Chapter 777: The system overlord will no longer be called Microsoft!

Upon hearing Bill Gates' resolute words, Xia Yu's expression did not change, but his gaze became deep.

Bill Gates did not budge, resolutely locking eyes with Xia Yu.

Sure enough, what Xia Yu feared had happened.

A long time ago, when the idea of acquiring Microsoft first came to mind, Xia Yu had already considered this worry: it was very likely that Bill Gates would not sell Microsoft.

Because of Bill Gates' family background, he would never lack money. He also had a broad perspective and would not do anything to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. He could afford to fail!

Bill Gates was a very shrewd person, not just a mere programmer.

The Wall Street tycoons Xia Yu remembers also had a lot of contact with the previous life Bill Gates and know his true nature very well.

For this reason, Xia Yu had to prepare a succession of backup plans to prevent hitting a wall.

But now that he is here, even if Bill Gates is adamant now, Xia Yu still wants to try again.

This is to give himself a chance, save some trouble, and also to give Bill Gates a chance, after all, Bill Gates was, after all, the richest man in the world in his previous life.

Xia Yu looked at the two men with burning eyes and said, 'Mr Gates, and Mr Allen, don't refuse so quickly. You might as well think it over and give me a reply.'

'You should know that there are more than 2,000 software companies like yours in Seattle, and you are only considered to be in the middle to upper ranks, not the best.'

'The market ceiling for BASIC interpreters has already been set. You have also tried to establish the MSX microcomputer standard, but it has now clearly failed.'

'With Microsoft's five years of accumulated experience, it can afford to fail once, but what if it fails twice, three times, or even five or ten times? What will be left of Microsoft then?'

'And who can guarantee that they will succeed?'

Each of Xia Yu's words was like a hammer, pounding heavily on the hearts of Bill Gates and Paul Allen, making the two men's faces look even more unpleasant, but they could not come up with a good reason to refute it.

Seeing the two men's ugly faces, Xia Yu also realised that he had to stop. He then slowed down his tone and said earnestly, 'Mr Gates, Mr Allen, I am willing to pay one million US dollars for Microsoft, and invest another million US dollars to expand the scale. After that, I will take out 20% of the equity and put it into the option pool.'

'As you know very well, Microsoft is currently not worth a million dollars. I am offering such a high price because I value your abilities. I hope you can think about our terms carefully. I will come back the day after tomorrow.'

'We will not disturb you now. Goodbye!'

After saying this, Xia Yu got up and led the group to leave. Bill Gates and Paul Allen quickly gathered their thoughts and saw Xia Yu and the others out.

After seeing the car carrying Xia Yu and the others leave, the two men looked at each other, and with heavy hearts, returned to the office.

Suddenly, the office was filled with a heavy atmosphere, and the two men frowned as they pondered what had just happened.

After a long while, Paul Allen was the first to break the silence.

'Bill, it seems that we were led by him just now, and we forgot to ask which capital company he works for,'

Bill Gates was taken aback. After frowning and thinking back, his face became even more unpleasant. He nodded and concluded, 'Yes, we were still too nervous and inexperienced.'

Paul Allen smiled and reassured, "It's okay. They said they would come back the day after tomorrow. After all, this was our first encounter. Compared to our peers, the two of us did relatively well.'

Bill Gates felt much better and also smiled, "Maybe!'

After laughing, Bill Gates looked solemnly at Paul Allen and asked, 'Paul, what do you think of the conditions Mr. Xia has proposed? We need to have a good talk about this, after all, it concerns the company and our future.'

Having said this, Bill Gates felt a little nervous, as if he was afraid that Paul Allen's attitude would be very different from his.

After all, Paul Allen had known Bill Gates since they were children, and they had worked together for five years, so he knew Bill Gates very well and could naturally tell his attitude.

After a long pause, he said objectively, 'Bill, let's not talk about whether to sell the company or choose financing. First, we have to face ourselves squarely.'

'You're right!' Bill Gates nodded, agreeing with Paul Allen, and signalled him to continue.

Paul Allen continued, 'What Mr Xia said is very objective. Although we have never counted how many software companies there are in Seattle, I grew up here and know more than you. I think there are at least 1,500 software companies in Seattle.'

'And our company is not really one of the top ones here. We're barely surviving on the BASIC interpreter business.'

'More and more people are entering the software industry, and you and I both know that there are a lot of geniuses out there. One of them might come in at any time and take our original market away.'

'The company has grown to the point where it is almost impossible to support more than 20 employees. Last year we discussed the need to open up new markets in order to break through the ceiling on growth.

'We now have four options. The first is to continue to open up new markets, but the result will either be success and expansion, or failure and collapse. The second is to continue to cultivate the BASIC interpreter market, and the best result would be to drive out the competition from the market; the third option is to successfully raise funds, and we can set off to open up new markets with a free hand until the day of success; the fourth option is to sell the company, so that we can work without worry about the company's profitability, and even if we fail, we will still have enough funds to start a new business.

Paul Allen finished speaking in one breath and said no more, sipping his coffee slowly and letting Bill Gates sort out his thoughts.

After a while, Bill Gates first affirmed Paul Allen's analysis: 'Paul, your analysis is very comprehensive.'

Then he changed the subject, looked at Paul Allen with sincerity in his eyes, and said deeply: 'But are we doing this for money? We are doing this for our dreams!'

'If it wasn't for our dreams, would you have dropped out of school? Would I have dropped out of school to start a business with you?'

'Remember five years ago, you were 22 years old and I was 19 years old, and together we founded Microsoft in a garage. Step by step, we have grown to a company with more than 20 employees. Over the past five years, we have witnessed many companies fail, and we have been at a loss for many times. In the end, we survived and have come this far.'

'Now, you're 27 and I'm 24. We're still young. I don't want to bow my head so soon. We can still fight. Before, we could fight from scratch to the present. Now, we can also bet everything and fight for a great future.'

Paul Allen's eyes were a little moist as he smiled and said, 'Bill, have I ever said I want to sell the company? You don't care about money, so do I?'

'Do you remember five years ago, when we first started the business? We were determined to become people like Mr. Watson, people who change the world, seize the opportunities of the times, and create a great company that will influence the world.'

Bill Gates also recalled that time, his eyes a little moist, and he said with a smile, 'Yes, at that time, although this dream seemed impractical, it was, after all, our dream.'

Paul Allen laughed and said, "You're not afraid of losing everything, and I'm even less afraid.'

Bill Gates pushed his glasses up and laughed, "So the day after tomorrow when they come again, we're still going to refuse them?'

Paul Allen nodded: 'Of course, we will only accept financing. If they refuse to accept financing, then let's give up.'

'Paul, we should think more. Since they will come looking for us, it proves that our company's reputation has spread, and in the future, there will definitely be more venture capital companies knocking on our door.'

'I know, the value of our company is here, and we will definitely be able to wait for the gold miners.'

'Hahaha...'

The two men looked at each other and then laughed. After reaching an agreement, their worries were gone and they appeared very relaxed.

However, after this incident, Bill Gates thought of more. He proposed, 'Paul, our company is still not formal. In order to prepare for possible future financing, I think we should clearly define the responsibilities and shareholdings of the company, so that venture capital companies will not seize on this to question our value.'

Having said this, Bill Gates could not help holding his breath, looking at Paul Allen with some trepidation, as his mind raced.

Paul Allen immediately nodded in agreement: 'Bill, you're right, we should refine the company's rights and responsibilities.'

After saying this, the two men began to discuss it.

Paul Allen did not value the interests as much, and considering that he had tricked Bill Gates into dropping out of Harvard to start a business, he felt some guilt and was therefore unable to lose face by arguing with Bill Gates.

However, Bill Gates did not have this concern, and he hoped that he could obtain more equity.

In the end, the two men agreed that Microsoft would be owned 60% by Gates and 40% by Allen, and that they would have the company re-registered the following day to reflect this.

Two days later, Xia Yu and the others returned.

Paul Allen and Bill Gates waited for them in the office, relaxed and at ease.

The two sides sat down face to face, and Xia Yu asked with a smile, 'Mr Gates, Mr Allen, what have you considered?'

Bill Gates looked apologetic and said, 'Mr Xia, I've discussed it with Paul. Microsoft is our child, carrying our dreams. We won't sell it, but will only accept financing.'

'If you think Microsoft is valuable, you might as well invest in us. We will do our best to repay your investment, we are confident!'

After saying this, Bill Gates had a feeling of anticipation rise in his heart.

Xia Yu was, after all, the first investor to come to the door, and this meant a great deal to them. Of course, they hoped that they could successfully cooperate as they had imagined.

Although they were confident that the value of Microsoft would attract enough investors, that had not happened yet, and no one could be sure how long it would be before the next investor appeared.

If they could find one now, it would undoubtedly be in Microsoft's best interests. After all, time was of the essence!

Unfortunately, Bill Gates was destined to be disappointed.

Xia Yu's smile faded, and he looked at Paul Allen and asked, 'Mr Allen, what do you think?'

Paul Allen said apologetically, 'I'm sorry, Mr Xia, what Bill means is what I mean. We will only accept financing, we will not sell the company.' (Foreigners put the family name first and the given name last. Strangers call each other by the family name + Mister, while friends basically call each other by their first names.

Xia Yu had originally prepared a speech, but after seeing the attitude of the two men, he suddenly didn't want to waste any more words.

He looked at the two men deeply, nodded and said, 'Okay, I wish you luck and hope you will succeed!'

'I have things to do, so I'll leave first.'

After saying this, Xia Yu got up and left in the regret of Bill Gates and Paul Allen. The two men smiled reluctantly and saw Xia Yu and the others off.

From beginning to end, Xia Yu did not say which company he came from, nor did he give them his business card.

Since the two men had made their choice, there was no need to give them his business card so that they could use it as capital to promote themselves and find other venture capital companies.

After all, Polaris Capital is now a major shareholder of IBM, and its several major investments have had a huge impact in the venture capital community, attracting the attention of many venture capital firms.

If it were to get out that Polaris Capital was eyeing Microsoft, then there would definitely be people coming to investigate, which would inevitably cause him uncertainty and trouble.

As the car started, Xia Yu glanced back at Bill Gates and Paul Allen standing in the doorway, coldly withdrawing his gaze, and silently thinking to himself, 'I really have to implement Plan B.'

'In that case, the future operating system giant will no longer be called Microsoft!'