Chapter 6: Jon Oringer

May 27, 2001 – New York City

It had been a day since Guti had come to New York. He had a good sleep and enjoyed a morning run while admiring the city.

While the original Guti had been to the US many times, the same couldn't be said for Lucas, who now inhabited Guti's body.

He had once gone to Hong Kong thanks to an online writing contest he won for a novel he wrote.

As someone who enjoyed life, he had visited many countries, but he had never been to the US.

It was due to a combination of factors and coincidences. Now that he was here, it was only natural to enjoy what the city had to offer.

Today, he walked into a packed sports bar, filled with the smell of beer, fried food, and more.

Taking a sip of his drink, just soda, nothing crazy, he looked around. Every table had at least one guy yelling as if he were Phil Jackson coaching from his seat.

Tonight, the Lakers were playing the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. Every time Shaq dunked, half the bar lost its mind.

But Guti wasn't here just to enjoy the game or the drink. Next to him sat a certain man named Jon Oringer.

Yes, the Jon Oringer, though at this point, he was just a genius in his late 20s running a small software company.

He wasn't yet the founder of Shutterstock or the first billionaire of Silicon Valley. But in a few years, he would change the entire stock photography industry.

This man was an out-and-out genius. He had begun learning computer programming in elementary school.

As he grew older, he developed his own photos as a hobby. By the age of fifteen, he was teaching guitar lessons.

Beyond that, he had so many achievements that one could write a book about him. He was a bit like those Chinese protagonists.

Jon was looking at the person who had invited him. A week ago, he had suddenly received an invitation from someone who wanted to meet him to discuss business.

At first, he wondered if it was a scam.

But after some research and a direct phone conversation, he learned that the person who wanted to meet him was a football player, or rather, a soccer player.

He didn't know much about soccer; it wasn't something that interested him. Still, he was curious. What kind of business could there be between them?

Why would someone with whom he should never have crossed paths want to meet him?

He took a sip of beer to steady himself.

"So, Mr. José, I'm really curious about the business you wanted to discuss. I doubt someone like you would invite me just to watch a basketball game together, right?"

Guti couldn't help but chuckle. In his past life, he would never have imagined the legendary Jon Oringer entertaining him,byes, entertaining him.

He could tell from Jon's expression that the man was joking to make the atmosphere more relaxed for their discussion.

"You don't have to be so formal. You can call me José, that's what most of my partners and friends call me. I don't like formal discussions. May I call you Jon?"

Jon nodded. He wasn't the type to stand on ceremony either. That was why he had joked in the first place.

"Okay, José. I'm really curious. How does someone who lives in Europe, Spain, know about me? And what kind of business does he want to discuss with me?"

Before Guti could respond, the bar erupted as Kobe Bryant sank a three-pointer. The crowd's roar momentarily drowned out Jon's question.

Guti waited for the noise to settle. His gaze didn't even flicker toward the TV, clearly, he wasn't interested in the game's outcome.

Once the noise died down, he asked Jon a question.

"Let's start with a question, Jon."

Although Jon found Guti's English a little strange, he could still understand him perfectly.

"How many times have you built something brilliant, software, a tool, a service, only to watch it gather dust because the world wasn't ready?"

Guti remembered clearly that this so-called 'first billionaire of Silicon Valley' had admitted to creating about ten or so companies.

Jon's eyebrow twitched. He set his beer down, the glass clinking against the table.

"More times than I'd like to admit," he said, unoffended. "But that's the way of the world. You iterate. You adapt."

Guti couldn't help but admire his mindset. No wonder he had succeeded later.

"Exactly. I like your perspective."

"But adaptation requires vision. You see, I've followed your work. The firewall software you sold in '95. The photo editing tools you coded for fun. Even that failed e-commerce site you tried last year."

"Your creativity and vision are impressive. You also have high-level skills, I'm a little envious, to be honest. But unfortunately, nothing seems to have succeeded."

*So, have you ever thought that the problem isn't your ideas but the timing?"

Jon's interest grew. In his opinion, most athletes had brains the size of a bean. Look at these NBA players, some of their decisions made him wonder if they had any brains at all.

Yet here he was, receiving an education and possibly cooperating with someone he didn't think highly of.

Guti didn't know Jon was internally disparaging athletes. If he had, he might have found a new partner, no one liked being looked down on, and even fewer could tolerate it.

But at this moment, he was too absorbed in the conversation to notice.

He gestured toward the bar's TV screen, where Shaq bulldozed through the Spurs' defense.

"Look at this game. In the late '70s, the NBA was struggling. I've done my research."

Jon smirked. "You? Researching the NBA?"

"Yeah," Guti nodded. "Back then, the NBA wasn't the giant it is today. It was just another league, low TV ratings, poor attendance, bad public image. The Finals? Sometimes aired on tape delay. Imagine that, he the biggest games weren't even live!"

Jon blinked. He hadn't thought much about it, but that was exactly how things had been.

"The league had stars, Kareem, Dr. J, Bill Walton, but most people didn't see them play. Without national exposure, the NBA wasn't truly national in the US, let alone global."

"And without national stars, you don't get kids dreaming of becoming NBA players."

Guti could see Jon processing his words.

"Then came Bird and Magic in '79," he continued. "And they didn't just save the NBA with their talent. They arrived at the same time TV exploded in America. Their rivalry gave networks the perfect storyline: black vs. white, East vs. West, Showtime vs. hard work. Suddenly, the NBA had characters, people fans could invest in."

Jon found himself nodding.

"CBS and NBC put games in prime slots. The league took off. The mix of great players and increased TV coverage turned basketball into a national sport."

Jon ran a hand through his hair. "I never thought about how much TV changed the NBA's fate."

Guti smirked. "And it didn't stop there. Then Jordan happened."

Jon nodded. "Okay, I know Jordan. Who doesn't?"

"But here's what made him different: cable TV. By the late '80s and early '90s, sports networks needed content. Jordan was the perfect global product. When the Dream Team hit the Olympics in '92, they showed the world what basketball could be. Suddenly, kids in China, Europe, and everywhere else were watching. TV made Jordan a god. Without it, he'd just be another great American athlete."

Jon sipped his beer, processing it all.

"And now?" he asked.

Guti grinned. "TV made the NBA global, but guess what's next? The internet."

Jon's eyes widened.

"Right now, in 2001, people think TV is king. But soon, the internet will break all barriers. People won't wait for TV schedules, they'll stream games online. Social media will create instant superstars. Highlights will go viral in seconds. The NBA will be everywhere, all the time, for everyone."

"Life is moving faster and faster. People will start wanting to spend their time wisely, without waste. Sometimes, they won't even watch full games, just highlights on the internet."

"Imagine the impact the internet will have on the world. It's not just the NBA or sports, it's every sector you can think of."

"Shopping, reading, news, teaching, entertainment, almost anything. Knowing this, I naturally want a piece of this untapped pie. I want a big piece. But of course, while I have the ideas, I need people to develop them."

.....

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