After several consecutive days of hard work, Kyle's work itinerary in Seattle was finally complete.
On this day, Kyle accepted an invitation from Bezos, the chairman of Amazon Marketplace, to visit his home.
"Kyle, you see it, don't you? From the moment LinkedIn Corporation announced the opening of its Series A financing, to the entry of my Amazon, Microsoft, Heidrick & Struggles, and Blue Crown Capital, and even today after the dust has settled, the topic of LinkedIn has remained a focal point of media attention," Bezos said with a smile, sitting on the sofa in the living room.
Kyle toasted him with a glass of wine and chuckled, "What are you trying to say? Heh, you're gloating, aren't you!"
"Of course I am."
After finishing the whiskey in his glass, Bezos said, "I know you very well, after all~"
"Oh? How so?" Kyle asked playfully.
Bezos's expression turned serious as he said solemnly, "Two days ago, in your speech at the shareholders' meeting, you mentioned key points for future development. Whether it's launching online news information or leveraging LinkedIn's advantages as a professional networking platform to vigorously develop online and offline education, these are all capable of bringing in significant profits."
Profit!
These two words are a topic that no enterprise can ever avoid!
An internet company that cannot achieve profitability, or requires a long time to do so, will absolutely be eliminated by the market even if it boasts a large number of users. After all... the market never lacks competitors of the same type.
Bezos stared intently at Kyle and continued, "Although you didn't explicitly mention LinkedIn's future profit direction at this shareholders' meeting, don't forget, I've known you for quite a few years."
"You've invested over 100 million dollars into LinkedIn successively; this is definitely the largest move you've made among the many companies you've founded."
"Remember, I said founded companies, not just taking stakes in other companies."
"Furthermore, you've specially built a massive industrial park for LinkedIn. Given your character of not releasing the hawk until you see the rabbit, I'm quite certain you already have ideas on how LinkedIn can quickly achieve profitability."
"No!"
"Perhaps... I've underestimated you!"
"Do you already have a specific plan to make LinkedIn profitable?!"
Bezos stared closely at Kyle,
hoping to find some clue on his face.
But he failed!
He didn't find the slightest bit of information on Kyle's calm, unruffled face.
However, finding no information was the biggest piece of information in itself!
Kyle waved his hand and laughed, "Buddy, you're overthinking it. If I had a way to make LinkedIn profitable so early on, why would I have kept the company in a cash-burning state all this time?"
"Is that so?"
Bezos chuckled; he didn't believe a single word!
In fact, he was right!
Don't forget, Kyle is a transmigrator! From the moment he founded LinkedIn, Kyle had already made detailed plans for the company's development, including various paths and means for future profitability. However, Kyle had never allowed LinkedIn to take that step yet.
Why?
Although LinkedIn is currently the leader in the online recruitment and professional networking field with the largest market share, there are quite a few competitors of the same type desperately trying to catch up!
In the North American market alone, the number of online job-seeking companies, large and small, is no less than 100!
"As long as we can truly become the hegemon of this industry and reach a market share of over 80%, won't making money be an easy task then?"
"In a word, as long as you defeat and crush your rivals in the entire industry, then you get the final say in this market!"
What Kyle's LinkedIn needs to do right now is sweep through the entire online job-seeking industry and kick every potential and competitive rival out of the game!
"Heh!"
Bezos laughed, "It's fine if you don't tell me. I understand; you just want to have more bargaining power in the future Series B and C rounds!"
Kyle retorted, "Buddy, isn't that exactly how you've been playing those Amazon shareholders?"
The pot shouldn't call the kettle black.
In business, Bezos is also a through-and-through, extremely cunning fox!
It makes sense; how could a man who could beat Bill Gates in personal net worth and hold the title of the World's richest man for several consecutive years be an easy person to deal with?
It's true that Kyle and Bezos are friends, and very good ones at that, but... in a business environment, even your best friend can be your biggest competitor!
Next, the two of them intentionally or unintentionally steered the conversation away from LinkedIn and toward Amazon.
Ah, Amazon~
Regarding Amazon Company, Kyle and Bezos were currently doing the same thing: acquiring as many shares of Amazon as possible from shareholders, the primary market, and the secondary market.
As of now:
Bezos's shareholding in Amazon has impressively reached 23.9%.
This percentage is definitely not low. One must know that before the Dot-com Bubble burst, Bezos's stake in Amazon was only 21.9%.
A full 2% increase in shareholding!
This is only possible because Amazon is currently heavily affected by the overall internet environment and its market value has suffered greatly. Otherwise, this would be a massive deal involving at least billions of dollars.
In the future, with Amazon's market value reaching trillions of dollars, this 2% stake would be worth tens of billions!
"Kyle, your stake isn't small either; it seems to have reached 12.1%, right? Goodfellas, that's 4.1% more than before you sold off your Amazon stock. You're even more ruthless than I am!" Bezos curled his lip.
Kyle smiled.
The pot calling the kettle black~
As allies, Kyle and Bezos had clearly seized the most delicious part of the Amazon cake.
The two of them had made a fortune, without a doubt, and no arguments would be accepted!
And don't ask; if you do, the answer is 'I don't know'!
...That evening.
It was also the last night Kyle would stay in Seattle during this trip.
Felix Luca, the senior vice president of Adidas, was very excited.
"He's finally willing to see me again!"
The proposal to acquire or take a stake in Under Armour had almost become an obsession for Luca.
Starting from 1999, Luca had noticed Under Armour and followed it for nearly a year, subsequently proposing the acquisition of Under Armour to the company's board of directors multiple times.
Since then, he had continuously gathered information on Under Armour, its parent company Golden Dawn Entertainment Group, and Kyle himself.
During this period, he had invested a great deal of effort!
At this moment, he and Kyle sat across from each other in a restaurant in downtown Seattle.
"Mr. Page, please believe in the sincerity of Adidas. As long as you can accept our investment in Under Armour, then as the intermediary and the link between the two companies, I guarantee you that I will persuade the board to provide Under Armour with immense support in terms of product technology, sales channels, sports spokesperson information, and more!"
Luca's tone was very sincere.
To be honest, Kyle could also clearly and explicitly feel the sincerity from Adidas.
But!
Kyle shook his head and said, "Luca, you're right. I'm very tempted, but I still choose to refuse you."
"Why? Why is that?" Luca was driven to distraction.
Regarding the investment in Under Armour, Luca believed the sincerity he offered was something countless sporting goods companies dreamed of and was hard to refuse.
Unfortunately, he didn't know that Kyle was a transmigrator!
Kyle suddenly said, "Luca, as you know, I have a Manchester City team in the Premier League, and I'm currently planning to acquire an NBA team. In the future, I also intend to acquire an MLS football team to establish a professional sports operations company."
"This..."
Luca was shocked!
Kyle: "This future large-scale sports operations company is currently missing a CEO. I wonder if you would be willing to take on the role of CEO!"
Luca: "..."