In the information and communication industry, the employees of 【Jungle】 were known for their competence.
Therefore, when Team Leader Kang Dong-ho visited, Manager Shin Jung-soo of 【Internet Park】 felt a mix of emotions.
‘Why on earth did he come?’
【Internet Park】 was primarily focused on online shopping, dealing with books, tickets, and records.
From this first suspicion, a second guess arose.
‘Are they planning to take legal action against us?’
The reason for such thoughts was simple.
【Internet Park】 had imitated 【Jungle】 considerably.
From items to design.
It would be a lie to say there weren’t any guilty points.
‘But we should be forgiven with broad generosity.’
Comparing the sizes of 【Jungle】 and 【Internet Park】 was like comparing the sky and the earth.
The train of thought, which had progressed this far in a short time, was halted by the appearance of Kang Dong-ho entering through the door.
“Welcome.”
“Nice to meet you, Manager Shin.”
Watching him bow almost 90 degrees, Shin Jung-soo’s eyes glinted with surprise.
He had expected him to act arrogantly, but there was no sign of that.
Instead, in various conversations, he mentioned several times that 【Jungle】 and 【Internet Park】 shared the same goals.
“We need to unite to expand the base of online shopping. Honestly, the world has become a better place. The convenience of receiving items with just a click from home and the affordable prices. It’s not well known yet, but if it gets a little more publicity, many people will use it, leading to mutual growth.”
“That’s true.”
“So, 【Jungle】 has devised a new strategy for the development of online shopping this time.”
“A new strategy?”
“Yes, it’s about sharing our search engine.”
Shin Jung-soo’s eyes that had glinted with surprise now quaked.
He asked again, unable to believe it.
“Really?”
“Of course. As you know, what kind of search engine do we have? Son Jung-yi was eager to create a portal site with us, and 【Altavista】 declared that it would abandon its search engine and use ours.”
“Really?”
He had roughly expected the former, but he didn’t know about the latter.
【Altavista】 was a well-known information and communication company.
“Of course, all of this is a secret. I’m telling this specially to you, Manager Shin.”
“Thank you.”
“Anyway, how big of an opportunity is it to share such a search engine? Isn’t it?”
“That’s right. There’s nothing as excellent as 【Jungle】’s search engine existing.”
“But there will be some costs.”
Of course. Nothing in this world is free.
Shin Jung-soo’s gaze subtly changed.
Although the accuracy of their self-developed search engine was always a problem, they couldn’t afford to install 【Jungle】’s search engine at a high price.
That’s because the company’s sales weren’t that good.
“The deposit is 100,000 won, and the monthly usage fee is set at 20,000 won. This is an absolutely affordable price. If sales increase by more than 20,000 won each month, or even by just 666 won worth per day, wouldn’t it cover the cost?”
“That’s right. It’s definitely a reasonable price.”
His mind kept changing today.
But if it was just 20,000 won, it could almost be considered free.
‘No way we can’t earn an extra 20,000 won.’
The search engine created by 【Jungle】 was much better than one that couldn’t find something just because an extra space was pressed after an item.
“And as you might expect, the 100,000 won will be returned when you cancel.”
“Yes, yes. I understand.”
“Would you like more time to think? If you sign the contract now, our developers can set the date immediately. As I mentioned earlier, as the rumor spreads that we are sharing this search engine, we are getting contacts from everywhere. The later you sign, the further back you’ll be pushed.”
“I’ll do it now.”
Realizing the answer that came out of his mouth, Shin Jung-soo acknowledged.
‘The employees of 【Jungle】 are indeed capable.’
Of course, it was a situation where they had to bring in the search engine after listening to the explanation, but he didn’t feel deceived at all.
That’s because Kang Dong-ho had come in politely from the beginning and explained everything well without making him feel bad.
‘They will succeed. And I’m envious of Lee Hyun-woo, the CEO of 【Jungle】.’
That evening, Kang Dong-ho and Han Se-jin met at a pub to discuss the day’s results.
“It feels like I’ve visited more than twenty places just today.”
“Me too. Most of them said ‘okay’, so it’s been rewarding.”
“What’s with the rejection mentality? For instance, 【Help】 outright said they wouldn’t use our search engine. Is it pride?”
“I’m not a developer, so I’m not sure. Their CEO is a developer, you know.”
“Looking at this, it seems better to have a manager who understands development rather than a developer managing things.”
“Our CEO is proof. He’s growing 【Jungle】 at an unprecedented speed.”
The end of every conversation always led to Lee Hyun-woo.
They respected every word and action he took.
Even his proactive stance of leading by example, like today.
“From tomorrow, I’m planning to mobilize all the team members.”
“Since we’ve laid the groundwork, the path will be easier.”
“Right. 【Internet Park】 signed the contract, but won’t they sign here? Just one word might get everyone to sign.”
“If we pass it on after laying the groundwork like this, they might not grow.”
“That’s why I told the team members. You and I are competitors. So if you don’t step up before me, you won’t achieve noticeable results.”
“That sounds good. I’ll implement it tomorrow right away.”
“But this doesn’t work on everyone. Some just watch for cues, and others don’t care. A specific few are different.”
As Han Se-jin said, one of those specific few began reporting the previous day’s events the next day.
His name was Song Kang-hyun.
“I visited 【Wood】 yesterday.”
“Oh? There?”
“It’s the place that left our internet cafe. It’s a group of people who love wood and furniture.”
“Right. They left saying they wanted to create their own website and community. But you managed to break through there?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Han Se-jin’s eyes widened.
It was inevitable because 【Wood】 had left the community, saying they didn’t like 【Jungle】’s operating method.
“Wow, Song Kang-hyun, I didn’t realize you had such a challenging spirit.”
“With a deposit of 100,000 won and a monthly fee of 20,000 won, I thought it was worth trying anywhere.”
“Indeed.”
It was sufficient for operating a small community site.
“While I was at it, I also mentioned that they could use our servers. Although the price isn’t set yet like the search engine, I told them related products would come out someday.”
“So? Did they show interest?”
“Yes, they did.”
Creating a website is not the end.
As data accumulates, it needs to be well managed.
In this era of high-speed internet, it’s not just text files but also image and photo files that accumulate. Can the server handle it?
Naturally, more servers would be needed, and since 【Jungle】 offered the solution of server space rental…
‘This could really make the cloud business worth pursuing.’
After finishing the conversation, Han Se-jin took out a notebook and wrote:
― Suggest to the CEO to research the cloud market.
From the next day, Han Se-jin and Kang Dong-ho mobilized the entire sales and marketing teams, except for a few.
In just a few days, hundreds of companies signed contracts for the search engine.
Among them were universities, public institutions, and media outlets, but also competitors like 【Internet Park】 and 【Wood】 and those who had been hostile towards 【Jungle】.
After compiling the report and presenting it to Lee Hyun-woo,
“You should have a company dinner.”
He intended to treat them generously again.
Han Se-jin quickly suggested to Lee Hyun-woo.
“Rather than that, I think it would be better to selectively give bonuses to a few who performed exceptionally well.”
“Is that better?”
“Absolutely. While our company’s good welfare is well known outside, it’s also well known internally. But if it becomes too taken for granted, it can demotivate those who perform exceptionally well and hinder growth.”
Lee Hyun-woo nodded and accepted Han Se-jin’s suggestion.
“Alright. Then please provide me with a list of those who performed exceptionally well during this project from each team.”
“Yes, CEO.”
“Will do.”
After answering and seeing the two leave, Lee Hyun-woo’s mind started calculating.
‘I can’t tell how search engines were sold in the past, but the results of this method are unimaginable.’
The number of companies reported just now was 378.
So, multiplying the deposit of 100,000 won, it’s 37.8 million won.
Adding the monthly fee of 20,000 won, it’s 7.56 million won.
Although the deposit money was to be returned, was there any guarantee they wouldn’t use 【Jungle】’s search engine after experiencing it?
‘Unless they go bankrupt, it’s unlikely.’
Once the number of companies exceeds a thousand, the deposit would be 100 million won, and the monthly fee would bring in 20 million won.
The world is vast and full of companies, and community sites like 【Wood】 will continue to spring up like mushrooms after the rain.
In other words, the monthly earnings would exponentially increase.
‘It’s really like sailing smoothly with the wind.’
Especially, Lee Hyun-woo thought he was lucky to have Han Se-jin and Kang Dong-ho, who had excellently completed the sales of the search engine, just like when they launched 【Jungle Music】.
And he felt it was okay to expect many more capable team leaders and good employees to emerge.
However, things don’t always go smoothly.
First, that afternoon, Woo Sang-won came to see Lee Hyun-woo.
“I got a call from a staff member at Japan’s 【Software Bank】. It seems the launch of the portal site will be slightly delayed.”
“How long?”
“It looks like it will be April.”
“Next month then. What’s the reason?”
“It seems Son Jung-yi judged that Japan’s internet environment isn’t ripe yet.”
“Does that mean there are no technical issues?”
“He includes technical issues in his statement. Son Jung-yi hopes that ADSL will be established in Japan as well.”
“But will that be resolved by April?”
“It seems Japan’s 【NTC】 will decide after looking at the situation in Korea this month.”
Hearing that, Lee Hyun-woo’s eyes widened.
【NTC】 is a Japanese telecommunications company, equivalent to Korea’s 【Daehan Telecom】.
However, since it was privatized long ago, it had no choice but to decide whether to implement national infrastructure based on whether it would be profitable.
The fact that they were observing the situation in Korea meant…
As expected, Korea had become a leading country in high-speed internet.
‘But why doesn’t Son Jung-yi think of directly providing the service?’
In his previous life, he definitely did provide that service.
After thinking deeply, he realized the reason.
【Software Bank】 wasn’t yet at that scale.
Suddenly, a new idea popped into Lee Hyun-woo’s mind.
‘Then I should suggest collaborating later.’
To be precise, Son Jung-yi would work hard, and Lee Hyun-woo would provide the funding.
