Silicon Valley

Chapter 9 Sequoia Capital

In 1986, Microsoft went public. Henry saw firsthand the rise of this great software empire. Investors, Nasdaq and Wall Street have gone crazy, and Microsoft's stock is rocketing up like a rocket! At this moment, the youngest billionaire in the United States has been born! ! !

Microsoft stock is like a beauty stripped down by investors and investors, and even Henry is envious (hehe, the "capital" is a little small, so he can only be envious). However, with Henry's current strength, he is simply unable to buy a large number of Microsoft stocks, and Bill Gates is like a conservative nun. Of course, this is someone's unique vision, and they believe that Microsoft will be stronger in the future, and its stock price will definitely rise!

Bill Gates has rarely sold shares since Microsoft was founded. Even if it is to sell shares, it is also to seek technical support from the other party.

Selling shares in order to get technology, obviously, Bill Gates has great ambitions!

Henry felt that he should learn from Bill Gates. Be sure to cover up the stock tightly, and never sell it cheaply!

Cisco's development situation is very gratifying, but due to financial constraints, the company's development pace has maintained a steady and steady route. Henry was embarrassed to raise financing again. If he refinanced, the shares of the Bosacs would be further diluted, and in the end they would simply become part-time jobs for Henry. However, the capital giant Sequoia Capital took the initiative to come to the door.

The track of history does not seem to have changed because of Henry's arrival. Sequoia is still the first investment firm to be very bullish on Cisco, and has sent an executive director to talk in person.

Henry's heart moved when he heard the news.

Although Henry does not like venture capital firms, history has proved that Cisco can quickly become a giant, and Sequoia Capital has made a lot of efforts in it. Anyone who knows Cisco knows that the history of Cisco is a "savage" history. The king of acquisitions is also well-deserved!

And Sequoia Capital played a role in matchmaking. For example, if Cisco takes a fancy to a company or a competitor's company, but it comes to buy it by itself, the effect is definitely not good, and others are even unwilling to sell it. So, Sequoia Capital came on. As a venture capital institution, Sequoia Capital will be less vigilant. Then Sequoia Capital completed the holding of the company through a series of financial means, and finally sold it to Cisco. On the one hand, Cisco can obtain the technology of this company to strengthen itself, and on the other hand, it can eliminate competitors that threaten itself, so that Cisco has always maintained its status as the leader of the arena!

It would be great if you could hold Sequoia Capital! ! !

Henry did not know why such a thought suddenly flashed through his mind, but when he looked back, he felt amused again. Now that others are capital predators, just don't let it eat him, and still want to control it?

On May 1st, members of Cisco's board of directors (well, there are three, Henry and Posac) formally met with Sequoia Capital.

Sequoia Capital executive director Ford Brook was stunned for a moment after meeting Cisco's major shareholder Henry. Such a potential high-tech company, its major shareholder is actually a child? ! ! Oh, my-god! ! !

Henry smiled in front of him: "Welcome, Mr. Ford Brook. My name is Henry, Henry Williams! Hehe, maybe you have heard of my other identity - Henry, the author of "Harry Potter" Williams!"

Ford Brook was stunned for a second, but he quickly realized that he suddenly realized: ""Harry Potter"? Oh, the genius writer in the United States, of course I have heard of you!!! But, I never thought, you It's still a major shareholder of Cisco!"

Henry laughed: "It's nothing. Uncle Bosack and I are neighbors, and he is my computer teacher. Then Mr. Bosack wanted to start a company, so I stole some money to go in."

"Oh, that's the case!" Ford Brook couldn't help but sighed, this kid was so lucky that it made people jealous! ! ! While Ford Brook sighed with emotion, he was also secretly grateful that the major shareholder of this company was a child, and his acquisition plan must be smooth sailing! Ford Brook smiled involuntarily.

At this time, Henry also laughed. Sequoia Capital wants to get the shares of Cisco this time, it is impossible not to bleed! ! !

The two sides have not yet formally negotiated, but sparks have already been sparked. But among them, only the Bosacs have not realized that the war has begun. They also didn't see the real value of Cisco. If it was still based on the situation in the previous life, they would definitely be killed by Sequoia Capital. Sequoia Capital bought a third of Cisco's stock for only $2.5 million, which is crazy! ! !

After everyone was seated, Ford Brook expressed his intention: "Sequoia Capital, as a very good investment company in the United States, aims to help some innovative high-tech companies grow and develop. And Cisco is one of them! Therefore, this time I represent Sequoia Capital formally proposed financing to Cisco. This is our proposal, please take a look!"

Henry took the plan handed over by Ford Brook, opened it, and read it carefully. This plan mainly describes the benefits of Sequoia Capital's investment in Cisco. In addition to funding, it also helps in management, networking, promotion and many other aspects, and then helps the company go public. The plan was well written, but there was only one thing that made Henry very upset: Sequoia Capital invested only $5 million, but wanted to get 45% of Cisco's stock!

After Henry read it, he frowned and didn't speak.

And Ford Brook began to introduce the strength and influence of Sequoia Capital, he said: "We, Sequoia Capital, was established in 1972, focusing on the venture capital industry for more than ten years, investing in apple, oracle, and other high-tech companies, Help them grow and develop. In the United States, Sequoia Capital has a lot of partners, such as IBM, General Electric, Compaq and other large companies. I believe that Cisco will grow rapidly with our help!”

Henry shook his head in his heart, but he had to sigh that Sequoia Capital has a very unique vision. Appl and Oracle are both very powerful companies, and they are also well-known network equipment companies in the United States. Their founders are the inventors of Ethernet. Patents, with the rise of the Internet in the future, will not make crazy money!

"Mr. Brooke, Cisco has no financial pressure, so we don't need financing!" Henry was very dissatisfied with the conditions offered by Sequoia Capital, so he decisively refused.

Ford Brook smiled and said, "However, you don't have too much money to develop the market, do you? You have to know that before there are competitors in the industry, take the lead in seizing the market and establish its dominance, especially It's important. And what we Sequoia Capital has to do is to help you achieve this goal!!! We have the funds and channels, and you have the technology, and the cooperation between the two is invincible!"

Grass! It was almost said that Henry was in his heart, and the Bosacs were also excited. Apparently, Ford Brook had done a lot of preparation before coming here!

"Mr. Brooke? What do you think the market value of Cisco will be in the future?" In fact, Henry also values ​​Sequoia Capital. But what matters is not its wealth, but its influence. It can help Cisco in many aspects, such as human connections, management capabilities, etc. This is obviously not something a newly established company can do. However, if the price given by Sequoia Capital is not appropriate, Henry would rather Cisco develop slowly, and never give Sequoia Capital an advantage!

"Cisco's development potential is still there..." Brook smiled, pretending to be thinking, and said, "But according to the current market conditions, although Cisco's market value will definitely increase in the future, it will also increase. Not much. As for the specific amount, it depends on the future development of Cisco. However, the current market value of Cisco is less than 10 million US dollars. So, we invest 5 million US dollars, as long as you have 45% of the shares!"

"Mr. Brooke, since you said that, I'm afraid we don't have to talk!" Henry said lightly.

"Oh, so how much does the little genius writer think Cisco should be worth?" Ford Brook asked with a smile. He didn't think Henry would be his negotiating opponent, and he believed that Henry was young and lacked in knowledge and experience. Therefore, I think that the market value proposed by Henry will definitely not be too high, reaching as high as 100 million US dollars! Ford Brook had a plan. Before coming, the board of directors conducted a very detailed and serious analysis of Cisco, and agreed that Cisco has great potential for development and will set off a huge network storm in this era! ! !

Because Sequoia Capital has been committed to investing in high-tech companies such as computers, they are far more sensitive to routers and networks than ordinary people, and they are far more aware of Cisco's future prospects than other companies. This time, the board of directors issued an order, no matter what, we must take the shares of Cisco!

Even if Henry said that Cisco has a market value of 100 million in the future, he would recognize it! ! ! Then, at most, invest another ten or twenty million US dollars on your own side, anyway, it is right to take as many shares as possible.

But Ford Brook did not expect it, and even the Bosacks were stunned. Henry told them an astronomical figure.

"More than 500 billion..." Henry said casually.

puff! ! !

When Ford Brook heard the number, he spat out the water he had just drank.

**, more than 500 billion! ! ! Ford Brook was stunned and couldn't believe it.

"Are you kidding?" Ford Brook asked.

"I never joke, because my jokes are not funny at all." Henry shook his shoulders and said, "I know you don't believe it, but this is what I expect from Cisco, and I think it's worth the price. So, I will not sell Cisco shares easily, if you Sequoia Capital are not sincere enough..."

Henry did not die, and left a line for Ford Brook.

Of course, this negotiation collapsed.

After Ford Brook left, Henry called the Posacs over to prevent Sequoia from taking the "couple route"!

"Uncle Posac and Aunt Lerner, don't you believe what I said before?" Henry asked with a smile.

"It's impossible! The company with the largest market value now is only more than 100 billion US dollars, how can Cisco be worth 500 billion US dollars?!!" Posac shook his head, and Lerner also looked disbelieving.

"If I wasn't a traveler, I wouldn't believe it either!" Henry thought secretly.

Although the Bosacs don't believe their words, it doesn't matter. The key is that they don't want to sell their shares at a low price. Therefore, they have to give them some advice: "Sequoia Capital takes a fancy to Cisco, which means that Cisco's development The potential is unlimited. I believe that even if the market value of Cisco is not 500 billion US dollars, there must be billions, tens of billions of dollars. You must not sell your shares casually. Even if you want to sell in the end, then Sell ​​it to me!"

"Don't worry, we won't just sell our shares!" Lerner touched Henry's head and said casually.

Henry was still worried, and then persuaded a few more words, but they didn't care much at all. In desperation, Henry finally signed an agreement with them. The content of the agreement was very simple. Henry had the right of first refusal for their Cisco shares. If the Posacs want to sell their shares, they can sell the shares to other people unless Henry doesn't want it or can't afford the price!

Seeing the black and white words, Henry smiled and said to himself, now he is finally relieved.

Hehe, just wait for Sequoia Capital to come and see how you "cut him"!

(Has no one voted yet? Can you still read books happily, everyone does not vote!)

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