A black luxury sedan glided to a smooth stop in front of the main entrance of the 63 Building in Yeouido.
Moments later, two men in tailored suits stepped out after the rear door was opened. They were Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, and Du Moon-yong, the company's Chief Financial Officer.
Having arrived at the meeting venue in a luxury sedan provided by Bluehole Venture Investment, the two men instinctively lifted their heads and looked up at the towering 63 Building rising before them.
At that very moment, sunlight broke through the clouds and poured onto the glass façade of the building.
"Oh!"
Fourteen thousand panels of special gold-plated glass caught the sunlight, bathing the entire structure in a radiant golden glow and making it sparkle brilliantly. The sight drew spontaneous exclamations of awe from both men.
"The entire building's glass is gold. That's impressive," Du Moon-yong said as he adjusted his glasses.
Jack Ma replied without taking his eyes off the dazzling, gold-clad 63 Building.
"I had no idea Seoul had a building like this."
For Chinese people, red symbolizes good fortune, while gold represents wealth, authority, and success.
Encountering such a golden structure just before an important meeting on unfamiliar Korean soil felt like more than just a beautiful sight.
Perhaps encouraged by this auspicious omen, Jack Ma felt his tension ease. He smiled and turned to Du Moon-yong.
"They say gold is a sign of wealth flowing in. To be greeted by a sight like this the moment we arrive at the meeting venue… I've got a good feeling about today."
"I feel the same way. Somehow, it feels like things will go smoothly," Du Moon-yong agreed.
"Let's take this golden energy in with us."
Jack Ma strode forward decisively, and Du Moon-yong followed behind him, his steps noticeably lighter than before.
Passing through the revolving doors, the two men entered the lobby, where the floor was laid with polished artificial marble, and headed straight for the information desk.
"How may I help you?"
One of the female staff members standing in uniform asked with a polite smile. Du Moon-yong responded smoothly in fluent English, befitting someone who had studied abroad.
"We have a scheduled meeting with Bluehole Venture Investment."
"Ah, I see."
The female employee, with her hair tied back, showed no sign of fluster and replied naturally in English as she continued.
"May I ask for your name, please?"
At that, Du Moon-yong took out a business card from his inner pocket.
"If you say we're from Alibaba, they'll know."
"Yes, understood."
Accepting the card respectfully, the staff member raised one arm and gestured toward the sofas in the lobby.
"Please have a seat and wait just a moment."
"Alright."
Du Moon-yong nodded and turned with Jack Ma when, at that very moment, the doors of the central elevator opened, and Director Yoo Hyunseok stepped out.
He glanced around, spotted the two men, and quickly approached them.
"Excuse me, but are you President Jack Ma from Hangzhou?"
"That's correct."
"I apologize for not coming out to greet you earlier. I'm Yoo Hyunseok, Head of Bluehole Venture Investment."
As Yoo Hyunseok extended his hand with courteous formality, Jack Ma smiled and shook it.
"Oh, it's quite alright. We just arrived, so we didn't have to wait long."
"That's a relief to hear."
Yoo Hyunseok then exchanged handshakes with Du Moon-yong as well before gesturing ahead.
"I'll escort you to the executive conference room. Please follow me."
"Thank you."
The executive conference room they were led to was immaculately maintained and elegantly appointed.
As they entered the carpeted room, Yoon Gihun, Managing Director, and Eom Taejun, Director of Finance, were seated along one side of a long table made of polished solid wood. Upon seeing the two guests enter, they rose from their seats.
"Thank you for coming all the way to Korea. I'm Yoon Gihun, Managing Director."
Yoon Gihun, who had already familiarized himself with Jack Ma's face through photographs, spoke in a calm and gentle voice as he addressed him.
"Not at all. You took care of everything, from our accommodations to the plane tickets, so the trip was very comfortable."
Jack Ma naturally exchanged business cards and handshakes with everyone present, offered his greetings, and then took a seat on the empty side opposite them.
Pleased by the exceptionally courteous reception, Jack Ma casually glanced at the representatives from Bluehole Venture Investment seated across from him, then allowed a faint look of disappointment to cross his face.
Seok-won was not there.
However, he quickly smacked his lips and accepted it inwardly.
"We may have grown significantly, but among the countless e-commerce companies in China, they're still just one of many. There's no way Chairman Park Seok-won, the man known as a legend on Wall Street, would personally attend a meeting like this."
If one were to sum up China's e-commerce market at the present moment, it could only be described as a Warring States era, with countless companies springing up and engaging in fierce, cutthroat competition.
As of 2001, there were no fewer than 5,700 e-commerce companies actively operating, which alone spoke volumes about the intensity of the rivalry.
Even Alibaba, which ranked among the upper tier with roughly 300,000 members, was struggling under the same relentless competitive pressure.
"All the more reason why this meeting has to succeed, no matter what. We have to secure this investment."
As he steeled himself inwardly, Yoon Gihun spoke again.
"I apologize, but there is still someone else who hasn't arrived yet, so we'll begin the meeting shortly."
"Someone else?" Jack Ma asked, his expression puzzled.
At that moment, Yoon Gihun brightened and turned his gaze toward the entrance.
"He's arriving right now."
Jack Ma and Du Moon-yong turned their heads, and upon seeing a young man enter the executive conference room accompanied by an assistant secretary, their eyes widened in shock.
"!"
A perfectly tailored, custom-made pinstripe suit, and strikingly handsome features that seemed to glow.
It was Seok-won, the titan of Wall Street and the man hailed as having the "Midas touch" in IT venture investment.
Radiating an overwhelming presence as he appeared, Seok-won quickly recognized Jack Ma. Smiling warmly, he approached first and extended his hand.
"You must be President Jack Ma."
"Ah. Yes."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Park Seok-won."
Caught slightly off guard, Jack Ma clasped Seok-won's hand and hurriedly returned the greeting as they shook hands.
"The honor is mine. It's a privilege to finally meet you in person."
Jack Ma was normally bold and brimming with confidence, but standing face to face with Seok-won, a living legend of venture investment who had discovered and backed trailblazing companies of the internet era, such as Netscape, Yahoo, and Hotmail and achieved staggering success, he could not help but feel tense.
Moreover, Seok-won was not just a Wall Street heavyweight. For several consecutive years, he had ranked first on Forbes' list of the world's richest individuals, surpassing Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft.
Facing the wealthiest man in the world, a man whose fortune amounted to hundreds of billions of dollars, made Jack Ma's heart pound even harder.
"Alibaba is an IT company I've been watching closely for quite some time. I've always regretted that our paths never crossed before, so I'm glad we finally have the chance to meet like this."
"Thank you for thinking so highly of us," Jack Ma replied, doing his best to calm his excitement.
Seok-won then turned his head toward Du Moon-yong, who was standing beside him, and addressed him in a friendly tone.
"I've heard you're an exceptional talent. A Yale Law School graduate who worked at the Hong Kong branch of the investment firm Investor AB. Giving up a high salary to jump into a venture business takes real courage."
Hearing how well Seok-won knew his background, Du Moon-yong was inwardly surprised, but he answered confidently.
"I believed Alibaba's future was bright enough to be worth the risk."
"That kind of spirit is what changes the world. That's exactly why I like venture entrepreneurs and invest in them."
Seok-won replied with a gentle smile, then took the seat in the center that the Bluehole Venture Investment representatives had left open.
"Alright then, shall we begin?"
Placing his interlaced fingers down on the table, Seok-won spoke. Jack Ma immediately stood up, projected the presentation materials he had prepared onto the screen, and began his explanation.
"Alibaba is an e-commerce company primarily focused on business-to-business transactions. We have approximately 300,000 members across China and more than a hundred other countries. We currently operate across 27 product categories, providing information on transactions and partnerships. There are 335,000 Chinese products and 194,000 overseas products registered on our platform. And… in the future, we plan to expand our business scope beyond B2B into business-to-consumer, or B2C, e-commerce as well."
After a fairly lengthy presentation had concluded, the lights in the conference room came back on.
"Thank you for the presentation."
Seok-won, who had been seated and listening intently, said as he gave a light round of applause.
Then, directing a serious gaze at Jack Ma, who had returned to his seat, he spoke again.
"Alibaba's long-term vision is very impressive. That said, while the future is important, isn't surviving in the current market even more critical?"
"..."
"I understand that due to the fierce, cutthroat competition among the countless e-commerce companies springing up across China, your losses have grown to a rather serious level. I'm curious whether you have a concrete solution to address this."
At Seok-won's sharp question, Jack Ma and Du Moon-yong both flinched slightly.
The mounting deficits caused by intense price wars and aggressive expansion were Alibaba's greatest weakness.
Under Seok-won's steady gaze, Jack Ma straightened his posture and began to speak.
"As you pointed out, the competition is indeed intense. However, after two to three years of fierce rivalry, weaker companies have been rapidly weeded out, and the e-commerce market is being reorganized around a small number of surviving market leaders. Fortunately, we are among those who have survived."
At that point, Eom Taejun, the Director of Finance, raised a concern while holding the documents Alibaba had provided.
"But isn't it risky that your operating losses aren't shrinking at all, and are instead growing several times over each year?"
"To secure the market and stay ahead of competitors, aggressive investment is unavoidable. If we were to halt expansion just to reduce losses, we would fall behind at that very moment and be eliminated."
Du Moon-yong stepped in and countered forcefully.
"Our losses are significant right now, but once we win the competition and dominate the market, we are confident we can quickly wipe out the accumulated deficits and generate far greater profits. And that's precisely why we're here today: to secure the investment capital needed to win that battle."
Jack Ma spoke passionately, locking eyes with Seok-won.
"So it's a chicken game where the winner takes everything," Seok-won said.
"That's correct."
Jack Ma nodded firmly.
Tapping the conference table lightly with his fingertips as he thought for a moment, Seok-won then looked at Jack Ma and Du Moon-yong, who were sitting there visibly tense.
"Tell me how much investment you're looking for."
When the words they had been waiting for finally came from Seok-won, both men felt like leaping for joy, though they forced themselves to remain composed.
Feeling his heart pound, Jack Ma stated the figure he had already discussed with Du Moon-yong beforehand.
"If you invest fifty million dollars, we will offer twenty percent of the company's equity."
"That would put Alibaba's valuation at two hundred and fifty million dollars."
Jack Ma met Seok-won's gaze head-on without flinching.
"We believe the company is worth that much."
Impressed by his confidence, Seok-won nodded with a faint smile of satisfaction.
Seeing this, Jack Ma took it as a sign that Seok-won acknowledged the two hundred and fifty million dollar valuation, and he gathered a bit more courage.
"And there are two conditions we would like to request."
Considering that investing such a large sum in a loss-making company was already a significant concession, Yoon Gihun and Eom Taejun showed slight signs of discomfort at the mention of additional conditions.
Seok-won, however, tilted his chin with an intrigued look in his eyes.
"Go on."
Slightly tense, Jack Ma cleared his throat and straightened his posture.
"First, even after the investment, there should be no interference whatsoever in Alibaba's management, including its operations and finances. Second, we would like Chairman Park to join our board of directors."
"The first condition is one thing, but the second sounds like you intend to actively leverage the fact that you received investment from me," Seok-won remarked.
Jack Ma answered honestly, without trying to conceal his intentions.
"That's correct. If Chairman Park invests and participates on the board, that alone would elevate our company's standing."
It was a frank admission that they intended to make use of his reputation, something that could have been taken offensively. However, Seok-won merely chuckled.
"Well, if the company I invest in does well, it benefits me too, so that's fine."
Jack Ma and Du Moon-yong, who had been worried he might take offense, let out an internal sigh of relief.
Then Seok-won suddenly spoke again.
"In that case, I have a condition as well."
Caught off guard, Jack Ma's expression stiffened slightly as he asked carefully,
"…And what would that be?"
"If you ever seek additional investment in the future, I want the right of first refusal. And instead of twenty percent, increase my stake to thirty percent. Of course, in proportion to that increase, I'll raise the investment amount to seventy-five million dollars."
Jack Ma looked flustered upon hearing Seok-won's demand.
If accepted, Seok-won would instantly become Alibaba's second-largest shareholder, so the reaction was only natural.
Jack Ma leaned in and whispered briefly in Chinese with Du Moon-yong. After a short exchange, he made his decision. Turning back to Seok-won, who was waiting calmly, he nodded.
"Agreed. We will accept your proposal."
"Good choice," Seok-won said with a broad smile.
From there, things moved swiftly. By that very day, the investment contract for Alibaba was drawn up and finalized.
In the original course of history, it was Masayoshi Son, the founder of SoftBank, who invested in Alibaba and achieved tremendous success.
However, because Seok-won had secured the Yahoo investment first, the chain of events that led Masayoshi Son to ride the dot-com bubble and become Japan's wealthiest man had been disrupted.
That shift snowballed, preventing a meeting between Masayoshi Son and Jack Ma, and instead delivering an enormous jackpot opportunity straight into Seok-won's hands.
He felt a fleeting twinge of sympathy for Masayoshi Son, who had lost a once-in-a-lifetime investment opportunity, but Seok-won quickly brushed it aside. Looking at the investment contract that would one day return profits thousands of times over, his face filled with deep satisfaction.