Smiling, Su Yehao couldn't help but laugh when he unexpectedly learned that Apple had also extended an olive branch.

The current Apple wasn't the behemoth it would become. In recent years, it had been struggling, with a total market value of only around $1.7 billion. It didn't have any best-selling products to speak of, and was simply resting on its laurels, eking out a small profit thanks to having entered the personal computer market early on.

Last August, Su Yehao saw a news report saying that Apple was having difficulty operating and had repeatedly come close to bankruptcy. At that time, Microsoft invested $150 million in Apple.

Steve Jobs even thanked Bill Gates for this, publicly saying, "Bill, thank you. The world is a better place," a quote that was later printed on the cover of *Time* magazine.

According to the magazine, Jobs called Gates before the financing.

This "tech godfather" of later generations admitted that Apple was weak and tried to mend his relationship with Gates to get funding from Microsoft.

Gates did decide to invest, perhaps to retain a competitor, since Microsoft was facing an antitrust lawsuit, and if Apple, which used an independent operating system, went bankrupt, Microsoft's situation would only become more difficult.

In Su Yehao's view, Apple's stock wasn't a worthwhile investment at the moment. Even with the overheated Nasdaq market, the stock price remained flat, basically stagnant. Gates' $150 million investment hadn't boosted it.

Although he hadn't made a move, Su Yehao had been following Apple's latest developments.

It was also one of the "super thousand-fold return stocks" he had in mind, the kind he would definitely invest in once he had the funds.

Learning that they were eyeing the international version of tvt, and that this had led to a small intersection, Su Yehao found it amusing and shook his head, sighing,

"The more people who pay attention to us, the more dangerous I feel, like being surrounded and chased by hungry wolves at any moment. It looks like we have to hurry up and run faster. Tvt has given others new ideas about social platforms, different from traditional forums and purely instant messaging programs. Once others want to copy our social elements, like iCQ and AoL, we'll be very passive."

In the car, John Zhou, sitting in the passenger seat, deeply agreed with his words.

Nodding repeatedly, John Zhou turned and said, "This is the risk I wanted to remind you about. If iCQ can't buy our new product, they may choose to learn its personal space features. So, boss, you must prepare to spend a lot of money. Occupying the market always requires investment."

"Yeah, you don't have to tell me. I'm already mentally prepared to spend like crazy and run fast."

Su Yehao sat comfortably, fastening his seatbelt. Since the beginning of the year, Silicon Valley internet companies had exploded, their market values rising again and again. After investors received their returns, their enthusiasm for investment became even higher, and they were looking all over the world for startups, hoping to bet on the next Yahoo, Cisco, or America Online.

Having abundant funds wasn't necessarily a good thing for Su Yehao.

He felt that tAt could still develop leisurely in the mainland market for a few years, constantly updating itself to give users a sense of freshness, so as not to have its market share snatched away by other similar social products.

But in the international market, with 70 to 80 million internet users already, if he didn't show the determination to sprint with all his might, Su Yehao thought his tvt project would likely become cannon fodder. After all, its funding scale couldn't compare to the new and old giants, and it lagged behind in terms of promotion channels, basic users, and R&D strength.

The performance in the coming period would determine the future of tvt. The time left for Su Yehao to "sneak attack" was running out, and competitors would probably react soon.

Therefore...

Su Yehao, who had originally decided to spend around HK$200 million first, quietly increased this year's investment to around HK$500 million, or about US$60 million.

The current tvt was still traveling light, with more than 80 people in the Silicon Valley R&D center. The annual employee cost was $7 to 8 million, which meant that they could be careful and put the limited funds into marketing and promotion.

Of course.

To prevent the management, including John Zhou, from spending money recklessly once they found out, Su Yehao decided not to tell them for the time being.

On the way to Silicon Valley, they continued to talk about the next plan.

Su Yehao said,

"The most urgent task is to find a capable and experienced CEO. I probably won't have time to stay in the US all the time. The executive must be a good fit for our company, have a clear understanding of the company's future development, and be able to break into the Silicon Valley social circle. You've been at Microsoft for so many years, do you have any reliable recommendations? I can grit my teeth and offer a million-dollar annual salary, as long as I can finalize the candidate while I'm in the US."

"... A million dollars is a lot, but it's probably a little difficult to attract top professional managers from Microsoft."

John Zhou spoke frankly, reminding him,

"Because at that level, they value stock option rewards more, and our company hasn't been around for very long. Those who have already succeeded may feel that it's not stable enough. Headhunting companies have asked some celebrities, but they all refused, feeling that we don't have enough strength and resources. The consulting company's opinion is to find a large company to cooperate with, and shorten the development cycle by using their channels."

Su Yehao touched his chin, opened a crack in the car window to let in some air, and laughed,

"When it comes to resources and strength, we actually have them. Even if I don't use my family's money, I'm confident that I can get enough funding from Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore by selling the story. Those who can't see our company's growth potential are already unqualified. Keep looking... If that doesn't work, then I can only compress my personal time and manage the company in Silicon Valley myself. A boss who can't even speak English fluently... it's best not to let me appear in public, I still need to find a front man."

Without Su Yehao saying it, John Zhou of course knew his background.

A family fortune of several billion Hong Kong dollars was enough to crush 99.9% of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. The most headache-inducing problem, funding, was definitely not a problem in the short term. The performance of tAt before had also been good, and now they had developed tvt with more social features. This company really had a chance to stand out.

John Zhou smiled and said,

"If you stay in Silicon Valley, that would be great too. Due to the time difference, many messages can't be reported to you in a timely manner. With your status, it's easy to break into the local high-end social circle, and you might be able to find reliable partners. iCQ only wants to annex us, Apple's resources aren't enough, I actually prefer Microsoft and America Online. If we can cooperate with Yahoo, it would be very beneficial for us. Last time I met the founder of Yahoo, he asked about you..."