Golden Spoon Investor

New York, often referred to as the economic capital of the world, was bustling with people and vehicles even in the middle of a weekday, especially in its heart—Wall Street.

The narrow streets, packed with towering skyscrapers, were filled with rushing crowds and the blaring sound of car horns, creating a chaotic atmosphere.

Among the slow-moving cars, inching along like turtles on the congested roads, was the limousine carrying Seok-won and his companions.

Honk! Honk!

"Oh my God. What a mess."

Tom Harper shook his head in frustration as the honking continued endlessly.

Seeing the gridlocked streets, he felt like he finally understood why New Yorkers were always so irritable.

With a weary expression, Tom Harper turned to Seok-won, who was leaning comfortably against the leather seat in his perfectly tailored suit.

"This traffic is unbelievable. I feel like walking would be faster."

Sitting across from them, Bill Nelson nodded in agreement alongside Landon.

Seok-won, however, remained unfazed, as if he was used to this.

"I told you—Manhattan's traffic is hell."

"Yeah, but I didn't think it would be this bad."

Tom Harper let out a deep sigh and rested his head against the seat.

"I don't care how amazing New York is—I could never live in a place like this. How do people deal with this every day?"

"Why put yourself through the trouble when you have money?"

Seok-won shrugged.

"Instead of living in chaotic Manhattan, you could stay in a quiet, luxurious Long Island mansion with your family and commute to work comfortably by helicopter—no traffic, no stress."

"What?"

Tom Harper looked dumbfounded, while Landon chuckled and added,

"It's true. Every morning, the Manhattan skies are filled with helicopters carrying Wall Street executives to work."

"Are you serious? No matter how rich you are, commuting by helicopter every day sounds excessive."

To Tom Harper, that kind of lifestyle seemed like something only the ultra-wealthy—people with more money than they knew what to do with—would indulge in.

However, judging by Seok-won and Landon's unbothered expressions, they didn't seem to think it was all that surprising.

"Instead of wasting time stuck in traffic, you could use that time to close a major deal and earn anywhere from a few million to tens of millions of dollars. It's just more efficient."

Seok-won rested his chin on his hand, gazing at the gridlocked cars ahead.

"Time is given equally to everyone, but its value isn't the same for all."

Tom Harper couldn't argue with that logic, so he simply smacked his lips without saying anything further.

Meanwhile, their limousine finally passed the New York Stock Exchange—a grand and imposing building with six massive columns, over 16 meters tall, resembling the Parthenon.

Soon, they arrived at their destination: the Goldman Sachs headquarters.

The brown, 43-story skyscraper had a modest entrance with nothing but an American flag on either side and the address "85 Broad Street" displayed—nowhere was the name "Goldman Sachs" to be seen.

Stepping out of the limousine, the group headed straight into the building.

Inside the spacious lobby, with its gray marble floors, employees and visitors in formal attire moved about briskly, some seated on sofas engaged in serious discussions.

As Landon instructed an employee to inform the front desk of their arrival, someone approached them and spoke.

"Welcome! It's a pleasure to have you at our bank."

Seok-won turned his head to see a Caucasian man in his early thirties, neatly combing back his brown hair. He stood there with a subordinate, smiling.

"You came down even though we didn't notify you in advance?"

Recognizing him, Landon shook hands with the brown-haired man.

"Of course, we wouldn't keep such esteemed guests waiting."

The man responded cheerfully, glancing sideways as if expecting an introduction.

Noticing his gaze, Landon raised an arm and gestured toward Seok-won.

"Allow me to introduce you—this is Mr. Park Seok-won, the CEO of our fund."

The brown-haired man quickly scanned Seok-won with a curious look before extending his hand first.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Barnes, the head of the ECM division at Goldman Sachs."

"I'm Park Seok-won."

"I had heard from Landon that you were young, but I wasn't quite prepared for this."

Barnes looked at Seok-won with a mix of surprise and admiration, knowing well the incredible success Eldorado Fund had achieved in recent years.

It was a stark contrast to the past, when most people underestimated him because of his age.

After briefly exchanging greetings with Tom Harper and Bill Nelson, Barnes gestured for them to follow.

"Everyone is waiting in the conference room. Let's head upstairs."

Following Barnes' lead, the group took a reserved elevator to the 30th floor.

The long hallway had thick carpeting like a luxury hotel, with elegant paintings and vases filled with fresh flowers placed at intervals.

Shortly after, they entered a conference room with a panoramic glass window overlooking the towering buildings of Wall Street.

Inside, two men were already waiting—one was a tall, middle-aged man with blond hair, and the other had curly black hair with thick eyebrows that gave him a striking appearance.

"This gentleman here is Mr. Russell, an executive at our bank. And next to him is Director Damon."

Russell, with his well-groomed blond hair, a three-piece suit, and polished leather shoes—an archetypal Wall Street financier—greeted them with a smile.

"It's a pleasure. I'm Richard Russell."

Having been briefed beforehand, Russell's gaze landed directly on Seok-won.

"I'm Park Seok-won."

Seok-won then shook hands and exchanged names with Director Damon.

The rest of the group, including Tom Harper, also exchanged brief greetings with their counterparts.

Once both sides had taken their seats at the long conference table, Russell was the first to speak.

"I'm not sure if you're aware, but our bank recently purchased and has been using the web browser released by Netscape. After trying it out, I found it to be far superior to other products. Now I understand why it's the hottest topic in the industry these days."

Hearing praise for his web browser, Tom Harper, who had been sitting slightly stiffly, visibly relaxed.

"I'm glad to hear that you think so."

Having successfully lightened the mood, Russell shifted his focus entirely to Seok-won.

Reading the subtle glances and body language in the room, he immediately recognized that Seok-won was the key player in this meeting.

"Since we're all busy, why don't we get straight to the point?"

At that, Barnes, seated to Russell's left, smoothly took over the conversation.

"We have placed a summary of our planned IPO on the table in front of you. Please take a look."

Seok-won and his group opened the thin document folders in front of them and began reviewing the contents.

Already well-informed through Landon, Seok-won skimmed through the document quickly, only checking for any differences.

"As stated in the summary, after careful consideration, we have decided to list on NASDAQ rather than the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)."

At this, Bill Nelson set down the document in his hand and raised a question.

"Wouldn't listing on the NYSE be a better choice for attracting investment? It's a larger and more established market than NASDAQ, which is relatively young and smaller in scale."

The NYSE was the premier U.S. stock exchange, home to well-known companies like Boeing, GE, Coca-Cola, and Ford.

In contrast, NASDAQ, which had only begun trading in February 1971 as an over-the-counter stock market, was still smaller in size and prestige.

The gap was even more pronounced because the dot-com boom and the rise of major IT companies—events that would eventually position NASDAQ as an equal competitor to the NYSE—had yet to occur.

"You're absolutely right. In terms of market size and the volume of capital in play, the NYSE is a much stronger option."

Bill glanced at Barnes with a questioning look, as if asking, Then why choose NASDAQ?

Barnes responded smoothly, offering an explanation.

"But precisely because it is the largest market, the NYSE has extremely stringent listing requirements."

"Without a sufficient business track record and a solid financial structure, they won't even accept an application for review."

Hearing this, Tom Harper and Bill Nelson's expressions hardened.

"It serves as a filtering mechanism to prevent weak companies from being listed."

Barnes shrugged before continuing.

"Of course, I'm not suggesting that Netscape is an unstable company. I firmly believe it has the potential to grow into a major player in the coming internet era, alongside giants like IBM and Apple."

Barnes paused briefly, looking at Seok-won and his team seated across from him before speaking again.

"However, it's also undeniable that Netscape still falls short of meeting the NYSE's stringent requirements."

"On the other hand, NASDAQ has a lower entry barrier—it allows newly established companies to go public even if they are operating at a loss, as long as they show strong business potential and future growth prospects."

Damon, seated beside Barnes, added to the conversation.

"Unlike the NYSE, which is primarily focused on traditional industries like automobiles, steel, and home appliances, NASDAQ has the image of being the home of high-tech stocks. That aligns well with Netscape's identity and could further highlight its strengths."

After hearing their explanations, Bill Nelson nodded in agreement.

"Hmm, I see."

"Now that I think about it, it does seem like a reasonable choice..."

Tom Harper, sitting next to him, also appeared somewhat convinced.

At that moment, Seok-won, who had been quietly listening, spoke up with a positive stance.

"I feel the same way. And considering that investors tend to favor companies with high growth potential despite the risks, NASDAQ might actually be the better platform for properly evaluating the company's value."

"If you think so, then it must be the right decision."

Tom Harper responded without hesitation, as if there was no need to deliberate further.

Observing this, Russell and the other Goldman Sachs representatives reaffirmed what they had already suspected—Seok-won was indeed the key decision-maker in the room.

"So, can we finalize the decision to list on NASDAQ?"

When Barnes asked, Seok-won leaned back in his chair and answered.

"No objections."

"Let's proceed with that."

Tom Harper also nodded in agreement.

With the first agenda item settled smoothly without any disputes, Barnes subtly relaxed and flipped to the next page in the document.

"Then, let's move on to the next topic."

He continued in a calm voice.

"The most crucial matter—the IPO price—has not been finalized yet, but we are currently planning to set it at approximately $13 to $14 per share."

Tom Harper and Bill Nelson's eyes widened in shock upon hearing the IPO price.

Barnes, as if expecting this reaction, smiled calmly and continued.

"With the additional shares to be issued during the offering, the company's valuation would exceed $600 million."

His tone implied that this was already a very generous valuation.

And sure enough, if the stock were listed at the price suggested by Goldman Sachs, Tom Harper—just as Seok-won had mentioned—would instantly become a billionaire. His face flushed with excitement, and he swallowed hard.

However, the two men sitting beside him remained composed.

Landon, in particular, maintained a neutral expression, while Seok-won even frowned slightly, looking dissatisfied.

"Is that the best you can do?"

"Excuse me?"

Barnes, who had expected them to be satisfied with what he believed to be a reasonable IPO price, was momentarily taken aback by Seok-won's reaction.

"If so, that's quite disappointing."

Quickly regaining his composure, Barnes looked directly at Seok-won and asked,

"Are you unhappy with the IPO price?"

Before Seok-won could respond, Landon stepped in.

"As far as I know, the average IPO price for newly listed stocks on NASDAQ ranges from $15 to $18 per share. Setting it below that is, frankly, quite disappointing."

"As I mentioned earlier, we highly value Netscape's growth potential. However, the company is only a little over a year old, and most importantly, it is currently operating at a loss—these factors inevitably contribute to a discount."

"So that's how you arrived at $13 to $14 per share?"

"That's correct."

Seok-won, still unimpressed, spoke again in a firm voice.

"Even so, the IPO price seems too low."

At this point, Barnes couldn't help but think that Seok-won was simply trying to push for a higher price.

"Then, what price are you expecting?"

His voice carried a subtle hint of irritation. But without a moment's hesitation, Seok-won answered immediately.

"About $24 per share sounds reasonable to me."

"...!"