Chapter 190 Reasons for Choice
Speaking of Michael Morris’s name, many people who follow the development of the Internet in the United States may not have heard of it.
As a partner of Sequoia Capital, Morris has led many successful investment cases since joining the world-renowned venture capital firm in 1986, including investments in Yahoo and Google. .
Back to England this time - Morris was born in Wales, and became interested in the website Woaw after discovering it in the United States.
After hearing the name of Morris and the name of Sequoia Capital, Khalid immediately attracted attention.
Facing the CEO of Woaw, Morris went straight to the point and directly stated his intention. He hoped to invest in Woaw on behalf of Sequoia Capital.
"If that's the case, Mr. Morris, you need to speak to my boss..."
"You mean Mr. Barron Cavendish?"
"Yes, Mr. Morris, but in England, you'd better call him His Royal Highness the Duke of Cavendish."
……
In fact, since he was interested in Woaw, Morris naturally researched information about this company before coming to London.
Morris knows that Woaw is very different from the Internet companies he has invested in before - not just because it is a company born in England, but also because this company is different from other Internet start-ups. , is not founded by entrepreneurs with ordinary backgrounds, and requires funding from venture capital firms like Sequoia Capital and some operational guidance.
The boss of Woaw Company is Barron Cavendish. He is not only a British nobleman, but also a very successful business operator at present, so he is not short of funds—— In the British Rich List released this year, His Royal Highness the Duke, who is said to have a net worth of 1 billion pounds, ranked 35th among the richest people in Britain.
And he does not lack experience in running a successful business, which can be seen from the companies he owns that are currently developing well and have the largest scale in the UK.
"So what I want to know is, Mr. Morris, how can you help Woaw?"
When meeting this young and handsome British Duke, who was quite famous even in the United States, the other person asked this question with an indifferent expression. This was something Morris had asked himself before he decided to come to London.
“I know that you do not lack funds or experience in running a business, Your Highness, but what we at Sequoia Capital can bring to you is the vast market in North America and even the world.”
< br>Hearing Morris' words, Barron laughed.
Where they are now is Barron's office in the DS Financial Center on Financial Street.
Choose this place to meet Morris to remind him of the financial strength he possesses.
At this moment, Barron was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the vehicles and people walking like ants on the streets of the Financial City downstairs, and said softly: "As far as I know, Woaw is currently developing well in North America, and it will soon become our first choice in the UK. It is the second largest market outside China and will even overtake the UK in the number of users in the near future.”< br>
“This is the reason why I came here, Your Highness, but you have to know that the center of the Internet has always been Silicon Valley, where many great companies will be born, like Yahoo, Google, maybe there will be future social kings, and the fact is, even now, there are no There is no website similar to Woaw, such as MySpace, which just appeared last month. It seems that this website is very dynamic at present, although the number of users is far less than Woaw, but in the future, who knows, maybe you can't invest in Woaw. We will choose MySpace..."
"Oh?"
MySpace Barron knows that in the original time and space, this social networking site was once a strong rival of Facebook, and was acquired by Murdoch's News Corporation for US$580 million in 2005 Acquired at a high price, but the subsequent development was not satisfactory...
He turned around and looked at Morris, and said meaningfully:
"Are you threatening me? Mr. Morris."
"You misunderstood, I just told you our sincerity, "His Royal Highness the Duke."
Morris said sincerely:
"I can predict with certainty that Woaw may become a popular social networking site in Europe without the help of Sequoia Capital, but also only this , because the North American market is not that easy to enter, especially for a European company. Perhaps Woaw can occupy a certain market when there are no strong competitors, but when everyone realizes the potential of this field, competition will increase. Competitors, especially local competitors backed by strong capital, will soon occupy the market. This is not my unfounded guess, but something that has been verified many times.”
"I'm very curious, Mr. Morris, why did you choose Woaw instead of the MySpace you mentioned? As far as I know, it is a start-up company, and it is easier for you to control more shares, and according to your According to the statement, MySpace, a local company in the United States, has an advantage over us in the North American market.”
Faced with Barron’s question, Morris’s eyes flashed with joy, and he said:
“I have indeed considered this, but after studying both Woaw and MySpace, I think that with our support, maybe MySpace can surpass Woaw in terms of number of users for a period of time. But in the end, it will probably still fail."
"Why?"
"I really appreciate Woaw's restraint in user registration at the beginning, which created a successful environment for Woaw. A good social atmosphere and the basis of real social interaction. Therefore, most of Woaw users participate in social networking with their real identities. In comparison, MySpace is more virtual in the Internet. This makes the number of MySpace users Although it develops rapidly, it also brings many problems, including the spread of certain bad information. The later they go, the more energy they need to spend on auditing in this regard, and Woaw is much easier in this regard. ”
It must be said that Morris is indeed one of the most well-known investors of Sequoia Capital, and his vision is indeed very vicious.
“In addition, the more distinctive functions launched by Woaw, such as tagging photos, although this kind of innovation can be easily imitated, from this, I can also see your creativity. , which is also something I really appreciate, so I would say, with the help of Sequoia Capital. Next, Woaw can be successful and may even become the next Google. Of course, the premise is that you can gain a firm foothold in the American market, because the English market is the most important and largest market in the world, and in this market, North America is one of them. A decisive key market, only in the United States Only by succeeding can Lijian become a global giant. We can help you do this. This is due to our success and layout in the Internet field over the years."
"You almost have to. Convince me, Mr. Morris"
Hear Barron. Morris was not in a hurry to show joy, but still looked at him calmly, hearing the young Duke continue:
"But like Sequoia Capital, a company with such strength in the United States There are many others, why should I choose you?”
"What do you mean?"
"I need you to prove your strength."
(End of this chapter)