Chapter 1148: Another Unhappy Breakup

Everyone has different ways to relieve boredom, some sleep, some go shopping, some eat, some watch movies, some go to bars...

Randolph's way of relieving boredom and relaxing is very Silicon Valley. He is used to participating in some sessions in Silicon Valley.

He participated in such a session tonight.

In the 1990s, there was a very popular TV series in China, "BJ in New York", in which there was a very popular line, "If you love someone, send him to New York, because it is heaven; if you hate someone, send him to New York, because it is hell."

Of course, for many ordinary people in China at that time, even if New York is hell, it is better than heaven in many places.

In fact, this also applies to Silicon Valley.

In the eyes of most people, Silicon Valley, backed by Stanford University, is the birthplace and engine of high-tech in the United States and even the world. Many famous IT giants are distributed in the narrow San Francisco Bay Area, so that every move here affects the nerves of IT people all over the world.

But they all selectively or subconsciously avoid the other side.

On the other hand, Silicon Valley can be described as a "living graveyard". Industry elites from all over the world, with the dream of becoming the next Yahoo, Apple, and Google, support the start-up companies that have sprung up like mushrooms with their creativity and passion.

However, only a few lucky ones have successfully crossed the dragon gate and realized their dreams to a certain extent, but more have disappeared silently in the fierce competition.

For most people in Silicon Valley, the nightlife of feasting and drinking and being drunken seen in movies and TV dramas is insulated from them.

Busy with various work during the day, some people in Silicon Valley will of course attend some parties at night, but many people will "work from home", which is actually overtime.

According to the prevailing corporate culture in the United States, if the tasks that an employee is responsible for cannot be completed during working hours, it is often considered to be lack of ability.

It is precisely because of this that, just like when we were in school, in order to catch up with the teacher's progress in class, we had to prepare in advance. Many engineers also have to spend time in advance at night to ensure the quality of the next day's work.

Some people choose to participate in various social activities. Although the purpose of this kind of social interaction can also be said to be to transform relationships into productivity, it is not what we think of as social interaction in the ordinary sense.

Usually, a person will announce online, "I will hold a party at a certain time and place, and everyone is welcome to sign up."

For such a party, the company will usually provide the venue and food for free, and volunteers will take the initiative to provide services. At that time, dozens or hundreds of strangers will come directly from the company, including investors, executives of large companies, and entrepreneurs who are busy to death.

Occasionally, there will be a few speakers, but more often there is no central figure. For a few hours, everyone just huddles together and chatters. It seems to be a waste of time, but in fact, everyone is looking for something very precious - new ideas, or inspiration.

These things can't be found sitting at home, but they may flash out in the process of discussing or arguing with people.

It seems that such a party was also held in Zhongguancun in China later.

Similar to such a party, there are many seminars or academic exchanges in Silicon Valley at night. They are called meetings, but they are not always. They are often very casual. Silicon Valley people jokingly call them "night schools."

Of course, it is difficult to find an opportunity for everyone to dress neatly and sit in a classroom to take classes in a serious manner in a place like Silicon Valley.

The "entry" procedures for this type of night school are very simple. You can attend for free by registering online.

Some are relatively formal, often sponsored by large companies, with fixed topics, such as discussing search technology, etc., with keynote speeches and post-meeting questionnaires.

Other forms are very casual, such as the release of phased products in the open source community and some technical problem exchanges. If there are too many people, everyone will sit on the floor and chat with each other on and off the stage. Although the atmosphere is very relaxed, the content of the exchange is genuine.

The IT industry is changing rapidly. Even large companies that compete with each other in the business field tend to "openly communicate" in technology.

Without leaking core secrets, holding such gatherings in Silicon Valley is also a way for IT companies to improve their transparency and show their confidence. To put it bluntly, it is equivalent to advertising.

It is also an important way for these companies to maintain blood circulation with the Silicon Valley environment. This is also the main reason why companies are keen to sponsor and even often lead such night schools.

Here, the latest technology and the latest business model are often involved. Most of the participants have a deep professional background, so it will attract some bigwigs to participate.

Randomly, if you find that the person who is also cross-legged and leaning against the wall looks like a legendary figure you have seen in the media, then it is very likely that he is.

Randolph came to such a night school again tonight.

…………

After relaxing for two hours in the night school, although what he heard tonight was not helpful to Randolph's business, he was relaxed.

So much so that his wife joked that such a place is his "church", which always makes him peaceful.

At 7:30, Randolph drove back to his home in Palo Alto. When he saw the man sitting in the living room, his mood immediately became bad again.

"Come back Randolph, did you gain anything tonight?" Hastings asked with a smile on his face.

"Hastings arrived at 6 o'clock. I asked him to call you, but he said no," his wife came up to explain.

None of them were outsiders and were familiar with his habits. They knew that when he went there, he was probably in a bad mood. In the past, Randolph would have said thank you, but today, he didn't say anything.

"You guys have a good chat, and dinner will start soon," the wife said to them both with a smile.

This is not the first time that this kind of situation has happened. Randolph's wife is very familiar with it. As partners, sometimes they are just like husband and wife. How can there never be conflicts?

"Beer?" Randolph asked.

"Soda," Hastings said, laughing.

"Randolph, I apologize to you," Hastings took the initiative to apologize as usual, "I was not calm enough at the company this morning."

"But Randolph, you also know my personality, and now you also know the pressure I have been under recently," Hastings sighed, "I am really under too much pressure,"

"To tell you the truth, I even feel that the current situation is very similar to that of 2000. Can you understand?"

"I understand," Randolph muttered.

"In 2000, haha, we all felt that we couldn't survive. I even took the initiative to approach Blockbuster and Antioco, and sincerely asked them to acquire us at a negligible price."

"But, with your support, we finally got through that hurdle and developed to where we are today, right?"

"Randolph, now that we are in that situation again, I need you to stand behind me more than ever and help me integrate the power of the company and the board of directors. Believe me, it is the same as that crisis and the same as when the IPO was blocked in 2001. We In the end, we can survive safely and achieve greater success, leaving those companies that covet us far behind," Hastings couldn't help but dance.

However, Randolph didn't say his usual, "Okay,"

He sat there with his hands folded, drinking beer one after another. It took a long time after Hastings finished speaking, but he still didn't express his position.

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

Hastings' expression changed, and he moved closer to Randolph, "Believe me Randolph, it was possible before, and we will be able to do it this time, too."

But Randolph still said nothing.

After a long time, when the atmosphere in the living room was close to freezing point, Randolph finally spoke, "Hastings, it's not that I don't believe you, it's just that there is a better way to go, and a better plan can be made immediately. Why don’t we welcome it, and why do we still have to think hard about how to deal with it?”

"For the sake of the company, but also for our sake, shouldn't we do this?" he asked, looking at Hastings.

"Randolph, it seems that you still want to accept Mr. Feng's acquisition, but do you really understand his thoughts?" Hastings was extremely annoyed, but he still patiently did Randolph's work.

"I believe that just like when he bought CoinStar, he was primarily trying to do the company well," Randolph said.

"Why don't you understand?" Hastings couldn't help but waved his hands and stood up, "That's not our Netflix, it's not Netflix that develops according to our ideas,"

He immediately realized that there was something wrong with what he said, and then said, "Randolph, do you know how many ideas we still have to realize? If we are really acquired, will there still be a chance to realize our ideas?"

"I don't care, as long as it's good for the company," Randolph replied.

Hastings had the urge to throw things, but after all, this was someone else's living room.

"Think about it again," he took a deep breath. "We'll talk somewhere else tomorrow."

Randolph still had children at home, and he didn't want to cause a scene like the one at the company in the morning.

"That's what I want to say."

So, when Hastings went out, he couldn't help but close the door a little harder.

"Where's Hastings?" Randolph's wife heard the sound.

"Let's go, let's eat," Randolph looked at his wife's worried eyes and comforted her, "Don't worry, it's okay,"

He actually knew clearly that something was really going on this time.

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