You call this entrepreneurship?

Chapter 461

What does it mean to have a forum with a million visitors per month? This is a huge fortune and there is potential for monetization.

Of course, this forum composed of a specific group also has limitations.

It is quite important to decide who to sell the forum to.

First of all, this website forum cannot be sold to Internet companies like an ordinary website.

All the users there are DOTA players, so it would be useless for other companies to take it over.

So buyers can only choose from game companies.

Secondly, not all game companies may be interested in DOTA.

After all, most companies in North America follow the mainstream to make console games, and PC games are still a small market branch.

After much calculation, the three most likely buyers are Guisoo and Riot Games, IceFrog and Valve, and Blizzard.

After some consideration, Blizzard was naturally eliminated first.

DOTA is a game based on "Warcraft". If you go directly to Blizzard, they will think you are crazy and want to sell me the IP derived from my game.

As for IceFrog, that's definitely not a possibility.

Pencil Dragon now only has a player forum in his hand. Regardless of whether the chips in his hand are strong enough, the ownership of the DOTA IP itself is controversial.

From Eul to Guisuo, to Neichus and IceFrog, they are all the producers of DOTA, but Pencil Dragon is not even a member of the production team. He is just the operator of the forum and a non-staff member of the production team.

Strictly speaking, these four members are the owners of the DOTA IP, and Pencil Dragon can't get any advantage even if he wants to.

Before, he had racked his brains to squeeze into the core circle and thought of various ways to commercialize DOTA, but was rejected by Neichus and IceFrog, who were extremely disgusted with this idea.

Now Pencil Dragon wants to sell the player forum. I guess if he mentions it to IceFrog, the other party will be angry.

Now Pencil Dragon has only one choice, and that is Ghost.

Compared to the other two, Guisuo is much easier to talk to.

Before, Guisoo was addicted to World of Warcraft and stopped updating DOTA, and then Neichus and Icefrog took over.

Guisoo himself realized that relying solely on the game "Warcraft" could not bring a better future to DOTA. He also knew that dreams cannot be eaten, so he chose to join Riot Games.

Not only did Guisoo formally establish the MOBA gameplay of DOTA, he also changed the original map name to Dota Allstars, a name that continues to this day.

Pencil Dragon quickly figured out the key and began to actively contact Guisuo.

Ghost quickly agreed to meet him, and the two met at an Italian restaurant. After eating steak, Ghost was persuaded by the Pencil Dragon.

Because he knew that Riot Games was short of funds recently and was looking for investment everywhere, and it was about to have some results.

Now Pencil Dragon proposes to use the player forum as a token of his allegiance, which will be helpful in attracting investment. This will increase Ghostsoo's voice in Riot Games and allow him to get more shares.

The two sides quickly hit it off and reached an agreement.

The two packaged the entire Dota mod and the Dotaallstars.com website, and then established a company called dota-allstars, LLC (joint stock company). The two became shareholders of the company and divided the shares.

After completing this step, Pencil Dragon took the company to negotiate with the two founders of Riot Games.

Baker and Merrill were struggling with investment issues at the time, and were a little confused when they saw Pencil Dragon coming to sell the website and the DOTA IP.

"Why should we buy the DOTA IP?" Baker felt that people like Pencil Dragon should be directly driven away, and he was a little unhappy that Ghost was doing such tricks behind his back.

"What we make is not called DOTA, it has its own name, it's called League of Legends!"

Merrill had a different opinion on Baker's view. He had worked in a bank before, so he naturally had a keener business sense on this matter.

"I think this thing is still useful, Brandon." Merrill said happily, "We can have a good talk with them. Is this a bargaining chip that can be used?"

"Chips? What are they used for?" Baker was a little surprised.

"We can use this to convince Mr. Edward Damon." Merrill was very excited. "We can tell him that the users of these forums can be converted into potential users of our game."

"You see, our game has already attracted a large number of users before it is even produced, which saves a lot of promotion costs."

Baker's eyes lit up, "That makes sense!"

……

Edward soon came to Riot Games again, listened to a new round of PPT presentations from the two founders, and watched the game demo.

After the two explained their latest acquisition, Edward raised a question, "Will there be any copyright disputes with this DOTA forum and IP you mentioned?"

"After all, this thing is related to Blizzard. Will they raise any objections?"

"Also, is there any dispute over the ownership of the DOTA IP? Will other producers raise objections?"

Merrill said confidently: "No, the core developer of DOTA and the founder of this mode is at Riot Games. He authorized us the IP."

"As for Blizzard, even if they file a lawsuit, they have no chance of winning."

"DOTA itself is just a game mode based on Warcraft. It has nothing to do with Blizzard. The game mode has no copyright."

Edward frowned and thought for a while, then asked, "I have one last question. If a lawsuit really arises and you lose the case, won't my investment suffer a loss?"

Merrill was stunned for a moment, then quickly explained: "This is impossible."

"Then do you dare to sign a bet agreement?" Edward asked, "If you sign a bet agreement, I will invest in you."

The two founders looked at each other, feeling a little excited. After hesitating for a moment, they both nodded in agreement.

Edward stood up and said, "My lawyer will come to you soon. Once the gambling agreement is signed, the first payment will be deposited into Riot Games' account."

The two founders stood up excitedly and shook hands with Edward repeatedly.

Edward walked out of the company with his assistant, got in the car and started calling his boss.

"Boss, those two guys have agreed to sign the gambling agreement. What should we do next?"

"Then we just need to wait patiently for the fruit to mature on its own."

"Okay, BOSS."

……

"Wow, has a mountain really been dug up here?" Mingyue looked at Bill Gates' mansion in surprise, and was completely shocked.

"It should be a house that was half-dug and built against the mountain." Qin Shaoyan explained.

"With so many trees, will there be a lot of mosquitoes?" Mingyue asked curiously.

Qin Shaoyan was stunned. He had never paid attention to this issue the two times he came as a guest and stayed overnight.

Logically speaking, there should be a lot of mosquitoes in this place, which is close to mountains and water and surrounded by trees, but he really didn't feel any mosquitoes.

However, Qin Shaoyan estimated that Bill Gates must have hired someone to handle it specially. He spent 700 million on decoration alone, just to make living comfortable.

Davis quickly explained to them, "This mansion has a special team that sprays pesticides to prevent mosquitoes from breeding. Bill Gates spends millions of dollars every year on the maintenance of this mansion."

"It's great to be rich." Davis sighed again.

Qin Shaoyan couldn't help but marvel at it. Even an invisible billionaire like Davis felt it was a luxury. The gap among the wealthy class in the United States was quite shocking.

Bill Gates personally met with Qin Shaoyan and his group and invited him to have lunch.

In addition to Qin Shaoyan and others, several senior executives from Microsoft and Facebook were also present.

The two parties got together not to have a meal, but to discuss the issue of Facebook's equity changes.

In the end, Facebook was valued at US$100 billion, and Qin Shaoyan sold 10% of his shares to Microsoft at this valuation.

After several rounds of financing, Qin Shaoyan's equity in Facebook has been reduced to less than 30%.

However, Qin Shaoyan felt that it was still too slow, and he had to speed up the pace of selling his shares.

With less than a year to go, the biggest bomb in the United States will explode. He is afraid that by then the funds will not be able to be transferred out, and the Americans who will suffer heavy losses may confiscate the money.

Even if the money can be saved, it is unknown how long it will take to get it out. The longer it is delayed, the more trouble it will cause. Not counting the loss caused by depreciation, even the changes in the international situation can make the funds dangerous.

Therefore, Qin Shaoyan does not have the time and conditions to wait until Facebook grows to a market value of hundreds of billions. The Americans will not let a foreigner control the Internet public opinion platform. It is possible that a bill will be passed at any time to confiscate his shares.

Take the money and leave as soon as possible, then invest and develop your business to make money, which is safer.

Bill Gates was even happier after completing the transaction. Facebook has great development potential, and it would definitely be a profitable business to invest in it now.

Bill Gates held a glass of wine and chatted enthusiastically with Qin Shaoyan about the future development direction of Facebook. He hoped that Qin Shaoyan could continue to provide advice for Facebook.

Qin Shaoyan also agreed, because the subsequent plans would require Facebook's cooperation. After all, in business, harmony brings wealth, and everyone will carry the sedan chair.

"Mr. Bill Gates, can you do me a small favor?" Qin Shaoyan suddenly asked.

"Oh, John, if you need any help from me, just ask." Bill Gates was in a good mood and said, "I will help you in any way I can."

"It's just a small matter. I recently encountered an IP copyright dispute. Can you help me win the lawsuit?" Qin Shaoyan asked.

"No problem." Bill Gates agreed without hesitation.

"Thank you, Bill." Qin Shaoyan happily clinked glasses with the other party and said sincerely, "You are such a good person."

……

On the way back, Mingyue was still calculating how much 10 billion US dollars would be converted into RMB, how many houses and how many kilograms of gold it could buy.

In short, it's a lot of houses and a lot of kilograms of gold.

"Wow, there are so many." Mingyue was still a little dizzy. She felt that this trip abroad was really an eye-opener.

I went to New York for the first time, participated in the bell ringing ceremony of a listed company, visited Times Square, and saw the truly free streets of America.

I went to Silicon Valley for the first time, went to Hollywood for the first time, visited the Walk of Fame, and visited Disneyland.

The first time I saw Bill Gates and his legendary mansion.

Qin Shaoyan asked with a smile: "What do you think of America?"

Mingyue thought for a moment and said, "It's not as good as I imagined, but it's indeed quite prosperous."

"Cherish what you see." Qin Shaoyan sighed, "I'm afraid you won't be able to see it again in the future."

"Why?" Mingyue was a little confused.

"Because the foundation that maintains prosperity is about to disappear." Qin Shaoyan said with a bit of regret, "There is an opportunity to make a quick buck, but it's a pity that I can't get involved."

"There are always risks in making quick money," Mingyue consoled him, "You're not short of money, so why take the risk?"

"That's right." Qin Shaoyan nodded and agreed.

Zhang Pingyi turned his head while sitting in the front passenger seat and said, "It's a pity that you sold your Facebook shares so quickly."

"It's not a pity. I have to sell it." Qin Shaoyan said seriously, "I will sell most of my shares before the end of the year and only keep a few to wait and see, but I guess it will be useless."

Zhang Pingyi was somewhat stunned. "Are you really in such a hurry? Who would buy such expensive shares? Will Microsoft continue to take them?"

"Selling another 10% to Microsoft will be enough. Bill Gates won't buy frequently in a short period of time." Qin Shaoyan shook his head, "I plan to let Fred buy it."

"He doesn't have any money." Zhang Pingyi asked doubtfully, "What can he buy with?"

"He can mortgage his own shares and buy out my shares." Qin Shaoyan replied, "I gave him a plan and he said he would consider it."

"Buying my shares will help him retain his voice in Facebook. The shares will continue to appreciate, and I can cash out quickly. It's a win-win situation."

"Besides, I'll need him a lot in the future, so selling him the shares will mean he owes me a favor."

"Facebook is such a great tool. I feel a little reluctant to give it up." Qin Shaoyan said with emotion. As he spoke, he sent a text message to someone on Facebook.

"The time has come, we can start now."

……

On Facebook, DOTAER Guardian is a senior gaming influencer who likes to post gaming information and strategies.

With many years of gaming experience and the ability to organize and collect various gaming information, he has become a Facebook celebrity with 300,000 fans.

Thanks to the advertising sharing program, the career he loves not only brings him a lot of popularity, but also allows him to receive advertisements from some game manufacturers and gaming equipment through his status as an internet celebrity, thus achieving both fame and fortune.

The DOTAER guardian just opened the email on the site today and found an unusual private message. After opening it and reading it, his blood pressure immediately rose to the highest level.

As his name suggests, he is a die-hard DOTA fan and the highest-level member of the DOTA forum.

What he saw today was exactly related to DOTA. The person who sent him a private message was also a DOTA player, who told the DOTAER Guardian a shocking news.

According to reliable sources, Guisuo and Pencil Dragon betrayed all DOTA players and sold the entire DOTA forum and IP to a game company.

This company is imitating and copying DOTA, and has plagiarized a large number of ideas and designs from players in the DOTA forum.

He's clearly using everyone's property to enrich his own pockets!

How can we tolerate this!

The DOTAER guardian immediately wrote a post on Facebook and released the news.

He certainly didn't do anything rash out of anger, but rather it was something he had considered carefully. The person who tipped him off not only accurately described the course of events and the parties involved, but also provided all the details about the time and people involved.

The other party also leaked the company registration information of Ghostsou and Pencil Dragon, as well as the contract for reselling the company.

With such detailed evidence, the DOTAER Guardian naturally started a team fight immediately.

Then he found that Facebook officials seemed to have followed suit and pushed his post directly to the hot list.

Soon after, countless players gathered here, each of them was so angry that they were about to explode.

It's a blatant betrayal by Ghost and Pencil Dragon, the two sons of the beach.

DOTA players flocked to the forum, constantly posting questions to Pencil Dragon and asking him to come out and respond.

Pencil Dragon was also confused. He had no idea what was going on.

When he saw the angry messages from the players, he knew that something bad had happened, as his conspiracy with Guisou had been leaked.

But this matter was done very secretly, how did it leak out?
But he had no time to think about who leaked the information because a subpoena from a Seattle court had already been delivered to his door.

A company called TNB claimed that they legally own the DOTA brand IP, and that Pencil Dragon and Ghostsong have infringed their legitimate rights and interests.

At the same time, the DOTAER Guardian on Facebook received a private message from a lawyer.

The lawyer asked whether to sue Pencil Dragon and Ghostsong to protect the legal rights and interests of DOTA players. At the same time, the lawyer promised that he would do the lawsuit completely free of charge.

If for no other reason than to teach these traitors a lesson.

The DOTAER Guardians then launched a poll on Facebook, asking players whether they wanted to sue.

Soon, tens of thousands of players participated, and almost all of them supported the prosecution.

They also nominated several player representatives to form the DOTA Player Committee and filed a lawsuit directly in the Los Angeles Court in California.

The two founders of Riot Games soon learned the news and were completely stunned.

Because not only Ghostsou and Pencil Dragon became defendants, Riot Games also received a summons from the court and became one of the defendants.

"Fuck, how could things turn out like this? What does this have to do with these players?" Baker was angry and helpless.

Regardless of whether the lawsuit will be successful, just dealing with the lawsuit requires money and energy.

Merrill was pale at this time, "Oh no, we are doomed."

"What?" Baker was confused. "What happened?"

"We can't lose the lawsuit, or we'll lose the company." Merrill said in a panic, "Have you forgotten the bet agreement?"

Baker's face turned pale at this time.

(End of this chapter)