America 1982-Chapter 122 - 35: Bait_2
"They infuriated us with their clumsy tactics."
Jim Manzi listened intently to Jonathan’s words and then looked at Mitch, who nodded at him, indicating his agreement with Jonathan.
He had admired those who truly admired him; when Actor Corporation first sent over the software, he thought they were such people. But now, he realized they were just scoundrels who wanted to take advantage of his talent by deceitfully angling for a takeover.
"So, do you mean to say your lesson involves the courts giving them trouble after finding out they’ve already sold the software to some housewives for a profit?" Jim Manzi took out a piece of gum offered by a flight attendant from his pocket, unwrapped it, tossed it into his mouth, and finally asked Mitch.
Mitch nodded: "Isn’t this the approach you taught us for dealing with those little studios that plagiarize or draw inspiration?"
"Listen, Mitch, I think their purpose is not that simple. Of course, I’m not against you guys solving this with legal measures, but... but..." Jim chewed his gum, emphasizing his tone, and turned to look at both founders:
"Could you possibly hold off for a while? I am in talks with Mr. David Karnes from Xerox Corporation about Xerox investing in Lotus Corporation, but he has been flying between Canada and Japan lately, and I haven’t had the chance to speak with him in person. Over the phone, he personally expressed great interest in investing in Lotus. Xerox is willing to invest eighty million for a ten percent stake in Lotus."
Mitch first looked at Jonathan, then turned to Jim with a perplexed expression: "Sorry, Jim, I fail to see the connection between discussing cooperation with Xerox and us suing Actor Corporation. Plus, we have plenty of cash, Jim. There’s no rush to consider financing. I mean, I understand, of course, the more cash reserves the company has, the better, but I can’t think of any link between these two matters."
Jonathan also looked puzzledly at Jim: "I don’t even understand why we’re talking about an investment."
"Mitch, Jonathan, I know a lot of people in the magazines value our company at 1.2 billion, due to the astonishing sales of Lotus 1-2-3, calling us the third-largest software company after Microsoft and Micro Creation," Jim rubbed his chin stubble firmly:
"But frankly, ever since Mr. Leon Saven and his team left the company, the company has been like a baby holding a huge checkbook. We are nowhere near as strong and capable as the magazines write."
Hearing Jim mention Leon Saven, Mitch and Jonathan’s expressions turned unnatural, and Jonathan even lowered his head, slightly turning away as if the mention of this name made him very unhappy.
Jim Manzi also noticed their reaction. Leon Saven was a key figure in the success of Lotus Corporation, as it was he who co-founded the Saven Rosen Foundation, which at that time invested twenty thousand US dollars for a thirty percent stake in the newly established Lotus Corporation.
The twenty thousand dollar investment allowed Mitch and Jonathan to focus solely on software development and ultimately successfully developed the phenomenal software Lotus 1-2-3. But soon after the software hit the market, before sales could boom, Mitch and Jonathan had a falling out with Leon Saven. Insistent on finishing software development, they wanted to try their hand at hardware development, a complete computer geek style, not caring whether it made money or not, as long as it was thrilling for them.
Leon Saven, however, proposed that the company should maintain a focus on software development. Evidently, Leon Saven was driven to frustration by the two stubborn programmers. Originally valuing them greatly, he made the disappointing decision to divest his shares. Lotus Corporation ended up buying back Leon Saven’s shares for eight hundred thousand dollars, and the two sides severed their ties completely.
Although he only received eight hundred thousand dollars, and coupled with the sudden surge in sales of Lotus 1-2-3, Leon Saven’s investment return appeared low; in reality, he didn’t care about this small sum of money. As early as 1980, he had effortlessly earned three hundred million dollars by selling a company in which he held shares, and he had invested in countless such companies. In addition, he held shares in other computer industry companies like Microsoft, IBM, and Ashton Tate in various ways.
It seemed he established the foundation just to see, during his spare moments, if there was someone with a more interesting dream that could change the computer industry, and then to invest in their dreams with money, earning a profit at best, but not affecting his status or life even if it didn’t make money.
"Are you saying that losing Mr. Leon Saven, who only knew how to persuade us to abandon our dreams and focus on money, made us infants?" Mitch first lowered his head, then raised it to look at Jim, saying with a smile, "But we still have you, don’t we? You’re the perfect guardian of this company."
Jim Manzi pursed his lips slightly touched by Mitch’s words, but he still insisted: "I’m delighted that you see me as a big shot, but in reality, I’m just someone with work experience as an assistant editor for National Policy, and I know some big shots who have been interviewed in that magazine. In short, it’s just some connections, but I don’t have influence in this industry. Clearly, Mr. Saven, who has influence, will not be returning to Lotus, so we must find another financier to cooperate with. Xerox Corporation, which has sufficient influence in the typewriter, copier, printer, and computer hardware industries, is obviously a good choice."
"You’ve said so much, but you still haven’t explained the connection between these two issues, Jim," Jonathan looked bewilderedly at Jim. "What does this have to do with teaching Actor Corporation a lesson?"
