The Million-Dollar Mission

Sharing My Ideas With the Seniors

He shook his head and was about to leave.

"It is indeed unrealistic if we're relying solely on personal computers."

He stopped when he heard my reply.

I continued, "That's why I'm of the opinion that PC is only a transitional stage for cultivating user habits."

"What do you mean?" He spun on his heel when he heard my words, looking at me in disbelief.

"You heard me." I nodded.

When I caught sight of his name badge, I straightened up and said, "Mobile business is my endgame."

The man standing before me was Bruce Ryle, a professor who specialized in IT at Olhan University.

Although this novel was set around 2007, it also contained many of the author's bold speculations about the future. This was shown through their creation of the character Bruce, who was given considerable focus.

If I could get his help, then my business proposal wouldn't be that much of a pipedream.

Bruce and I talked at length about the future direction of the IT industry over the next few hours. I earned quite a bit of praise from him with my unique insights and foresight into future trends.

"Are you a graduate student at this school?" He narrowed his eyes and fiddled with his badge. "Are you interested in transferring under me?"

"You flatter me." I shook my head. "I'm just a freshman."

"A freshman?" Bruce widened his eyes in surprise. Then, he suddenly remembered he had a lecture to give. He leaned closer and asked quietly, "Would you like to share your ideas with your seniors? You could give them a wake-up call."

"Sure." There was no way I would miss such an opportunity.

…

During the lecture, Bruce barely spoke as he let me stand alone on stage and talked freely.

"Therefore, I believe we could link information and communication technology with social platforms to incorporate the internet with current industries, creating a more convenient and integrative development in pre-existing businesses.

"I have faith that an advancement in this direction will be a sign toward a new era."

After I was done with my speech, I bowed deeply to the audience and received thunderous applause.

Bruce stepped forward and barked sternly, "Are you lot really applauding right now? Look at her! She's only a freshman! What were all of you doing in your first year? Skipping your classes? Look at you now! You can't even squeeze out a single intelligent question!"

"A freshman?"

The audience was in an uproar after hearing Bruce's words.

Bruce invited me to his house for dinner that evening, and I boldly shared my idea with him over dinner.

"Can your team make it happen?" I deliberately added a hint of doubt to my tone.

"Hey!" He slammed his utensils on the table angrily. "If my team can't do it, no one else can!" Then, he suddenly caught on. "Are you trying to make us work for you?"

"Oh, nothing that insidious. We're collaborating." I corrected him. "Besides, you and your team will benefit from this once this project succeeds."

"That may be true, but e-commerce is a brutal field. The initial capital alone is going to be a huge expense, and it'll cost you a pretty penny just to maintain the subsequent operations. The board would never approve of this."

His words reminded me that while product differentiation mattered in e-commerce, price wars were where it really was at. I would need additional funding eventually, though not immediately.

I held up a finger and said confidently, "I'll provide the initial capital."

"One million?" Bruce shook his head with a bitter smile. "That's not enough."

"One? No, think 10 million."