We climbed the stairs of an apartnt building with no elevator.
When I rang the bell, a woman opened the door.
‘Zhang Ying.’
I rembered her from an old newspaper article.
“Welco.”
Without asking anything, she turned and walked inside, and we followed.
The modest living room had several computers set up. The employees, who had been working, looked up at us.
A little over ten people. These were the founding mbers of Alibaba.
Han Kyungyeong and I entered what appeared to be the master bedroom, repurposed as an office.
Inside were two n.
“President Jas.”
Jack Ma stood up, smiling, and shook hands with Han Kyungyeong.
“Please, have a seat. You’ve brought soone new today, haha.”
“Nice to et you. I’m Charlie Kim.”
“Ah, Charlie! Good to et you.”
Young Jack Ma looked like a mischievous kid.
After brief greetings, we got straight to the negotiation.
Jack Ma spoke first.
“Our position remains unchanged. 20% equity for 20 million dollars. That’s the collective decision of myself and my team.”
Frankly, I couldn’t understand where this level of confidence was coming from.
When Masayoshi Son visited China, Jack Ma waited hours just to get a 20-minute eting.
Was the na recognition more important than the money?
But Jas Han was regarded even more highly than Masayoshi Son globally.
And yet, this attitude?
“You’re certainly confident. Twenty million dollars into a company that’s barely a year old, still operating at a loss without a clear revenue model, and you’re offering just 20%?”
“What?”
Jack Ma looked flustered when I abruptly interjected.
“I ca here because I was too stunned by your proposal. I wanted to hear the explanation myself. What’s the real reason? Let’s speak frankly. Did soone offer you better terms?”
“No...”
Jack Ma glanced at Han Kyungyeong, unsure what to say.
“He’s our boss.”
Jack Ma didn’t seem to grasp the implication, but a look of surprise spread across Cai Chongxin’s face.
“Charlie Kim... I thought the na sounded familiar. So you’re the real owner of Dreamhigh, holding 99% of the shares. I’d heard no one knew your identity because you never appeared publicly.”
Cai Chongxin spoke in admiration, but I didn’t bother to respond.
“Let’s be honest. What’s the reason for all this? Have you already been in contact with Masayoshi Son?”
“How did you...”
So they had already connected with Son.
“If you plan to take investnt from Masayoshi, we’ll walk away now. Please be clear. If you’re offering unworkable terms just to raise your valuation, you’d best stop here.”
Jack Ma looked to Cai Chongxin and asked in Chinese,
“What’s going on, Cai?”
Cai looked uncomfortable but answered anyway.
“Chairman Masayoshi Son is planning to visit Beijing soon to invest in Chinese IT companies. We got a call that he’s inviting startup CEOs. Nothing more than that.”
“Why didn’t you tell ?”
Jack Ma’s face turned red with anger.
He was as blunt as the rumors said—raising his voice in front of others without hesitation.
“I was waiting until it was confird.”
“Sigh... Let’s at least have so manners, Cai.”
Jack Ma turned to us and bowed slightly.
“I apologize. That wasn’t our intention. Please don’t misunderstand.”
“You expect to believe that?”
“Whether you believe it or not is up to you, but it’s the truth.”
Jack Ma didn’t seem to be lying.
Not that I fully trusted him, but I let it slide.
“This is our final offer. Thirty million dollars for 45% equity.”
At the ti, the maximum equity a foreigner could legally hold in China was 49%.
That would later change, but for now, 49% was the limit.
“That won’t be possible.”
Cai Chongxin, not Jack Ma, raised his voice.
“...Impossible? I see. Then let’s consider the investnt off the table. I ca here because I believed in your future. I didn’t expect to be treated this way.”
I thought if I offered to invest in Alibaba, they’d welco with open arms.
But if they wanted to play hardball, I had other thods.
Then Jack Ma spoke to Cai in Chinese again.
“Cai, what’s really going on? Sure, 45% sounds outrageous, but we haven’t even tried negotiating. What’s your deal? Even if we decline, we should be respectful. What are you doing?”
“Isn’t this the sa as handing over the company? What’s there to negotiate? Jack, I believe in your success. That’s why I gave up a high-paying job to join Alibaba. Don’t you understand how sincere I am?”
Cai had been earning 3 million HKD annually at AB Investnt.
But he’d left it all behind to join Jack Ma based solely on passion and potential.
“Then tell clearly—what’s the real reason you’re rejecting their investnt?”
“Well...”
He glanced at us, then leaned in and whispered to Jack Ma,
“There’s a rumor their funding is connected to Party officials’ slush funds. You don’t want interference from the Party, do you?”
“What?”
“And they’re openly flaunting their relationship with Vice Premier Wen Jiabao.”
Jack Ma’s face hardened.
“Is that true?”
“Not confird. But there are whispers on Wall Street. That’s why I was wary. I thought giving them 20% was okay, since we need the money. But no more than that.”
Unbelievable. They really said that with right here.
“How entertaining.”
The mont I spoke fluent Chinese, both Jack Ma and Cai looked stunned.
“If you want to do business in China, of course you cozy up to the Party. That’s the reality here. Even you are watching your backs, aren’t you?”
“You speak Chinese...”
“Is that what matters right now?”
“Please be respectful.”
“Respect? Who disrespected whom first?”
I laughed deliberately, and both of their faces darkened.
“Chinese people care about saving face, right? Well, you’ve disrespected mine. So get ready. I’ll interfere with every business you try. I’ll build the exact sa company, do the exact sa business. I don’t care how much it costs—I’ll bury you in money. Think I can’t do it?”
I hadn’t avoided the difficult route because I couldn’t. I simply preferred the easy one—Jack Ma and Alibaba.
It was the sa with Baidu and Tencent.
I already knew the industries they’d succeed in. All I needed was a proxy and a flood of capital.
“I didn’t choose this route at first because I respected you, Jack Ma, and your company, Alibaba. But if this is how you respond, then fine—we’re enemies now.”
Cai’s eyes burned with anger.
I didn’t flinch.
“I don’t care about controlling your company or being a Party puppet. I was actually going to help ease the regulations.”
“Is that true? You can ease the regulations?”
Jack Ma asked in a shocked tone.
At the ti, internet companies like Alibaba were under heavy Party regulation.
Unlike the U.S. or Korea, China was becoming more restrictive.
Even official governnt websites and internet infrastructure projects were closely monitored by public security.
“I wouldn’t say that if I couldn’t back it up.”
Jack Ma finally nudged Cai with his elbow.
“Cai, let’s take this offer. No matter what.”
“I can’t trust this.”
“I appreciate what you gave up to join Alibaba. But if you’re not hiding sothing, then let make the call this ti.”
“...Jack.”
Just then, Zhang Ying—who had been silently listening—finally spoke.
“Is it true that you have no interest in managent control? Will you agree to write that clearly in the contract?”
“Zhang Ying.”
Cai tried to stop her, but her gaze was icy.
Jack Ma once said in an interview:
“Ninety percent of my success ca from Zhang Ying’s support. She was always encouraging from behind the scenes. But when she gets angry, no one—not even I—can stop her.”
Glaring at Cai, she said coldly,
“Cai, we can at least negotiate. Why are you so fiercely opposed? Did you make so ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ secret deal with SoftBank or sothing?”
“What? No, that’s not—”
“Then stop ddling. This is Jack Ma’s company. He makes the decisions. Or are you saying otherwise?”
“...”
Cai looked completely thrown by Zhang Ying’s tone.
anwhile, Jack Ma hadn’t said a word since she began speaking. His trust in her was obvious.
Then Zhang Ying turned to with a warm smile, as if she hadn’t just scorched the room monts ago.
“I apologize for the disrespect earlier. But Goldman Sachs already owns 15% of our shares. The most we can give is 34%. Will you still invest?”
No doubt—Zhang Ying was the real power here.
I responded with a slightly softer tone.
“I’ll take care of acquiring those shares. But the investnt amount will drop to 20 million.”
“We’re fine with that. Just help us lift the governnt regulations. Jack suffers over it every night.”
“You—”
Jack tried to speak, but Zhang Ying cut him off.
“Our conditions are simple. First, lift the governnt regulations. Second, don’t interfere with managent. Third, if you ever sell your shares, offer them to us first. And fourth, delegate all your voting rights to us.”
Her demands were excessive.
If I didn’t know the future, I’d never agree to these terms.
But I wasn’t investing in China’s IT companies for the money—it was their influence I wanted.
No matter the conditions, as long as I got equity, it was worth it.
“Deal.”
“What do you think, Jack?”
“If you want it, I’m in.”
Once Jack Ma agreed, things moved fast.
“We’ll write all of that into the contract.”
“Please do.”
“Dreamhigh—no, Charlie, I’m putting my faith in you.”
Zhang Ying made the decision on the spot, completely ignoring Cai’s objections.
I handed over the contract.
“There’s space at the bottom for special clauses. Write your terms there. But don’t ntion anything related to the Party—it could cause trouble later.”
“I understand. Jack.”
With Zhang Ying’s nod, Jack Ma carefully reviewed the contract and began writing their terms at the bottom.
Cai’s face was grim.
As CFO, being sidelined during a deal like this was a public blow.
“Congratulations. We’re partners now.”
I smiled and held out my hand.
“Sorry again for earlier.”
Jack Ma shook my hand and apologized.
“It’s fine. I believe Alibaba will one day be bigger than eBay. If you ever need more funding, contact Jas.”
Han Kyungyeong took the contract, checked it, and signed.
“The transfer will be made tomorrow.”
“Thank you.”
The deal was done in one stroke.
Just before leaving the room, I added, as if rembering sothing.
“Oh, and we’ll be appointing a new CFO. I don’t think I can trust Cai Chongxin. We need to know where our investnt is going.”
On the way to the airport after leaving Jack Ma’s apartnt, I said to Han Kyungyeong,
“Negotiate to acquire Goldman Sachs’s 15%. I think they only invested around 500K. Offer four tis that, and they’ll probably agree.”
“Okay.”
“I’m heading back to Korea. You handle the Tencent investnt.”
Han looked sheepish.
“Sorry. For making you co all the way here.”
“No need for apologies. You don’t have to let them push you around. If they don’t want our money, just threaten to build a copycat company like I did today. It’s a fight we can’t lose.”
A few days later...
Han Kyungyeong successfully closed the Tencent deal and returned to the U.S.
Whether my advice helped or not—I’ll never know.
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