yournovel Chapter 256 Boarding
Chapter 256 Boarding
A queue had formed at the boarding gate. He stood at the end of the line, in front of him a middle-aged man in a suit, talking loudly on his mobile phone: "Yes, when I get to Silicon Valley I'm going to visit that browser company... StarCraft, yes, that's them... I heard they're raising funds for instant messaging..."
The man hung up the phone and glanced back. His eyes met Ling Yun's, but he didn't recognize him.
The plane was a Boeing 747-400. The flight attendant stood smiling at the cabin door, wearing a red uniform and a silk scarf tied neatly.
Passengers boarded one after another, including Chinese families with children, business travelers traveling alone, and a few young people who looked like international students. The cabin became noisy, filled with the sounds of overhead bins opening and closing, people asking for seats, and children crying.
Finally, a few flight attendants boarded, pushing a food cart. The cabin door closed, and the change in air pressure made my ears feel a little stuffy.
The plane began to taxi. Outside the window, the airport buildings slowly receded. Ground crew stood by the jet bridge waving, their movements subtle. The tires rolled over the seams, causing the fuselage to vibrate slightly.
Accelerate, lift off, and take off. The feeling of weightlessness lasted for a few seconds, then the plane climbed, breaking through the clouds. The land below became blurry patches of color, roads like thin lines, and rivers like silver ribbons.
The seatbelt indicator lights went out. The flight attendants began distributing headphones and blankets.
Ling Yun asked for a blanket and covered his lap. His neighbor finally arrived; a young white man wearing glasses and carrying a backpack, who looked no more than twenty-five. He struggled to stuff his bag into the overhead rack, then sat down heavily, letting out a long sigh.
"Going to San Francisco?" the young man asked, speaking in American English.
"Um."
"Work or travel?"
"Work."
"Me too." The young man pulled out a business card from his pocket. "I work as a programmer at a startup. I went back to China for the Chinese New Year, and now I'm going back to work."
The business card reads: Eric Chen, Software Engineer, Netscape Communications.
Ling Yun took the business card and glanced at it. "Netscape."
"You know?" Eric's eyes lit up. "Our company is still number one in the browser market, although Microsoft is catching up very quickly..." He paused, lowering his voice, "but there are rumors circulating internally that the company may be laying off staff. The browser is now free, and we don't know how to make money."
"Star Technology is making a browser," Ling Yun said.
Eric abruptly turned his head and stared at Ling Yun for a few seconds. "You're... from Starry Sky?"
"I guess so."
"Wow." Eric sat up straight. "I use Starlight Browser every day, it's so much more stable than Netscape's. Your JavaScript engine is so fast. And the developer tools..." He suddenly stopped, a little embarrassed. "Sorry, I got too excited."
"It's alright." Ling Yun put the business card in his pocket. "How's Netscape doing lately?"
Eric's expression darkened. "Not good. Microsoft's IE is now bundled with Windows; users just turn on their computers and use it, they never think to download another browser. Our market share has been declining. Last quarter's financial report was terrible, the stock price dropped 30%." He looked out the porthole, where the sea of clouds stretched out below. "I might have to consider changing jobs."
A flight attendant pushed a food cart over, interrupting the conversation. The lunch options were chicken rice or beef noodles. Lingyun ordered chicken rice, while Eric chose beef noodles.
The plastic lunchbox was opened, releasing a mixture of steam and the aroma of food. The chicken rice didn't look very appealing; the rice was a bit hard, and the chicken was coated in a thick sauce. Ling Yun poked at it with her fork, took a couple of bites, and then put it down.
"Not good?" Eric, on the other hand, ate with great relish, slurping the noodles loudly.
"I'm not hungry." Ling Yun took a sip of water.
After dinner, the cabin lights were dimmed. Most passengers began to sleep, while some turned on the overhead reading lights to read. The roar of the engines became the constant background noise.
Ling Yun took out a notebook and pen from his backpack. He opened to a blank page and began to write.
Key points of Xingyu's financing:
1. Valuation anchor: Microsoft acquired ICQ for $4.3 million, with approximately 300 million users (estimated based on publicly available data). The valuation per user is approximately $143.
2. Star Language's advantages: 427 million users, higher monthly active users (67% vs ICQ's estimated 50%), more complete functions (file transfer, voice, plugin system), and multiple platforms (Star Language + Windows).
3. Minimum asking price: A minimum valuation of $200 per user. Total valuation starts at $8.5 million.
4. Strategic Value:
- To Abu Dhabi: Digital infrastructure, export of soft power.
- For France: European digital sovereignty against US technology monopoly.
- For US venture capital: financial returns + ecosystem development.
5. 出让比例：本轮计划融资1.5-2亿美元，出让15-20%股份。保留控制权。
6. Bottom-line clause:
- Lingyun personally holds no less than 50% of the shares.
- Board seats: 6 seats for Lingyunfang, 2 seats for investors, and 1 seat for independent directors.
- Veto power over major decisions.
- Anti-dilution clause.
7. Negotiation Strategies:
- Round 1: Ask each company to submit a non-binding offer.
- Second round: Select 3-5 companies to conduct due diligence.
- Third round: Final negotiations, using competition to drive up prices.
8. Alternative Plan: If the price is not ideal, consider bringing in strategic investors (such as AOL or Yahoo), but be wary of losing control.
He wrote quickly, his handwriting somewhat messy. The scratching of the pen on the paper drowned out the sound of the engine.
He stopped writing halfway through and turned to the previous page. There he found other content he had written earlier:
Key milestones in 1998:
- Q1: Star Language Financing, Star Technology Series B (completed).
- Q2: Launch Star System 2.0 (deep browser integration).
- Q3: Alienware computers are in mass production, and Spark Electronics factory is expanding its capacity (completed).
- Q4: Deployment of mobile terminals (pre-research on feature phone operating systems).
- Full Year: Continue to invest in the chip industry chain (Ni Guangnan team).
risk:
1. Microsoft launches a full-scale counterattack (suppression from three fronts: operating system, browser, and instant messaging).
2. The timing of the dot-com bubble burst (I recall it being in March 2000, but the butterfly effect may have brought it forward).
3. Funding chain (financing must be successful).
4. Management challenges brought about by team expansion (currently, the number of people reporting directly to has exceeded 15).
5. International political risks (suspension of Chinese-background technology companies in the United States).
He stared at the words "international political risks" for a long time. Then he added a sentence after it with his pen: "In the long run, it is necessary to establish dual headquarters in China and the United States, and to decentralize the technical team."
He paused for a moment, then added, "And, the backup plan after returning home."
When I closed my laptop, the plane had already crossed the International Date Line.
Ling Yun glanced at his watch—according to the destination time, it was 3:00 AM on February 1st. But his biological clock told him it was 7:00 PM Jinan time.
He tried to close his eyes and rest, but his mind was unusually clear. The financing plan was repeatedly rehearsed in his mind, and various possibilities and coping strategies were constantly being arranged and combined like pieces on a chessboard.
Eric, sitting next to me, suddenly stirred, mumbled something in his sleep, and then fell back into a deep sleep.
The flight attendant tiptoed down the aisle, checking if the passengers were covered with blankets. Seeing that Ling Yun's eyes were open, she nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
After an unknown amount of time, the captain's intercom came on, announcing in both Chinese and English: "Dear passengers, we are about to begin our descent. The local time in San Francisco is 8:40 AM, the ground temperature is 12 degrees Celsius, and the weather is clear. Please fasten your seatbelts and straighten your seatbacks..."
The outline of land appeared outside the porthole. Bays, bridges, and densely packed buildings. The red of the Golden Gate Bridge stood out vividly in the morning light.