InkBound
patreon
CH161 | GSI
🕑 Added 2025-02-24 03:30:06 +0000 UTCSilicon Valley, California, USA.
A luxury Lexus sedan stopped in front of a six-story building on the city's outskirts.
A man of East Asian descent stepped out from the back seat, removed his sunglasses, and gazed up at the building. Then, turning to his secretary, he asked,
"Is this Yahoo’s office?"
"Yes, sir. They’ve leased the fifth floor for their operations," the secretary responded politely in Japanese.
The man, neatly combing his hair to the side, was Masayoshi Son, who was known in Japan by his adopted name, Son Masahiro.
A Korean-Japanese entrepreneur, he had skyrocketed to fame after taking his IT venture public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange the previous year, amassing a staggering 200 billion yen.
With the capital raised from his IPO, he had aggressively expanded his business through mergers and acquisitions. It was during this time that he learned about Yahoo—and without hesitation, he flew straight to Silicon Valley.
"As the internet age unfolds, portal sites will become as essential as web browsers."
If Netscape was the gateway to the internet, then a portal site was like a treasure map or compass—guiding users through the vast, Pacific Ocean-like expanse of information.
Yahoo was still a small, unremarkable company, but Masayoshi Son firmly believed that before long, it would rise to become a leading force in the internet revolution.
"Just look at Netscape—only a year ago, it was nothing more than a tiny startup that no one paid attention to. Now, it’s rewriting history on the Nasdaq. There’s no reason Yahoo can’t do the same."
If there was to be a "second Netscape," he was convinced it would be Yahoo.
As he entertained this thought, another figure came to mind—someone who had struck gold by investing in Netscape from the very beginning.
"His name was… Park Seok-won, wasn’t it?"
Seeing the uncommon surname Park in the U.S., Masayoshi Son figured there was a high chance that Seok-won Park, like himself, was of Korean descent.
"He made a fortune from his investment—there’s no reason I can’t do the same."
Beyond that, Jo had a grander vision: securing exclusive rights in Japan and forming a joint venture with Yahoo to establish the largest portal in Asia.
"To make that happen, I first need to secure an equity stake—no matter what."
Hearing him mutter to himself, his secretary tilted his head in confusion.
"Pardon, sir? What did you say?"
"It’s nothing," Jo replied, shaking his head. "More importantly, you set up the meeting in advance, right?"
"Yes, of course."
The secretary glanced at his wristwatch after pulling up his sleeve.
"You have about ten minutes to spare, but you can head in now if you'd like."
"Let’s go."
With a nod, Masayoshi Son strode confidently into the building.
Inside the Yahoo office, where a sign bearing the company’s name hung on the wall, the two co-founders and a dozen newly hired employees were completely absorbed in their work.
Among them was Jerry Yang, one of Yahoo’s co-founders.
A Chinese-American, Jerry had been pursuing a PhD in electrical engineering at Stanford when he co-founded Yahoo with his research lab colleague, David Filo. Ever since, he had been drowning in work, barely finding time to breathe.
So much so that unfinished pizza slices and empty Coke cans littered the corners of desks—evidence that even a proper lunch break felt like a luxury.
Jo Jeong-Kwang observed the scene with a quiet
“Hmm…”
Jerry Yang, who had been staring at the monitor, furrowed his brow as if something wasn’t going well.
As he sighed and reached for a can of cola, just about to take a sip, someone approached and spoke.
“Jerry, we have a visitor.”
When he looked up, his business partner, David Filo, was standing in front of him, his face equally worn out with exhaustion.
“A visitor?”
Jerry Yang adjusted his thick-framed glasses and asked.
“Someone from SoftBank, I think. Anyway, a Japanese IT company. You were told they wanted to meet, remember?”
“Oh. That was today?”
“Yeah. They’re waiting in the conference room, so get up.”
Interrupted in the middle of his work, Jerry Yang showed a slight expression of annoyance.
“Can’t you just handle it on your own?”
“I have a lot to do too. And since it's about investment, you should be there as well.”
“But we already secured funding.”
David Filo shrugged.
“Still, you never know. They might offer even better terms. If our service scales up, we’ll need continuous investment to keep up. The more financial cushion we have, the better.”
Since his co-founder was insisting, Jerry Yang couldn’t put it off any longer.
“Ugh.”
Letting out a groan, he stood up, stretched his arms upward, and loosened his stiff body.
“Alright. Let’s see what they have to say.”
In the minimalist conference room—furnished with nothing but a long table and chairs, befitting a startup—Masayoshi Son sat with his assistant. As the door opened and the two men entered, he rose to his feet.
“I apologize for keeping you waiting after you came all the way to our office.”
David Filo extended his hand first, offering an apology.
“Not at all. We appreciate you making time for us despite your busy schedule.”
Hearing Masayoshi Son’s fluent English, David Filo looked slightly surprised.
“Your English is excellent.”
“I studied economics at the University of California.”
“Oh, I see.”
Masayoshi Son then shook hands with Jerry Yang and took a business card case from his pocket, pulling out a gold-embossed card to hand to both men.
“My name is Masayoshi Son, and I represent SoftBank.”
He introduced himself using a Japanese name.
“I’m David Filo, and this is my business partner, Jerry Yang.”
“I see.”
Having thoroughly researched Yahoo and its two founders beforehand, Masayoshi Son showed no sign of surprise as he met their gaze.
“Let’s sit down and talk.”
At David Filo’s suggestion, the four of them took their seats around the conference table, facing each other.
It seemed that, in meetings like this, David Filo was usually the one to lead the conversation. This time was no different—he spoke first.
“To be honest, I didn’t expect you to visit us in person.”
Masayoshi Son responded with a relaxed smile.
“I tend to be impatient by nature, but as soon as I learned about Yahoo, I knew it was something special—I couldn’t just sit still.”
Jerry Yang, who had been wearing an indifferent expression, suddenly looked intrigued and cut in.
“Really? I’m curious—what exactly about our company caught your attention?”
“I was looking for a company that would be essential in the coming internet era. To me, Yahoo seemed like just that.”
Hearing their company described in such high regard, the two founders couldn’t help but feel pleased.
Quick to pick up on their reaction, Masayoshi Son seized the moment and smoothly shifted to the main point of the meeting.
“I’d love to have a long conversation with both of you, but I know you’re busy, so I’ll get straight to the point.”
“Sounds good.”
“Let’s do that.”
The two men, who already had little time to spare, nodded simultaneously.
At Masayoshi Son’s subtle glance, his assistant opened the briefcase resting on their lap and took out a pre-prepared proposal, placing a copy in front of each of them.
“As detailed in the proposal, we hope to not only invest in your company’s equity but also establish a joint venture with exclusive rights in Japan.”
Caught off guard by the unexpected offer, Jerry Yang blinked and asked again.
“A joint venture, did you say?”
Meeting his gaze, Masayoshi Son nodded.
“That’s correct. My company, SoftBank, and yours would establish a joint venture with a 51-to-49 equity split, bringing Yahoo’s portal services to Japan.”
Leaning forward, Masayoshi Son spoke with enthusiasm, seeing the two founders still looking puzzled.
“You both understand how critical first-mover advantage is in the internet business.”
“……”
“Before competitors like AOL or Lycos gain traction, securing more capital and aggressively expanding into both the U.S. and global markets is the fastest path to success.”
Masayoshi Son glanced at Jerry Yang and David Filo.
Both were listening intently—his words were clearly resonating.
Feeling confident, he pressed on.
“If we invest, SoftBank will leverage all its resources to support Yahoo. And I will personally take responsibility for expanding into Japan and the broader Asian market.”
“……!”
“In five years—no, within three—I can turn Yahoo into Asia’s largest internet portal.”
Then, he delivered an offer they could hardly refuse.
“As you can see in the proposal, I value Yahoo at no less than 40 million dollars.”
“Forty million?”
David Filo, startled, picked up the proposal.
Jerry Yang did the same, and sure enough, just as Masayoshi Son had said, the document valued Yahoo at 40 million dollars.
Not long ago, when Eldorado Fund had invested, Yahoo had been valued at just 5 million dollars.
Even then, many thought that figure was already generous—yet this offer was eight times that amount.
Neither of them could take their eyes off the number in the proposal.
Seeing their reaction, Masayoshi Son knew his strategy of inflating the valuation had worked perfectly.
At this rate, the investment was practically secured.
‘The real question is—how much equity can I negotiate for?’
Masayoshi Son was well aware that Eldorado Fund had already made an initial investment. However, he was confident that with a bold offer, he could secure a larger stake.
‘I’m willing to invest over 100 million dollars if necessary—that should be more than enough.’
If push came to shove, he was even prepared to pay a premium to buy out Eldorado Fund’s existing shares.
Believing that all that remained was to sign the investment agreement, he was feeling quite triumphant when David Filo set the proposal down.
Clicking his tongue slightly in regret, Grossman laced his fingers together and rested them on the table.
“We appreciate your high valuation of our company, but there’s a bit of an issue.”
Masayoshi Son, as if expecting this, remained unfazed and asked calmly,
“Is it because of Eldorado Fund’s prior investment?”
“That’s right. Our contract includes a right of first refusal clause, which means that if we secure new investors, Eldorado Fund has the first opportunity to match the terms.”
Encountering this unexpected obstacle, Masayoshi Son furrowed his brows slightly.
“Are you saying that Yahoo can only accept investment through Eldorado Fund?”
David Filo waved his hands dismissively.
“No, it’s not that restrictive. It just means that if an investment offer comes in, Eldorado Fund has the right to match it first.”
Hearing this, Masayoshi Son’s expression relaxed, and he spoke with confidence.
“Then there’s no issue. I doubt they’ll be able to match these terms.”
David Filo and Jerry Yang had to agree—it was unlikely that Eldorado Fund would accept these conditions and exercise its rights.
“And there’s one more issue.”
“What is it?”
David Filo, looking somewhat troubled, glanced at his counterpart and spoke.
“You mentioned earlier that you wanted exclusive rights in Japan.”
“That’s correct.”
Masayoshi Son, who had been answering with his usual composure, suddenly furrowed his brows, sensing something ominous.
With an awkward smile, David Filo scratched the back of his head before continuing.
“The exclusive rights for Japan—and the rest of Asia—have already been taken by someone else.”
“…Don’t tell me Eldorado Fund holds those rights as well?”
Masayoshi Son asked sharply, his expression hardening.
David Filo nodded.
“Yes.”
“Damn it.”
Masayoshi Son’s face twisted in frustration. Contrary to his expectations of a smooth deal, he was now realizing—far too late—that Eldorado Fund had already staked a firm claim in Yahoo.
***
“Someone must be talking about me.”
“What do you mean, sir?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
Seok-won handed over the signed documents to Na Sung-mi, who had been standing by his desk.
After she left the room, Seok-won leaned back in his chair, absentmindedly picking his ear with his pinky finger before letting out a groan.
“Ugh, why is my ear so itchy?”
TL/n -
Lycos is an early internet search engine and web portal that was founded in 1994 at Carnegie Mellon University. It was one of the pioneers of web search technology, competing with Yahoo!, AltaVista, and later Google. Over the years, Lycos expanded into various internet services, including email, web hosting, and social networking.
Key Milestones in Lycos' History:
1994: Founded by Michael Loren Mauldin at Carnegie Mellon University as a university research project.
1996: Became a publicly traded company.
1999: Acquired by the Spanish telecommunications company Terra Networks for $12.5 billion during the dot-com boom.
2004: Sold to Daum Communications, a South Korean internet company, for $95 million.
2010: Purchased by India-based Ybrant Digital (later called Brightcom Group).
2021: Reports emerged about a possible revival or new investments in the brand.
Despite its early success, Lycos struggled to compete with Google and other modern search engines, gradually losing relevance. However, it still exists today, offering services like web hosting, domains, and entertainment content.
Comments
Jarod lane
MC will obviously match lol
