Chapter 48 Mark (Part 2) (Second Update Seeking Recommendation)

  Arrived in Palo Alto in the morning, after a simple lunch, the entire afternoon was spent visiting. To be honest, Mark is not a suitable tour guide. Although he has been here for a while, most of the time he just stays in his workshop - two small rooms, one with servers and the other as an office. The room is filled with computer cables, a group of more than ten unkempt men staring at their screens, without any reaction to outsiders. The only sound in the room is occasional whispers, and the air is filled with the smell of feet and coffee.

  "Uh... everyone's gotten used to it, and the room is small, with poor ventilation conditions... Hey, you bunch of guys, hurry up and put your stinky feet back in your shoes!" Because he couldn't find a good scenic spot, Mark had no choice but to bring An Junhe to visit his own workshop, which was quite embarrassing at the time.

  If he were just a friend, he wouldn't have paid so much attention, but An Junhe might also become a shareholder of this small studio, so he had to show his good side and try to give investors a better impression and more confidence.

  Unfortunately, it failed at the first step.

  However, it wasn't long before he forgot about this and began to introduce An Junhe to the achievements of his self-created university student community, as well as its future development plans, which were no different from what An Junhe had learned in his dreams. At this time, Mark was ambitious and wanted to expand to more universities, which required increasing investment in servers and other hardware. With just those low-end machines, it was impossible to support the expansion.

  During the introduction, Mark calmly explained that he had approached other investors, but no one was interested in him and his website with only tens of thousands of registered users. Even if someone was interested, they didn't want to invest, but rather wanted to buy the entire website, which was clearly unacceptable to Mark.

  Although it has been less than a year since he left the campus, his pursuit of independence and freedom has begun to emerge. His ideal is to create a brand new way of communication, a small society on the internet, rather than just a tool for making money.

  There was one person willing to provide him with some funding, but he wasn't willing to give too much, only about $500,000. After deducting the cost of purchasing servers, there wouldn't be much left, and the studio's daily expenses would also be strained. Moreover, Mark didn't particularly like that person, who was a pure businessman, had established a well-known e-payment company, but after planning to list it on the market, he sold it out and made a fortune.

  He didn't like his partner being a money-obsessed businessman, which represented that maybe in the future his company would become a tool for capitalists, and he might also be like Jobs, who had the heart to stick to his ideals but was powerless to resist, and could only be forced out of the decision-making level.

  After some hesitation, he suddenly remembered An Junhe, whom he had met online and recalled that the other party was engaged in venture capital investment. He contacted him with a try-it-out attitude, but the result surprised him unexpectedly.

  He still remembers to this day, the time when Ahn Cheol-soo readily agreed on MSN to come over and investigate, and then consider investing. The joy that suddenly swelled up in his heart - although it was not yet confirmed, Mark stubbornly believed that Ahn would be persuaded by his ideals, just like the past few months, their expectations for the internet and humanity's new way of communication were surprisingly similar. Many times, Mark even absurdly thought that Ahn in Korea might be his long-lost twin brother overseas.

  It's impossible for investment intentions to start discussing so quickly, and spend the first day like this.

  The California summer weather is hot and dry, the wind blows in the evening, but it doesn't bring a bit of coolness, instead, it gives people the direction of the wind, perhaps there's an illusion of volcanoes baking.

  A small apartment on the third floor, Anh Junhe and Mark leaned against the railing of a crowded balcony, each with a beer in hand, chatting while blowing the night wind.

  "...When I first started this website, it was when I was at Harvard. At the time, I just thought it would be fun to invade the school's database and steal photos of my classmates, letting everyone vote on who was the coolest or hottest. Unfortunately, the school shut it down later, but some friends told me to keep going, to open a website where people could upload their own photos and record personal details...and then inspiration kept popping out of my head, you know, all sorts of crazy ideas, but the rough outline of what would become a social networking site was formed back then. I thought, why not make it a friendship website? There are so many colleges in Boston, so many students, who knows how many people went to elementary school or middle school together, but lost touch...when thinking about their childhood, they can only look at old yearbooks and stare blankly at the phone numbers of classmates that no longer work...but these friends from the past aren't gone, there's one thing that can penetrate into anyone's life - the internet! As long as it's used as a foundation, building a platform where people can leave their mark on the schools and classes they've attended, everything becomes simple and convenient..."

  Mark spoke eloquently, while An Junhe smiled at him. Perhaps only when talking about his ideals did this young man have a glimpse of the shadow of several years later, confident and dazzling, that was the brilliance emitted by the persistence of his ideals.

  He took a sip of beer and smiled, "It's not just high school, this idea applies to many aspects, such as former colleagues in a company who had good relationships but lost contact, or friends who accidentally lost touch..."

  Mark stared blankly at him, stunned for a moment, before suddenly bursting into excited cheers: "Yes! Yes! Right, it's not just applicable to colleges and universities, it can be applied to any group of people. Damn, how did I not notice this earlier?"

  He was excited and frustrated, grabbing his hair, then tightly hugged An Junhe's shoulders. "Buddy, I'm really in love with you, except for you, no one understands my thoughts, they all say I'm daydreaming... Let's do it together, how about it?"

  Looking at him excitedly coming over with a slightly nervous face, An Junhe smiled: "Want to poach me to your studio?"

  Mark nodded repeatedly.

  He shook his head, "Sorry, I still have other careers to strive for."

  "Ah..." Mark's mood sank a bit, the invitation just now was only made with a slim chance in mind. In his understanding, An Junhe was already considered a successful person and it was unlikely that he would join this small studio.

  Although I had mentally prepared myself, I still felt disappointed.

  The bottle was just about to touch his lips when he had just gulped a mouthful of beer, and An Junhe's next words made him spray all the beer out.

  "So depressing, don't you think I'm contributing funds, isn't that cooperation?"

  "Cough! Cough! Cough! Cough!"

  Mark coughed violently, clutching his chest for a while before catching his breath, and looked at An Junhe in surprise: "You... you mean to agree to the investment?"

  "Of course!" An Junhe patted his shoulder and smiled: "I believe you will achieve your ideals, and maybe one day everyone will be amazed at what you have achieved. At that time, I might even bask in your glory."

  This undisguised praise made Mark blush a little, and he smiled awkwardly: "Too exaggerated..."

  Is it an exaggeration?

  An Junhe looked up at the clear night sky filled with stars, and in a few years, the brilliance of this young man beside him would overshadow them all, while he himself would use that light to climb to heights that others could not reach.

  Go for it, Mark!

  ;