Rebirth of the Tech Madman

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 five million.

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

Tang Huan's camera was usually kept in the company, and he had already taken a lot of commemorative photos, so Wang Xuehong took it nearby 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 visit Apple's high-level executives has been confirmed by the other party. Jobs promised to come and have a look in the afternoon, and the company has already made preparations for the reception.

It has to be said that although Zerone is still in the start-up stage, Tang Huan’s salary for employees is very competitive among peers, and he also provides various benefits including lunch, so that even if they are under high pressure at work, they can still work hard. 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 called the phone himself, 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 founder of UT Starcom in the future 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's late arrival to heart. After all, he is a well-known figure now, not to mention that Apple executives like Markkula, Woz, and Scott have all arrived, which fully demonstrates the closeness of cooperation between the two parties. .

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

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

This lawsuit tossed Microsoft to the verge of bankruptcy. Fortunately, Gates' father, a well-known lawyer, came forward to run around, and it was successfully settled. The company's headquarters was transferred 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 is an 8-year license contract worth US$25,000 for the Microsoft version of the BASIC programming language. There is not much oil and water, but since then Gates can often come and go to Apple and get other applications from Jobs. Software development project.

For such a future richest man in the world who is proficient in both technology and the market,

It's no wonder Tang Huan was not vigilant.

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

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 was on the surface. He even pulled Jobs and Gates from left to right, and asked Wang Xuehong to 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 CGrid1.2 version, it includes perfect support for printout. After Tang Huan gave a demonstration, he passed the printed document to everyone for appreciation. The reactions of the people who came to visit can be described as wonderful. Sun Zhengyi and Lu Hongliang were amazed, Gates was thoughtful, but 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 $2,000, it's much lower than a laser printer, and 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 raised negative opinions without hesitation, fully demonstrating what it means to be eccentric.

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 signaled Scott to pull Jobs away, Now the functions of CGrid are really perfect, and it is really necessary for our two companies to jointly carry out marketing promotion 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 are using your spare time to take care of company affairs. You are so busy, are you willing to sell the company directly to us?

Tang Huan was slightly taken aback when he heard this. It seems that Apple is really jealous of Zerone's performance. But this is also true. In the original history, after the first spreadsheet software VisiCalc sold well, Apple had the idea of ​​​​buying it out, but Markkula felt that the other party’s asking price of US$1 million was too expensive due to limited vision, so he finally gave up.

Under the guidance of Tang Huan, the current Zerone is many times stronger than the original VisiCalc, so 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 gave a harmless and shy smile, and did not respond. Like Woz, he continued to observe CGrid carefully, which made Tang Huan very worried. It seemed that he would soon face the challenge of a new opponent in the field of spreadsheets.

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, Don't think about it, if you are also optimistic about Zerone's prospects, you can definitely invest in it, and 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 offered to allow the other party to buy a $1 million equity in Apple, and Xerox agreed to the deal. Only then did Jobs succeed in stealing a lesson and commercialize the GUI, that is, the graphical user interface, and that investment became 17.6 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 temporarily put this topic aside.

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 angrily wiped off the saliva sprayed on his face by the other party after the secret was broken.

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 is only the leader in the field of personal computers, and other competitors such as Tangdi, Comodo, Atali, MITS, etc. are struggling to catch up, and the sum of their market shares is naturally far behind. This is the root cause of Tang Huan's refusal 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 rude, give me an explanation first. Jobs waved his hand indifferently.

These computers are just for research, not as complicated 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 product will never appear on an Apple computer again. Jobs said viciously.

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.