[Chapter 44: Netscape}
Finally, witnessed by Jerry Yang, David Filo, and others, and after Zach gave the nod that the contract was in order, John signed his name alongside Zach's.
In the end, John borrowed $50 million from Sequoia Capital by pledging 14% of his Yahoo! shares, with a repayment term of one year at an annual interest rate of 20%, meaning a total repayment of $60 million. Of course, the contract described this as an investment return, since calling it a loan would have meant it was usury.
As for why Zach's name was on the contract too, it was because Zach was technically John's legal guardian. Being a minor, John's signature required a guardian's confirmation.
...
These guys really moved fast. Right after signing the agreement, Don Valentine signaled the company's finance department to transfer the funds to John's Citibank account.
Just minutes later, John received a call from a client manager at Citibank's Los Angeles branch who introduced himself as Billy Zahn. He even asked if John needed specialized wealth management services -- after all, $50 million was no small sum in '95, especially for a 17-year-old.
According to the client manager, John had become a VIP client, and he was now John's personal banking concierge.
...
The account was in John's name. In the U.S., it's common for minors to open bank accounts. Opening a bank account here was straightforward; all you needed was your Social Security card.
When a child is born in the U.S., parents are offered the option to apply for an SSN at the same time they apply for the birth certificate. Most parents do it right away because you need an SSN for things like taxes, health insurance, and eventually opening a bank account.
Back when John was first found, the orphanage had tried to use hospital records to trace his parents but came up empty after searching all over Los Angeles.
They speculated that John's mother might not have delivered in a hospital but rather at home and then left him at the orphanage.
So initially, John didn't have a Social Security number. Eventually, the orphanage helped him apply for a birth certificate and obtain a Social Security number to avoid him becoming undocumented.
Fortunately, in the U.S., anyone born here automatically gets citizenship, regardless of their parents' status.
There were many parents who snuck into the country just to give birth so their kids would automatically get American citizenship.
Also, there were no complicated residency registration systems like other countries had. If you lived in New York, you were a New Yorker; if you moved to Los Angeles, you instantly became a resident there. Super convenient.
A driver's license served as a state-issued ID, and basically everyone had one once they turned 16 and passed the test. For those who couldn't drive due to disabilities, there were special IDs available.
---
Putting residency issues aside, John was just thrilled to secure the loan. After greeting Jerry Yang and David Filo, he got ready to head over to Netscape with Don Valentine.
Jerry and David said they were done for the day and headed straight back to Yahoo!, showing little interest in Netscape's shares.
After all, they were too busy managing Yahoo! themselves and weren't as bold as John to risk Yahoo! stock as collateral since they were operators rather than just investors -- it was a different ballgame.
Later, Don Valentine, Michael Moritz, and John went to visit Netscape together.
...
Honestly, after hearing John's pitch, Don Valentine started thinking about buying Netscape shares himself. If John's plans worked out, the profits could be several times over, and Don couldn't help but be tempted.
Whether Netscape would follow John's vision was anyone's guess since they weren't even public yet.
But Don had confidence in John's business instincts; after all, he was the first investor in Yahoo! and had even proposed their revenue model.
Both Don and Michael Moritz were impressed and curious about John -- not just another prodigy, but one with a mature, composed demeanor that was rare to see.
As they chatted on the way, they quickly arrived at Netscape, since Silicon Valley is so small.
...
When they stepped out of the car, they saw John Doerr leading a group greeting them.
John knew this crew was there mainly to welcome Don Valentine -- his status in Silicon Valley definitely warranted a warm reception from Netscape's people.
After some polite introductions, John finally got the lay of the land. Besides John Doerr, Netscape's co-founders Marc Andreessen and Jim Clark were there, along with representatives from Morgan Stanley.
John Doerr, representing KPCB, and Morgan Stanley were power players in the venture capital world.
Marc Andreessen was the tech genius behind Netscape's development and later became a famous Silicon Valley VC with shares in many companies like Facebook and Twitter, serving on their boards.
Jim Clark was also a Silicon Valley legend, credited with founding three companies that each exceeded a billion dollars in market value -- a unique achievement.
Watching all these figures laughing and walking into Netscape, John couldn't help but feel amazed. In his past life, he only knew these people through a computer screen, but now they stood right before him. Being a reincarnated individual sure had its perks.
...
John had a rough understanding of Netscape's history: after going public, their stock price soared until Microsoft entered the scene with their own browser.
That kicked off the famous browser war between Netscape and Microsoft, which ended with Netscape losing out.
In 1998, Netscape was acquired by America Online, marking the end of its brief glory.
So John planned to closely watch Microsoft before the launch of Internet Explorer, intending to sell his Netscape shares early to lock in profits.
This was part of John's original strategy -- to use Netscape to quickly accumulate startup capital.
Waiting for Yahoo! to reach its peak was going to be too long; the stock's high point was still years away before the dot-com bubble burst.
During those years, there were countless opportunities. Capturing just one could guarantee a spot on Forbes' rich list. Two, and you'd be comfortably in the top ten. Three or more, and you'd better find ways to keep your wealth under wraps because showing off too much cash would attract unwanted attention.
...
Once everyone settled into the conference room, John looked around, filled with anticipation for the discussions ahead.
*****
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