Chapter 59. Increase the Stake (1)

David immediately understood what I meant.

"Is this the time?"

"Yes. Change doesn't happen gradually; it happens all at once, like an explosion. The paradigm of the industry is changing right now. Opportunities arise during times of change."

"The fate of the future will be determined by whether or not we seize these opportunities."

I nodded.

"The future will come faster than anyone expects. Therefore, we need to quickly secure the companies that will be at the core of the future."

"One of them is CoolCloud, right?"

"Not just one of them, but that one."

I can be confident because I know the future.

"Whatever it takes, we will acquire it."

"Yes. If we succeed, the wealth we can gain will be beyond imagination."

David laughed in disbelief.

"You want to do a hostile M&A without any shares?"

"Exactly."

After thinking for a moment, he shook his head.

"In the financial market, you often encounter people who spout grandiose plans. Most of them lack the ability but dream big."

"What do you think of me?"

"To be honest, when I first heard you wanted to acquire CoolCloud, I thought it was impossible. The executives don't want to sell, and Continuu Capital doesn't have the money."

"What about now?"

David looked at me and said,

"Let's give it a try."

* * *

I discussed the future strategy with David.

"In negotiations, the one who is more reluctant to give up is the one who loses."

In this case, the one who is reluctant is me.

They don't want to sell, but I want to buy. It wouldn't be strange if the price were several times higher than it is now.

So, I need to make them feel reluctant, not me.

After finishing the discussion, I contacted Syd.

"Can you come for a moment?"

[Yes, I'll come to the hotel right away.]

Syd rushed to the hotel, interrupting his work.

"Is it okay to leave work?"

"It's fine. What's up?"

"I heard your story and did some research."

"What story?"

"The story that Rolfe didn't develop Minerva."

Syd looked surprised.

"Really? What happened?"

"Take a look at this."

I showed Syd Jason's laptop. When Syd saw the program stored in the cloud, he was shocked.

"Wow!"

"Can you recognize it?"

"Of course. It's the initial version of Minerva."

Sure enough, he recognized it immediately.

"Where did you get this?"

"You'll understand when you see this."

I then showed him the emails and messages exchanged between Steven Kim and Rolfe Butch.

"Damn! I knew it! It was indeed made by someone else! That makes sense. Where is this person now?"

"He's dead."

I told him everything I had learned.

"Oh, that's why nothing was mentioned before."

"Exactly."

Syd said angrily,

"Wow! I always knew he was an idiot, but I didn't know he was this much of a scumbag."

"You knew Rolfe didn't develop it, right?"

Syd shook his head.

"Even so, I thought he at least had some involvement in the development or bought it with money. I never imagined he would steal a dead friend's program and claim it as his own. And he still boasts about developing Minerva wherever he goes."

Developers often create similar programs after seeing others' work, much like the proliferation of me-too products in the food industry.

But stealing a dead friend's program and claiming it as your own is a completely different matter. If this fact were known, he would be buried in the industry.

After cursing Rolfe for a while, Syd asked me,

"Then, who owns the copyright to this program now?"

"Originally, it was Jason Kim's wife."

"What about now?"

"I bought it."

Syd was shocked.

"You bought Minerva?"

"Yes."

"What are you going to do with it? You're not planning to sell it to CoolCloud, are you?"

"What do you think?"

"Of course, we should tell everyone. Rolfe should pay the price."

"CoolCloud's stock price will drop. Is that okay?"

"I'm going to quit anyway."

"Will you have to give up your stock options if you leave now?"

Syd owns 5% of the shares, which is worth over 30 billion won. A typical person wouldn't leave the company and give up this money.

"It doesn't matter. It's better than working with such scum."

Syd didn't hide his contempt and disgust.

Indeed, when the incident broke out, he threatened to leave if Alex and Rolfe didn't leave the company.

All the developers and shareholders, except for the two, supported Syd. Eventually, the two were forced to resign as co-CEOs.

Perhaps out of conscience, or fear of the shareholders, Rolfe paid part of the compensation with his own shares.

Anyway, it's easier to talk since Syd is planning to leave.

"I have a good plan."

"What is it?"

Syd tilted his head after hearing my story.

"Hey! If we do that, I might have to continue working with those idiots."

This problem can be easily solved.

"Don't worry. I will acquire CoolCloud and kick Alex and Rolfe out."

"Really?"

"Yes. I'll change Minerva back to its original name, Mimir, and make you the CEO."

"Me? Why?"

"Do whatever you want. How about changing the company name from CoolCloud to Snow Crash?"

"Wow! That sounds great."

I looked at Syd and asked,

"Can you help me?"

Syd nodded without hesitation.

"Sure. I'll do it."

He didn't even ask how I would acquire it. He seemed to believe I could do it.

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes, I trust you."

"Why?"

Syd said matter-of-factly,

"Because you can spot an idiot at first glance, and you like Zombieland. Everyone was fooled by Rolfe, but you found the truth just by listening to me. I can trust what such a person says."

* * *

CoolCloud maintained the co-CEO system with Alex Preston and Rolfe Butch.

From the early days of the company, their roles were appropriately divided.

Alex Preston handled financial management, investment, publicity, and customer acquisition, while Rolfe Butch handled development and personnel.

In other words, Alex handled external affairs, and Rolfe handled internal affairs. They cooperated organically without encroaching on each other's domains.

Alex would convey what customers wanted to Rolfe, and Rolfe would instruct the development team to make it happen.

They solved any unreasonable demands within the deadline, leading to customer satisfaction. However, a problem suddenly arose.

After checking his email, Rolfe called Syd in surprise.

"What is this?"

Syd, wearing his usual watered-down jeans and Crocs, appeared calmly and said,

"You'll know when you see it. It's a resignation letter. It's not strange, right? I asked other employees how to write it since it was my first time."

"You're leaving CoolCloud?"

"Yes."

Rolfe tried to act calm but was internally flustered.

He had hired Syd, who was like a snot-nosed kid, and had worked with him for over four years. Syd had never complained once.

"Why are you leaving?"

Syd said calmly,

"Because they offered to help me start my own company."

"Who?"

"The people who came to the company last time. Continuu Capital, I think."

"What...?"

Rolfe recalled the Asian man who had called him an idiot and left after offering to invest.

'Are they trying to lure Syd? Wait. Could it be...?'

Did they approach Syd from the beginning with the intention of taking him away?

"Do you believe what they say?"

"Yes. They seemed very determined to enter the cloud business. They are also considering acquiring other companies, so I recommended a few that might be useful."

"..."

Rolfe thought of Syd as his hands and feet.

In reality, Syd had played both roles, but Rolfe saw himself as the head.

Just as a person considers the results of using a tool as their own, Rolfe considered the results of using Syd as his own.

But now, that tool was about to be taken away.

'What will happen if Syd leaves?'

If a computer breaks, you can replace it with another. Could he replace Syd with someone else?

No way.

Any other employee could be replaced, but Syd was an exception.

"Are you really leaving the company?"

"Yes. They offered to help me start my own company."

"Running a company isn't easy. There are many things to consider besides development."

"Oh! They said they would handle everything. I just need to focus on development."

It seemed that Syd was determined to leave CoolCloud and start his own company, regardless of what he had heard.

"Do you know that you'll have to give up 5% of your shares if you leave the company now?"

"Sure. How much is that? Continuu Capital said they would give me several times more."

If this continues, he will really leave the company. He needed to be stopped somehow.

"How much did they offer?"

"They said my skills are worth four to five times more than what I'm getting now. They said I've been working for a pittance."

Rolfe felt a surge of anger.

"Do you agree with that?"

Syd answered calmly,

"Yes. Now that I hear it, my share seems too small."

"..."

He still couldn't fully understand the situation. After all, Syd had never shown any interest in money before.

But now, he was suddenly demanding his share.

"Do you have any requests for the company? Like a higher salary?"

Syd said as if he had been waiting for this,

"The salary is fine. I just want more shares."

"How much?"

"15%."

"What!?"

Currently, Syd owns 5% of the shares. Adding 15% would bring it to a whopping 20%.

Last time, Redstone offered 180 billion dollars for 20% of the shares. Now, Syd was asking for 15% of that, which is three-quarters of the value!

Rolfe looked at him in disbelief.

"Isn't that an unreasonable demand?"

Syd nodded without a long explanation.

"Sure. I think it's better to accept their investment and start my own company. Thank you for everything."