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Chapter 89 Ruan Junying's Dark Turn
Chapter 89 Ruan Junying's Dark Turn
New York is the world of old money, but in California, the most respected are the "garage legends." HP, Apple, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft all started from low-cost garages.
CrunchyroI's four founders live and work in a shared apartment in San Francisco.
All four of them are Asian Americans.
Gao Kun, Lin Jie, and Huang Bin are of Chinese descent, with Huang Bin coming from Malaysia.
The last one, Nguyen Vu, was of Vietnamese descent.
Li Xiang's visit was pre-arranged, but because WeTV was the one who helped contact him, CrunchyrolI assumed the investor was Russian. To his surprise, the visitor was an Asian man who was quite friendly.
"Venrock has agreed to invest four million in you, and you have to use all of that money to operate the website; you won't have a single penny left."
"If CrunchyroI can successfully clear its name in the future, that would be great, but I think that possibility is almost nonexistent."
"The biggest headache for you is copyright issues. You must have a detailed understanding of Japan Island's 'Production Committee System'."
"Publishers, television stations, record companies, animation studios, toys, games—the entire industry chain forms a committee. Only after the committee votes in favor can the license be granted to you."
"Sony was involved in all of Japan's popular IPs, but he vetoed them with his own vote."
"Your best-case scenario is being acquired by Sony at a bargain price, with your shares diluted again and again. In the end, how much will you actually have left?"
"Why don't you cash out and sell the website to me in one go? I'm willing to pay five million. You can split the money immediately, whether you start a second business or invest in the stock market. Once you're rid of the burden of Crunchyrol, you'll be free."
"WeTV is mine. I want to use CrunchyrolI's traffic to drive traffic to my e-commerce platform."
"As long as I have a large number of users in the short term, I can raise more money when I raise funds. My monetization channels are not of reference value to you."
Li Xiang spoke at length, but the four founders did not express their opinions, mainly because the change from financing to a full acquisition was somewhat sudden.
The four of them went to discuss it privately.
"I think we should just sell it. It's too difficult to clear CrunchyrolI's name. Instead of wasting time on this, we should think of new ideas and find a new direction."
"The US internet wave is already in its second half. If we delay for a few more years, we'll really miss our chance."
Lin Jie is in charge of technology and is quite pragmatic.
Huang Bin stated, "If Crunchyro can really be cleared out, it's worth at least 500 million. Even if our shares are diluted to the last 10%, that's still 50 million. 5 million is too little."
Lin Jie picked up the conversation, saying, "The price is negotiable, it's open to discussion. The key is that we need to reach a consensus first: are we going to sell or not?"
"Are you really selling it?" Gao Kun was a little reluctant.
Ruan Wu stated, "I do not agree to the sale."
Lin Jie joked, "With a score of three to one, your opinion is no longer important."
Gao Kun, who was in charge of the overall project and held the most shares, said with a serious expression, "Mr. Li just said it himself."
"He didn't buy CrunchyroII to whitewash his image; he wanted to use it to drive traffic and inflate the valuation. He only needed to gain control of the company; he didn't need to buy all the shares."
"We need to make this clear: no one can go to him privately. If we're going to sell, we'll sell together."
It would have been better if Gao Kun hadn't brought it up, but his mention of it served as a reminder to the others that their team had only been established last year and had only been together for a little over a year.
Ruan Wu suggested, "How about we sign an agreement?"
"No need for that, it's too much trouble," Lin Jie said, raising his hand. "I agree to a collective decision, whether we sell or not, we'll do it together."
All four people raised their hands.
Ruan Wu raised an objection, asking, "Is a collective decision passed unanimously, or does the minority submit to the majority?"
Gao Kun said, "Based on shareholding, more than two-thirds of the company's major events are related to this."
Ruan Wu looked slightly helpless. "Then my vote is meaningless. I don't even have a third of the vote."
2
Huang Bin said, "And me too, I won't agree to anything less than 20 million."
Lin Jie: "How could I possibly give you twenty million? You're dreaming!"
"Are you sure?" Gao Kun looked around and decided, "Then let's just give him a price, twenty million. If it's okay, great; if not, forget it."
"Damn it, the money that was offered to us is gone." Lin Jie tried to persuade them again, "You guys think about it again. After cashing out, let's go to the mainland and start a business making a Chinese version of YouTube. I think it can work."
Li Xiang proposed a full acquisition simply to lower the expectations of the CrunchyroII founding team, so as not to create a situation where one company is sought after by many others, leading to exorbitant prices.
Sony does have an advantage in copyright, but this is also Sony's biggest disadvantage.
The chain of interests is too long, and any decision must weigh the interests of all parties. If one party is dissatisfied, the decision cannot be pushed forward.
The pirate website CrunchyroII updates faster than Sony's official version because the official version has to cater to the interests of TV stations and let them broadcast it first.
There's no problem on the Japanese mainland; they can watch TV. But overseas users won't be able to watch it.
Sony is not unaware of the problem; it's just that even if it knew, it couldn't solve it. The conglomerate model is ingrained in the DNA of Japanese companies and has permeated the entire history of economic development.
Li Xiang didn't take Sony seriously at all; he had already planned how to sabotage their business.
The Vietnamese emperor washing his hair.
Nguyen Tuan Anh made an appointment with Nguyen Minh Chi for a hair wash and massage. The two communicated in Russian, so there was no need to worry about being overheard by the masseur.
"Congratulations, you're about to be promoted to section chief."
"It wasn't me." Ruan Junying lay on the massage bed, her eyes closed, her face calm.
Ruan Mingzhi gestured for the masseuse to stop, then sat up. "What happened? Didn't your sister-in-law already have her family help you get things sorted out?"
"When you're unlucky, you have to give way to others."
"Have you encountered something even harder?"
Did you know that Li Xiang acquired Moneybookers?
"I know," Nguyen Minh Chi nodded.
"He's short of money right now, try to lend him some."
"How can I borrow this? I can only approve domestic loans."
"Let him come to Vietnam to invest, to develop heavy assets, to build logistics centers. How he uses the money after it's deposited into his account is his own business."
Ruan Mingzhi was a little confused and didn't say anything for a long time.
Ruan Junying opened her eyes, turned to look at Ruan Mingzhi, and asked softly, "You wouldn't dare? Did your brother see Li Xiang when he went to Russia for training? No, he didn't."
"You're not qualified."
"We've really helped him out this time. By helping him out, you're qualified to sit at the poker table."
Ruan Junying also told Chen Qiucao that after she arrived in Russia, she should ask Li Xiang for the house, but she still couldn't find him.
It wasn't that Li Xiang was intentionally avoiding the issue; he wasn't in Russia at the time.
Ruan Mingzhi swallowed hard, his voice trembling as he said, "He's using high leverage for the acquisition. What if his funding runs out and he can't pay it back?"
Ruan Junying said with a fierce expression, "He's not afraid to gamble with his own money, so what are you afraid of when you're taking the country's money?"
"Even if it falls apart in the future, it's just one debt. Don't you banks have enough bad debts? Those who deserve promotions will get promotions, and those who deserve raises will get raises. Who gets affected?"
"Mingzhi, I also think my girlfriend's family can help me, but outsiders are always outsiders. It's different when it comes to core interests. Her cousin brought it up this year, so I have to make a trade and give up the opportunity."
"We are people who come from humble backgrounds. We have no resources, no connections, and all we have is this worthless life. We don't even have anything to lose, so what do we have to be afraid of?"
"If you want to win money, you have to dare to bet. If you're timid and hesitant, you'll never amount to anything!"