Chapter Twenty-Four: The Great Turmoil in the IT Market

The market prospects for microcomputers are nothing short of brilliant; the so-called industry leaders are little more than a joke. No matter how hard Apple tries, their market share hovers at only thirty percent. If you can double your sales, so can everyone else. White Software’s beta version has already been released, and the market response is quite promising. In another month at most, everyone will be back at the starting line.

It’s not that there aren’t other software companies wanting a share of the pie, but in the end, these players choose to give up. The reason is simple: the patent barriers are daunting, and the most vexing is the file format. If you don’t get authorization, you simply cannot use their file formats.

Of course, you could try to blaze your own trail, but do you have enough customers? By the time your software is ready, the market will already be dominated by others. Once software sales reach a certain scale, the marginal cost becomes negligible. When others are selling at $9.90 without losing money, what do you have to compete with?

The sudden surge in sales has electrified the entire industry. At their core, all computer companies are really just assembly workshops. The flood of component orders has IT companies in a frenzy. With the market in a slump, these orders have helped some businesses weather the storm.

Numerous business studies show this is not a one-off impulse purchase; plenty of enterprises have similar needs. Final market demand is projected to be massive—by next year, it could hit 1.5 million units.

Damn.

That’s the prevailing sentiment in the industry. Add in European and Asian demand, and you’re looking at a solid two million units sold!

One thing the Americans do very well is professional market research. So long as you pay enough, their reports are highly reliable.

As for Morgan Stanley’s stubbornness, Apple is already considering replacing them. Being questioned by clients about their expertise, Morgan Stanley is understandably displeased, but the facts are what they are, and there’s no room for rebuttal.

Morgan Stanley’s concerns aren’t unfounded, either. With competition set to intensify in the second half of the year, doubts remain as to whether Apple can maintain its dominance.

It’s an indisputable fact that competition will heat up in the coming months. This irritates the great Steve Jobs to no end; he feels he’s been seriously shortchanged and is eager to settle the score with William White.

Other executives at Apple wear dark expressions; after all, they hadn’t the nerve to refuse the terms offered back then. In fact, Apple got a tremendous bargain. Markkula even knows that White Software had their product ready long ago; they’re simply honoring their promise. If Jobs goes off on a tirade now, White could put it on the shelves tomorrow.

While Apple’s executives try to placate Jobs, the folks from Morgan Stanley are left speechless.

Damn.

The most promising investment is clearly White Software. No wonder they’re waiting until next year for Series A funding.

A twenty-million-dollar valuation?

Are you serious, or is this a joke?

Even if only half the computers install the software, that’s easily over a hundred million in revenue. Is it unreasonable to think they’ll make fifty million in profit?

And you want to buy ten percent of the company for two million? It’s a wonder White didn’t curse you out on the spot, such restraint!

What about competitors, you ask? Surely they won’t sell only two pieces of software forever!

Why do you think they’re hiring? For maintenance?

Let’s not kid ourselves. With so many software engineers, clearly they’re developing new products; outsiders just don’t know about it yet.

Bill Gates is deeply frustrated. He can’t fathom where this William character came from or how he managed such a meteoric rise.

But that frustration is fleeting. Young Bill quickly gets fired up—if that guy can do it, why can’t I? He’s convinced his own future achievements will eclipse William’s.

It must be said: every failure has its reasons, but success is rarely a matter of luck. That steadfast resilience in the face of setbacks isn’t something ordinary people possess.

“Boss, Steve Jobs just came by—he threw quite a tantrum.”

“Haha, call Markkula. Our software’s been ready for ages. If I ran a public company, there’d be no way to keep it under wraps.”

“Alright, I’ll call him right away.”

To William White, Jobs’ accusations are nothing more than envy and resentment—he’ll figure it out soon enough. The Apple execs are exasperated by his antics, but thankfully, William doesn’t mind and laughs it off.

The staff at White Software know their boss values this guy; he’d never hold a grudge over trivial matters. So Jobs does as he pleases at White, and no one objects.

Talented people are always headstrong; it’s the same the world over. The smiling tigers are the real trouble, like Bill Gates.

Jobs is proud—he disdains other people’s products. Bill’s a different story; he’ll use any means necessary. If he sets his sights on you, you’d best be cautious.

His products are almost all borrowed, stolen, or cobbled together—hardly anything is truly original, and even Windows is draped in Apple’s skin. When he was starting out, this nearly bankrupted him, but has he ever changed his ways?

Some say his success is just luck—his mother had connections at Big Blue, and everything fell into place by chance.

But I say, if you’re unprepared, luck is useless. His success isn’t due to fortune. Even without IBM, he would have made it one way or another.

“Sir, the people you asked for have arrived.”

“Good, I’ll be right there.”

As a private company, he could arrange his team however he wished, and with little to do at the software company, these people could be brought over to work on the gaming console.

These men were certain—their boss was a workaholic. With so many technical drawings, it was clear the job couldn’t be finished in a day or two.

The company’s benefits were excellent, and the boss was generous. In America, nothing speaks louder than cash—throw enough dollars at them, and they’ll work hard.

They weren’t factory workers; they had higher aspirations. White Company was unique—they had a points system. Reach a certain score, and you get a promotion and a raise; hit another benchmark, and you receive equity incentives. All of it accumulates, and the allure needs no further explanation.

“Gentlemen, you have three months—just three. I expect to see results. Any problems?”

“Don’t worry, boss, we’re all good.”

“Excellent. Thank you for your hard work. If you need anything, let the butler know.”

“Yes, boss.”

With things here settled, he didn’t need to micromanage. With detailed blueprints and plans, if they couldn’t get the job done, this lot deserved to be fired.

In a sense, they were just senior engineers and coders—the sort of work future generations would outsource to India. Their only advantage was their technical breadth, which saved time on repeated assessments.

Keeping them out of Silicon Valley was a necessity. With so many prying eyes, some secrets simply couldn’t be concealed.