Visig, Vardy, and Goldfinger.
Through a brief conversation and self-introduction, Kyle confirmed their names. They had just completed their military duties in Israel and were recently discharged. Upon discovering the exchange program in Silicon Valley, they travelled to the United States.
A few months prior, they had the idea for creating ICQ.
They noticed that email inboxes were often cluttered with irrelevant information, which caused significant messages to be overlooked and lacked timely feedback. Therefore, they aimed to develop software that could convey information more swiftly and directly.
Thus, the first chat software, ICQ, was created!
Even QQ in China was developed by imitating ICQ.
In a coffee shop.
"May I inquire about the current development status of your ICQ software? Of course, if it's confidential, there's no need to answer," Kyle said.
Vesig, Vardy, and Goldfinger exchanged glances.
"Mr. Wald, there's no issue disclosing this because we have just finished our military service and have only completed the initial work on ICQ. Once we return to Israel, we will commence formal R&D and programming," Vardy explained.
The three creators of ICQ are not ordinary individuals.
Especially Weisger!
Following the success of the ICQ project, Weisger invested in over 80 internet companies, with five achieving public listings. In the future, he is expected to become a billionaire with a fortune in the billions.
He is indeed very intelligent!
In essence, success is not coincidental; such individuals are all intelligent people! His willingness to express this openly stemmed from recognising Kyle's interest and potential investment intent.
"If possible, I am inclined to invest in your ICQ project," Kyle stated confidently.
Upon hearing this, Weisger and the other two were filled with joy.
"Fantastic, we can initiate our project immediately."
"Weisger! We'll get started soon."
....
Among the trio, Vardy and Goldfinger reacted enthusiastically on the spot and began envisioning the possibilities.
Weisger looked at Kyle and stated earnestly, "Mr. Wald, we appreciate your interest and are willing to accept your investment, but there is one condition. In this angel investment, we, Vardy and Goldfinger, must retain the founding team status with a controlling stake in ICQ."
"No! That's unacceptable!"
Kyle shook his head decisively: "You are indeed the founding team, no doubt about that, but I'm investing actual US dollars. In the first round of angel investment, I expect to hold the leading position in ICQ, which corresponds to the rights and interests I am entitled to."
"Mr. Wald, that is not agreeable to us."
Weisger refused the proposal.
As the discussion continued, Kyle and Weisger debated the control of ICQ. Meanwhile, the other two co-founders of ICQ, not being as astute as Weisger, merely observed the unfolding discussion.
During the argument, Kyle considered the possibility of leaving the trio behind and assembling his team to develop ICQ.
However,
These three individuals, possibly due to Visig's cunning nature, spoke to Kyle for a reason.
He was confident that Kyle would eventually give in. From the moment they arrived in America, they sought out a lawyer to file a patent for ICQ.
(In America, technical ideas can be patented.)
With the patent secured, Weisger effectively shut down Kyle's opportunity to replicate it.
Of course, Kyle wasn't particularly daunted by this.
It's just a lawsuit. Does living in America make you fear such things?
However, whether he felt fear was one issue, while whether Kyle had the time or the resources was another. Most importantly, Kyle knew how to use ICQ but lacked the know-how to create them! Even if he managed to assemble a team of IT professionals to build the software, by the time it was ready, Weisger and the others might have already launched ICQ.
Compromise!
Exactly, Kyle had no limits!
"Alright, you've persuaded me," Kyle stated.
"Thank you, Mr. Wald. I have faith we won't disappoint you."
The following morning, Kyle, Weisger, and the others finalised the investment agreement with a lawyer present.
Kyle invested $400,000, securing a 40% stake in the ICQ project. Additionally, he obtained the right of first refusal for any future funding during the A, B, and C financing rounds.
"Weisger, I don't believe the office should be based in Israel. Silicon Valley is currently the hub of the global Internet," Kyle proposed.
The three others quickly agreed with Kyle's proposal regarding the firm's location.
After all, Kyle owned a building on the outskirts of Silicon Valley, making it easy for him to lease a floor.
Lease?
Precisely, lease!
Different matters should be handled individually and should never be mixed up. This aligns with business principles and is a core belief of Kyle.
Once Weisger and the others had departed, Paul Goodman, Kyle's attorney, remarked, "Boss, while $400,000 is a trivial amount for you, do you believe you can achieve success?"
"Haha." Kyle smiled enigmatically.
Is the ICQ project a success?
On one hand, yes, it is a success, but on the other hand, perhaps it isn't!
Once the software was released, it garnered immediate worldwide attention. With its groundbreaking features, it rapidly attracted a vast user base across the globe within just six months. Even in Asia, where the internet was not well established at that point, it captured 70% of the market, and in China, it achieved an astonishing 80%.
In 1998, AOL (America Online) bought ICQ for the impressive sum of $407 million.
In this context, ICQ is indeed successful. It's important to note that at that time, Tencent's Xiao Ma had yet to establish Penguin.
However, if we consider ICQ as an unsuccessful venture, it can be viewed as such.
This is because it failed to reach the anticipated profit margins!
Throughout its development, due to a series of poor decisions, it strayed off course and did not capitalise on its vast user base to foster related industries, like games and films. Additionally, it did not produce non-English versions of ICQ.
This proved to be particularly detrimental!
This has led to many non-English speaking countries developing a large number of chat software in their language, such as QQ in China.
In 2010, AOL sold ICQ to Russian investment company DST for $187.5 million.
"It's so wonderful to have successfully invested in ICQ!"
Kyle's mood became much better, and he decided to participate in more activities like this in the future.