Chapter 67 Getting rich begins with training Philips
While Li Qiwei was preparing for the young scholars exchange meeting, he suddenly received letters from Marie Curie and Solvay.
Marie Curie invited him to attend a conference in France, the European Congress of Radiology, scheduled for August 15th.
Inspired by the Berlin Annual Meeting of Physics and the London Quantum Symposium, today's physicists suddenly like to hold meetings.
Li Qiwei thought to himself, this is right. How can any scientific researcher not hold meetings, let alone the big guys in the field of physics.
Only by holding more meetings can you enhance your influence.
Since Rutherford published the nature of radioactivity, there has been a wave of radiation research fever all over the world.
Becquerel and the Curies of France, as the discoverers of radioactivity, saw such a gratifying breakthrough, so they decided to hold a conference.
This idea immediately received support from the French government, which asked for money and gave venue.
Countries have discovered that talent is the most valuable resource these days, especially ultra-high-end talents such as physicists. It is profitable to attract even one.
In the letter, the Curies warmly invited Li Qiwei. Although he did not study radioactivity, he was so famous that he was a cross-border boss.
Li Qiwei was very happy, but he had not yet decided whether to go or not.
But this is an opportunity to get in touch with the field of radioactivity, uranium salts, purification, and isotopes. He is probably the only one who knows the tricks involved.
Even the next day, Rutherford wrote to ask him if he would go. If he wanted, he could go with him. Li Qiwei said that he would inform the other party after the decision was made.
As for another news, the tungsten filament light bulb patent has finally found a collaborator.
Solvay introduced the company in detail in the letter. Li Qiwei took a closer look and, oh, it turned out to be the famous Philips!
Royal Philips, founded in Eindhoven, the Netherlands in 1891, mainly produces lighting systems, household appliances, and medical systems.
In later generations, Philips has hundreds of thousands of employees, is headquartered in Amsterdam, and sells its products to more than 150 countries. It is a truly multinational giant company.
Well-known household products include: mobile phones, tablets, razors, air fryers, coffee machines, bread machines, juicers, electric kettles, etc.
Revenue in 2023 will reach US$20 billion.
Especially its medical equipment, which is synonymous with high-end.
Before Li Qiwei traveled through time, China was still advocating domestic substitution in the medical field, which was replaced by companies such as Philips.
This shows the tyrannical strength of Philips.
If Solvay had not described it in the letter, Li Qiwei would not have believed that such an awesome company started out by making carbon filament light bulbs.
Yes, Philips, which has just been established for ten years, is already one of the largest manufacturers of carbon filament light bulbs in Europe.
Its founders are Gerald and Antonio, and now the company has more than 100 employees.
But the current development of the company is also encountering difficulties.
On the one hand, it is because the quality of carbon filament bulbs is too poor; on the other hand, the company's products are single and unable to expand more sources of income.
In real history, Philips established its first research laboratory in 1914, specializing in studying physical and chemical phenomena in an attempt to promote product innovation.
And breakthroughs were achieved in X-ray and radio technology; as for light bulbs, there was no progress.
Now, Gerald, one of the founders, suddenly learned about Li Qiwei's tungsten wire patent from his friend Solvay, which was like a treasure.
Gerrard wanted to find Li Qiwei immediately, but was finally stopped by Solvay, saying that he would write to the other party first, and if he agreed, the two parties could make an appointment to meet.
Of course Li Qiwei agrees, and he agrees too much.
Now Philips feels like a company tailor-made for him.
First, the headquarters was in the Netherlands, which avoided the first war that would spread to the world. Because the Netherlands was a neutral country at the time, the impact was very small.
Second, all the products produced are for civilian use, which reduces the risk of being targeted later, and safety is greatly guaranteed.
Third, professional counterpart, Li Qiwei’s physics knowledge can help Philips update almost all its products. Fourth, Philips is still a small company now. It does not have the arrogance of a large company. It is easy for itself to gain the right to speak and get more benefits.
Faced with this sudden surprise, Li Qiwei didn't get too hot-headed and rushed to ask for cooperation. He still knew a little about business negotiations.
Instead, he simply wrote a letter to Gerald, saying that if the other party was interested, he could consider meeting to discuss it in detail.
As a result, on the third day, he received an urgent letter from Gerald, who was planning to leave immediately to visit him in Cambridge.
Li Qiwei smiled knowingly. It seems that the tungsten filament light bulb patent is not particularly attractive to these carbon filament light bulb manufacturers.
After all, no one is a fool. The profit of this kind of product, which looks like a generation difference at first glance, is simply unimaginable.
So Li Qiwei asked Gerald to go to Cambridge on July 20, when he would entertain him and discuss the patent licensing issue in detail.
A few days later, Li Qiwei met Gerald in a famous coffee shop in Cambridgeshire.
Gerald Philips, 43 years old, has a pair of bright eyes. The name of Philips company is taken from his surname.
He was born into a wealthy businessman's family in the Netherlands. He had no interest in inheriting his family's tobacco and coffee trading business. Instead, he was very fascinated by science and technology.
So I went to a polytechnic school to major in mechanical design. After graduation, I started my own business with Edison as my idol.
Since he makes high-tech products, Gerald admires scientists very much and wants to get to know the big guys in the field.
So when he saw Li Qiwei in person, he seemed very excited and his tone was urgent, which made Li Qiwei embarrassed.
"Forgive me for being rude, Professor Bruce, you look too young."
"Solvay told me about your great achievements. Now that I see them, they are simply astonishing. I feel My life has been in vain before.”
Li Qiwei was immediately happy. He was indeed an entrepreneur. He opened his mouth and photographed the customer so comfortably. How could he still not be able to negotiate a business deal?
"Mr. Gerald, you can just call me Bruce. I am not a professor yet, just a doctor from Cambridge."
"Let's get straight to the point and discuss patents. Use questions.”
Gerald was slightly startled. He had never seen such a direct physicist before.
Many scholars I met before were shy about talking about money, but focused on technology.
He did not dare to neglect and asked quickly: "Dr. Bruce, I wonder what you think?"
Li Qiwei said: "Mr. Gerald, you are an expert in the field of light bulbs. Although The market penetration rate of light bulbs is still very low, but you know very well that its future is bright.”
“The global population is now about 1.6 billion. If in 10 years, everyone can afford one. Just buy a light bulb and think about the profit.”
After hearing this, Gerald couldn't help but become serious, not because the 1.6 billion pie attracted him, but because he didn't expect that Li Qiwei actually knew business.
He thought that physicists like the other party did not eat grain and did not understand the ways of the world.
Even if he wants to make money, Gerald is confident that he can reasonably compress the other party's interests through commercial means.
However, in the two sentences Li Qiwei spoke, he did not rush to prove how advanced his technology was, but first talked about how big the market was.
A familiar business atmosphere came to my face.
Gerald began to cheer up, knowing that he had met a master today.
The Li Qiwei in front of me is not an ordinary physicist, his knowledge is far beyond ordinary people.
Good news: PK is successful and we have entered the third round of recommendation. Thanks to all the book friends for their strong support, Lao Xu continues to pursue reading, and I want to go further. The protagonist is becoming more and more interesting now, and it will become more and more exciting in the later stages. Please rest assured.
(End of this chapter)