Chapter 258 Waiting for That Man
As we all know, Seattle is one of the famous cities for technological innovation in the United States.

The city gave birth to world-renowned companies such as Boeing, Microsoft, Costco, T-mobile, UPS, Paccar, Starbucks and later Amazon.

Since it has spawned so many large companies, Seattle must be world-class in many aspects.

The richer the entrepreneurial culture of a city is, the more naturally it will have a strong workplace culture.

Coffee, like takeout, is an indispensable derivative element of Seattle, a city with a large number of companies and workers.

It is precisely because of such fertile soil that Starbucks can grow and develop in the future and become the world's largest coffee and food retail brand.

Fang Hexuan was almost thirty years old when he first came into contact with Starbucks coffee in his previous life, so in his inherent cognition, drinking coffee has never been his habit.

It was only after I started my own company that I discovered that my employees really did enjoy drinking Starbucks coffee as a sense of superiority as white-collar workers in the workplace.

Later, as China rapidly urbanized, Starbucks increasingly became a means of distinguishing the wealthy among different classes.

Although this is basically the fantasy of the petty bourgeoisie, it is undeniable that this force has indeed driven the preference trend on the Chinese Internet.

Even without considering the brand's future influence in the world, Fang Hexuan believes that it is necessary to invest in it just by looking at its speed of expansion.

In addition to investing, he also has the purpose of learning.

After all, sometimes the most effective way to learn about an industry is to become a majority shareholder in the best companies in that industry.

Once you join the board of directors, many of the company's secrets will be revealed to you.

Fang Hexuan is not sure whether he will establish his own coffee brand in Hong Kong and the Mainland in the future, but if he has an idea, it would be best to copy the experience of successful people.

Starbucks is undoubtedly the successful retailer of coffee beverages in the world.

In fact, although this company is still only developing slowly in Seattle and has only a dozen stores, it does not mean that no smart people have noticed it.

People often say that there are many good horses but few good horse trainers. However, in an era where information barriers are getting lower and lower, there are many good horse trainers but good horses that can be recognized by a discerning eye are becoming increasingly rare.

Since Starbucks opened its first store, people in Seattle's business community have discussed and analyzed its model and characteristics.

But before Howard Schultz joined, Starbucks did not have a significant advantage over other coffee brands, which was the main reason why some investors with extra money were not in a hurry to buy.

If Fang Hexuan was just an ordinary rich man with some dirty money, Starbucks might not really look down on him.

Investors and potential companies often choose each other. For many companies, what they value most is not money, but the exposure, connections, supply chain, etc. brought by the investors.

For Starbucks, accepting Fang Hexuan's investment was undoubtedly because they were attracted by his money, connections, and the resulting popularity.

Think about it, if one of the world's top 10 richest people invested in a Seattle coffee retail brand, would this news attract more investors' attention?
No one is a fool. Since cooperation is beneficial to both parties, there is no suspense about this investment.

It was already past nine o'clock in the evening when Fang Hexuan arrived in Seattle, so the signing ceremony with Starbucks was scheduled for the next day.

Frankly speaking, if Fang Hexuan didn't have a God's perspective, he wouldn't have made a special trip to the United States just for an investment of just 250 million US dollars.

In fact, Starbucks was originally founded by Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker and Zev Siegl in 1971.

In 1980, Zev Siegl withdrew from Starbucks, and Jerry Baldwin has been the company's president since then. In the past two years, the company has received two investments, but the amount is not large.

Therefore, when Fang Hexuan arrived at Starbucks headquarters, in addition to meeting the two founders, Jerry Baldwin and Gordon Bowker, there were also several shareholders who had invested before to help Starbucks support the company.

To analyze Starbucks’ market value, Fang Hexuan’s team hired an authoritative accounting firm in the United States, and the final valuation given was US$680 million.

Don’t think it’s too little. As I said, Starbucks is not that famous at the moment, and its brand value is almost negligible in Fang Hexuan’s opinion.

Apart from the 13 stores, it doesn't have much actual fixed assets.

The three founders were not big shots, just an English teacher, a history teacher and a writer. Their status itself limited the valuation of Starbucks.

At the beginning, Fang Hexuan's team insisted on obtaining at least 49% of the shares during the negotiations. They did not seek controlling stake, but only sought to maximize the shares within the permitted scope.

In order to lure Starbucks' current founders and shareholders to compromise, the negotiation team even threatened to increase the valuation to $1000 million.

But after going back to discuss, the other party chose to refuse, insisting that the equity should not exceed 25%.

In this way, the two sides went through several rounds of negotiations and finally settled on the figure of 33%.

250 million US dollars in exchange for one-third of Starbucks' equity. Although it did not meet Fang Hexuan's ideal conditions, it was barely acceptable.

The two CEOs, Fang Hexuan and Jerry Baldwin, signed their names on two equity investment contracts respectively, and the investment in Starbucks became officially a done deal.

Next, the Starbucks reception staff served champagne to both parties to celebrate.

Fang Hexuan first chatted with several investors and shareholders for a while, and then went to find Jerry Baldwin.

"Mr. Baldwin, now that I have become a shareholder of Starbucks, I am very concerned about the company's future development direction and goals. Can you help me clear up some of my doubts?"

Starbucks President Baldwin smiled with a ruddy face:
"Mr. Fang, we will continue to implement our strategy of opening new stores. Our next plan is to increase the number of stores in Seattle to 50."

Fang Hexuan showed no expression when he heard this, but he still greeted the other person's mother several times in his heart.

It’s not his fault that he is unhappy. Although the current management team cannot be said to be brainless, they do not have top-level operational thinking.

It's very simple. It has been 1971 years since its establishment in 12, and Starbucks stores mainly sell roasted coffee beans, tea leaves and spices.

The freshly ground coffee is only used as a sample to prove to customers that their coffee beans are the best.

"Excuse me, I visited Starbucks last year. How can a coffee shop that only has a small number of freshly ground drinks meet the needs of tens of millions of office workers in Seattle?"

Founders Baldwin and Gordon have considered this issue, but the key is that it is inconsistent with their original intention of founding Starbucks.

In the eyes of an English teacher, a history teacher and a writer, buying roasted coffee beans home and then grinding and brewing them by hand is the true meaning of returning to the origin of life.

　Thanks to Dark Dragon King, book friend 20210620210037711, and book friend 20200723123937504 for their monthly tickets!
　　Thanks to book friend 20171029004947168 for the recommendation vote!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)