Chapter 897: September in Harvard

In September at Harvard,

the afternoon sun bathed the "University Café" in a brilliant glow.

Zuckerberg was wearing a wrinkled grey hoodie.

Besides Zuckerberg, there was the financial manager, Eduardo, who was always in a suit.

Opposite them sat Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu, in a crisp dark blue suit, wearing glasses, exuding extraordinary charm.

Zuckerberg and Eduardo observed Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu, feeling that the man before them was the most handsome—dazzlingly so—they had ever seen; every gesture he made carried a sense of dignity, yet he remained approachable.

Zuckerberg was inwardly vigilant.

Eduardo, however, felt this person was a decent man.

Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu was also observing Zuckerberg and Eduardo.

Mark Zuckerberg was born in 1984 to a Jewish family in White Plains, New York. His father, Edward Zuckerberg, was a dentist, and his mother, Karen Kempner, was a psychiatrist. Zuckerberg grew up following Jewish religious rules and had his Bar Mitzvah at 13.

Eduardo was born into a Jewish family in São Paulo, Brazil, and grew up in Miami, Florida.

These two were the earliest founders of Facebook.

Then, in the spring of 2005—that is, next year—these two staged a "brotherly betrayal drama" that was mocked by the internet for over a decade.

At this time, their shareholdings were 70% for Zuckerberg and 30% for Eduardo.

Facebook's $15,000 startup capital was provided by Eduardo, while Zuckerberg was the one responsible for the technology.

(Image: Brothers turning against each other (authenticity not guaranteed))

In the spring of 2005, Facebook moved to California, while Eduardo was interning at Lehman Brothers on Wall Street.

Zuckerberg soon met Sean Parker, a student of Michael Moritz at Sequoia Capital, and Parker quickly joined Facebook.

As soon as he arrived, he took over the burden Eduardo had left behind—fundraising.

It was at this moment that Eduardo's role was replaced by Sean Parker, and Parker did it even better.

Consequently, Zuckerberg and Parker exchanged views and decided to dilute Eduardo's shares.

The method: reorganize a new company in Delaware on the East Coast, acquire the former Facebook company, and issue new shares to everyone except Eduardo to dilute his stake.

Eduardo trusted Zuckerberg relatively well and, without carefully studying the terms, signed and agreed.

And then...

He was screwed.

Eduardo's shares were directly slashed to less than 10%.

Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu looked at the two, a playful smirk on his lips.

Watching the two fight each other, eating popcorn while sowing discord, was truly a wonderful thing.

"Mr. Guan, hello!"

"Mr. Zuckerberg, Mr. Saverin, hello..."

Both sides exchanged greetings and began to talk.

Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu first introduced his own identity.

A Republican supernova...

A candidate for the New York State Assembly...

New York Family Properties, covering 100,000 residents' support...

Backed by the Republican Party, knowing the party leader and the party leader's wife, with massive political resources and financial capital, he could easily help them raise money...

Item by item, it made Zuckerberg and Eduardo very tempted.

"I remember Mr. Zuckerberg is a New Yorker; you can call your family to verify my situation..."

Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu's language always carried a convincing quality.

Zuckerberg: "Alright, Mr. Guan, I don't know how much money you can put up? And how many shares do you want?"

Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu: "1 million US dollars for 25% of the shares."

Zuckerberg didn't hesitate and shook his head directly: "Sorry, Mr. Guan, I don't want to sell that many shares; I can only offer 10% at most."

He was an ambitious person; selling too many shares would be disadvantageous for his control of the company.

"Besides, we are adding 100,000 users every week now, and next month we are entering schools in Chicago and California. By the end of the year, the valuation will be at least 8 million dollars. 1 million for 25% is equivalent to suppressing the valuation to 4 million, which is unreasonable."

Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu smiled: "But I have a resource advantage... My Family Properties will continue to expand, covering one American family after another. Facebook shouldn't just be in schools; it should be in the life of every person in America, integrated into everyone's life."

Zuckerberg and Eduardo were a bit tempted upon hearing this.

Users were extremely important!

"As long as you are willing to accept my investment, I can help you add at least 50,000 adult users within 3 months, and they won't be students..."

Zuckerberg and Eduardo were both very tempted.

They both knew the importance of "breaking the circle"—college student users were the foundation, but without adult users, Facebook would forever just be a campus tool.

College student users were easy to grow, but social users were hard to grow.

But 25% of the shares still made him hesitate; he didn't want to give up too much control just as they were starting.

"10% at most." Zuckerberg looked up, his tone firm. "500,000 US dollars for 12% of the shares. And I have a condition: you must add 50,000 new users for Facebook within 3 months."

Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu smiled and reached out: "Happy cooperation!"

"Happy cooperation!" Zuckerberg reached out his hand. "The agreement must clearly state that you only provide resource support and will not interfere with company operations."

Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu shook his head: "Nonono, I won't interfere in general matters, but if it involves very important matters, I must have the right to know and the right to vote..."

Then both sides began to haggle with each other.

Finally, an agreement was reached.

That night, Zuckerberg had someone check Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu's background and confirmed there were no issues.

The next day, both sides went to a law firm to discuss the contract. It took 5 hours of repeated negotiation before both sides signed.

Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu got 12% of the shares for 500,000 US dollars.

What was Facebook's future market value again?

100 billion US dollars.