"By the way, for what reason have you sought me out?"
Andreessen had yet to lower his guard.
"I came to have a conversation. It is a good thing for you as well, Andreessen."
"I do not know what you mean by a good thing for me... but I have nothing to discuss with you."
His wariness was higher than I expected. Paying it no mind, I kept a smile on my face and continued speaking.
"Let us first have a simple meal while we talk. It will be my treat. I heard your favorite food is Chinese cuisine, is that right?"
At the mention of Chinese cuisine, the look in his eyes changed slightly. Indeed, the one who buys food is the best. That is a universal truth.
"If there is a place you frequent, I will follow you there. How about it?"
"Ahem... It is a rather expensive place, will that be alright?"
"Yes, absolutely!"
He exchanged a few words with the friend beside him, and they began walking and leading the way. We followed behind them. Arriving at a nearby Chinese restaurant, we took our seats, finished ordering, and continued our conversation.
"You are the one who developed Mosaic, correct?"
"Oh! You know Mosaic?"
Mosaic, revealed early this year, would accelerate the popularization of the internet. However, right about now was also the time when the relationship between Andreessen and the school would be deteriorating due to differences in opinion. Ultimately, the owner of Mosaic was the school's research lab, and Andreessen held no authority whatsoever.
"Of course I know. Though there is no one in Korea who knows of it yet, is it not the web browser that opened a new world for the internet?"
As I praised Mosaic, Andreessen's remaining wariness crumbled away. He was an engineering student through and through, unable to help himself.
"Right? I felt so frustrated that I made it myself. This guy next to me and I went days without sleep, you have no idea how much we truly suffered..."
If that is the case, the person next to him must be Eric Bina. With good timing, the food we ordered came out. We continued our conversation while eating.
"Are you satisfied with the current Mosaic?"
"Satisfied? It has not even properly started yet. There is so much I want to do..."
From his somewhat regretful expression, I captured an opportunity.
"No matter how hard you work to develop and update it, does it not become the property of the research lab? The two of you did all the development... Is it right for the research lab to harvest the fruits of your labor? On top of that, they do not even support you well, do they?"
"Damn it, I have no energy left to talk about those wretched university bastards anymore. With just a little investment, I could make it much better, but whenever money issues get tangled up, you have no idea how many excuses they make..."
Unlike Andreessen who was bursting with anger, the research lab employee Eric Bina scratched his head, seemingly in an awkward spot.
"Eric! You say something too."
"Whoa, whoa. Marc. Calm down a bit."
I smiled lightly and spoke to Andreessen.
"Andreessen. Rather than that, do you have any thoughts of doing this properly after graduation? Once you receive your master's degree next year, there is no need for you to stay at the school anymore, is there?"
At my words, Andreessen let out a deep sigh.
"I need money for that too."
"Then, are you saying that if you just had the money, you could make a much greater web browser than Mosaic?"
"Stating the obvious! I am Marc Andreessen!"
Being overflowing with confidence and quick to get excited was exactly the same back then. Heading straight to Silicon Valley right after receiving his master's degree, he would hit it off with a venture businessman he met there and establish a company. But this time, I planned to become that investor.
After all, it was a guaranteed jackpot that would soar up to an eight billion dollar market capitalization after going public in 1995.
"I will invest. I will provide the money, and you will make the product."
"Then it will not be my company in the end, will it? How is that any different from the research lab?"
I shook my head at Andreessen, who showed a lukewarm reaction.
"No, it is your company. Marc Andreessen's company, created by you and named by you. I only plan to invest. You can handle the management and development, Marc. As for the shares... I will only take forty percent."
At that, Andreessen let out a groan and fell deep into thought. Beside him, Eric Bina was studying Marc's reaction. It was now time to strike the decisive blow.
"I have absolutely no intention of interfering in the management."
I stopped eating and waited for his answer as he remained lost in thought. Andreessen pondered while rubbing his chin for a long time. And a moment later, he finally opened his mouth.
"How much are you planning to invest?"
"As much as you want, just name your desired amount."
He flinched at my confident words.
"One million dollars. With that, I think I could do everything I want. Is that possible?"
Swallowing a laugh inwardly at those words, I spoke.
"Five million dollars. In exchange, the condition is that you do not accept investments from anyone else. This must absolutely be written in the investment contract."
After a brief moment of panic at the enormous sum of five million dollars, Andreessen shook his head in disbelief.
"Forty percent shares for five million dollars? Is that enough? Are you some sort of charity worker?"
"Instead, when the time comes to pull out after the company goes public, I will also pull out. In exchange, I will give you the right to buy my shares. Absolutely no dilution of my shares must occur before then."
"Of course. Five million dollars... Huh, wow. What exactly did you see in me?"
Indeed, if a stranger suddenly offered to invest such an amount right upon meeting, even I would be bewildered. It was fortunate that he did not think I was a scammer.
"I saw the future in you. And I plan to invest in that future. So, will you sign a contract with me?"
"This is an absolute yes. I just need to prepare and head to Silicon Valley next year. Hey! Eric! You come along too. I will treat you far better than working at the research lab. No, I will share my stake with you."
Eric, who had his mouth wide open the entire time while listening to Andreessen and my conversation, answered immediately as if there was nothing to deliberate over.
"If you are going, Marc, then I must go too. Are we not the mother and father of Mosaic?"
"As expected of my partner."
The two looked at each other, laughed refreshingly, and turned back to face me. I pointed to Han Gyeong-yeong, who had been quietly observing the atmosphere until then.
"The person next to me is James Han, who will take charge of the American investments on my behalf. You will probably see him much more often than me. You can just draft the contract with him as well."
Han Gyeong-yeong and Andreessen exchanged visual greetings.
"Then we will meet again tomorrow to sign the contract. The school has a lawyer, right? You may bring them out, or you may delegate it to the lawyer I bring. You make the choice, Marc."
As I finished my words, Andreessen and Han Gyeong-yeong exchanged greetings.
"I am James Han."
"I am Marc. I look forward to working with you."
"Hahaha. I merely do as our boss commands. Right, Boss?"
Han Gyeong-yeong winked at me. Having each made a satisfactory deal, we all wrapped up the meal with smiling faces.
"Then let us meet again tomorrow."
I paid the bill and stepped outside so that they could talk.
"Hey, why did you offer five million dollars to someone who only asked for one million? Do you have money left over?"
The moment we parted ways with them, Han Gyeong-yeong asked for the reason first, as if he could not comprehend it.
"Elder Brother, you trust me, right? Trust me one more time. That five million dollars will return as billions of dollars."
"Crazy bastard. Say something that makes sense."
I merely gave a grin and climbed into the car. Arriving at the hotel in Chicago, I explained the detailed matters to Han Gyeong-yeong.
"Do you know any lawyers?"
"A lawyer? I do have someone who helped out when I established the company. Should I call them?"
"Yeah, tell them to come to Chicago tomorrow, and arrange it so they can go draft the contract with us."
"Alright."
I also reiterated the contents I had emphasized while speaking with Andreessen once more.
"You heard earlier, right? Make sure to unconditionally insert that he cannot accept other investments into the contract. State that we have priority if further investment is needed, and make sure my forty percent share does not disappear. The lawyer will probably know better about such things."
"Is that all you need?"
I nodded my head.
"Do not mind the rest. They are the type of people who do better when left to sort things out on their own rather than having us meddle."
"Phew... I am doing it because you told me to, but I wonder if this is just throwing money away."
To Han Gyeong-yeong, who did not yet know the future of the internet, it probably made no sense. But just one year later, he would understand. And when the company goes public in 1995, he might just... collapse in shock.
"Trust me! And even if I blow away five million dollars, you will earn that much back for me, right Brother?"
Seeing me grin, Han Gyeong-yeong laughed along as if he could not stop me. Han Gyeong-yeong went up to his room, and I looked at Ma Seok-dae and spoke.
"Shall we talk in my room for a moment?"
"Yes."
I headed to my room together with Ma Seok-dae. I opened a can of beer and offered it, but he shook his head. I brought the opened beer to my mouth.
"Section Chief Ma, am I still lacking as a master for you to serve? I feel you have seen more than enough. I will not walk the path inherited from Grandfather, but my own path. Now you must show me your heart as well. Only then can I trust you and continue to walk together, no?"
The corners of Ma Seok-dae's eyes raised ever so subtly. But as he stood still and looked at me, there was no change in his gaze.
"If I receive no answer by the time I return to Korea, I will look for someone else. I cannot keep someone who is not my person as a secretary who guards me twenty-four hours a day, can I?"
The sip of beer I drank flowed coolly down my throat. My body, which had been weary all day, relaxed slightly. Right then, Ma Seok-dae, who had remained silent, opened his mouth.
"Will it be alright if I answer before we go to Korea?"
"...Do so. However, whether you become my person or not, everything that happened during this trip to America is a secret. You can do at least that much, right?"
"Understood."
"Go and rest."
I drank the remaining beer while looking at his retreating back as he bowed and left.
"I am curious about what choice you will truly make. Because you have caught my fancy. I definitely want to keep you by my side."
I muttered to myself before crawling into bed. The next day, together with the lawyer who flew in from New York, we drafted the contract and set off for the University of Illinois to meet Andreessen again.
While waiting at a restaurant in front of the university, I saw him walking in alongside a person who appeared to be a lawyer.
"This person is a lawyer who assists students with establishing startups."
"Ah. It is a pleasure to meet you."
We exchanged simple greetings, took our seats, and immediately handed the contract over to Marc. The lawyer, who had been reviewing the contract for quite a while, whispered something into Andreessen's ear. After doing so, he looked at me and smiled.
"I have met many investors so far, but this is my first time seeing a contract like this. It is such a good condition for Marc that I was caught off guard."
"Haha, is that so?"
"However, it seems there are a few things that need to be adjusted."
"Yes, you may discuss those with our lawyer."
I sent a look to our lawyer, and the lawyers gathered the contract and moved to another table. Andreessen's face was already full of excitement.
"Charlie! Truly, thank you! I feel like I will be able to do everything I want. I will live up to your expectations."
"Think nothing of it. You will achieve anything."
We looked at each other and showed deep smiles. Explaining the company he dreamed of in a harmonious atmosphere, he looked immensely thrilled. A short while later.
The lawyers sorted out the detailed matters in the contract and returned to our table. After taking the time to explain the changed contract details to their respective clients, we each took a copy of the contract.
"Then, please sign."
We each signed and exchanged the contracts.
"The investment funds will be deposited into your account on the day you leave the school. You may keep in contact with James here. If there are any problems or if you need more investment funds, tell me at any time. Instead, my shares will increase further."
"Thank you, Charlie."
Rising from his seat, Andreessen was so overjoyed that he even suddenly pulled me into a tight embrace. 'What do you mean thank you, I am even more thankful.' Like this, I brought Netscape, the harbinger of the dot-com bubble, into my embrace.
Now, I should go meet Brother Jobs, shouldn't I?
< The First Investment. > The End.