The Yahoo That Still Existed

"We don't do paid search advertising; we recommend the best websites," aiming for "Best of the Week." As long as the content is good, even a website created by a high school student can rank it number one.

"If Webdir is a club for the rich, then we are a free marketplace."

Jerry Yang grew increasingly excited as he spoke, tossing the now-cold fries into the trash can and resting his hands on the edge of the table as he stared at Filo: "David, even if we're just eating scraps left over from Silicon Valley Online, this plate is enough to fill us up. Don't forget, among internet users these days, the majority are poor students and geeks like us who freeload at school. As long as we fully utilize this bandwidth, we can still be qualified to sit at the poker table."

"As long as we survive, investors will come to us. Don't you want to take a gamble?"

Filo stared at the expensive price list on the screen, remaining silent for a moment.

The suffocating feeling of being crushed by giants has dissipated considerably, replaced by a ruthless spirit of having nothing to lose.

He straightened his hat, pulled over the keyboard, and typed out a line of code.

"Alright, I wasn't expecting to get rich from this anyway, but it's not bad to annoy that Webdir a bit."

The sound of keyboard typing echoed again in the cramped trailer, crisp and clear, like a declaration of war.

"Since we're going to run a market, we need to change our name. 'Jerry's Guide ' is too corny; it sounds like some boring textbook."

"How about Yahoo?" Jerry Yang suddenly blurted out a word, his eyes gleaming with cunning. "That race from Gulliver's Travels, rude and uncivilized, but full of vitality."

"Yahoo----" Filo muttered, his finger hovering over the Enter key, a smile finally appearing on his face for the first time in days. "Sounds like an uncultured savage. But I like it."

In this corner shrouded in the shadow of Webdir, two young "savages" decided to pick up the bones on the ground and prepare to build their own thatched hut next to the magnificent palace.

Although the wheels of history have taken a turn, some things will still stubbornly emerge.

While their Silicon Valley counterparts were still scratching their heads at HTML code on their screens, the Wall Street vampires in their bespoke suits had a much sharper sense of smell.

The telephone exchange at Silicon Valley Online's headquarters was almost burned through.

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch —those investment managers who are usually arrogant and have to wait three months for a lunch appointment—are now practically crawling along the phone lines just to ask, "Mr. Marshall, when does the second round of financing begin? I've already filled out the checks; you can fill in any amount you like."

Sequoia Capital reacted the fastest and most realistically.

When Donald Valentine pushed open the door to Frank's office, he was carrying a box of expensive Cuba cigars, his face beaming with that kind of warm, almost goosebump-inducing smile. Just two weeks ago, this old man had been frowning at the board meeting, saying, "User growth has slowed down, and bandwidth costs need to be controlled appropriately." Now, however, he looked like a kind grandfather, his eyes softening with tenderness as he gazed at Frank.

"Frank, my genius!" Donald slammed his cigar case on the table, acting like he owned the place, and plopped down on the sofa. "I knew investing in you was the best decision Sequoia Capital made in the last ten years. Look at these numbers, my God, this isn't a website, it's a money-printing machine!"

Frank sat in his executive chair, not in a hurry to get up. He slowly sipped his now-cold coffee, looking at Donald's beaming face, feeling a secret thrill that was even more exhilarating than an orgasm.

"Donald, I remember you said last time that if bandwidth costs don't come down, we should consider changing the CEO?" Frank deliberately toyed with the pen in his hand, his tone as calm as if he were talking about the weather.

"Misunderstanding! That's motivation! A sophisticated management art!" Donald remained unfazed, his skin as thick as bulletproof glass. "Let's not talk about that now. Regarding the Series B round, Sequoia Capital has a pre-emptive right, it's clearly stated in the contract. You know, we've always been your biggest supporter."

Frank smiled and pushed the box of cigars back. "Support is mutual, Donald. But it's too early to talk about Series B."

"Too early?" Donald snapped, his backside barely touching the sofa before he bounced back up. "Those Goldman Sachs guys have already had three cups of coffee in the lobby downstairs! You're telling me it's too early?"

"It's precisely because so many people are watching that we need to be cautious." Frank stood up, walked to the window, and drew the blinds to block the group of reporters peeking out from below. "Webdir, frankly speaking, is just a thin veil. The technical barrier is pitifully low; any two college students could just stay up all night and copy the code. The data looks good now, but what about next month? If AOL or some other giant launches one, will the traffic be able to stay stable?"

Donald paused, the fervor in his eyes cooling slightly, his businessman's shrewdness regaining its dominance. "You mean—there's a risk?"

"The risk is huge," Frank said, spouting nonsense with a straight face. "So I think, instead of rushing to raise funds now and getting pressured to lower the price, we should release some information first. Say that Silicon Valley Online is re-evaluating its valuation model because its technological barriers are too low, and is even considering postponing the fundraising."

Donald stared at Frank for a few seconds, then suddenly grinned and pointed twice with his finger. "You old fox. You want to use me to scare those investment banks that want to follow suit, and incidentally lull potential competitors into a false sense of security?"

"I just want to create maximum value for shareholders." Frank shrugged, looking innocent. "Sequoia Capital doesn't want to invest money only to have ten identical websites pop up the next day, diverting traffic, right? That's called creating a smokescreen."

Donald frowned and said, "Then if we let these competitors in, our webdir won't be as valuable."

Frank smirked and said, "That's not necessarily true. How many competitors can match Silicon Valley Online's influence and advantages? The money spent on Silicon Valley Online BBS wasn't for nothing. This is where our advantages come into play. Even with competitors, Silicon Valley Online will definitely get the biggest slice of the pie."

"I understand." Donald grabbed the cigar box and shoved it back into Frank's hand. "I'll take care of those rumors."

But you remember this: Sequoia Capital must get the Sequoia Capital's share in the Series B funding round, or I'm not leaving your office.

Watching Donald's hurried departure, Frank's composure crumbled instantly. He grabbed the box of cigars, took a deep breath, and turned to wink at Tom Kalinske, who had just entered. "See? That's called playing hard to get. This trick really works. It raises our status and gets Sequoia Capital to be our free shield."

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