One Year Left to Play-Chapter 122 - 39: When in Doubt, Ask Dad
The reason is naturally that Starbucks wants to gain some publicity in China, so they leaked the news of wanting to collaborate with Zhang Hao.
From registering the company, to conducting market field surveys, to building headquarters, to testing raw materials, to preparing raw material logistics, to selecting locations for directly-operated stores, to hiring and training employees... a whole series of processes, it takes at least two years for a foreign dining brand to officially do business in China. Initially, there is usually a continuous input of investment; brands with no strength dare not enter the Chinese market rashly, even if they see the market potential. They might be dragged down before they even start operations.
But Starbucks won’t be dragged down. They are exceptionally strong in financing. They need time, so once decided, and the investors persuaded, they start taking action.
Zhang Hao, on the other hand, refused many meeting requests from agents. Initially, he contacted three famous agents, but they wanted to intervene in Starbucks’ affairs, so he directly refused to meet them.
At this time, the intention is too obvious.
Zhang Hao ultimately gave up on signing an agent and contacted the Players’ Union to help recruit a proxy lawyer.
Recruiting a lawyer brought more interview calls than recruiting an agent. A lawyer can grab any extra business because it involves earning cash.
The Players’ Union recommended a young lawyer who had won several cases for them. In this aspect, the Players’ Union wouldn’t betray a player. There’s no grudge; Zhang Hao was prepared to accept the union’s recommendation and have an interview.
Unexpectedly, the Players’ Union recommended a name he was familiar with.
Robert Pelinka.
Zhang Hao didn’t know Pelinka was a lawyer in his younger years. However, looking back, when Pelinka became the general manager for the Lakers, which was over 20 years later, he was only in his forties. When he was Kobe’s agent, it was just a few years later, less than thirty years old.
To be somewhat renowned in the legal field at 23 and get recommended by the Players’ Union, indeed, he’s a talent. Zhang Hao chose Pelinka as his proxy lawyer.
On Pelinka’s side, after signing the cooperation agreement with Zhang Hao, he was baffled the next day—a high school student actually wants to do business with Starbucks! And as a partner! They had already sent people for preliminary talks!
...
Indeed, going to cooperate with Starbucks...
Investment, in many cases, is not something where you can invest just because you want to.
Zhang Hao thought the other party was just casually saying, or maybe because he once helped look after someone’s daughter, the other party was just being polite. Perhaps there was such an impulsive thought back then, but after calming down, they’d pretend the incident never happened.
However, on second thought, their approach seems fine—assertive, just like when they sought to collaborate with a representative amongst black basketball players, that is, O’Neal. Starbucks only wanted a Chinese basketball player as a representative.
Perhaps the equity he could get would be just a small portion, seemingly useless, maybe acting as an ambassador, with no charge. If he doesn’t perform well, lacks popularity to bring benefits, he’d become a pseudo-partner who only gets a bit of salary...
But, even if the final share is only one percent, Zhang Hao still feels it’s profitable! And as a partner, it surely wouldn’t be just one percent.
Yet, Zhang Hao doesn’t know what to do. His first need is definitely to mitigate his own risk. He aims to sell the shares when the stock price is high in the future, not to co-invest.
For this, having a lawyer didn’t seem enough. He was just not skilled in this aspect and had no knowledgeable friends, so he made a call to his dad...
On August 20th, after receiving the formal invitation from Starbucks, seafood merchant Zhang Weiguo quickly obtained a visa under Pelinka’s assistance, using Zhang Hao’s NBA player status, and flew to Los Angeles. He took Zhang Hao’s authorization document and newly signed lawyer Pelinka to negotiate with Starbucks.
Zhang Weiguo is extremely proficient in English. Back then, he was among the first to make money from importing seafood from Australia. He had suffered due to the language barrier, so he stubbornly learned English, and along the way, taught Zhang Hao English as well.
Zhang Weiguo assured Zhang Hao not to worry about this matter any longer. He would handle it, prepare for initial contacts, and once the preliminary intention is achieved, they would continue negotiations back home. The top priority was to avoid any risks that Zhang Hao might bear.
Zhang Hao was more than happy to relax and continue his classes. The only thing that bothered him was that his dad, upon arrival, merely chatted a few words with him before engaging in a lively discussion with the lawyer, completely ignoring who brought about such an opportunity.
When thinking about this, Zhang Hao felt quite frustrated, but when not thinking about it, the Starbucks partnership seemed to have no impact on him at all.
Time passed day by day. Zhang Hao did whatever he was supposed to, studying conscientiously in class. He had arranged with the school that once the NBA resumed operations, he could take a long vacation at any time. He must study well since sports medicine would be extremely beneficial for his future aspirations to become a coach and for understanding his own physical condition.
In his spare time, he trained as usual. Although his mid-range shot had remained stagnant, maintaining training always had its benefits. He knew how to speed up his shot and how to quicken his catch and release, but it required time to practice slowly.
