Free Web NovelMa Huateng and Zhang Zhidong. freewebnovёl.ƈom
Among the five founders, these two were the center.
“I didn’t expect someone other than CEO James Han to come. We suddenly heard that the schedule had changed, so we’re also a bit troubled.”
Barely after sitting down, Zhang Zhidong did not hide his uncomfortable mood.
“Something urgent came up all of a sudden, so James couldn’t spare the time to come all the way to Shenzhen. He told me to tell you he’s sorry.”
Ma Huateng quietly looked me over without speaking, and only Zhang Zhidong asked me a question.
“Are you Korean?”
“Yes, I’m Korean.”
“James said he’s Korean-American, and I guess he sent a Korean person as his proxy.”
Zhang Zhidong’s tone held an edge, as if displeased that I had come instead of Han Gyeongyeong himself.
A natural reaction from someone who didn’t know who I was.
How far back should I start explaining. After thinking briefly, I gently opened my mouth in a soft voice.
“I make every decision regarding Tencent investment. So there’s no reason to be troubled that James isn’t here. Because it was also I who decided to invest in Tencent. It’s no coincidence that I proposed investment first when no one was paying attention to a company called Tencent.”
Even Han Gyeongyeong himself had no interest in Tencent. What these people wanted right now, I could give them.
In a way, my coming to Tencent was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them.
“Do you truly hold all decision-making authority?”
“Yes. I do. And in my opinion, I fit this seat better than James. The only person who knows what you want and can help you achieve it is me.”
Ma Huateng, who had been quietly listening, finally opened his mouth.
“You said it’s something we want? That you know what that is?”
At the distrustful question I lifted one eyebrow. Shall I provoke them once.
“Yes. You’re not planning to keep hearing ‘knockoff’ forever. If you’re the Ma Huateng I know, I believe you’ve already prepared another plan by now. Haven’t you?”
The air in the conference room instantly sank.
Tencent began as a portal. Then they started offering OICQ, which plagiarized ICQ.
But AOL of the U.S., which had acquired ICQ, filed a lawsuit for plagiarism, and Tencent lost and had to pay damages to AOL.
Fortunately, investors from the U.S. and Hong Kong invested four million dollars, allowing them to pay the damages.
After that, Tencent changed the program’s name to QQ.
They reorganized QQ to fit the Chinese market, and fortunately it took hold and gained traction in the market.
But there was no clear profit structure.
So Ma Huateng tried to sell the company, but no buyer stepped forward.
What appeared then was us. James secured a 46.5% stake under the condition of investing forty million dollars.
He overtook Ma Huateng and the founders to become the number-one shareholder.
QQ, which had grown into China’s representative messenger with one hundred million subscribers in 2002, released “QQ Show” early this year.
True to Tencent’s beginnings in imitation, this too was created by copying Korea’s Cyworld Club.
“Knockoff, you say?”
“QQ plagiarized ICQ, and the QQ Show released earlier this year stole from our country’s Cyworld Club and Cyworld.”
They took the avatar paid service from Cyworld Club, and the mini-homepage and Acorn paid currency service from Cyworld to launch QQ Show.
Despite my provocative words, Ma Huateng smiled as if not offended.
“The Greek philosopher Aristotle once said this. ‘Imitation is the mother of creation.’ Nothing completely new can exist.”
Quite confident. Seeing such a Ma Huateng, I scoffed.
“You know that’s all sophistry, don’t you, CEO Ma Huateng? If imitation were the mother of creation, why would patents exist, and why did you lose the lawsuit with ICQ. Am I wrong? And you commissioned the avatar design to a Korean company for QQ Show because you were afraid a lawsuit might be filed.”
Even at my sharp question, Ma Huateng answered smoothly.
“I don’t deny that we imitated. I’m not ashamed of it. It’s true that we referenced those two companies. But we don’t stop at avatars. If Cyworld Club and Cyworld simply sold clothes to dress avatars in a cyber world, we dress them in real clothes. Can that be called simple plagiarism? If you say yes, then no newness could ever emerge.”
Ma Huateng did not have an extroverted personality, but he seemed to be quite stubborn.
But it takes someone firm in their convictions for growth to happen.
Cyworld and Cyworld Club eventually become obsolete, and the QQ Show that imitated them grows—because someone like Ma Huateng existed in Tencent.
It had been just a probing remark, so I didn’t counter his words further.
If they were only a company that imitated, I would not have bothered to invest in Tencent.
Ma Huateng continued speaking.
“Innovation is not something completely new. It’s not creating something from nothing but developing it further. Perhaps as time passes, the survivor will be Tencent. Not Cyworld Club or Cyworld.”
“You only know after time passes. So what do you plan to do next? Will you claim to have created something new by imitating something else again? You cannot become the best with imitation alone. You will always be second place.”
Ma Huateng shrugged.
“I do not agree with that opinion. With the claim that you cannot become first with imitation alone. Life on Earth also evolved repeatedly. The end of imitation is innovation. Creative imitation that evolves from imitation and eventually reaches innovation—that is the future of Tencent that I dream of.”
Ma Huateng maintained a consistently gentle demeanor. He, too, seemed to have read the meaning behind my words.
I had not asked to criticize him. I asked because I wanted to know what he was thinking.
Suddenly, I remembered Ma Huateng’s interview, where he said it was important to choose the right target and timing for imitation.
“Is my answer to your provocation sufficient?”
As expected, Ma Huateng already knew my words had been thrown deliberately as provocation.
“It’s sufficient. If Ma Huateng were not in Tencent, I would not have invested a single cent in this company. I’m investing in you, Ma Huateng, as much as in the company called Tencent.”
“Thank you for that. Now let’s hear what you meant earlier, that you can give us what we want. If it was something you said lightly, I think I’ll be disappointed.”
This time Ma Huateng provoked me instead.
“So now it’s my turn.”
I laced my fingers together and placed my hands on the table, lifting one corner of my mouth. That’s not how you provoke, Ma Huateng.
“QQ’s users are increasing exponentially, and they will increase more. But the business model has its limits. The agreement you made with China Mobile last year was unilaterally terminated. They took your idea as is and released the exact same SMS service.”
This incident was shocking to Ma Huateng.
He who had always imitated others now had the same thing done to him.
“If you say imitation is the mother of creation, then others can imitate you. How does it feel when you experience it yourself?”
“······.”
“So now you must have thought you need to prepare your own content. You released QQ for free to gather users, and with QQ Show you attempted a paid model. Now people will start to get used to that. When people gather, money follows. You can put ads in the upper banner of QQ, or you can draw those users into a new territory. For example······ by creating a new portal, or by bringing in an online game from another country and servicing it.”
The relaxed expression on Ma Huateng’s face changed for the first time.
“How did you know? Fewer than ten people know about that, °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° including the Zhang Zhidong sitting here. How could you possibly······.”
How did I know. Because that was how you grew Tencent.
“Well. Anyone with even a little bit of a working brain could easily guess it, don’t you think?”
“······.”
When the secret project they were pursuing internally came out of my mouth, Ma Huateng and Zhang Zhidong exchanged astonished looks.
I threw them an even bigger bait.
“What’s important now is which game you secure and import. What if I told you I hold quite a lot of shares in major Korean game development companies?”
Ma Huateng and Zhang Zhidong turned to me with dazed faces.
Smiling deeply toward them, I continued.
“If you want, the distribution of those games could be entrusted to Tencent.”
“Is that true?”
It wasn’t Ma Huateng but Zhang Zhidong who asked me. The uncomfortable emotions from earlier seemed gone, and his voice was excited.
Ah, come to think of it, there had been rumors that Zhang Zhidong was the one planning game publishing.
“To be exact, an investment company associated with me holds the shares. Well, it amounts to the same thing.”
“Perhaps TJSoft······.”
Cautiously, Zhang Zhidong mentioned the name of the current top game company in the country.
“Yes. We are the largest shareholder.”
“Then are you saying HS Venture Capital is an investment firm associated with you, Mr. Kim Muhyuk?”
Zhang Zhidong asked in a shocked voice. If they knew this much, there was no need to elaborate further.
I nodded and answered honestly.
“CEO Park Hyeonseong of HS Venture Capital is an old friend of mine. His investment philosophy is to invest but not participate in management, but if I ask, he will move at any time.”
HS Venture Capital.
The venture capital firm where Hyeonseong was CEO. They invested only in Korean IT companies, famous for investing regardless of whether a company was listed or unlisted.
At the same time, it was a venture capital firm shrouded in mystery.
Only the CEO’s name was known; the list of those who invested in the firm was not revealed.
Hyeonseong, Myeongsu, and I split the shares among ourselves, and no one else invested.
I had supplied the initial capital, but since then I had left it alone because Hyeonseong and his partner and wife, Kang Mijin, worked together so well.
The first places they invested were TJSoft and Chorok.com.
Both companies are now listed, and HS Venture Capital has earned hundreds of times its investment profit.
In addition, they invested in many game companies and IT companies, and all succeeded.
Sometimes I gave advice, but most of the time the two of them directly chose where to invest.
Furthermore, HS Venture Capital did not sell its shares even after a company went public on the stock market.
Most other venture capital firms tidy up their shares after listing.
But HS Venture Capital did not tidy up its shares after listing and stayed with them.
Perhaps because of that, HS Venture Capital was called an angel among venture companies.
Hopeful founders were crossing HS Venture Capital’s threshold with investment proposals in hand. freēwēbnovel.com
“Is that true? Really?”
Zhang Zhidong asked again to confirm.
“If you wish, I can speak with CEO Park Hyeonseong of HS Venture Capital right now.”
Hearing that they could speak with Hyeonseong right here, they sat up straighter.
“That’s why I said I’m a better partner for you than James. What do you think. Doesn’t it seem rather fortunate that I came instead?”
“I must have misjudged the person. I apologize. If you were upset for even a moment, please forgive us.”
Zhang Zhidong rose from his seat and lowered his head. Because it was rare for a Chinese person to apologize this directly, I smiled and spoke.
“We were the ones who broke the promise first, so I understand. Now, please sit. We need to continue the conversation.”
Zhang Zhidong sat down again. Then Ma Huateng took the baton and asked me a question.
“If we’re talking HS Venture Capital, they’re the major shareholder of most game development companies. So are you saying you can let us become the Chinese partner for the online game we want?”
Stating the obvious. With an even deeper smile, I nodded.
“I came personally for exactly that reason.”
