeing is believing. The application prospect of this software is too broad, far surpassing him. The proud work of the language translation machine.

Tang Huan didn't take Jobs' belated arrival seriously. After all, he was now a well-known figure. What's more, top Apple executives like Markkula, Woz, and Scott were all here, which fully demonstrated the close cooperation between the two parties. .

However, another person brought by Jobs, Bill Gates, made Tang Huan feel a little wary while welcoming him with a smile.

Compared to Jobs, Gates' status at this time is slightly inferior. In 1975, he made his first pot of gold by developing the Altair BASIC interpreter for MITS. However, in the fierce market competition that followed, the founder of MITS did not manage well and sold the company, which triggered the patent for the BASIC interpreter. dispute.

This lawsuit brought Microsoft to the point of bankruptcy. Fortunately, Gates' father was a well-known lawyer and came forward to run around, so it was successfully settled, and the company's headquarters was moved to Gates' hometown, Seattle.

Now Microsoft's main business is to sell BASIC interpreters. Gates contacted microcomputer manufacturers everywhere to install the products in their computers, and he and Tang Huan sold CGrid to Apple for a routine.

The main deal between Gates and Apple was an eight-year licensing agreement for Microsoft's BASIC programming language worth $2.5. It wasn't much money, but from then on Gates was able to frequent Apple and get other applications from Jobs. Software development projects.

For such a future richest man in the world who is both proficient in technology and deeply versed in the market, it is no wonder that Tang Huan is not vigilant.

After all, anyone who has a little understanding of industrial development can foresee the ability of spreadsheet software to attract money.

Historically, Microsoft has two products in this area, Multiplan launched in 1982, and Excel born in 1985.

It's not because of this meeting that Gates, who has a habit of stealing teachers, will enter this field ahead of time, Tang Huan began to mutter.

The more worried he was secretly, the more enthusiastic Tang Huan became on the surface. He even pulled Jobs and Gates to the left and asked Wang Xuehong to help them take a photo together.

At this time, absolutely no one realizes the significance of this photo and what it means for the future industrial development.

Tang Huan's special attention, and the high-standard hospitality of all Zerone employees made Apple's staff very proud.

"Okay, Don, let's get straight to the point and look at your new product." Jobs urged impatiently.

Tang Huan nodded, and lifted the red cloth covering the demonstration computer and printer, "Today, I want to let everyone understand how the second-generation Apple machine functions as a commercial computer."

Among the various upgrades of CGrid version 1.2, there is perfect support for print output.After Tang Huan gave a demonstration, he passed the printed document to everyone for viewing.The reactions of the people who came to visit can be described as wonderful. Sun Zhengyi and Lu Hongliang were amazed, Gates was thoughtful, and the people from Apple were a little complicated. They nodded in appreciation after being pleasantly surprised, and even had faces on their faces. Showing jealousy.

"How do you plan to price this set of equipment?" Jobs was the first to ask.

"At US$2000, it is much lower than a laser printer. Users will definitely welcome it."

"No, the price is too high, more expensive than the whole computer. When users buy it, their attention will be completely attracted to the printer, and then the priority will be reversed, and our Apple brand will be ignored." Jobs waved his hand vigorously, arbitrarily He put forward negative opinions and fully demonstrated what it means to have a weird temper.

Tang Huan shook his head angrily, "Your reason is too far-fetched. We are now fully exploiting the market value of Apple Computers. You can't be jealous just because my price is higher than Apple Computers. Think hard about it." Think, how can users buy a set of our printing system every time they buy an Apple computer, Zerone will not steal the limelight from Apple."

"Jealous? Joke, what is there for you to be jealous? Do you know how popular Apple is with investors?" Jobs seemed to have been poked in the lungs, and he was a little furious.

Markkula coughed and motioned for Scott to pull away from Jobs, "Now that CGrid's functions are indeed very complete, it is indeed necessary for our two companies to jointly promote the market for this."

Jobs snorted and pushed Scott away, "I'm going to the bathroom."

Seeing that Jobs was no longer messing around, Scott came over and asked in a low voice, "Don, I heard that you are still in school, and you are taking care of company affairs in your spare time. You are so busy, are you willing to sell the company directly to us?"

Tang Huan was slightly startled when he heard this. It seemed that Apple was indeed jealous of Zerone's performance.But this is also true. In the original history, after the first spreadsheet software VisiCalc was sold well, Apple had the idea of ​​​​buying it out. However, Markkula felt that the other party's offer of US$100 million was too expensive due to limited vision, and finally gave up.

Under the guidance of Tang Huan, the current Zerone is countless times more powerful than the original VisiCalc. How could it be sold?

Tang Huan shook his head, "Zerone is my painstaking effort, I can't sell it, at worst, just drop out of school like Gates."

Gates smiled harmlessly and said nothing. Like Woz, he continued to observe CGrid carefully, which made Tang Huan worried. It seemed that he would soon face the challenge of a new opponent in the spreadsheet field.

After exchanging glances with Markkula, Scott and Markkula continued to lobby on this topic, "Don, you might as well think about it carefully, we can discuss the purchase price."

Tang Huan shook his head resolutely, "No need to think about it. If you are also optimistic about Zerone's prospects, you can definitely invest in it. I will definitely welcome it with both hands."

Scott nodded, "This proposal seems good."

Tang Huan smiled and waved his hands, "I haven't finished yet, Zerone's financial situation is good now, if you are willing to buy shares, it's best to exchange them with Apple's shares. In this way, everyone's cross-shareholding will bind interests Together, the foundation of trust between each other is stronger."

Obtaining a certain share of Apple shares before Apple goes public next year is one of Tang Huan's major goals. There is an example that can illustrate the appreciation potential of Apple shares.

In the original history, Jobs wanted to visit the PARC laboratory, but the other party refused due to technical confidentiality considerations. So Jobs set out the conditions for allowing the other party to purchase US$100 million of Apple's equity, and Xerox agreed to the deal. This led to the success of Steve Jobs and the commercial use of GUI, or graphical user interface, and that investment became 1760 million a year later.

Scott and Markkula exchanged glances again, unable to calculate the pros and cons of Tang Huan's proposal for a while, so they had to put the topic aside for the time being.

At this time, Jobs suddenly came over angrily, pointed at Tang Huan's nose and shouted: "Tang, you don't keep your promise. We agreed at the beginning that your CGrid can only run on Apple computers, but you are running on Apple computers." secretly develop versions for other platforms."

"I don't understand what you mean." Tang Huan, whose secret was revealed, angrily wiped away the saliva sprayed on his face.

Jobs snorted coldly, walked to the door of an office, and pushed it hard, "Look, what are these, they are all other types of computers, have you denied it?"

At this time, Apple was only the leader in the field of personal computers. Other competitors such as Tangdi, Quemodo, etc. were struggling to catch up, and their combined market share naturally far exceeded Apple Computers. This was also The fundamental reason why Tang Huan refused to give up this market share.

"Jobs, I must tell you that it is disrespectful to snoop into someone's office without the owner's consent."

"Damn rudeness, please give me an explanation first." Jobs waved his hand nonchalantly.

"These computers are just for research and are not as complex as you might think."

"Research? Do you want to make computers with your current strength?" Jobs showed disdain.

"Well, if you have to think so, then it is. With such a big market in front of me, I am not at all tempted, and no one will believe me when I say it." He got into trouble the year before last, was arranged to go to Xiangjiang, and finally came to the United States. He didn't want to get used to Jobs' bossing around.

"Finally admit it. From now on, your products will never appear on Apple computers again." Jobs said harshly.

"You can't decide this. My CGrid supports that company's computer, and its sales will skyrocket. Your threat is too childish."

"Then let's wait and see." Jobs walked away.

Markkula showed embarrassment, "Don, Jobs' temper is not very good, don't mind, our two companies still have a very solid basis for cooperation, we will study it when we go back, and we will discuss it in detail later."

Tang Huan suppressed the fire and nodded, "Okay, then I will wait for the good news."

(End of this chapter)