Chapter 265: Angel Investment

[Chapter 265: Angel Investment]

At a Michelin three-star restaurant located at 9 Place des Vosges in the Marais district of Paris, live musicians played a melodious tune on their violins, creating a remarkably comfortable dining atmosphere.

"While Avenue Montaigne isn't as wide as Madison Avenue in New York, it sure has plenty of flagship stores. Taylor, take a look at this," Ivanka said, revealing a stunning bracelet on her wrist. The bracelet, inspired by a snake, was encrusted with various precious gems and diamonds, shimmering beautifully under the soft lights, paired with a platinum chain that clearly was not cheap.

Taylor's eyes reflected a greenish glow; she suddenly felt that the gigantic diamond ring on her left hand didn't seem as impressive anymore.

"The Serpent Boheme bracelet by Boucheron. This year's latest design, I got it from Place Vendome. I bought a matching one for you too. You can wear it when we get back," Ivanka smiled.

"Isn't that a bit extravagant?" Taylor felt slightly embarrassed.

"Oh, come on! If I think something suits you, I'll buy it for you. We're practically sisters," Ivanka said, giving Taylor's hand a gentle squeeze.

They were set to live together; not true sisters, but closer than sisters. Ivanka's gesture was a way to avoid any potential friction down the line.

"Okay, I'll accept it. How about we go to Galeries Lafayette the day after tomorrow? I heard there's an exclusive display of rare items; my treat," Taylor replied generously, squeezing Ivanka's hand back.

"Deal! Just be ready -- I tend to spend a bit," Ivanka joked.

...

At the other end of the round table, Ryan cleared his throat, interrupting their conversation.

"What else did you do this afternoon besides shopping?" Ryan asked.

"There's so much more to buy! A single afternoon isn't enough," Ivanka replied as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

Having grown up in luxury, shopping on Avenue Montaigne felt as mundane as visiting a dollar store to Ivanka.

"Plus, I reserved a private luxury yacht. After dinner, we'll board at the Pont Alma and cruise along the Seine to see all the landmarks," Ivanka continued.

"Sounds great," Taylor nodded.

...

When Taylor excused herself to the restroom, Ivanka took the opportunity to ask, "How are things with that Olsen girl?"

"She'll be joining us back in Florida as my assistant for now."

"Should I tell Taylor about it?" Ivanka inquired further.

"Let's keep it under wraps for now; I'll handle it," Ryan replied.

Ivanka nodded. She didn't mind, but she was curious how Taylor would react.

...

When Taylor returned, Ryan shared the news with her; he had secured a deal with Delphine and announced that Taylor would become the new face of Dior's beauty line, with the endorsement contract set for a year.

"This is a huge deal! The last female singer to endorse a luxury brand was Madonna! Taylor, you're on her level now! We have to celebrate!" Ivanka raised her glass.

"How did you manage that?" Taylor eagerly asked.

Ryan explained the details, raising an eyebrow at Taylor. "So, how are you going to thank me?"

"What do you want as a thank you?" Taylor felt her cheeks flush.

"Oh, I have plenty of ideas," Ryan clinked his glass with hers.

The three raised their glasses together, producing a cheerful chime.

...

That evening, Ryan stood with the two women at the bow of the yacht, wrapping his arms around their shoulders for a photo, with the Eiffel Tower gleaming in the background.

Since it was nighttime and they were a little way from the shore, it spared Ryan from any awkward revelations about being with two women -- a lifestyle likely to raise eyebrows in modern society. The fewer people who knew, the better.

Throughout the cruise, Taylor snapped photos on her phone, and Ryan noted she was still using the same photo app.

"The photos you posted today got a lot of attention, but they all have the app's watermark. Do you think that'll impact anything?" Taylor suddenly realized, her hair blowing gently in the breeze.

"Even if it does have an impact, it'll be a positive one," Ryan noted, having also observed the app. It was created by two Stanford students and probably operated out of a small startup.

"I think I've made this app popular. It's now among the top three in downloads," Taylor said, taking another selfie of them cuddled up.

"Is it really that impressive?" Ryan took her phone to check it out, discovering the functions were quite straightforward -- mostly filters -- but they did significantly enhance the quality of photos in a way even a novice like him could appreciate.

"I've recommended it to a lot of friends who think it's great," Taylor mentioned, emphasizing how every beauty-loving girl needs a good photo app. This one was her favorite after trying several others.

"Then download it and let them create a filter just for you; no one else will have it," Ryan casually suggested. Such tools were inexpensive to acquire, probably costing less than Taylor and Ivanka's trip to Galeries Lafayette.

"No, it's better to use it for free," Taylor replied, believing this was far more luxurious than the shopping spree.

It was clear that men and women had somewhat different values.

"Speaking of apps, Ryan, why don't you open up the forum's messaging app for public registration? The interface might be a bit basic, but it's quite handy. With smartphones becoming more popular, people need a messaging app," Ivanka chimed in.

"How did you know I was planning to open it to the public?" Ryan chuckled, amused by their simultaneous thoughts.

The internet was the real breeding ground for new elites. Ryan had missed the waves of previous social networks, but mobile internet was a new frontier.

"Oh, I figured since the iPhone and HTC phones are selling so well, you wouldn't just sit back and do nothing," Ivanka pointed out. Having a master's degree from Wharton, she had picked up a thing or two from the alumni network.

"Once the servers are ready, I'll open registration. I've got Veronica, our tech lead, actively recruiting talent as we speak," Ryan stated.

"If you need help, can I join the team?" Ivanka suggested, seeing greater potential in this than the Spirit club.

"Not right now, but you'll be my first choice once the Spirit club is running smoothly," Ryan added, wrapping his arm around Ivanka's waist.

...

After cruising the Seine, the three headed back to their hotel room, where Taylor was obsessively scrolling through her phone.

As soon as they entered the room, Taylor handed her phone to Ryan.

"The insta staff just reached out to me on Twitter, saying they want to make a filter just for me! How did you know?" Taylor exclaimed, bewildered.

"They want to leverage your fame for the app's exposure. I'd bet... by tomorrow, you'll have someone in your DMs to discuss further collaboration," Ryan calculated aloud, considering the time zone differences back to the West Coast.

Ivanka started sorting through the heap of shopping bags that had been delivered to their hotel from their shopping spree, while she pulled out the bracelet she had bought for Taylor. Tossing aside the packaging, she personally fastened the bracelet on Taylor, both women admiring their beautiful matching pieces.

"Speaking of which, Ryan, I got you a watch, more sporty. The gold one you have is too businesslike, not understated enough," Ivanka said as she rummaged through her clothes.

Just then, Taylor received a direct message from the insta team that echoed Ryan's predictions, only arriving a day earlier than expected.

"Looks like they're still working overtime. Should I call them?" Taylor wondered aloud.

"Absolutely; call them right now," Ryan insisted, already deciding to take charge of the conversation.

"You don't really want to buy this app, do you?" Taylor questioned, finally realizing Ryan's keen interest in it.

"It's just a photo app; its core assets are probably just some imaging algorithms. Is it worth acquiring?" Ivanka chimed in, agreement twinkling in her eyes.

"Taylor, do you remember what you told me on New Year's?" Ryan asked.

"What was that? You said a lot," Taylor replied, struggling to recall.

Without saying another word, Ryan dialed the number.

...

"Hello, Taylor! I just noticed the photos you've been generating with our app; I need to say thank you..." came a young male voice from the other end.

"No need to thank me; you should thank her," Ryan rearranged himself, making it clear that he was the one in charge.

"Is this Ryan? Sorry, I thought Taylor was calling, or maybe someone from her team?" the voice clarified.

"And who are you?" Ryan probed.

"Kevin Systrom, co-founder of the app," he replied, sounding slightly flustered.

"You're personally calling?"

"Well, yes. Our team is quite compact, so I have to handle multiple roles myself," Kevin explained.

"Still a student?" Ryan asked.

"No, I graduated. I worked at Google for two years before leaving to develop this software with a Stanford classmate."

"So, you want to collaborate with Taylor?" Ryan began to lay it out.

"To be precise, we see this less as a collaboration and more as a marketing opportunity. We'd like to release a filter named after your fiancee. If she could share it on her social media, that would be fantastic," Kevin said cheerfully.

"And how much are you offering?" Ryan pressed.

"Money?" Kevin hesitated.

"Of course, this is an image licensing deal. You don't expect to get something for nothing, do you?"

"Mr. Rivers, I mean, I was thinking this would just be a post, which shouldn't really count as endorsing, right?" Kevin stammered, clearly anxious about angering Ryan.

"Even a post comes at a cost. Do you have any idea what brands pay for that? Fifty grand for a single tweet!" Ryan reminded him.

"Considering she already loves our app, could we negotiate for a lower amount?" he attempted to barter.

"I get it; you're just a startup, so you're low on funds for marketing," Ryan conceded, showing unexpected understanding.

"That's true. Yes, we are a small team," Kevin responded hesitantly, clearly wishing to keep details under wraps.

"Do you have any angel investors?" Ryan inquired.

"We're currently raising seed round funding. If you're interested, I can provide you with further details..." Kevin couldn't contain his excitement. "We've got an industry-leading X-Pro II filter, and we've patented the related algorithms. With it, we plan to gradually replace the cameras in phones so that every kind of phone captures stunning photos."

"Photo quality relies on camera lenses, not just color filters. That's an empty shell, and competitors can easily copy it," Ryan replied nonchalantly.

"Mr. Rivers, I thought your focus was solely on music, but it looks like you know a bit about mobile imaging too," Kevin noted with genuine surprise.

"To be honest, filters are just the beginning; they are not our core competency. What we truly aim to build is a social network for sharing photos with features for likes and comments -- it's a market worth tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of users."

"Provided Twitter and Facebook sit on their hands and don't do anything, watching you run wild. Do you think they're fools, or do you think I'm the fool?" Ryan expressed some irritation.

Kevin seemed startled: "Uh, I at least think that's the case. Believe it or not, our app has been open for less than a month and has already surpassed 500,000 downloads."

"Because the app store is still fresh. People are curious. You don't think this is hard to replicate, do you?" Ryan chuckled.

"You're correct, but our downloads have skyrocketed. I mentioned we've patented our color algorithms," Kevin repeated, trying to emphasize his earlier point.

"Enough of the runaround. To be honest, I have another project I'm working on that requires additional features. I need those photo filters. I don't want to hear more unrealistic claims. Tell me, what's your valuation?" Ryan continued in a tone that implied impatience.

"Our valuation for the seed round is three million. Yes, three million," Kevin clarified, sounding less confident than before.

"Are you sure it's three million, not three hundred thousand?" Ryan double-checked.

"You definitely heard me right; that's just the seed round. By the time we reach Series A, it'll be worth even more. Whether you decide to stay on or cash out, you'll still come out ahead -- by a solid margin." Kevin stuttered through the last part, unsure of himself.

About twenty minutes later, Ryan hung up the phone.

...

Upon returning, Ryan found Taylor and Ivanka trying on new outfits together. Both stood at around six feet tall, so they could swap clothes freely.

"How did it go?" Taylor walked over from the mirror.

"When can I use Taylor's filter?" Ivanka, newly interested after seeing Taylor's excitement, had just downloaded the app herself.

"Forget the filter; it isn't important. I decided to invest one million in the seed round," Ryan said.

Besides Ryan, Baseline Ventures had already pledged $500,000 for funding. After the investment, Ryan would hold a 33% stake, Baseline 16%, with the remaining shares belonging to the two founders. In this seed round, only these two external investors were involved.

"As for whether Taylor will keep promoting the app, that's an entirely different conversation," Ryan looked at Taylor. "Be sure to remove those watermarks later."

"Ryan, if that's the case, why not just acquire the app directly?" Taylor asked, curious.

"If we were buying it, the price would be much higher. Besides, they don't want to lose control," Ryan reminded her of what he had already said.

"What if we created a knockoff? Leveraging your and Taylor's marketing prowess isn't hard to do," Ivanka suggested, pointing down another path.

"The filters might have their advantages, or else there wouldn't be this many downloads. But since we haven't delved deep into the internet sector, there's a risk of failure. Plus, we already have one app; acquiring another one isn't necessary," Ryan analyzed.

"That makes sense," Ivanka yawned.

"It's getting late; shouldn't we rest, honey?" Ryan turned to Taylor.

Before long, the two blonde women, adorned in exquisite jewelry, gracefully lay down on either side of Ryan. As their hands brushed past him, the bracelets chimed softly against their wrists, making them shine even more against the backdrop of their luxurious accessories...

---

The next morning, Ryan, Ivanka, and the Olsen sisters found themselves in the nearly completed fashion show hall.

The younger Olsen felt a bit shy upon seeing Ryan again, but Ashley quickly pushed her closer to him.

"We won't interrupt any further; we need to check on the stage," Ashley said as she gathered her twin sister and Ivanka away, leaving Ryan alone with Elizabeth Olsen.

...

Ryan noticed that Elizabeth Olsen had dressed up nicely in a chic jumpsuit and paired it with strappy high-heeled sandals. Her bright lipstick was a striking sight -- one she hadn't typically worn before.

"I'm not doing it for you; I just felt like changing my style," she said, giving her hair, styled into glamorous waves, a twirl as she turned her face away.

If they were alone in a room, he might have to call her "daddy." Ryan assessed her, his mind racing with thoughts.

...

"You guys arrived pretty early," a voice chimed from behind.

Both Ryan and Elizabeth Olsen turned around, and even with her heels, she had to slightly lift her chin to meet the taller figure's gaze, which belonged to none other than Karlie Kloss, who towered over them.

*****

https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.