novelBright Future 1
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So Jake was sweating while talking on the phone, he had to take a deep breath not to show that he was nervous over the phone, he believed the first impression really was what it was like so he wanted to be confident over the phone to Jeff Bezos.
That's why he talked about how he had invested for many years in technology companies what was true and also how $ 30 million invested does not make a big company pay attention to the investor what was also true.
But with that, he indirectly showed Jeff that he had been an investor since the dawn of the internet age and also that he had over 30 million capital to invest, if Jake could he would actually lend and invest millions from Amazon.
But he knew that Jeff would never want to give Jake such a stake, so he believed he could just leave an impression of being a big investment for Jeff Bezos, all to increase Jeff's confidence in Jake.
And the reason was that he wanted to meet Jeff in person to discuss the details of the investment, and maybe if Jake didn't do it Jeff could scorn Jake a bit for being too young at their first meeting in person.
In order for this not to happen, Jake needed to show that he was a serious businessman before that, so he could even get more stock after a trade.
"I can consider that, but for that, we need to meet in person, what do you think about me going to Miami to talk to you better?"
"I think that's very good, bring some detailed reports from your company and maybe we can close business on your trip here."
"I hope so, see you soon."
Jake was very happy and pleased with this first conversation so that he could talk more easily with Jeff in Miami and it would also be much easier to make a good impression on this meeting.
Jake decided to leave the details of when they could meet and also Jeff's reception for Emily to take care of, even though Jeff was in the future one of the richest men in the world, now he was just a businessman who was starting to develop the company.
So Jake would have to show that he was only interested in the company and not its owner, this business had to work out because Jake had so much advantage in this negotiation by knowing the future.
So in Jake's first week of class, he couldn't even focus much on class thinking about the upcoming meeting, Emily had talked to Jeff and he said he would come to Miami later this week.
So after a few days, they met at a restaurant in the hotel where Jeff was staying, Jeff was not surprised that Jake was young because Emily had accidentally talked about it while talking about how amazing it was that Jake was a young athlete and businessman.
Coincidentally Jeff had also seen a Jake commercial on television and some news about Jake winning the marathon, which made Jeff more willing to have Jake as an investor, after all, sports-related people generally have little interest in business matters.
So Jeff thought Jake just wanted to invest in order to make more money in the future, that's what Jeff wanted, an investor who just came in with the money and didn't interfere with the way he ran the business.
But that was very hard to find, usually, the more money one invests the more interested in giving one's opinion on the company's business, Jeff wanted to be the president of the company he created himself and would not accept anyone else for it.
"Hi Jake, it's nice to meet you, I saw you in a television commercial, amazing you're a famous athlete at your age."
"I'm not famous yet, I'm just starting out, but you had to have a lot of courage to quit a good job at a big company in New York to start a company in Seattle."
"I see you know something about me, I wanted to take this excellent opportunity to start my own company, as you said on the phone this is the best time for tech companies."
"I really believe that, with the government's new project to encourage the development of the internet in a few years, more than half of the American population and the world will be able to connect with these start-up companies."
"Everyone likes to read books, I particularly read in class, so I think your company has great growth potential, and if you want you can also expand to other products on the internet."
"I also think like you, but I would like to know why you are interested in my company and not others that are also being created now?"
"I'm interested in these companies too, I've been investing in Cisco for over three years ago and I've made a lot of money out of it, I also have a stake in a company that makes digital cameras, so I've always been looking for something that could give me more money in the future."
"I believe you are a sensible person who can grow your business and make a lot of money in a few years, and I need to see your company's business reports to be sure, but I think your company has a better foundation to develop in than others."
So Jeff stopped asking other questions and handed in the company's earnings reports, assets, and future development proposals, just as Jake hoped the company was now valued at $ 40 million.
In the company's future development proposals they had information about starting selling electronics, software, video games, among other things, and also that the company intended to make the IPO next year.
These were things Jake already knew well, yet he spent a lot of time reading all the information, many things he was reading about the future development proposals would not be accomplished.
"How much percentage of the company are you willing to open mom for me to invest in?"
"I have 60 percent of the company now, I have other investors who have another 40 percent, next year many of these stocks will have to be diluted for the IPO next year, we have to see how much you are going to invest."
"I plan to invest $ 12 million in the company, and I can even sign a contract saying that I will always support your decisions at the company and not interfere with business, how much do you think you can give me?"
Jeff didn't expect Jake to come in with so much money at once, he could dilute the shares of the other shareholders and his own as well, so he wouldn't need any more investors until next year's IPO.
What interested him most was that Jake said he could even sign a contract saying it didn't interfere with the company's management and would still support him, Jeff hoped Jake might not have much interest in the company, but didn't expect it to be so much.
Also, it seemed that Jake had a lot of confidence in him, so Jeff decided to accept Jake as an investor, with Jake's investments he would have 45 percent of the company, but that was just the official company rating, as a technology company was worth a lot more than that.
"I can give you 25 percent of the company's stock, next year those stocks will be further diluted with the IPO and may be worthless, what do you think?"
So Jake thought through the situation, he knew that Jeff Bezos had invested over $ 300, 000 in setting up the company after Jake invested and got 25 percent, Jeff must have 45 percent and other investors even less.
"I accept, but I have one condition, that my future shares may not be worth less than 12 percent, I may even add more capital to avoid further dilution."
"Alright, so let's prepare the contract for the stock purchase, no need to sign a contract promising to support me in the company and not interfere, I accept your word."
Jake knew he had not changed the future that much now, he may have at most invested in place of other investors, but as Jeff had 45 percent and he had 25 percent of Amazon he thought that as Jeff would have more than 17 percent of the company in the future he would have less.
After all Jake invested $ 12 million to have 25 percent, plus Jake had invested a lot more than other investors, not to mention that many will try to sell their shares after a few years.
Even if Jake had a condition of having at least 12 percent in the future he would be happy even if he had 0. 5 percent of the shares after 20 years, after all, he would still have a bright future with that.
He had $ 500, 000 before that and could borrow another $ 11 million to invest, so he would get some of Matthew's company profit last year so he could repay that loan in no time.
If he wanted he could only sell part of the stock when Amazon made the IPO and he would have the loan money back, in fact, he didn't know he would need so much to buy those stocks in 1996, he didn't know that Jeff had made a few rounds of investment and raised over 9 million before.
But he was determined not to miss this unique chance of becoming a millionaire, so they broke up to settle the contract and Jake had to prepare the loan, so after another week he signed the contract and they were both happy about it.
Now Jeff had more money to make the necessary investments in the company and Jake knew he was lucky to have gotten those shares, in fact even Jeff himself couldn't know that his company would be the most valuable in the world in a few years.
After all Jake remembered seeing in a report that Jeff told his investors that the company had a 70 percent chance of going bankrupt, it showed how well he considered the risks and so kept his company as one of the only ones that had gone through the crisis of 2000.
After a few days, John and Alan said that Jake's commercial would start airing on television, Jake was used to it and was no longer so excited about it, but both companies expected a lot from that commercial.
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