Ethan's Revenge, From Morning to Night

Chapter 84 Ethan's Revenge, From Morning to Night

Now that Ralph Bell has put it this way, Ethan can confidently cast aside all his concerns.

Over the next three days, they did some light sightseeing around Nashua.

Because Arnold Spielberg and Ralph Bell had something to say, the two old men went off on their own, while Ethan, Spielberg, and Jobs, being younger, got together, strolled around Boston, and went to Manchester.

They didn't meet again until Arnold Spielberg decided to head home and flew back to Los Angeles.

Because everyone was busy, they said goodbye after landing. Of course, Spielberg didn't forget that Ethan had asked him for the Barbra Streisand album. Since he didn't have it with him, they agreed to give it to him in person when they met again.

After saying goodbye, Ethan took Jobs home. Then, feeling carefree, he returned to Palo Alto. Upon spotting his sister, he knocked on the door of her villa and happily shared his spoils with her.

At the same time, he also inquired about the application process for starting a business.

This question prompted Evelyn to take out a file folder. Ethan took it and opened it to find a startup application approved by Stanford. As the two had discussed, Vinton Cerf was listed as the advisor. Moreover, Barbara Babcock had become Stanford University's legal counsel.

Ethan was delighted with the result, and when he scrolled down, he was even more surprised to find that in addition to assigning teachers to mentor him in his startup, Stanford also allocated them a $100,000 startup fund and a three-story vacant building in the school's factory area. Although it was not large, with a total area of ​​just over 17,000 square feet, which translates to about 500 square meters per floor, it was quite luxurious for a startup company.

"What's going on?"

Ethan didn't understand.

"Special cases are handled specially."

Evelyn said with a smile, "After I submitted my entrepreneurship application to the school, the teachers who knew about it immediately reported it to the higher authorities. Because of the great success of 'Snake Game,' the school decided to provide targeted support to us."

"Don't worry, there's no conflict of interest involved. The application ended up with President Terman, and he personally approved all the conditions. I was also fortunate enough to meet him. He said that since the establishment of Stanford Industrial Park, Stanford has not been able to cultivate a star company, which he regrets. He really wants to see an excellent company born on this land in his lifetime."

"He felt our company had that potential, so he was willing to help. He also told us not to have any concerns, because when HP was first established, he was the one who helped us find customers. Back then, HP had no reputation, and no one bought their electronic products. It was Principal Terman who personally called Walt Disney and promoted HP's oscillators to him. Only after receiving that revenue did they stabilize."

concern?

How could Ethan possibly have any concerns?

He would love to receive as much help as possible that comes his way!

He's not some young guy who just graduated from school!

Compared to the old-fashioned story of starting from scratch and relying on one's own efforts, he believes more in the help of benefactors!

Smiling, Ethan carefully put the documents away and then asked, "So, the next step is to register the company?"

"Of course," Evelyn nodded. "The company could have been registered a long time ago; I've already found an agency to handle it. But we still have many details to finalize, such as how much money you're planning to invest? Do we need to seek external financing?"

The issue of financing is meaningless to Ethan.

Because the game company is his cash cow, he can't share it with anyone else!

This is similar to Valve, which owns Steam, refusing to seek funding and refusing to go public!

Are those financial people on Wall Street trying to leech off him?

Dream on!

As for how much to invest...

That depends on Evelyn.

"How much money are you planning to invest?" Ethan asked Evelyn with a smile. "Do you have any ideas about this?"

"Of course," Evelyn replied with a smile. "I'll invest 300,000, which is 30%. You'll invest 700,000, which is 70%."

"What do you think?"

This distribution method intrigued Ethan. "Why divide it like this?"

"Because if I take any less, it will be really difficult for Stanford to accept my name," Evelyn said with a smile.

"Stanford's student entrepreneurship program is designed to support its own students in starting businesses. You're not a Stanford student, so President Terman has no reason to give your startup the green light. Of course, if you're willing to enroll, then I don't have to invest..."

"Okay, okay, okay... Stop talking, stop talking, I have no objection." Ethan waved his hands repeatedly, signaling his sister to stop.

read?

Stop joking!

Now is not the time to be studying!

As for the 30/70 split?

He actually had no objection.

Because he knew that whether it was Barbara Babcock or Vinton Cerf, they were both invited by his sister.

He will have to rely on the other party for future game production.

When the other party provides both the technology and the connections, taking 30% shouldn't be a problem.

While Ethan nodded in approval, his repeated rejections earned him an eye roll from Evelyn.

She punched him in an annoyance, then said, "So when are you going to tell me about your new inspiration?"

"Principal Terman and teacher Vinton both told me that I should send them one as soon as the new product is launched."

"Because they are very curious about what new ideas come to mind when you are desperately trying to solve all the problems and doing everything you can to make the game."

At this point, Evelyn's eyes also filled with curiosity, "To be honest..."

"I'm curious too."

"Is that so?" Evelyn's words made Ethan laugh. "So you're all looking forward to my new work?"

"Oh—this is really putting a lot of pressure on me—"

"However, I am confident."

"Evelyn, how about this, give me a few days to think about it, and I'll see what kind of game I want to make."

Evelyn frowned upon hearing these words.

Because she sensed the ambiguity in Ethan's words.

Think about it?

Let's see what game we're going to play?

"Oh, Ethan, do you have a lot of inspiration in your head?"

Evelyn asked suspiciously, "Why do I get the feeling that you're trying to go from wholesale to retail?"

Ethan certainly has a lot of inspiration!

After all, what he has in his mind is the accumulation of an entire world!

However, he couldn't fake that kind of thing, so he could only smile and remain silent.

After the share allocation was determined, the company officially began its registration process.

With the help of an agency, Kismet Company obtained its business license on November 14, 1975.

Evelyn Jensen, who holds 30% of the shares, has been appointed as the company's chairman and CEO.

Ethan Jones, who holds 70% of the shares, will serve as president.

Then, on Monday the 17th, the startup funding promised by Stanford was delivered to Ethan in the form of a check.

Furthermore, they also gave Ethan the keys to vacant buildings in the Stanford Industrial Park.

They signed a ten-year lease with Ethan, with the fee as low as one dollar a year.

In return, Kismet promised to prioritize hiring employees from Stanford. In the future, if the company's total number of employees exceeds one hundred, then after deducting the basic worker ratio, the proportion of Stanford personnel in the company cannot be less than 20%.

After quickly finishing all that, Ethan got back to the most important thing.

At 2 p.m. that day, the invitation and employment contract for technical consultant, drafted by the lawyer and signed by Ethan, was sent by fax from Palo Alto to Professor Bell in Nashua, New Hampshire.

It was a long-term contract with no fixed term. As long as Professor Bell was willing, he could continue to serve as Kismet's senior technical consultant. For this, Kismet would pay him a certain consulting fee every year. The fee was $50,000 per year for the first five years, and the fee thereafter would depend on the situation. However, starting from the sixth year, a minimum fee was set, and the consulting fee would not be less than $100,000 per year.

To be honest, this amount of money is actually quite small.

Because Ralph Bell's annual salary in Sanders is over $200,000.

This is 200,000 from 1975, not 200,000 from 1923!

In addition, he licensed out a lot of his patents, so he is actually very rich.

But this price was actually set by them.

In his words, it was like this: "Ethan, I don't care how much money you pay me. As long as I'm satisfied with the games you make, I'll stay at your company forever because I love playing games, and I hope everyone in the world can play good games."

When these words were spoken, Ethan readily accepted them.

After waiting for an hour, the confirmation slip arrived from Ethan's fax machine.

The contract signed by Ralph Bell himself will be mailed over the mail, which will take about two weeks.

Of course, if it's FedEx, then you might have to wait for a courier named Chuck to deliver it to your door.

After finishing all that, Ethan called Professor Ralph Bell again.

During the phone call, he said—

"Professor Bell, there's something I'd like to ask for your opinion on."

"Oh, Ethan, go ahead and say it."

"Here's the thing, I want to send a statement to Mirova informing them that I have started a game company, and then I will also tell them that I have invited you to become my company's technical advisor."

These words startled Ralph Bell on the other end of the phone.

After about three or four seconds, a knowing laugh came through the receiver—

"Oh, Ethan! I understand what you mean! Okay! Just send it! Mirova's arbitrary lawsuits are disgusting. If it were me, I'd slap them too!"

"No--"

I want to slap him right now!

"They were told to crack down on plagiarism, but they want to strangle everyone! It's disgusting!"

"Here's a suggestion: didn't the Los Angeles Times publish a report about you? Go directly to them and ask them to do an interview with you. I think they'd definitely agree!"

"Call me when the time comes! You absolutely have to call me!"

Ralph Bell's reaction made Ethan shake his head with a smile.

Well, he's still a man of strong emotions.

But if that's the case, then things are much easier!

After hanging up the phone, Ethan found the Los Angeles Times' contact information in the Yellow Pages and called it.

Once connected, he said directly, "I am Ethan Jones, the inventor of Snake Game. I have an interview to give you... After ending my partnership with Atari, I have now started my own company and partnered with Professor Ralph Bell, the inventor of Milova Odyssey. He is now my company's senior technical advisor."

That's right!

After hooking up with the powerful figure, Ethan's biggest desire was to disgust people!

He wanted to flaunt the fact that he had successfully raided the house right in Milova's face!

What do you mean by "a gentleman takes revenge even after ten years"?

I bother!

I, Ethan, will seek revenge from morning till night!

(End of this chapter)