Chapter 19

Sow seeds first. I studied American business and economics for investment. Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Johnson & Johnson, Walmart, ExxonMobil, etc. Giant corporations with a market capitalization of hundreds of trillions have changed people’s daily lives or have had a global influence. ‘I like Tesla.’ Car of the future. Feels a few years ahead of internal combustion engine cars. I didn’t use self-driving because I didn’t like it. It seemed like he would get used to it over time. ‘I like the company, but there are a lot of problems.’ It has been in the red ever since its inception. Every time the money runs out, you receive an investment, and rumors of bankruptcy circulate. The fact that the production volume did not increase quickly was also a fatal disadvantage. It was taken for granted that car factories in Korea would produce hundreds of thousands or even millions of cars. Pursuing economies of scale, lowering the unit cost of production, and investing the money in technology development. Tesla was a startup that put technology first, so it was different from other automakers. When the production volume increased, the progress did not go smoothly enough to be featured in the media. ‘If I make a vehicle, it sells well, but I can’t do large-scale production.’ Even the approach to the factory feels different from future cars. Because automation is so important, many problems arise in the early days of plant operation. ‘The direction seems to be right, but.’ Investing in Tesla was hesitant. It is a company that has media attention, technology, and marketability, and can change lives, which is a common feature of global companies. Will it rise enormously after solving the problems required for mass production, or will it collapse through trial and error? The future was unknown at this point. ‘For now, let’s pay attention and watch.’ Stocks, unlike coins, require a lot of knowledge about the company. Areas where you can’t invest without knowing. It was the same in that greed dominates. ‘If there is any sign of a sharp rise, I will live quickly.’ After coming to San Francisco, I sit in front of the computer every day and search on YouTube or search, but thanks to that, I have accumulated a lot of knowledge in a short period. Besides, I had a friend by my side who could help me whenever I needed it. “Myeongwoo, how should I invest in a startup company?” “To invest the money you earned with coins? You know it’s dangerous, right?” “know. Still, I want to try it out.” “There are many ways. You should start a venture capital firm, put your money in a fund that specializes in investing in startups, or invest it yourself.” Rеаd at ոоbӏеmtӏ.соm Venture capital startups seemed too grandiose. Joining the fund was not considered very desirable. This is what I felt while studying economics, but there were not many Korean funds that were properly profitable or had expertise. The turnover rate of fund managers is high, and the fund representing the company is cut in half after making a large-scale investment in China. Funds in the US may be a bit different, but I wanted to gain experience investing directly. It will broaden your view of the world. “How do I invest directly?” “If you know the founders, you can invest.” “Can you introduce some good founders?” “I can recognize it.” I wanted to connect with founders or gain knowledge about startup companies. Oh Myung-woo had a much wider foot than I expected and had a good understanding of the internal circumstances of companies. “I know because I worked with them. Aurora. Work is fast here.” “How fast is it?” “About three times that of other companies? These guys are crazy about their work.” When investing in venture capital, it would be based on the business model, technology, ideas, and talent on paper. I didn’t know the speed, cohesion, and morale of work as well as the people who worked firsthand. “Even if start-ups grow in size, the number of core personnel is between two and seven at most.” “Is it? Less than I thought.” “Maybe not all the companies I know. Apple and Microsoft also had a few core personnel in the early days. The ability and disposition of key personnel are very important.” If only one of the seven early members is lazy or neglectful of work, there will be a lot of setbacks in the work. On the other hand, if there is a genius among the 7 that you can truly admire. If there is a genius who is externally famous or has never had a great performance, the company’s chances of success increase. “The places I know mostly are places that do something in a specific field, rather than Internet companies. Especially in the automotive industry. Aurora is also a place related to truck autonomous driving.” “Professional companies are fine to invest in, too.” Silicon Valley was the cradle of all sorts of startups. The da Vinci surgical robot I learned while working at a pharmaceutical company. A small hole is made in the body, an endoscope and a laparoscope are inserted, and surgery is performed by manipulating a robotic arm. Compared to open surgery, there were fewer complications and faster recovery, and this da Vinci surgery was also performed in Silicon Valley. The price of the machine is over 2 billion. I heard that even if you sell only one unit, the salesperson’s incentives are quite large.’ You don’t know how much I envy you for doing business comfortably. Arcor was also an exclusive company, so sales were easy, but there is a clear difference from companies that monopolize the global market. Myung-Woo Oh’s ability was demonstrated even when he met the founders. “I’ll give you a 10% stake for $700,000.” “Chris, aren’t you hitting on my friend too much?” “Khan, be quiet. We are talking about important business right now.” “I know what your situation is. Give me 20% on $900,000. You want to eat a double-double burger. How long are you going to eat only cheeseburgers?” “shit. If that’s the case, there’s nothing you can do about it.” I was worried about losing my investment opportunity. Chris grinned and held out his hand. “Khan’s best friend. We are partners now.” “Great. As an investor, I look forward to the growth of the company.” I held his hand. The contract was made through a local lawyer, and the deposit was completed immediately. I don’t know if the investment will be successful, but I’ve taken the first successful step. The investment would have been impossible without Oh Myung-woo’s connections and abilities. “Myungwoo.” “Yes?” “love.” “Don’t be mean.” With the introduction of Myung-Woo Oh, I invested in several more startups. It was less than a million dollars, mainly focused on Series A. Startups had a seed money investment stage in the early days of company establishment. Series A was the stage of creating a business model, developing technology, making a product, and confirming the potential in the market. In Series B and C, funds are invested to increase market share or dominate the market in earnest. I thought of Helena I met while eating a hamburger. He seemed to be quite close to Oh Myeong-woo. “How about a company that makes clothes with eco-friendly materials?” “Work progress is too slow there. I don’t even know if it has any business potential. The CEO is always running around trying to get investment. They’ll try to extort you three million dollars for a small stake.” “It looks like a knife.” “Then. It’s about money.” I forgot for a moment what kind of guy Oh Myeong-woo was. This is the guy who got so mad at me for buying 20-won expensive ramen back in the semi-basement days. Because they have a beggar spirit embedded in each other’s bones, they had a sense of kinship, so they became friends easily. “But do you have more money than you thought?” When the total investment in the startup exceeded 7 million dollars, Oh Myung-woo said such a story. “I did make a lot of money.” “I won’t ask how much you earned. But you will buy rice from now on.” “Okay.” Investing in startups was like planting seeds of great promise. I don’t know what seeds will bloom, but I was looking forward to the future. The price of Ripple, which fell below 4,000 won, fell steadily. 100 won, 200 won, and so on, 3,500 won before I knew it. “Uh. Isn’t this?” Kim Sang-ki was startled and came to his senses. The atmosphere of the group chat room where co-workers chatted with each other was full of hope, and the coin bulletin board was the same. But why does Ripple keep falling? “Why is this off?” The domestic standard price is 3,500 won, but overseas it was only 2,400 won. Because of the kimchi premium, it was more expensive when traded in Korea, but it fell significantly overseas. ―Healthy adjustment has begun. Let’s persevere. ―It seems that there will be a big good news related to Ripple soon. ―Gazuaaa! Ripple has been declining, but December’s uptrend has been remarkable. The bulletin board was active because investors flocked to it. ―I am a resident of the 44th floor. I feel at ease. ―Enjoy the view now, hah. If you have a 200th or 300th floor, all of them will be low-floor households. ―All Korean banks seem to be trading with Ripple ― Expensive and slow, Swift Out! I looked around the coin bulletin board, but I couldn’t put my mind at ease. The investment time was early, so the break-even point was well over. Unable to overcome his anxiety, he called Kim Shin to ask for advice, but the call did not work. In the US, it seemed that he often turned off his cell phone. ‘I think it must be Jojin?’ It was a very similar pattern to when you lost your stock investment. ‘It’s cheap compared to the company’s value. A perfect bargain buying opportunity!’ If you buy a stock thinking it will go up, it will go down. ‘Oh yeaha. Opportunity to swim!’ It fell further when water was used to lower the average unit price of stocks that had fallen. I’d rather stay still. ‘It’s over now.’ If you thought the stock price would go down and sold it, it skyrocketed. My current mood…. ‘Even if there is a temporary correction, Ripple will hit and go up soon. It’s such a good coin.’ Kim Sang-ki thought about it and decided to try to endure it for one night. The next day at 7 am, as soon as I woke up, I checked the coin price on my phone. 〈Ripple: 2,800 won〉 An additional 700 won fell while I woke up. I couldn’t even wash properly and accessed the coin bulletin board. ―Continuously falling in real time ―Ripple Ada is getting rid of it ㅠ -ripple… … . -Where is the floor? ―Why are you all in such a hurry? ―Ripple will rise again Looking at the coin bulletin board, it felt like the lost hope was being re-engraved. ‘Is this an opportunity to buy low? A chance to swim?’ Kim Sang-ki came to his senses after a while. ‘Let’s sell everything. I’m a fool, so I can’t have convictions.’ Future Automobiles is a giant that manufactures and sells over 8 million vehicles a year. It was famous for its vertical integration from its research and development to steel, parts, transportation, and finance. Recently, the paradigm of the automobile industry has sensed signs of a shift, and it has been preparing for active acquisitions and investments in areas such as autonomous driving, artificial intelligence, sensors, batteries, and robots. Jin Yoo-kyung took over the acquisition of a promising start-up in Silicon Valley along with a new car advertisement. “What? Aurora turned down our investment offer?” “Yes. It looks like they recently sold their stake to a new investor.” At the giant, Future Motors, the acquisition process went through several stages of internal review. Passed verification of possibility, verification of business model and marketability, and verification of technology. I was going to shave a little more and save it, but someone snatched it first. “What about Metawave?” “It seems that there has been an investment from that side as well. We will not be accepting new investments for the time being.” We missed out on 3 out of 10 companies we picked for future cars.