The American Kill Line: I Can Predict the Future

It was drizzling.

Taylor stayed in his room rereading the 1974 edition of "The Great Gatsby" and the original novel.

My boyfriend is so successful; he's invested in several big Hollywood productions. There's no need for me to lie to myself.

With such a great opportunity, she also wanted to try her hand at acting.

He's even thinking about composing a theme song for Gatsby and Daisy's love story.

Ron was playing billiards in the next billiards room with Musk and Marc Andreessen of a16z.

They play with striped balls, also known as eight-ball.

1颗白色母球，7颗实色球、7颗花色球、1颗黑8。

The game is very simple: three people, each choosing a set of numbers.

Whoever finishes clearing first wins.

After playing a few rounds, Mark felt that just playing around like this was boring and suggested:

"How about we increase the stakes?"

"I'm fine with either."

Musk shrugged and dusted his clubs with chalk.

With the Department of Energy's loan approved, he perked up again.

Moreover, he invested ten million in Fund No. 1, and now it has increased tenfold.

He only needs to shout it out, and plenty of people will buy it at a premium.

Unfortunately, Fund 2 didn't invest. Ron was willing to spare some for him, but we were really poor back then.

If Musk has no problem with it, Ron naturally doesn't object either.

Putting everything else aside, playing eight-ball is pretty good.

Moreover, through those few games, he had a pretty good grasp of each other's skills.

"Then $100,000 per ball." Mark thought $100,000 was just right, believing it was a small bet for fun.

"Add another rule: if the kickoff is fouled, the bet doubles."

"Can."

"I'm fine." Musk twitched the corner of his mouth.

If the opening tip is fouled, meaning the opening tip doesn't go in or the four balls don't hit the cushion, then each ball is worth $200,000.

The biggest loss was $100 million in a single game.

Fortunately, all three players are at a similar level, with Mark being slightly better.

An hour later, he had about twenty chips in his hand.

One chip is worth $10.

Ron took a sip of his drink, looked at Mark who was bent over aiming, and said:

"Mark, your fund is still too small. $6.5 million, how many projects can you invest in?"

The shot went in, but the ball didn't go in.

Mark rolled his eyes at Ron: "We're a venture capital fund, unlike you private equity firms. Venture capital is all about high-risk, high-reward investments. Last time I invested $6000 million in a project, which is considered a huge investment in the VC world."

Venture capital is not a real risk; it's all about winning through sheer volume and time.

The difference lies in whose vision is better and longer-term.

When it was Musk's turn, he was in excellent form and cleared the table in one shot.

Ron was momentarily stunned, lost without even touching the ball, and cursed:

"Damn it, did you guys plan this beforehand to swindle my money?"

Musk spread his hands happily: "My dear brother, you can't be a sore loser, can you?"

Ron angrily handed over five chips.

He turned back to Mark and continued talking about venture capital.

"Mark, I'm leaving Silicon Valley before the 8th, and before then, I'd like you to help me arrange a meeting with the founders of Airbnb and WhatsApp."

"Airbnb is fine. Brian Chesky knows you valued Airbnb at $1 million and has been wanting to meet you for a while. As for WhatsApp..."

For Airbnb today, a valuation of $1 million is definitely a high figure.

While the idea of ​​"air mattress + breakfast" for temporary accommodation is great, it is also very expensive.

If it weren't for Sequoia Capital's $60 seed round, Airbnb would likely still be a small, unregulated platform.

They desperately needed funds to expand, and more importantly, the advent of the iPhone 4 redefined the mobile internet era.

Airbnb has had to accelerate its expansion and its deployment in the mobile internet sector.

Ron’s $2000 million investment is crucial for Airbnb.

More importantly, Ron, this Wall Street giant, did not demand that they achieve profitability as soon as possible, unlike other VCs.

For example, GG interstitial broadcasts, memberships, etc.

"What did WhatsApp say? Does it disagree with my valuation offer?"

Ron frowned. This was a cross-platform application for communication between smartphones.

He is more optimistic about the feature of sending free text messages.

Ron, who had once been from the bottom of society, knew very well how attractive this free text messaging feature was.

So when Mark gave a valuation of $5000 million, Ron didn’t hesitate to offer $1 million.

More importantly, this company is another project that Facebook will acquire for a sky-high price in the future.

When it came to Facebook, Ron was heartbroken.

How did this big fish rise to prominence so quickly?

I had a brief chat with the founder last night, and I estimate that the IPO won't be launched until next year at the earliest.

"They're very satisfied with the $1 million valuation," Mark said, shaking his head as he played basketball.

"However, the shares you're asking for are too high."

In Mark's view, investors like Ron were incredibly popular.

Not only are they rich and generous, but they also don't force players into GG mode.

This alone puts it ahead of a large number of venture capital firms.

This includes Mark himself, as well as top venture capital firms like Sequoia Capital.

Since its inception, the GG model has become one of the main sources of revenue for the Internet.

It could even be said that it is a "survival necessity" for the vast majority of startups.

Now there's an investor who not only provides money readily but also doesn't force you to install GG.

This is like God for a startup.

However, Ron has a big appetite.

Asking for more than 20% equity right off the bat is something many entrepreneurs are not willing to do.

WhatsApp is one of them.

"How much do they want?"

"10%. Jane values ​​equity. He and his team founders all worked at Yahoo."

"10%?" Ron said in a deep voice, "Then let's arrange to meet him tomorrow as well."

"You seem quite optimistic about the future prospects of Airbnb and WhatsApp?"

"Trust me, Mark," Ron raised his glass. "If possible, you'd better follow suit."

Mark seemed thoughtful.

Everyone has their own area of ​​expertise, and financial investment is Ron's forte.

But in the venture capital field, he still believes in his own judgment.

Of the three projects—UberCab, Airbnb, and WhatsApp—only WhatsApp and Uber seem decent.

But WhatsApp's zero-GG mode is unacceptable to him.

While UberCab is a good option, its risk assessment is too high, and the ride-hailing model will inevitably face regulatory uncertainty sooner or later.

That evening, the group had a barbecue party on the hotel terrace.

Musk even invited his wife over.

Mark was very unhappy and called over two models.

And Musk even had to pay for it.

Musk also paid for the drinks and food.

I never expected that after playing for most of the day, this guy would be the winner in the end.

It cost a whopping 400 million US dollars.

Ron lost three million dollars.

The three of them ate and drank until 10 p.m. before parting ways.

the next day.

Ron met with the founders of Airbnb and WhatsApp.

As Mark said, Airbnb founder Brian is quite enthusiastic.

The story of Instagram founder Kevin Strom securing $1000 million in funding from Wall Street in just three minutes has long been known throughout Silicon Valley.

UberCab also received $300 million in investment on the same day.

Now that this kind of lottery-winning opportunity has fallen on Airbnb, Brian has no reason to refuse.

It's not that he didn't seek funding from Sequoia Capital.

The valuation given by Sequoia Capital is too low.

Moreover, Sequoia Capital was also involved in the seed round, so he understands the principle that one company cannot dominate.

Compared to established top-tier VCs like Sequoia Capital, this Wall Street giant was not only generous but also genuinely offered no additional conditions.

This kind of investor is the VC that every entrepreneur in Silicon Valley dreams of.

More importantly, Brian also needs to find a powerful shareholder for Airbnb that can rival Sequoia Capital.

So the negotiations went very smoothly, with almost no haggling involved.

A valuation of $1 million is equivalent to a 30% premium for Airbnb.

The other party only wants 20% of the equity.

Compared to the founder of Airbnb, WhatsApp's founder, Jane Kohm, is not so easy to talk to.

"A valuation of $1.2 million, 15%, Jane, you should know that with WhatsApp's operating model, zero GG is almost unheard of by any investors."

Ron only patiently reasoned with Facebook because of the possibility that WhatsApp would later be acquired by Facebook for a staggering $190 billion.

And raised the valuation to $1.2 million.

The price has more than doubled compared to the initial quote.

And what he said was true.

This kind of free instant messaging software relies on being free to use.

If it's charged, users might as well just use SMS.

Without GG revenue, there is no profit point.

At least, that's the case in the market right now.

Jane Kohm's eyes flickered with uncertainty, and she remained silent for a long time.

He slowly raised his head: "Mr. Hunter, I can grant your request, but I have one condition."

Ron nodded slightly.

Jane Kohm stated, "Under any circumstances, I will have absolute decision-making power over WhatsApp."

Ron laughed heartily: "Jane, you still don't know me very well. You'll realize later that this will be the best decision you've ever made."

With two major projects secured, Ron's trip to Silicon Valley is now one-third complete.

Next up is Twitter's funding round.

The company was valued at $37 billion and raised $2 million in funding.

To be honest, Ron wasn't very satisfied with giving all of these shares to him.

Besides, he only has a share of $5000 million.

Therefore, he plans to meet these shareholders at this financing event.