Silicon Valley Online's Next Step

Harry swallowed, feeling his throat go dry.

They believe that the emergence of the "Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital" section may mark the first concentrated explosion of commercial value on the internet. It creates a near-delayed window, allowing cutting-edge ideas to instantly reach the most astute investors. This is not just a financing channel; it's a completely new and disruptive model combining capital and creativity!

Team Leader Nohara stood on the outskirts of the crowd, only half understanding what he was hearing. He subconsciously tugged at his Japan colleague and whispered in Japanese, "Is this ' The Wall Street Journal ' very famous, Executive Director?"

"Nohara- san," my Japan colleague said, his face pale and his voice trembling, "If the Sankei Shimbun is the mouthpiece of the Japan economy, then this—is the bible of global capital."

Team Leader Nohara froze, looking at Nakayama Takuya with eyes full of admiration.

Nakayama Takuya looked at the exaggerated headlines in the newspaper, then glanced at Harry gesticulating wildly beside him, and smiled at Tom.

Kalinske said, "Tom, your efficiency is even faster than FedEx. What happened yesterday is already known in the entire United States tech section today."

Tom Kalinske, contrary to his usual behavior, didn't take the joke. He waved his hand, signaling the engineers in the office to continue their revelry, and then pulled Nakayama Takuya to a secluded corner.

The surrounding area was filled with the clamor of victory, but this corner was unusually quiet.

Tom glanced at the engineers who were excitedly discussing the newspaper report not far away, then turned around and approached Nakayama Takuya.

His face, which was usually always beaming with laughter, held no trace of a joke at this moment.

"Takuya, people from KPCB, and Sequoia Capital have all called me." Tom's voice was low, as if every word carried immense weight. "They want to know if Silicon Valley Online will accept investment."

Upon hearing Nakayama Takuya showed no surprise whatsoever, not even raising an eyebrow.

He simply looked at Tom calmly and asked in return, "What do you think?"

"Me?" Tom was taken aback by the question, then gave a wry smile. "You want me to sell games and game consoles? No problem."

"If you hadn't suddenly said you wanted to get involved in this two months ago, I wouldn't have known anything about it. Even now, I only have a vague understanding. It would be irresponsible of you to ask me to make the decision in this situation. What are your thoughts?"

"Tom, your connections and influence in United States are unmatched by anyone at Sega," Nakayama Takuya affirmed at first, then quickly changed the subject, "But the internet isn't something you can just shout about. Its promotion needs to penetrate every corner, every elite circle. Doing it ourselves is too slow."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the sign in the distance that read "Startups & VC".

"By bringing in these large investors, they will naturally become our best megaphones. The entire Silicon Valley, and even the entire United States investment community, will know of our existence. That's how influence comes about."

Tom's breath hitched slightly; he understood what Nakayama Takuya meant.

"Moreover," Nakayama Takuya's lips curled into a slight smile, "We've built the stage, and if they want to perform, they have to offer something in return, right? We can not only leverage their influence, but also their reach to invest in the next 'TaWiz' that we have our eye on."

"We'll do our own venture capital?" Tom's eyes lit up.

"Why not?" Nakayama Takuya shrugged. "We have the fastest information channels, the most outstanding talent pool, and we smell the opportunity before anyone else. Instead of letting others eat the meat, why can't we get a piece of the soup, or even—become the hunters ourselves?"

Tom felt his heart pounding wildly.

Looking at the young man in front of him, he realized that his previous imagination of "Silicon Valley Online" was still too limited.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. "Should I reply to them now?"

"Don't rush," Nakayama Takuya shook his finger. "Right now, it's not us begging them, it's them begging us. A deal won't be made if you rush things; we need to let things cool down."

He said half-jokingly, "Tell them you're busy, Sega has a bunch of new games coming out soon, and you'll have to wait until you're done with this. Tell them to prepare more money; if they want to get on board, they have to show some sincerity. This is only the first round; if you sell it too cheaply, how will they play later?"

Tom was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh, "You rascal, you're a devil."

"Of course," Nakayama Takuya's smile faded slightly, "But don't let it sit for too long. Silicon Valley is full of geniuses and madmen alike; who knows, someone might copy our work tomorrow and create something like a ' San Francisco Online' or ' California Online'."

He patted Tom on the arm, handing over the final decision-making power.

"You're in charge of determining the right balance. You understand the temperament of these United States capitalists better than I do; you know when to slap them and when to offer a sweet treat."

"Also, if you're too busy with investments, you could hire an investment director," Nakayama Takuya casually mentioned. "After all, it's not as familiar or convenient for the Japan Investment Department to handle these things as it is for the United States side. Just send investment briefings to the Japan Investment Department regularly, and I'll make the arrangements with headquarters for you."

Tom Kalinske was racking his brains trying to explain to the old fogies in Tokyo that he had suddenly "gone off course" and started a venture capital business. After hearing this, his eyes lit up, but then he made an exaggerated face.

"You're a lifesaver, Takuya. I can already picture their expressions when they receive my email. They'll probably think I've gone mad from the California sun and actually wanted to throw Sega's money into a BBS."

"That's why we need a professional to write a professional report," Nakayama Takuya chuckled. "A well-crafted presentation, full of US dollar signs and growth curves, is more useful than any explanation. The credit will be yours; I'll just be responsible for blocking the calls from Tokyo."

"Ha! I knew it!" Tom Kalinske laughed, slapping his thigh hard. "I knew you were better suited to dealing with the people at Tokyo headquarters than I was!"

Nakayama Takuya's smile faded slightly, and he changed the subject, his tone becoming more serious.

"And this is only the first step."

"Silicon Valley Online, you also need to consider promoting or hiring a CEO to oversee the overall operations."

"CEO?" Tom's smile froze; he thought he'd misheard. "Hiring a CEO for a BBS?"

"Harry's current job is at best a project manager, a good engineer," Nakayama Takuya shook his head. "But he's not a company operator. Our BBS can attract Sequoia Capital today, and it can attract more tomorrow. Who knows, Silicon Valley Online might incubate even more projects in the future, or even we might acquire projects ourselves. Harry can't handle all that. Take ICQ, which we're preparing later, for example. If you ask him to develop a feature according to the requirements, his team certainly won't have a problem. But if you ask him to think about what features will make users like our ICQ more, that's beyond his capabilities."

Tom Kalinsky fell completely silent.

He looked at Nakayama Takuya, his eyes no longer holding their usual playful expression.

He suddenly understood.

Nakayama Takuya handed over to him was not just a BBS, or even just a company.

This is a completely new ecosystem with limitless possibilities.

And now, Nakayama Takuya is handing over the highest management authority of this ecosystem, along with the power to build a team, to him without hesitation.

The trust and weight behind this made even a man who had seen many ups and downs in the business world feel a chill run down his spine.

Although he was appointed president of Sega's United States headquarters and held a high position of power, he was ultimately just a senior employee.

But Nakayama Takuya's words made him feel for the first time that he was about to become the founder of an empire.

Support from the Japan headquarters seems less important in the face of this level of trust.

With Takuya providing direction and sharing the pressure, he no longer needed to worry too much about the power struggles between the two headquarters. "Takuya—." Tom Kalinske's Adam's apple bobbed. He looked at the young man who was almost twenty years younger than him and didn't know what to say for a moment.

After a long while, he let out a long breath, all the previous excitement and agitation settling down and transforming into an unprecedented drive.

His signature smile returned, brighter than ever before.

He nodded emphatically, without uttering any unnecessary words, and spoke in a tone filled with high morale and fighting spirit:

"Clear!"