Chapter 10

Translator: Atlas Studios

Editor: Atlas Studios

“Mr. Ren, 35 billion USD is a bit much! Though I’m optimistic about your company,” the representative of Sequoia Capital commented with a frown.

“Take note!” Ren Hong suddenly emphasized. “The 35 billion USD I’m talking about doesn’t refer to XlouS! But rather, refer to the initial value of Real-time Online Translator alone.”

“What? That’s impossible.” Li Taosheng denied right away.

Ren Hong looked at both parties and said, “Gentlemen, it’s the age of high information sharing. Globalization is the trend. The internet has made the world more connected and the world is interconnected. Real-time Online Translator profits from every growing user on the internet, as they are also the potential consumers. Although humans are born to communicate, it is impossible for them to learn all the languages of major countries and regions around the world. I want to emphasize that Real-time Online Translator is in the business of global internet users. How many internet users are there in the world today? 3.3 billion! And half of them only need to spend RMB 15 a month in their lifetime. Of course, I’m not being very scientific with this statement, but it’s a side effect of the huge potential of Real-time Online Translator.”

It was absolutely a maddeningly large figure.

“Dare I ask, Mr. Ren, what is your valuation of XlouS and whether are you willing to accept Sequoia Capital’s investment?” The representative of Sequoia Capital didn’t retort, which was tantamount to indirectly acknowledging the great value of Real-time Online Translator.

Ren Hong paused and calmly replied, “XlouS! Priceless!”

“Heh!” The representative of Sequoia Capital smiled at his response and replied, “Mr. Ren, I admit that every company is priceless in the eyes of its founders, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But then again, there’s nothing in this world that can’t be priced, don’t you think?”

“Indeed!” Renhon admitted and asked, “May I ask if you’ve seen the logo of XlouS?”

“Haha! Mr. Ren sure has some lofty ambition.” The representative of Sequoia Capital instantly smiled. Of course, he had seen XlouS’s logo.

XlouS: Change the World.

The first time the representative saw such a tagline, he laughed with a snort.

Ren Hong plainly smiled and asked, “In that case, how can an exact valuation be given to such a company?”

“If there were such a company in this world, it would be priceless indeed. Forgive my bluntness, but I don’t think XlouS is one, despite having so much potential at the moment. There is just no such company in this world,” The other party calmly replied.

“Heh!” Ren Hong chuckled and stopped his argument on this topic. He said, “Let’s talk about our current product! At the moment, only the initial version is available, which is the text-to-speech version. The next version will include voice and text-to-speech translation. Although the difficulty is doubled and it will simply add to something that is already perfect, I think it’s worth the time and also a huge profit point, though version 2.0 can’t be compared directly to the initial version.”

“What? It can translate both speech and text?” The representative of Sequoia Capital said in shock.

“Is that even possible?” Li Taosheng was a little unconvinced.

“Why not?” Ren Hong rebutted, and the other parties were speechless. That’s right, Real-time Online Translator was precisely one that was born from impossibility.

That was the beauty of technology.

The representatives of the two venture capital companies went silent. This was indeed a valuable start-up, but its investment and return was a little different from other start-ups. But on the flip side, it was almost impossible to lose money investing in this company. Although high risk would also give high return, there was almost no risk investing in this company, which meant there would be no attractive return.

“With all due respect, Mr. Ren, even if I admit that everything you said is true, you don’t have sufficient funds to expand. And if you don’t accept venture capital, I’m afraid that your product won’t be effectively promoted for years. You will only be missing out on growth,” Li Taosheng said.

After a long meeting with no concrete results, the attention of all three parties was drawn to the sound of laughter coming from downstairs.

The hearts of the representatives of Sequoia Capital and IDG Capital twitched when they saw the young man below.

They didn’t expect Mark Zuckerberg to personally be here. It was apparent that it was this product that got him here, which also proved just how amazing the potential of this company was. One had to know that Mark Zuckerberg was at the helm of a company with a market capitalization of more than 400 billion USD. At that moment, both Sequoia Capital and IDG had made up their minds to carve out a share of the profits.

Ren Hong revealed a plain smile after witnessing this scene. “The money sender is here.”

Li Taosheng and the representative of Sequoia Capital didn’t understand what he meant. But before they said anything more, Ren Hong gave his eviction order. “Gentlemen, it seems like there is no agreement today, so let’s do it another day. I believe that as long as your company is sincere enough, cooperation isn’t impossible.”

The meaning of his words couldn’t be more obvious.

“Indeed! We’ll speak freely in detail some other day. We shall take our leave now,” Li Taosheng said with a smile. He had long forgotten Ren Hong ignoring him previously. After all, Li Taosheng was a qualified businessman, and qualified businessmen would never refuse the dollars.

“We’ll also take our leave now! I am looking forward to working with your company!” the representative of Sequoia Capital said.

Ren Hong nodded and smiled. “Forgive me for not being able to see you off personally.”

Upon watching their departure, Ren Hong calmed his mood and walked back into the classroom. It was quiet without the sound of clicking keyboards, which left him taken aback. At a glance, he found his roommates staring at him.

“What’s wrong? Have you guys turned into wooden blocks?” Ren Hong commented.

After a long time, Zhang Han said with an adoring face, “Boss! You’ll be my boss from now on!”

“Where the hell is that star student who cooped up all day in the library who we know?” the stunned Zhou Hui said.

“You are like a veteran who has been in business for many years!” Chen Kai interrupted.

Ren Hong smiled and looked at them, “Heh, what you witnessed was just the tip of the iceberg.”

“35 billion USD… I can’t believe that the current XlouS with a few hundred square meters, a number of computers, and renting some servers to build a website is worth 35 billion USD! My outlook on this world is going haywire. When has money ever been so easy to make?” Zhang Han exclaimed, as did everyone else.

“Alright, guys, in a few days I’ll make an important announcement that concerns you and me. But before that, Facebook founder, Zuckerberg, is here. He should be on the second floor by now.” Ren Hong estimated.

“What? Zuckerberg?” The group was baffled yet again.

“He’s here to give his money away!” Ren Hong teased, before letting out a dry cough. His eyes burned with a passionate gaze. “Alright! Do what you have to do! Zuckerberg was in his dorm room when he started Facebook. Steve Jobs created Apple in his garage. And we created XlouS in a classroom of Tsinghua University! This means that our achievements aren’t unattainable or out of reach. One day, XlouS will also stand at the height and even surpass them! Because XlouS…”

“Change the world!” The group shouted in unison and excitement. It was as if Ren Hong’s voice had some sort of charm and magic to it as he got the group fired up. Ren Hong seemed to be fully equipped with traits of what a company founder should have. Despite him being only 19 years old, every time he spoke, he had a powerful charisma that pulled his roommates closer and ignited their passion.