The corporate disclosure discussed in the morning meeting raised expectations through Kang Dong-ho, and shortly after, this news was conveyed to Team Leader Shin Dong-woon, reaching its climax.
“If we start preparing now, it will take at least 12 months… up to 18 months! During that time, Jungle will continue to grow, so there’s no reason we can’t aim for 10 billion dollars, not just 1 billion dollars. For reference, the current market capitalization of Yahoo exceeds 10 billion dollars.”
“Listening to Team Leader Shin makes me even more excited.”
“By the way, we’re supposed to inform the employees about this, right? It would be good for morale.”
“We haven’t specifically been asked to keep it a secret. It was mentioned as if the media had already been informed.”
“Oh, then it’s better to disclose it.”
Shin Dong-woon immediately conveyed this news to his team members.
For reference, his team consisted of people with at least some financial knowledge within the company.
Naturally, they had no choice but to welcome this news.
“Team Leader, will employees also get stock options?”
“Probably? Knowing the CEO’s personality, he wouldn’t miss giving us that.”
“How much will be allocated?”
“I don’t know exactly, but I know the team heads are getting at least ten shares each.”
“Monthly?”
“Yeah.”
Shin Dong-woon had heard this from a team head he was close to.
However, it was speculated that among the team heads, Han Se-jin and Kang Dong-ho received the most stock options, although they did not know each other’s stock options. On top of that, it was certain that directors like Woo Sang-won, Lee Jung-woo, Jang Yoo-chul, and Oh Min-woo received even more stock options.
“Then what about regular employees like me?”
“How would I know that?”
“Just give me a rough idea so I can at least dream.”
“Well, if team heads are getting ten shares each, then team leaders might get five shares, and regular employees three shares… satisfied?”
Anyway, since it’s just a dream, he roughly halved the numbers.
However, even three shares would amount to approximately 3 million won.
Of course, there was no guarantee of that, but since it’s just a dream, wouldn’t it be okay to imagine at least that much?
“Can I tell other employees about this?”
“I told our team members so that they would spread the word. Big dreams make work worthwhile.”
“Yes, then I’ll inform everyone without filtering.”
“Alright, buddy. Got it.”
Good news spreads incredibly fast.
By lunchtime, almost everyone knew.
While eating, hopeful predictions were being exchanged as if they were already facts.
“They say we’ll get at least three shares of stock options starting next month.”
“Really?”
“Even if our company goes public right now, they say it’s worth 1 trillion won.”
“No way, that’s too much.”
“No, it’s possible. Didn’t Jungle Japan and Jungle USA say they were preparing for IPOs? Our company also had shared in those companies.”
“That’s right.”
“Given the economic scale, those two will raise a tremendous amount of capital, right?”
“Of course. And if it’s known that our company holds shares, the value of Jungle, which is practically the HQ… can you even calculate it?”
“Whatever you imagine, it will be more than that.”
“Wow! I just got chills!”
The peak of the inflating stories was in the group email that came in the afternoon.
The sender was Lee Hyun-woo.
The email, titled as such, mentioned that they had started preparations for an IPO and made their eyes pop out regarding stock options.
<I intend to reward the employees who have worked hard with shares. Therefore, I plan to extend the stock option system to all employees and allocate at least ten shares starting next month.>
He conveyed it in simple terms, avoiding difficult stock-related jargon as much as possible.
“Wow…”
“Wow…”
“Wow…”
The employees couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement.
Towards the end, it was mentioned that there would inevitably be some differential allocation based on the working period and capabilities, but since they were already feeling like they had won the lottery, they didn’t feel it was unfair.
In reality, it wasn’t unfair.
And the highlight of the day was the news from Digital Sejong,
『The long-awaited IPO of Jungle, preparations underway!』
With such a statement from a credible institution, the employees had no choice but to believe it.
Just before leaving work, Lee Hyun-woo called the employees who were making the e-book readers to the representative office.
He handed over a new contract to them.
Among the employees called, the representative, Bang Jae-hwan, asked.
“What is this?”
“A new contract. If you look at it, it includes stock options based on the success of the e-book readers you’re currently preparing.”
Indeed, stock options based on the total profit of the e-book readers were listed.
But more importantly, stock options existed even if they failed.
Noticing this, Bang Jae-hwan asked.
“Uh, here it says stock options will be given even if we fail.”
“Think of it as a reward for the challenge.”
When an idea from internal entrepreneurship comes to the market, no one can guarantee its success or failure.
Even Lee Hyun-woo, who had lived a previous life, didn’t know.
The right time, season, and surrounding environment must all align.
If successful, a big reward is given, and if failed, it is encouraged.
This was Lee Hyun-woo’s basic philosophy for running the company.
It was so that anyone could challenge.
However, if everyone challenges, there would be no one focusing on their original tasks.
That’s why this time, it was known that only one team from each department was selected to induce internal entrepreneurship.
“This is advantageous for us.”
“You need to read it all carefully. Of course, I tried not to include any disadvantageous content, but your choice will determine profit and loss.”
“Is that because of this clause? If you start a business independently from the company, it is considered a forfeiture of stock options.”
“Yes, that’s the part. Of course, we will provide initial capital for the startup, but the support for success while inside the company is vastly different. From development to marketing and sales, you’ll have to handle everything.”
“Ah, I see…”
“You don’t have to decide right now. Keep the contract close to your heart, and it will take effect the moment you sign it. For reference, the four of you here do not have to move as a team. So, if someone thinks, ‘I don’t want to be independent,’ you have to respect that individual’s opinion.”
This was also a brilliant move.
Naturally, the four present looked at each other’s faces.
Among them, some dreamed of starting their own company, but after hearing about the IPO today, some decided it would be better to stay put.
Knowing this, those who wanted independence couldn’t easily decide.
However, someone like Oh Min-woo, who was confident in his abilities, might dream of running a business without interference, so Lee Hyun-woo was prepared to accept any result.
For today, this was enough.
‘Starting tomorrow, I need to meet the people preparing for internal entrepreneurship one by one.’
Looking at the clock, it was time to go to the airport.
A little later, at the airport.
Lee Hyun-woo moved to personally greet Joe Murphy and Jasper Murphy, who had arrived from the U.S.
“I didn’t expect you to come out personally.”
“It’s an honor that the CEO came to greet us.”
“Of course, I had to. You two are very precious to me.”
Lee Hyun-woo put the two brothers in the car.
He also asked a few team heads from the company to drive the rest of the party to their hotel.
“Oh, I heard about the IPO a little while ago.”
On the way, Jasper Murphy brought up the topic of the IPO first.
Lee Hyun-woo smiled and nodded.
“Yes, it seems like the right time now.”
“As the company grows, it’s something that naturally has to be done. You also need to give rewards and incentives to the employees who have worked with you.”
“You’re exactly right. That’s why I decided it couldn’t be delayed.”
As expected, Jasper Murphy, an executive at a large company, had a good grasp of the situation.
Of course, Joe Murphy knew well too, but he just smiled and listened to the conversation between the two.
“By the way, are you coming out tomorrow?”
“No, I can’t make it because of company work. I’m sorry.”
“Why apologize? You didn’t promise to come, so it’s fine. I’ll handle the meeting with the CEO of Tuwoo Fashion.”
He could have made time.
But he couldn’t handle his father’s work from start to finish.
From now on, his father had to step into the stage where he tested his own abilities.
So, signing the joint venture contract and bearing the weight of responsibility from that moment was what Lee Hyun-woo thought.
This was why he wouldn’t be going out tomorrow.
At this point, Joe Murphy interjected.
“We can talk about work all we want later, let’s talk about something else.”
“Shall we? By the way, how about Macaroni?”
“Hahaha, that’s still work talk, isn’t it?”
As the conversation between the brothers continued, Lee Hyun-woo’s curiosity was piqued.
It seemed the ‘Macaroni’ they were talking about was a song by the group Absolute Pitch.
Fortunately, without keeping him in suspense for too long, Joe Murphy provided the answer.
“There are two things. One is that the song became a hit and spread northward, getting airplay in Seattle. Next week, the music video is scheduled to be released in New York.”
“Wow, that’s great news.”
“The other thing is that record companies that recognized the value of the song have started to look for the singers. Both the original and the remake artists.”
“Did I mention that the original singer is from Spain?”
“Yes, you told us then. That seems fine as it is, and the remake also looks good, so record companies are jumping in… I guess they might have already contacted the agency here. If not yet, they will soon.”
Joe Murphy had substantial connections.
He already knew high-level executives at America’s top three record labels.
Recently, he had been interacting with them more frequently.
The reason was simple.
It was to grease the wheels before launching Jungle Music.
Anyway, due to these reasons, he couldn’t help but trust the information he provided.
‘That’s great. Whether it’s the original artist or the Absolute Pitch remake, they are going to become famous because of this.’
The song might have been a global hit originally, but since Lee Hyun-woo returned, who knows what butterfly effect could occur in this world.
Already, Hong Yo-han from that group had debuted as a singer.
So, in this life, Macaroni might not have been as big a hit as expected, and Lee Hyun-woo couldn’t help but feel proud for contributing to bringing it to the world.
The icing on the cake was that something he heard became a reality.
A little later, on the way home after dropping the two brothers at their accommodation, CEO Hyun Chang-soo contacted him.
(CEO, I just received an unbelievable call! Columbia Records from the U.S. wants to sign a contract with us for Absolute Pitch’s U.S. activities!)
