Chapter 5 Office Area

……

One of the most widely circulated sayings about Stanford University in later generations is that within 20 kilometers of Stanford, all the resources needed to start a business are available. Angels, VCs, PEs, consulting, legal affairs, human resources, etc.

Although the NASDAQ crisis at this time has burst the world's Internet bubble, making Silicon Valley look much more depressed than in the past. But the matter of company registration is still simple.

Spend a few hundred dollars for the information, and then copy the photo, the company's main shareholders and information to submit the work, 9~15 working days to get the registration certificate and seal.

As for the registered capital of two million US dollars, it is not necessary to pay it immediately, and it can be made up later.

After he had taken care of the company registration, Martin had found a suitable office space for them.

However, when Guo Shouyun drove his Chevrolet and found the address on Martin's phone, he couldn't help but be a little dumbfounded. He originally thought that Martin would find a spacious and bright office building, but he didn't expect that the other party had found a garage at all!!

"Bruce, look. At 800 square feet, it's twice the size of our dorm. And if the company's business expands later, we can also rent the whole house. The most important thing is that the rent is cheap enough, only $120 a month.... ”

Looking at Martin, who looked excited and talking, Guo Shouyun understood his idea of subconsciously saving even if he was used to living a poor life, even if he was rich. However, he has already thought of a better way to raise funds. Although there will be more places to spend money later. But there is no need to be wronged by 'LinkedIn working in a garage at this time. If that were the case, he would rather be in the dormitory than choose here.

"Martin, calm down. Have you paid the deposit here?"

"Not yet, you're the CEO of the company. How can I make decisions alone without your consent!"

"That's good!"

While breathing a sigh of relief in his heart, Guo Shouyun turned his head to look at the landlord on the side.

"I'm sorry, sir, we won't rent the garage yet, farewell!"

"Hey, wait, if we're not satisfied with the price, we can still negotiate...!"

The white landlord in a plaid shirt hurriedly said.

Now that the NASDAQ is in crisis, no one has come to him for almost two months to ask for a price. However, Guo Shouyun pulled Martin to run fast, and in a blink of an eye, the two got into the car and left the single-family building just now, without giving the landlord a chance to negotiate.

"Bruce, I actually think it's pretty good there... ”

"Martin, do you think a high-tech company with $2 million in assets still needs to be tucked away in a garage? Moreover, LinkedIn has gone through the initial 'small workshop' stage, and now we have nearly 60,000 registered members. For LinkedIn now, the most important thing is to have a formal office space, and then attract more engineering and technical personnel to get the company on the right track. ”

"But two million dollars will support our development for a year at most, and if LinkedIn is not profitable without follow-up capital investment, it will still be difficult for us to sustain it." Martin said worriedly.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of the money. Your task is to lead the engineering staff to continue to improve the LinkedIn website and improve the user experience!"

"I understand!"

Martin nodded, he has always listened to Guo Shouyun for the specific operation of the website. After all, in addition to a master's degree in computer science, the latter also has a bachelor's degree in economics, which is more professional than him in business management.

As he spoke, Guo Shouyun had already driven to Mountain View, one of the constituent cities in Silicon Valley. Before the rise of Google, home prices in Mountain View were much cheaper than in cities like Menlo Park, Paraalto, and Sunnyvale. After all, it's just a small city with a population of less than 80,000.

"Let's go here!"

After parking the car on the side of the road, Guo Shouyun pushed the door and walked down.

Martin looked up at the six floors in front of him, with its bright floor-to-ceiling windows, which looked like a modern office building, and his eyes couldn't help but be a little hesitant.

In his opinion, this place is a bit too high-end for the current 'LinkedIn.

However, after seeing that Guo Shouyun had already walked away, Martin shook his head slightly and hurriedly followed.

found the property of the building, knocked on the door and entered, Guo Shouyun expressed his intentions directly.

"Hello, I would like to ask how you can rent the office space here?"

"Sir, you want to rent an office space with us?"

A middle-aged woman in a black professional uniform stood up.

"Yes!"

"Please sit here!"

The other party took Guo Shouyun and the others to the reception area on the side.

"What do you call the two gentlemen?"

"My name is Guo, and he's Alexander!"

"Hello Mr. Guo, Mr. Alexander, I'm Christie, Business Manager at Hills Properties. ”

After a brief introduction, they shook hands with each other.

"Mr. Guo, how much space would you like to rent?"

"How much can you offer here, and at what price?"

"1000 square feet, 2000 square feet, and even bigger we can deliver. Price range: $12 per square foot per year. ”

After thinking for a while, Guo Shouyun continued: "Can you take us to the scene to have a look?"

"Yes, you two, please come with me!"

Under the guidance of the other party, through the long corridor, the three of them walked into an office area with two solid walls and two sides divided by tempered glass. As you can see from the different names hanging at the door, each office area belongs to a different company.

Christie opened an unmanned office area and walked in with Guo Shouyun and the others.

"It's 1,200 square feet, which is best for startups. And, if you two pay now, we can also give you a 10% discount on the rent. ”

After Guo Shouyun walked around the entire office area, "Is there anything bigger?"

"Sure, we have 2,000 square feet of office space, but on the second floor!"

"Bruce, I think this is the place for us!" Martin whispered, pulling his arm.

"Let's take a look before we decide!"

After smiling, Guo Shouyun followed Christie to the second floor, which was obviously much more deserted than the first floor, and half of the office area was not rented out.

"Martin, what do you think of here?"

After taking a turn in the office area, Guo Shouyun asked.

"Of course it's good, but it's just too expensive. The rent alone costs $24,000 a year, or $21,600 even at a 10% discount! That's enough money to buy a good IBM x86 series enterprise server on the second-hand market. Martin said with a look of pain.

He does not have such a superior family background as Guo Shouyun, and he has developed the habit of thrift under the words and deeds of his parents since he was a child.

"Don't worry about money, we'll have more in the future. Now the main thing is to improve the company's image and recruit more talented people to work for us through a good office space. ”

Perhaps it was Guo Shouyun's strong self-confidence and expectations for the future that infected Martin Alexander, and after he nodded, he didn't say anything more.

Under Christie's guidance, after paying a one-year deposit, the 200-square-meter office area on the second floor of Hills became the first official office location of LinkedIn.

At the moment of getting in the car and leaving, Guo Shouyun turned around and looked at the Hills Building behind him that was shining in the sun, and said with a confident expression: "Martin, I promise you that within three years, the entire building will be ours!"

Martin Alexander looked at him for a moment, then nodded slowly.

"Bruce, after the last accident, you're more confident than before!"

Guo Shouyun was stunned for a moment, and then smiled: "Is it? self-confidence is a good thing... By the way, the next thing to think about is recruitment. When it comes to web developers, you're responsible for recruiting. The rest of the finance, human resources and other positions will be handed over to me. ”

Guo Shouyun changed the subject. After all, he's not the same Bruce Guo he used to be.

"After the NASDAQ crisis, there were a lot of unemployed engineers in Silicon Valley, and it was easy for us to recruit people. What's more, that's what we do ourselves!"

"That's right. Let's go, relax today, and get busy tomorrow. ”

With that, Guo Shouyun opened the car door and sat in.

Go back to school and park your car downstairs. Just as the two were about to go upstairs, a radiant figure slowly walked over.

"I'll go up first!" Martin said with a hint of the visitor.

Guo Shouyun nodded.

After saying hello, Martin turned and walked into the dormitory.

Looking at the beautiful girl not far away wearing a light blue knitted sweater, black leggings, dark brown semi-high heels, tall, with long black shawl hair, delicate facial features, and graceful temperament, Guo Shouyun, who has been a person in two lives, can't help but be moved. Guo Shouyun, who fused Bruce Guo's memories, understood the identity of the other party.

"Alice!"

After stepping to the woman's side, Guo Shouyun hesitated slightly.

"In the morning, I heard from Molly that I saw you back, so I came over to have a look. As she spoke, the woman looked up and down, "It seems that your body is completely fine!"

Guo Shouyun nodded.

"I've heard about your adoptive father, don't be too upset!"

"I know, it's all over!" paused, "Let's go together!"

"Good!"

Seeing that she agreed, Guo Shouyun took the initiative to hold the other party's soft twing. Because it is a couple, Yang Lishan did not struggle.

Follow Stanford's famous Palm Avenue to the Four Corners Plaza, surrounded by Stanford students and tourists who come to visit the most beautiful university campus in the United States.

After finding a relatively quiet place to sit down, Guo Shouyun hugged the slender waist of the beautiful woman next to him and hugged her into his arms. While smelling the familiar and alluring body fragrance on each other's bodies, while looking at the beautiful campus of Stanford, everything seemed to stop in the silent transmission of tenderness and honey in the golden afterglow of the sunset.

Both of them tacitly did not speak out to destroy this rare warmth. Until it gets dark and pedestrians become scarce.