[Chapter 3: Yahoo!]
This was Yahoo! In the early days of the internet bubble, Yahoo was the ultimate goldmine. To John Leighton, Netscape and Yahoo seemed like stacks of dollar bills. Anyone involved in the internet, or even those casually following global economics or finance, had definitely heard of these flagship internet companies.
Clicking around the Yahoo website, browsing information, it didn't feel like a typical portal site yet -- more like a detailed web directory. John wondered just how far Yahoo had come at this point.
He didn't think about Netscape much because Netscape went public in 1995, and it was already too late to get involved by then. Also, Netscape was eventually acquired later on. But Yahoo was a household name, with way more potential. Despite some rough patches down the line, Yahoo was a dominant force during the early internet era, capturing a huge share of the market.
As he recalled, Yahoo officially incorporated and raised its first round of funding in 1995, with Sequoia Capital leading the way -- one of the most famous venture capital success stories. Yahoo built Sequoia Capital's reputation and that of Masayoshi Son, earning 'King of Investment' status. Then Yahoo went public in 1996, although the exact date eluded him -- after all, in his previous life, he was just a game admin, not a historian of the internet.
Whenever John thought about these things, he couldn't help but scoff at internet novel authors from his past life. Their protagonists, it seemed, carried an encyclopedia in their heads -- memorizing exact dates and details without missing a beat. Such flawless recall! If they had memories like that, surely they'd be geniuses. So why were they struggling before their rebirth?
Meanwhile, John himself had been reborn for 15 years and only made a bit of money through the World Cup, and that too just a few matches. Who exactly participated in the 1994 World Cup? He barely knew. The only reason he recognized a few teams was the U.S made the list for the first time. He could barely keep track of the Round of 16 or Quarterfinals. Seeing novel protagonists become millionaires and billionaires through a few World Cups always made John shake his head.
He knew about the 1980s yen appreciation and the Plaza Accord but was just a kid back then -- what good was that knowledge? Or the 1990s British pound crisis -- he had heard the stories but never knew what to do. He just waited for the storms to pass.
Thinking that Yahoo should be starting to connect with financial capital and gearing up for funding, John wondered if the portal concept had already been introduced. After all, Yahoo pioneered the idea of the web portal -- a concept that future portals worldwide would emulate.
At this point, Yahoo was still more like a categorized list, and it hadn't yet coined the portal term. Plus, it didn't even go by "Yahoo" yet, but "Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web." It seemed Yahoo only got registered as a company with that name in 1995. They even added the exclamation mark later -- "Yahoo!" -- which was amusing.
He wished he could just run to Silicon Valley right now, find Jerry and David, and tell them he was ready to invest his entire $500,000, just for a share in the company. After all, Yahoo reached a peak market value of nearly $100 billion in 1999.
He then logged off, asked Mike to settle up, and ignored Zach's complaints.
...
Back at the apartment, John dragged Zach into his room.
"Zach, I've found a way for us to get rich."
"What?"
"When you browse the internet, what do you use to find info?"
"A web directory?"
"Yes, that directory. What if we invest in it?"
"Oh my god! Do you even know where these companies are based? And maybe venture capitalists are already on them. Man, I admit it's a good idea, but with just tens of thousands, it seems like a losing game."
"Hey, Zach, don't shoot me down so fast. How will we know if we don't try? Don't you trust me? This could be our only shot at getting wealthy in this lifetime. Plus, contacting them isn't hard -- the site lists their contact info. I'm heading to Silicon Valley right now. I know all these companies are there. From now on, Zach, you're my personal lawyer. Book me a flight this afternoon. I want to be in Silicon Valley by tonight and meet the leaders tomorrow. We're going to invest."
John said this with all seriousness, even waving his hands for emphasis.
Maybe it was John's determination that softened Zach's resistance, or maybe the lure of chasing wealth persuaded him. Or perhaps John literally packing his bags conveyed the resolve. Also, Zach, being the legal guardian figure and naturally kind-hearted, couldn't refuse.
In the end, Zach told his law firm the situation and took a week off. He grabbed his and John's suitcases and drove their old pickup truck to the airport, ignoring that it was New Year's Day -- a national holiday.
...
Thanks to the convenience of airports, the trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco -- the heart of Silicon Valley -- took just over an hour, despite being hundreds of miles. On the flight, Zach couldn't help but joke about the flight attendants, all middle-aged women, unlike the dazzling hostesses common in movies.
Arriving in San Francisco around 3 p.m., they booked a hotel with internet access. Zach arranged a rental car for the next day.
Later in the hotel room, John logged on again, found the contact number, and told Zach to call and propose an angel investment meeting for the next morning.
"Yes... Yes!... Yes!"
When Zach finished the call, wrote down the address, and nodded affirmatively, John jumped up excitedly.
"Man, calm down! Listen -- the person on the phone sounded thrilled. Maybe they haven't even sought funding yet. John, if you really invest, this could work, though who knows what the future holds."
John was too excited to hold back, but Zach interrupted to talk about the realities of investing.
"As long as they're willing to talk and give us shares, I'm locked in. We're going to make it big this time," John declared firmly.
"Let's hope so. Fine, you call the shots." Zach shrugged, knowing there was no stopping his friend.
With the green light, John barely registered anything else. This was the future Yahoo! Just thinking about its peak $100 billion valuation made him feel like his financial worries were over. He even imagined bragging that from now on, money was just a number -- a popular saying in his future time.
Early next morning, Zach picked up a yawning, barely-slept John Leighton. They got in the rented car and headed off on their Silicon Valley dream chase -- a quest for fortune.
*****
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