Menlo Park, California.
A certain garage.
To say it was a garage wasn't entirely accurate, because above the garage door hung a sign that read "Google Company." Companies like this, operating out of garages, were countless in America.
After all, the famous Microsoft and Apple were both born in garages.
Using a garage as a business office had become a culture in the late 90s, when the internet was booming!
"Hey, hey, hey!"
"Guys, stop!"
"I have two pieces of great news to solemnly announce to everyone!"
Larry Page, only 25 years old, burst into the garage, full of excitement.
However... the overjoyed Larry Page received no response.
In the entire garage, there was no one else but Larry Page. It was so boring not to be able to share good news, and for a moment, he felt a bit deflated.
The famous Google, at present, only had 3 people!
Larry Page served as the company's CEO;
Sergey Brin served as the company's President and Chief Creative Officer;
Craig Silverstein, the first employee hired after Google was founded, served as the company's Head of Technology;
Though the sparrow is small, it has all the vital organs!
Well, the current Google was not the future Google with a market value of nearly a trillion US dollars; it could be described as "shabby."
It wasn't until noon.
The other two members of the company, Sergey Brin and Craig Silverstein, arrived late.
"Guys, why did you only come back at noon? I've been waiting for ages," Larry complained.
Upon hearing this, Sergey Brin said dejectedly, "Why else? Of course, we went to raise money.
You know, in the past two months, we've borrowed all the money we could. Now the company's account has less than 30,000 US dollars left. If we don't raise more money, we can declare bankruptcy!"
Craig chimed in, "That's right, we're almost out of money, and the two bosses are about to owe me my salary."
"..."
Larry Page was stunned for several seconds before suddenly springing up from his seat: "What do you mean, we've reached a dead end?"
Sergey and Craig immediately nodded in agreement.
Starting a business was not as easy as they imagined.
Especially Larry and Sergey, as the company's bosses and shareholders, they scraped together money and even borrowed 100,000 US dollars from their professor to raise 1 million US dollars to establish Google.
At that time, they were full of ambition.
But now, the money was almost spent, and their company's product hadn't even made a peep.
"Don't be discouraged, guys!"
Larry Page cheered up, "I have good news to announce."
Sergey asked, "What good news?"
Craig: "Boss, tell us quickly."
"Guys, our search engine patent has passed the federal authority's registration review!!!" Larry Page announced loudly.
"Oh."
Although Sergey and Craig's expressions changed, they were not as excited as Larry Page had imagined.
"Guys, give me some reaction," Larry said loudly.
Sergey said dejectedly, "Larry, the patent application has been approved, but we still have to pay a sum of money, and global patents in Asia, Europe, and other places require a huge amount of money. We don't have money, man!"
"That's right, boss."
Craig also chimed in, "After the patent is approved, we also need to buy new machines and more advanced computer equipment to test the search engine. These also require money."
"..."
When it came to money, Larry Page was helpless at the moment.
By now, they had already borrowed all the money they could.
Suddenly, the joy of the patent application being approved completely vanished, and a dead silence filled the garage.
"Ding, ding, ding!"
Just then, the doorbell rang at the entrance.
"Gentlemen, you have a package. Please sign for it." A delivery man wearing a "FedEx" uniform appeared.
A package?
Larry and the other two signed for the package dejectedly and opened it.
"Huh?"
"Holy cow!"
"Oh my God!"
"Is it real or fake?!"
"Mr. Kyle Page, the famous super-rich man, actually sent us an invitation, saying he is willing to invest in our search engine!!!"
At this moment, Larry, Sergey, and Craig went from dejected to surprised, and then to ecstatic; they were undoubtedly overjoyed.
"It can't be someone playing a joke, can it? That's Mr. Kyle Page!"
Larry was shocked.
In America at that time, the name Kyle Page was a complete legend!
Kyle, only 21 years old, through a series of operations, built a fortune of over 1 billion US dollars in just three years. His investment in ICQ, in particular, was widely discussed by many internet professionals.
Investing in Netscape stock;
Investing in Yahoo stock;
Becoming a major shareholder in Amazon;
Investing in and creating LinkedIn, the world's first "internet professional recruitment" company.
It's no exaggeration to say that Kyle's reputation in the internet world was no less than his status in Hollywood, and perhaps even slightly superior.
Angel investor Kyle, famous!
Kyle was an inspirational idol for countless young people with dreams!
That entire afternoon, Larry and the other two spent it in excitement and exhilaration, even opening a 50-dollar bottle of champagne to celebrate...
In the evening.
Larry Page personally called his Stanford University professor, Andy Bechtolsheim, to inform him of the news.
"Uh?"
"Is it really Kyle Page?!"
"From what I know of this person, although he is young, he is quite reputable. Since he has invited you, it means he is genuinely interested."
"Larry, you and Sergey must be fully prepared to show Mr. Page your best side."
"This opportunity is very precious; don't miss it."
Andy Bechtolsheim, as Larry Page and Sergey Brin's doctoral advisor, helped them immensely.
A few months ago, when they showed their search engine to Professor Andy, Andy unhesitatingly wrote them a check for 100,000 US dollars.
"This is my support for you. Don't be afraid of the difficult road ahead; be bold and move forward. I believe you will succeed!"
This sentence has remained etched in Larry and Sergey's minds to this day...
At the same time.
At Sergey Brin's home.
"Sister, just you wait. Before long, your brother will be a billionaire, a new magnate in the tech and internet fields."
"You know, Larry and I are both recognized by Mr. Kyle Page!"
"We will definitely succeed."
Sergey Brin kept telling his 14-year-old sister his current feelings at home... Craig Silverstein, as Google's first employee apart from the two bosses, although he didn't own company shares, as an internet professional, he was also very excited at this moment.
Who doesn't crave success?
Everyone has the right to pursue success!
No one can take that away!
Kyle Page, just that name alone, could shock countless internet professionals.