Chapter 2272: Negotiation Skills

Zhao Fusheng wasn't pessimistic about Uber's development; what he truly doubted was the company's future valuation.

Of course, he wouldn't say anything now, since this matter had little to do with him.

To put it bluntly, Zhao Fusheng didn't care at all about Uber's future value; what he considered was how to gain the maximum benefit from this affair.

"How about this: you contact Uber."

Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and said to Dong Chenxi, "We'll inject fifty million into Uber and demand more than fifty percent of the shares."

"Okay."

Dong Chenxi nodded, having no objection to this.

Although this was a project James had proactively contacted them about, such situations were perfectly normal in the investment field. James lacked the capital to invest, but Zhao Fusheng had it, so he was qualified to contact Uber.

As for whether they accepted or not, that was Uber's founder's problem.

"By the way, do you really intend to ask for fifty percent of the shares?"

Just as she was about to leave, Dong Chenxi suddenly stopped and asked Zhao Fusheng, "If I remember correctly, this company is only at the angel investment stage now."

"Haha, ask a sky-high price, and they'll make a ground-level counteroffer."

Zhao Fusheng waved his hand: "Just put forward the demand first; whether they agree or not, we'll see."

Dong Chenxi smiled wryly; after all this, the guy was planning to scare the other party first.

But this was also in line with her thinking.

After all, judging from the data, Dong Chenxi actually liked this company quite a bit; she wasn't like Zhao Fusheng, who was pessimistic about its future development.

Dong Chenxi felt that Uber's approach was correct; at the very least, the company should have no problem going public.

...

...

Dong Chenxi acted quickly; before long, she contacted Uber's founder and conveyed Zhao Fusheng's intentions to him.

Unexpectedly, the other party's reaction was quite enthusiastic.

"What do you mean, he wants to see me?"

Zhao Fusheng stared at Dong Chenxi in astonishment and said to her.

"Yes."

Dong Chenxi nodded: "Moreover, he asked us not to alert James."

Not alert James?

Zhao Fusheng frowned slightly, then nodded: "Alright, agreed."

"That Kalanick guy is not trustworthy."

Dong Chenxi said to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback: "What, you investigated him?"

"Yes."

Dong Chenxi handed a stack of documents to Zhao Fusheng: "Take a look at this."

Zhao Fusheng took it and read for a while, then burst into laughter.

Travis Kalanick dropped out of college in 1998 and founded a website with six of his friends.

Initially, they only wanted to create a web search engine, but it unexpectedly became the world's first P2P file-sharing search engine.

However, in 2000, the website was sued by 29 Hollywood companies for copyright infringement, demanding $300 million in damages. Eventually, they reached an out-of-court settlement, paid $1 million, and went bankrupt.

His first venture ended in bloodshed, leaving Kalanick deeply wounded. For months, he couldn't step into a movie theater—"Just seeing the names of the major studios made my blood boil."

Seeing this, Zhao Fusheng said to Dong Chenxi, "Doesn't this remind you of Qvod?"

Dong Chenxi was startled, furrowed her brows, and thought carefully; indeed, there was a resemblance.

Qvod's development model seemed similar to this.

Didn't that mean Qvod would face the same problem next?

"Do you want to warn Su Xia and the others?"

Dong Chenxi said to Zhao Fusheng.

"Why?"

Zhao Fusheng waved his hand: "It has nothing to do with us anymore."

Alright.

Dong Chenxi felt she had underestimated Zhao Fusheng's shamelessness.

She continued reading the materials.

In 2001, Kalanick reassembled his original team and co-founded a tech company.

Its main business was providing services to enterprises, improving the way their files were distributed online, increasing file transfer speeds, and helping companies save on server costs.

Besides making money, Kalanick's goal in starting this company was "revenge."

He wanted the Hollywood companies that had sued and bankrupted his first venture to buy his services, making them "lose a little money."

Unexpectedly, the company ran into trouble halfway: a partner tried to poach the development team to Sony, the capital chain broke, and the biggest investor, Mark Cuban—owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks—demanded to withdraw his funds.

During those tough days, Kalanick had to pay himself a salary and moved back to his mother's house to live off her.

Once, attending the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, he was so broke he slept in a rented car and washed up like a homeless person in a nearby casino bathroom.

By 2007, the company turned around; a tech firm bought Kalanick's company for $20 million, and 23 of the 29 Hollywood companies that had sued him became his clients.

Just last year, Kalanick and his friend Garrett Camp were in Paris, frustrated by the difficulty of hailing a taxi, which sparked the idea of developing a ride-hailing app, and Uber was born.

Among the many ride-hailing apps, Uber stood out.

It offered high-end private car booking services, connecting users with drivers providing car rental services. Users simply sent a ride request with one tap on the app, and a nearby vehicle would pick them up.

"FedEx promises to deliver packages overnight; we can do it in five minutes. Except we deliver a luxury car that can take you anywhere you want to go."

Looking at the founder's smug declaration on the document, Zhao Fusheng was lost in thought.

This guy somehow gave him an inexplicable sense of distrust.

"Do you think he's exaggerating?"

Dong Chenxi knew Zhao Fusheng too well; from his reaction, she could tell what he was thinking.

Zhao Fusheng smiled and nodded: "Yeah, this guy doesn't seem very reliable."

"Not just that."

Dong Chenxi pursed her lips: "You know, I originally thought this company had good growth potential, but after looking closely at his success story, I think his achievements will be limited."

Having been in investment for years, Dong Chenxi felt that Kalanick couldn't compare to geniuses like Zuckerberg; the gap was too wide.

"Not everyone is Zuckerberg."

Zhao Fusheng glanced at Dong Chenxi and said calmly.

He meant what he said.

A genius like Mark Zuckerberg doesn't come along every day.

Although many people think Zuckerberg was just lucky to ride the wave of social networking platforms and achieve his current success, Zhao Fusheng knew that was utter nonsense.

Zuckerberg was absolutely a top-tier talent.

It's just that Zuckerberg himself wasn't the type to be flashy, so people thought his role in Facebook's development wasn't that significant.

In fact, those in the industry knew he was the toughest to deal with.

"So, are you going to meet him or not?"

Dong Chenxi asked Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "Of course I will."

"Alright."

Dong Chenxi nodded.

Since Zhao Fusheng said so, a meeting was definitely on the cards.

...

...

Soon, Kalanick appeared at Zhao Fusheng's villa in Los Angeles.

"Respected Mr. Zhao, hello."

Looking at Zhao Fusheng, Kalanick was very polite.

"Hello, Mr. Kalanick."

Zhao Fusheng greeted him with a smile and said, "I didn't expect you to want to see me."

He meant it; he hadn't anticipated that this entrepreneur favored by James would want to meet him, and without alerting James.

In a sense, he was betraying James.

Though, on the surface, it fit his usual style.

"I think you and I, Mr. Zhao, will have common ground," Kalanick said, still smiling, seemingly not catching the implication in Zhao Fusheng's words.

"Is that so?"

Zhao Fusheng chuckled.

He made no comment on Kalanick's statement.

"Mr. Zhao, I think you might have misunderstood."

Seeing Zhao Fusheng silent, Kalanick spoke up: "I respect both you and Mr. James equally. I just think perhaps we can discuss this investment separately."

Zhao Fusheng shrugged: "Maybe."

Dong Chenxi, however, showed no courtesy to Kalanick and said sternly, "I think you're in a three-way game, aren't you? You want to give up the fewest shares for the most funding; James wants to pay the least for the most shares; and Sequoia Capital—well, I think they care less about what you can give and more about what they can get, right?"

Kalanick remained silent.

He had to admit that this legendary Eastern "magician" might indeed have extraordinary abilities.

No, he definitely did.

Otherwise, how could he have amassed such wealth?

In America, the most powerful weapon is wealth.

And the measure of a person's success is how much wealth they possess. Although Americans tout freedom all day, everyone in the world knows that in the United States, as long as you have money, you can go anywhere unimpeded.

Only idiots with holes in their heads think that here, if you work hard, you can achieve your dreams.

The last people to think that were the Native Americans.

"Mr. Kalanick, if you're willing, I'd like to be your company's angel investor."

Zhao Fusheng looked at Kalanick and directly stated his intention.

"Huh?"

Somewhat surprised, Kalanick looked at Zhao Fusheng; he hadn't expected that under these circumstances, Zhao Fusheng would still be willing to invest in him.

What exactly was he up to?

"Forty percent of the shares and corresponding voting rights."

Zhao Fusheng said calmly, "Of course, in subsequent funding rounds, I'll consider whether to follow up."

"No!"

Dong Chenxi blurted out, "Chairman, that's too disadvantageous."

"It's fine."

Zhao Fusheng waved his hand and said to Kalanick, "So, Mr. Kalanick, do you agree?"

"Well..."

Kalanick frowned. Before he could refuse, Zhao Fusheng's expression turned slightly cold, and he said sternly, "If you refuse, I'll join forces with James to invest in another company like yours. Believe me, I have the capital..."

Damn!

Kalanick was completely stunned.

He stared at Zhao Fusheng, speechless.

Despicable!

Too despicable!

This guy was a total scumbag!

He never imagined Zhao Fusheng would make such a demand.

Yet he had to admit the man was right.

He indeed had that ability.

After all, Future Investment was flush with cash.

In America, especially Silicon Valley, money really could make anything possible.

If Zhao Fusheng wanted, he could hire countless programmers; writing software similar to Uber might be challenging, but it was certainly achievable.

Moreover, if Zhao Fusheng was willing to offer high salaries, some of his own programmers might even jump ship.

"Sir, I need to go back and discuss with my partner."

At that moment, Kalanick had lost all his earlier smugness; he seemed somewhat dejected, and his tone was slightly subdued.

Zhao Fusheng nodded: "No problem, but you only have one day."

"Okay."

Dejected, Kalanick left Zhao Fusheng's room under Liu Yiming's guidance.

"Do you really intend to take forty percent of the shares for fifty million?"

Dong Chenxi looked at Zhao Fusheng, utterly puzzled.

She truly didn't understand what Zhao Fusheng was trying to do.

Zhao Fusheng laughed upon hearing this: "What, afraid I'll make a mistake?"

"Not that."

Dong Chenxi shook her head.

She had full confidence in Zhao Fusheng; in her view, even if he made a mistake, he couldn't be wrong about this company.

In other words, Uber's development would certainly be good.

But the question was whether the company could reach a level that would make people a lot of money; Dong Chenxi had her doubts.

For example, according to venture capital theory, if you invest ten million and get back twenty million within three years, that investment is actually a failure.

At least, in Dong Chenxi's view, that was the case.

If one of her fund managers achieved such results, they would definitely be fired.

Future Investment wouldn't keep such people; if they couldn't even make money easily, what right did they have to stay in the company?