The American Kill Line: I Can Predict the Future

There's a saying: "Buy high, sell low."

Gold prices rose sharply last month.

This month, the day after the net asset value was released, Ron instructed Victor to gradually go long on gold using the same allocation plan as last month.

The yen has been falling continuously since the 1st.

Considering the news from Japan in the middle of the month, Ron chose to first follow the trend and short the yen, and then reverse his position and go long.

As for the three major US stock indices, they saw their largest single-day increase since early July, boosted by positive manufacturing data from both China and the US.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 254.75 points, while the S&P 500 rose nearly 3%.

So, Ron woke up late at night and sat in his yacht room browsing some domestic and international news.

I hope to get some helpful tips.

"You big shots work even harder than us, what are you looking at so late at night?"

Laura Wiggins woke up at some point.

She leaned on the table, her chin resting on the back of her hand, frowning as she looked at the candlestick charts on the computer screen. "My lord," she asked, "you all make your fortunes using these lines?"

"You're right, Laura, but there's no reward."

Ron patted her little head.

Only then did he notice that Laura had changed into a pink T-shirt and a pair of tight-fitting casual pants, and her hair was styled in a single ponytail, making her look like a high school student with her youthful face.

Laura seemed intrigued and asked curiously, "And what about me, my sir? Can you teach me how to make money using these lines?"

"Are you sure? This is going to be really boring."

Ron patted his thigh, gesturing for Laura to sit down.

She was very light; I had already felt it before.

With Ron's physique, he could hold her for a long time.

Moreover, she is very wild and strong-willed.

Even though I've never tried this large size before, I'm determined to give it a shot.

Then, the completely uninhibited Denise kept teasing her, and in the afternoon, she fainted several times.

Overall, this girl knows how to make good use of her strengths.

Just like now, Ron knows perfectly well that she doesn't understand and isn't interested.

But they couldn't resist the other person's pitiful pleas to learn.

Just as Ron was using Tesla as an example, Laura suddenly slipped off his lap.

Ron looked down at Laura, who was lying below him, and couldn't help but tease her:

"Don't tell me you're planning to pay for the lessons."

Laura took Ron in her arms and kissed him gently. "Yes, my dear sir, your student is eager to learn more from you."

After he finished speaking, a warm sensation enveloped little Ron.

Ron had two wonderful days on the ship.

He was a generous gentleman.

Make a phone call to Philip and ask him to inquire at the TV station what roles would be suitable for Laura.

In less than ten minutes, Philip gave his reply:

"Showtime has a spy thriller series that is expected to start filming next year, and it features a minor supporting role as the daughter of a secret agent."

"A minor role?" Ron frowned; this didn't fit his image of generosity.

Philip chuckled smugly on the other end of the phone, "Looks like my taste is pretty good; you really like her. Then let's choose 'A Song of Ice and Fire.' There's a minor female supporting character in it; although her role isn't big, she's a recurring character throughout the entire book."

"I remember that TV series had already started filming, right?"

Because Viva would call from time to time to maintain their relationship, Ron knew a little about the progress of that film.

"Acting is sometimes like making investments; if something goes wrong, you can make some minor adjustments."

Philip didn't care who the role originally belonged to; if Ron asked, he could even find a way to replace the female lead.

It's important to know that some of the major shareholders behind TV station sponsorship events each year are these old money types.

"OK, then give her both roles as compensation."

"Whatever makes you happy. I'll have the TV station send her an audition invitation. Laura, right? She's such a lucky girl. I hope she stays lucky."

The call was made on speakerphone, right in front of Laura and Denise.

The former, Laura, is an unknown character, but "Game of Thrones" is HBO's opening drama for next year.

Even for a minor supporting role, people are scrambling to get it.

Hearing how easily she had cut in line, Laura truly realized that this man was even more powerful than the rumors suggested.

When the little girl gets excited, she becomes especially eager to learn.

Completely disregarding the fact that there was another person sitting in the car, they prepared to lie down again and reenact the teacher-student scene.

Ron held her small hand down and glared at her:

"Did you hear that, Laura? Go back and get ready."

I've been having too much fun these past two days; I need to know when to stop.

Ron arranged for a car to take Laura back.

Before she even got home, Laura received a call from her agency, telling her to hurry up and sign a contract with the TV station.

And by the way, upgrade her agency contract.

Laura struggled in the film and television industry for six years without even getting a decent supporting role.

But it only took her two days to surpass what she had accomplished in six years.

The moment she stepped into the television station, she took out her phone and edited a short message:

"My dear sir, your students look forward to receiving your instruction again when the holidays are over."

After reading the text message, Ron tossed his phone aside.

He chose to stay for the time being with Denise.

Playing the roles of teacher and student is just an occasional hobby.

Bowling is my favorite sport.

Moreover, Denise's fullness is of the delicate type.

He is also in very good physical condition.

It can completely withstand Ron's violent output.

"Dallins, I'm meeting two friends this afternoon. You can rest at home. Or you can go for a walk around the neighborhood. Trust me, you'll definitely be satisfied with the living environment here."

Ron returned home and prepared to change his clothes.

"Then I'll definitely go and have a good look around."

Denise came over and helped the man get dressed.

She wasn't stupid; from the moment Ron brought her home, she quickly realized that she had won the man's favor.

Thinking that even that bitch in the entertainment industry could get such a big opportunity, and that I was kept and taken home, I figured I would get even more.

At the same time, she desperately told herself not to rush or urge the issue.

Wait patiently.

Important people don't like others to ask them for things.

After changing his clothes, Ron left a supplementary card for Denise and returned to the company.

At this time, Instagram co-founder Kevin Strom had been waiting at Hunter Capital for a long time.

He is not yet 27 years old and graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Management Science and Engineering.

He previously worked at Google and later joined Nextstop's marketing department, where he taught himself programming and developed Burbn's HTML5 prototype product.

At the beginning of the year, Facebook became a sensation.

Kevin believed that social media would be the future trend, so he invited his fellow alumnus Mike Krieger, who shared the same idea, to create Instagram.

Instagram's original function was to solve the problem of check-in applications.

Similar to Foursquare, it includes features such as check-in, photo upload, and virtual rewards.

Perhaps realizing that the product's features were too complex, Kevin and Mark restructured Instagram in March of this year.

Most features were abandoned, leaving only one-click photo sharing.

As a result, they received $50 in seed funding.

Even so, Silicon Valley venture capitalists still consider it a useless feature, as the photo-sharing market is too small.

Some well-known VCs bluntly stated: This is just a filter application and has no long-term value.

$50 is not enough to open up the market; Instagram's current team consists of only Kevin and Mark.

They are responsible for both the daily maintenance of Instagram and external market research.

It is clear that this is not possible with the current funds and personnel.

Raising funds or inviting investors to join is necessary.

Otherwise, Instagram will eventually be eliminated by the market.

Inviting investors to join is a last resort, as it could affect control of the company.

Financing is the best option.

Unfortunately, Silicon Valley VCs don't seem to have a high opinion of Instagram.

Until they heard that Wall Street capital was willing to invest.

Kevin didn't know why this firm was willing to invest, but that didn't matter.

Importantly, the introducer was Marc Andreessen.

A legendary venture capitalist in Silicon Valley, known as the "elephant hunter".

Upon learning the news, Kevin flew to New York immediately.

I came to this capital firm.

When Ron met the other party, he said directly, "I'm very busy and my time is precious. Give me a reason to invest in Instagram in the shortest amount of time."

The oppressive feeling hit him hard. Kevin was stunned for a moment, then his brain started working quickly.

After a moment, he nervously asked, "Mr. Hunter, have you ever used Instagram?"

Ron glanced at his watch: "One minute."

This was probably the most stressful moment of Kevin's life. He took a deep breath and said in a slightly trembling voice:

"The core competitiveness of Instagram lies in taking and enhancing photos and sharing them across multiple platforms with one click. Instagram is not competing with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or Foursquare, but rather filling the gaps they leave behind."

"Two minutes," Ron said casually.

Kevin's throat tightened, and the back of his shirt was soaked with sweat.

Just then, the words of that legendary investor came to mind.

"Ron is a very generous investor, provided you are completely sincere."

Kevin suddenly realized that the investor in front of him was not like a traditional Silicon Valley VC; he didn't want a product introduction, but something else.

He took another deep breath and made a bold decision:

"Mr. Hunter, we need money, Instagram needs money, and we're willing to give up 20% of our shares for this."

Ron smiled happily. "Great! Kevin, right? I'm starting to like you a little. $1000 million, 30% of the shares."

In other words, Ron valued Instagram at $3300 million.

This far exceeds the $2000 million valuation given by a16z.

But Ron didn't care; compared to Instagram's future valuation, $1000 million was nothing.

At the same time, Ron also wants to convey a message to Silicon Valley:

There is a truly generous investor on Wall Street.

Happiness came too quickly; before the product was even officially launched, he had already secured a $1000 million investment.

He didn't even know how he left Hunter Capital.

Standing downstairs at the TEPCO building, watching the flow of people and cars.

Kevin looked at the contract in his hand, then shakily took out his phone and dialed his partner's number:

"$1000."

"What?"

Kevin, unable to contain his elation once again, roared excitedly:

"Mark, my brother, we've secured investment! A full $1000 million, valuing the company at $3300 million!!!"

Years later, Kevin has stated on more than one occasion in the media that these were the most dreamlike and lucky three minutes of his life.