Volume 3: My days in a college fraternity Chapter 106 Bait
"Mickey, Debbie said you are thinking about the future development of the company. Can I participate?" Jim pushed open the office door of Lotus CEO Mickey Kapur and asked loudly as he pushed the door open.
Mickey Kapur stood in front of a large desk, using a ruler and a pencil to draw something on a piece of white paper. He smiled helplessly and said, "Jim, before you come to see me next time, can you contact the secretary and ask her to confirm whether I have time?"
Jim walked over and found that the paper in front of Mickey was covered with straight, precise lines. It was obviously a circuit schematic.
It seems that every programmer who likes computers can draw a good circuit diagram, and then has strong enough hands-on ability to assemble some strange computers by hand based on the various drawings he draws.
He sat across the table, leaning his upper body on it, looking exhausted. He weakly looked at the secretary at the door and shouted with an exaggerated smile, "Debbie, can you give me a refreshing drink? You know my taste - California sucks because they don't have the special drink you prepared for me."
"Of course, Mr. Manz." The secretary chuckled, turned and left the office, closing the door considerately.
Jim slowly sat up straight and tapped his back gently with his hands. His voice gradually became calmer and deeper: "The long-distance flight damaged my back muscles."
"It may also be that the long-term pleasure behavior has damaged it. Burch from Information World once called the company and cursed at you, and asked the company administrator to remember to play the call recording for you. You caused him to lose more than 3,000 yuan." Mickey stared at the drawing, holding the ruler in one hand, and the pencil in the other hand drew a new extension line again along with the ruler. Looking at his focused expression, it seemed that he was not drawing a drawing, but more like the Creator creating a new life.
Jim looked at Mitch Kapur and said, “So now can you give me a little bit of your time while you think about how to transform the company into a hardware company?”
"Of course, of course..." Mickey agreed perfunctorily, but he didn't put down the pencil until the line was finished. He looked at Jim and smiled: "Of course there is time, Jim, you can say whatever you want now."
Jim stared into Mickey's eyes and nodded. "I called you and Jonathan in California, remember? I also asked my secretary to bring the software back. Actor Company, I heard you say before that you wanted to send Jonathan to fly there to talk to them and see if there is any chance to acquire them, right?"
"Yeah, I did say that," Mickey nodded.
"Then I called you and Jonathan in California, hoping that you would fly over to join me or authorize me, but you never responded. You like that company and that software, and now you can recruit them." Jim Manz spread his hands in confusion, stared into Mickey's eyes and asked:
"And no response? I waited like a fucking idiot for you guys in California for two days, then had to fly back to make sure the company phone wasn't working, or California wasn't part of the Earth anymore and there was an absurd communication delay between us? Why?"
Mickey didn't rush to answer Jim Manz's words. Instead, he walked to his own president's desk and dialed the intercom: "Ask Jonathan to come to my office. Thank you."
After finishing the call, Mickey sat back at his desk, leaned back in his chair and looked at the somewhat angry Jim: "Jonathan and I have discussed that we don't want to have any contact with Actor anymore."
"That would at least give me a reaction," Jim said, staring at Mickey. "Instead of leaving me in California looking like a fucking homeless kid."
Mickey lowered his head and smiled bitterly, shaking his head. "No, Jim, we have no problem with you. In fact, Jonathan and I didn't contact you for two days because we were together, constantly discussing a problem, how to explain it to Jim and convince Jim not to let us contact Actor."
"It sounds like you are not discussing me, but the Bluebeard in Grimm's Fairy Tales who terrorized two girls. Am I that scary?" Jim turned his head away and complained unhappily:
"Why can't you just bring me along for the discussion? Why is it always just you and Jonathan? I'm like a fucking prostitute who's always eager to have a threesome with you, waiting for your call!"
"You are too strong, Jim. To be honest, Jonathan and I are a little afraid of you. I am not kidding, we are really a little afraid of you. We think whether you are right or wrong, and we may have our own judgment, but the final reaction is always, screw it, let Jim do what he wants. Anyway, if we don't agree, Jim will definitely convince us to agree, and there will be no other results." Mickey put away his smile and said to Jim Manz frankly:
"We trust you and are somewhat afraid to discuss with you any issues you insist on."
Jim exhaled a breath of turbid air. "Okay, so after two days of discussion, have you come up with an explanation for me?"
"Because they are plagiarists, not creators with dreams. The version you brought back has no difference from the first version in terms of interface, but in fact, we can find out by comparing them that the version we received was carefully prepared by them. They portrayed themselves as admirers of Mickey and me, added some tributes to us, hoping to tickle our itch, and then acquired them naturally. They can make a lot of money with a few small functions. Obviously, we ignored them, and they sold another version by themselves. There was no reference to the Lotus prototype source code that Mickey and I published on the telephone line community. It just plagiarized our functions and interface, and was compatible with our files without authorization. I asked a lawyer, and the same interface is also infringement, so Mickey and I listened to you and taught these little scammers a lesson." Jonathan walked in from the door and said to Jim seriously:
"We are infuriated by their crude tactics."
Jim Manz listened to Jonathan's words attentively, then looked at Mickey. Mickey nodded to him, indicating that he agreed with Jonathan.
He likes to be with those who truly admire him. When Actor sent him the software for the first time, he thought the other party was this kind of person, but now he finds out that those guys are just bastards who want to take advantage of his appreciation for talent and take the opportunity to cheat for acquisition.
"I guess your lesson is to let the courts take them to court after they found out they were selling the software to some housewives for a profit?" Jim Manz finally asked Mickey, pulling a piece of gum provided by the flight attendant from his pocket, peeling it open and putting it in his mouth.
Mickey nodded: "Isn't this the method you taught us to deal with those small studios that plagiarize or borrow from others?"
"Listen, Mickey, I don't think the other party's purpose is that simple. Of course, I don't object to you using legal means to deal with them, but... but..." Jim chewed his gum and emphasized his tone, looking at the two founders separately:
"Can you hold off for a while? I'm talking to David Kearns of Xerox about Xerox's investment in Lotus, but he's been flying back and forth between Canada and Japan lately, so I haven't had a chance to talk to him in person. During the phone call, he said he was very interested in investing in Lotus, and Xerox was willing to invest $80 million in exchange for 10% of Lotus' shares."
Mickey looked at Jonathan first, then at Jim with a blank look on his face. "Sorry, Jim, I don't see the connection between discussing cooperation with Xerox and our lawsuit against Actor. And we have plenty of cash. Jim, don't rush to consider financing. I mean, I understand that the more cash the company has in reserve, the better, but I really can't think of any connection between the two things."
Jonathan also looked at Jim with a puzzled look on his face: "I don't even understand why we should talk about investment."
"Mickey, Jonathan, I know that many people in magazines value our company at 1.2 billion. Because of the amazing sales of Lotus 1-2-3, they call it the third largest software company after Microsoft and MicroPort." Jim rubbed his stubble vigorously with his hand.
"But since Mr. Leon Severn and his people left the company, frankly, the company has been like a baby with a huge checkbook, and we are by no means as strong and powerful in the industry as the magazines say."
When Mickey and Jonathan heard Jim mention Leon Seven, their faces became a little unnatural. Jonathan even lowered his head and turned slightly, as if Jim's mention of this name made him very unhappy.
Jim Manz also noticed the reactions of the two. Leon Seven was a key figure in the success of Lotus because it was he who co-founded the Seven Rosen Foundation, which invested $20,000 in the newly established Lotus and held a 30% stake.
The investment of 20,000 yuan allowed Mickey and Jonathan to focus on software development without distraction, and they eventually successfully developed the phenomenal software Lotus1-2-3. However, not long after the software was launched on the market, before the sales data became popular, Mickey and Jonathan had a disagreement with Leon Seven. Mickey and Jonathan insisted on trying to develop hardware after developing the software. They were complete computer geeks and they wanted to make themselves happy first, regardless of whether they could make money or not.
However, Leon Seven suggested that the company should continue to focus on software development. Apparently, Leon Seven was finally annoyed by the two stubborn programmers. He, who had originally respected them, made the decision to withdraw his shares in disappointment. Lotus eventually repurchased Leon Seven's shares for 800,000, and the two parties were completely clear of all ties.
Although he only received 800,000, coupled with the sudden and astonishing sales of Lotus 1-2-3, Leon Seven's return on investment seemed a bit low, but in fact, he did not care about the small amount of money. As early as 1980, he easily made 300 million by selling a company he held shares in, and he invested in countless such companies. In addition, he also held shares in computer industry companies such as Microsoft, IMB, and Ashton Tate in various ways.
It seems that he set up the foundation just because he was bored and wanted to see if anyone had a more interesting dream, or had the potential to change the computer industry, and then use the money to invest in the other person's dream. Making money would be the best, but not making money would not affect his status and life.
"You mean we have become babies after losing Mr. Leon Seven, who only knows how to persuade us to abandon our dreams and focus on money?" Mickey lowered his head first, then raised it and looked at Jim, smiling and said, "We still have you, don't we? You are the most perfect guardian of this company."
Jim Manz pursed his lips. He was somewhat touched by what Mickey said, but he still insisted in the end: "I am very happy that you regard me as a big shot, but in fact, I only have the work experience of assistant editor-in-chief of National Policy. I know some big shots who have been interviewed by that magazine. To put it bluntly, I have some connections, but I have no influence in this industry. Obviously, Mr. Seven, who has influence, will not return to Lotus. We can only find another sponsor to cooperate with. Xerox, which has enough influence in the typewriter, copier, printer and computer hardware industries, is obviously a good choice."
"You've said so much, but you haven't mentioned the connection between these two things, Jim." Jonathan looked at Jim blankly: " What does this have to do with our lesson to Actor?"
"Maybe the possibility is very, very low, but this possibility does exist, that is, the damn Actor company may be a bait thrown by a rival company that is drooling over us." Jim Manz looked at the two of them, slowed down his speech, opened his mouth, and raised his head, like a fish caught by a hook:
"If Mr. Seven was still here, or if Xerox invested in us, we would naturally have nothing to fear. No matter what kind of poison was mixed in the bait, we could digest it after swallowing it with their industry influence. But now there are only three of us, so I think we should be more cautious. Let it do whatever it wants and let the lawyers collect all kinds of information. I will deal with it after I get the cooperation from Xerox. Or, we can talk to it. If they like money, we can see if there is a chance to acquire it at a suitable price."
Mickey and Jonathan laughed out loud after hearing what Jim said. Mickey said, "When you dealt with those small companies that copied us, you never said we would be afraid. Besides, it's not us who are wrong. We are not small fry. The other party is a group of despicable liars and plagiarists."
"That's right, they are the minions, the real nobodys." Jonathan also said with his arms folded.
Jim said excitedly, "The real unknowns are those companies that made a little money in secret! Have you seen those companies send us software as a provocation? Have you seen them prepare two sets of software carefully? Have you seen them sell software to poor people with great fanfare? No, but Actor did these things, and it's not afraid that we know what it's doing. It's like a coquettish woman, standing across the street and posing to you! It mocks you, idiot, do you dare to fuck me? You don't dare, I bet your thing doesn't work at all, you are a..."
"Before you came back, we had our colleagues in the company's legal department file a lawsuit in the Massachusetts court." Mickey saw that Jim started to use foul language again because of excitement, and suddenly spoke calmly.
Jim seemed to have something stuck in his throat and stood there in a daze. He looked at Mickey and then at Jonathan, who nodded affirmatively.
Jim opened his mouth for a few seconds before saying, "I thought this kind of thing should be discussed before deciding. In other words, it is my job to get rid of the opponent..."
"Of course it's your job, but we were irritated by the software you asked your secretary to bring and we overstepped our authority a little. It won't happen again next time, I promise, Jim." Mickey said to Jim.
Secretary Debbie came in with a carefully prepared cocktail and handed it to Jim, who was still in shock: "Mr. Manz, your drink."
Jim took it, walked in front of Mickey, took a few deep breaths, and then said fiercely: "Okay, I forgive you, but if I find out that something is wrong, I will choose to withdraw the lawsuit immediately, and you can't stop me."
"Of course," Mickey affirmed.
"You're welcome." Jim handed the cocktail to Mickey, turned around and hurriedly left the other's office.
After watching Jim walk by him without saying goodbye, Jonathan said to Mickey, who was holding a cocktail, "Jim looks angry."
Mickey Kapur walked to the drawing with a cocktail in his hand, admiring his work. Suddenly, he poured the cocktail on the drawing and turned to look at Jonathan: "Do you think we are the babies that Jim mentioned who will die at any time if we leave those damn capitalists?"
"I don't know. I only know that it is our Lotus company that provides Jim with salary." Jonathan shrugged: "Not Leon Seven."
