The development of Noah's Ark was progressing steadily.
As the year came to a close, the annual financial statements for Henry's major companies were released.
Among them, Cisco's total sales in 1987 exceeded $100 million. After accounting for various expenses, its annual profit reached over $30 million. Pixar Animation Studios, on the other hand, faced a financial deficit of $3.5 million, while the Nicholas Group—which included the Nicholas website, IMDB website, Netscape Browser, Nicholas Logistics, and Global Online—experienced a staggering deficit of over $40 million. Noah's Ark also recorded a deficit exceeding $2 million. In contrast, the West German Publishing House reported an annual profit of $19 million!
The difference between fiscal expenditures and income is termed a deficit. Nicholas Group had overspent this year significantly; expenditures included building a warehouse, establishing a logistics company, preparing to launch Global Online, advertising on television, and adding new products to the website. Under Geely Hutt's management, the Nicholas website had successively introduced music tapes, clothing, and other products. However, sales resulted in losses. The online items were cheap, and when combined with website operating costs, warehouse fees, and logistics expenses, Nicholas was hardly breaking even!
Henry wasn't surprised after reviewing the financial statements.
Experiencing losses was not unusual for the early stages of e-commerce. Without investment, there wouldn't be any return. Moreover, with the dawn of the Internet era, internet companies were wildly sought after by investors! Henry recalled the situation before the dot-com bubble when any website that went public attracted significant financial backing! He felt confident that if he developed more websites, they could be launched on the stock market one after another.
At the end of 1987, Netscape's market value astonished many! When it first went public, Netscape's market cap soared to $500 million. Now, its market value had surpassed $2 billion. The Nicholas Group Corporation held 77.5% of Netscape's shares. If Henry secretly sold shares on the stock market, Nicholas would cash in. Therefore, he was unconcerned about cash flow!
"Chairman, your coffee," Helen said as she brought a cup to Henry.
"Thank you." Henry sipped and asked, "Is your mother feeling better?"
"Thank you for your concern, Chairman. My mother is much better now!"
"That's good to hear!" After expressing his thoughts, Henry noticed Helen hesitating and asked, "What's on your mind? Is there something you want to say?"
Helen bit her lip and hesitantly asked, "Chairman, is Cisco also your company?"
"Oh, yes, that's correct!"
"Then… was the Cisco Charity Fund also established by you?" Helen's voice was a whisper, and her pretty face flushed.
"Yes, that's right!"
As soon as Henry finished speaking, Helen suddenly dashed forward and hugged him tightly. "Chairman, thank you for helping my mother! Thank you!!!"
Henry felt as if he were being enveloped by two soft sponges. To his shock, after hugging him, Helen kissed him on the cheek. Stunned, Henry felt the moisture of her soft lips against his cheek and experienced a flutter in his heart!
Helen was equally taken aback; her face turned crimson as she retreated to her office.
Henry watched her leave, chuckling to himself, "That little girl dared to kiss me!"
At noon, when Helen saw Henry, her demeanor seemed off. Whenever Henry looked her way, her cheeks flushed.
Though Helen had just turned 16, she stood at 1.68 meters and was slender and charming. Despite being only thirteen or fourteen, Henry was slightly taller, at about 1.70 meters. Since Helen wasn't wearing high heels, they remained the same height when walking side by side. The company had its own cafeteria, and Henry preferred dining with his employees to enhance his approachability and strengthen team cohesion.
Gili Hutt noticed that while everyone went to the cafeteria to eat, he felt embarrassed about dining at a hotel! Normally, he accompanied Henry for lunch at Nicholas.
Today, however, Gili found Helen's behavior strange. Usually, she asked questions about work during their noon meals, but today she sat there quietly, her head down.
"What's up with Helen today?" Gili inquired curiously.
Helen, unwilling to respond, merely lowered her gaze.
Henry smiled and said, "It's nothing serious. Helen just celebrated her 16th birthday yesterday and is now officially an adult!"
"Wait, Helen's birthday was yesterday?" Gili exclaimed.
"Indeed! You haven't given her a birthday present yet, have you?"
"Oh, my apologies, Helen! I'll buy you a gift this evening; otherwise, your little boss might scold me," Gili said, exaggerating slightly.
"It's okay, it's not a big deal if you don't get me anything," Helen murmured quietly.
"What do you mean it's not a big deal? Gili, you should go buy her something now! Why wait until the evening? What's the point if you're not sincere?" Henry said playfully.
"Alright, I'll go now!" Gili responded, quickly finishing his meal before heading to the nearby mall.
Just as Gili stood to leave, Henry called after him, "Gili, make sure to get one for me as well! Thanks!"
"…" Gili looked at Henry, speechless.
---
With 1988 approaching, January 1 marked the official launch of Global Online!
As the world's first portal website, Global Online featured a simple and clean interface.
The top of the website displayed an attractive Global Online logo.
Below that were the services provided by Global Online: email, movie entertainment, and news and information.
A square grid showcased the most popular websites at the moment, with the Nicholas website placing first!
Global Online's promotion was somewhat "aggressive." Whenever a user opened the Netscape browser, the default homepage was set to Global Online! Moreover, there was no option to change the homepage in the Netscape browser's settings, meaning users had no choice in the matter! As Netscape was the gateway to the Internet and Global Online served as its portal, it was a dual monopoly. Henry sometimes wondered if this approach was too unscrupulous.
However, he believed that what he offered users was undeniably the best. Since it was the best, why not embrace a bit of rogue behavior? Once he became the "Internet Big Brother," he could advocate that "without a little rogue behavior, nothing substantial can be achieved." He would simply secure his interests himself! Whoever played the rogue, he would follow suit!
If anyone believed that the name "Global Online" was merely a coincidence, they were mistaken!
Many people within Sequoia Capital began expressing concern. Initially, they had invested $15 million in AOL. Now, AOL had grown significantly, surpassing Nicholas in user numbers, and provided services that netizens required, such as email, news, and entertainment... They had even started offering Internet access services, rapidly expanding their business.
Sequoia Capital and AOL firmly believed that AOL would become the next Netscape!
They expected miracles on Nasdaq!
Just as Sequoia Capital and AOL were dreaming, Global Online made its bold entrance and blocked their path!
On that day, the number of registered online users worldwide exceeded 2,000!
The following day, the number surged past 10,000 users!
On the third day, registered online users topped 30,000!
On the fourth day, that number exceeded 50,000!
One month later, Global Online announced, "There are 250,000 users accessing the Internet worldwide, of which 240,000 are registered users of Global Online!"
The results reflected the effectiveness of the mandatory homepage on the Netscape browser. However, more importantly, Global Online's services resonated with netizens. If they didn't resonate, people wouldn't sign up!
The graphical interface for email felt revolutionary with its simple design, straightforward operations, and comprehensive functions. Users could manage their email accounts from any computer connected to the network, as opposed to being bound to specific devices. As for movie entertainment and news information, Global Online offered the latest and most popular updates. The company had already invested over $2 million solely on recruiting editors and data collection.
By ensuring everything was top-notch, practical, and entertaining for netizens, success was, indeed, inevitable!
The Global Online team celebrated triumphantly with champagne. Meanwhile, AOL's internal atmosphere was grim. During that month, AOL's user base quickly dwindled from 30,000 to less than 1,000.
Steve Case sat in his office, seething with frustration as he smoked a cigarette, lost in thought.
Beside him were some company executives and Ford Brook, a representative from Sequoia Capital.
Ford Brook's expression was somber; he no longer took pride in showcasing Sequoia Capital's investment in AOL to Henry. He asked, "Steve, have you come up with a solution? Global Online has trained its sights on us, and if we don't launch a proper counterattack, AOL is finished!"
Steve crushed the cigarette butt and replied coldly, "They have the Netscape browser supporting them, placing them in a dominant position. Therefore, our priority is to eliminate this thorn in our side! Otherwise, it's going to be tough for AOL to compete with Global Online. Secondly, we need to revamp our email system. Their graphical email interface is superior; we need something similar. If we can improve these two aspects, we can definitely outpace Global Online!"
Steve Case clearly failed to comprehend the true core competitive edge of Global Online. He believed it was only about email and Netscape. In reality, portals represented Global Online's core strength!
Thus, even if Steve followed through with his plans, AOL would still lag behind Global Online. Moreover, it wouldn't be easy to challenge the ties between Netscape and Global Online. Email mainly serves communication and business functions; few individuals maintain multiple email accounts. Aside from that, users typically don't want to switch once they are accustomed to a specific service. This is simply human nature.
After a period of time examining email usage, Henry intended to introduce a grading system. Users logging in daily would gain experience points, opening up various value-added services available upon upgrading. Providing users with free cloud space to store files or pictures would be invaluable.
Ford Brook listened in shock to Steve's words. Did he really believe he could challenge Netscape's dominance?!