Tech startup: I really do make mobile phones!

Chapter 54 Cooperation with Touch Treasure
In the conference room of Touchbao Technology in Shanghai, the five founders argued heatedly.

The whiteboard was repeatedly marked with red pen for the "overseas expansion" and "domestic cultivation" plans, while the projector displayed the architecture diagram of the Android version of TouchPal Input Method 2.0, swaying slightly amidst the arguments.

"We must go overseas!" Liang Jiawang slammed his fist on the table, and with his sudden movement, the rolled-up sleeves of his T-shirt slipped down. "The North American Chinese market is a ready-made ATM. It would take ten years to cultivate a paid user habit in China!"

"Bullshit!" Wang Teng loosened his tie, his eyes behind his glasses turning red. "The mobile internet ship has only just left shore. It's not even certain who will win or lose yet. Why should we just hand it over to those foreign devils?"

Li Qiaoli hurriedly handed over a bottle of mineral water, her pink manicure flashing under the fluorescent light: "Alright, alright! Everyone, calm down!" Her voice trailed off with the sweet, soft tones characteristic of the Wu dialect, managing to slightly shift the tense atmosphere in the meeting room.

"Ling ring ring~"

A sharp cell phone ringtone suddenly shattered the silence.

Wang Teng frowned as he answered the unfamiliar number, his expression instantly shifting from serious to ecstatic.

"A mobile phone manufacturer in Shenzhen called Orange wants to license the TouchPal Input Method! They're willing to pay the licensing fee!"

Previously, the five of them started the business, which wasn't very formal. The business cooperation phone numbers left on the rudimentary official website were all private numbers.

Liang Jiawang sneered and pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses: "Orange Technology! Which big company is that? Don't tell me it's just a shell company trying to ride on Apple's popularity in North America!"

As the questioning continued, Wang Teng's expression turned as if he had been doused with cold water.

"The first batch of 1,000 units from North China Strong Orange Technology will be sold at 50 cents each."

Before he finished speaking, Li Gan was already laughing until tears streamed down his face, and Liang Jiawang was even more sneer.

"A small workshop I've never even heard of is burning through cash like water with TouchPal. They have to go overseas!"

After everyone left and the house was empty, Wang Teng slumped in his swivel chair and wailed, "Now I have to learn bird language too!"

He Jian stared at the tall buildings in Lujiazui outside the window, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the "Mobile Internet White Paper".

"Those Wall Street investors only care about data, we can't compete with them for now. How's the Android app store you're developing coming along?"

After Google was ordered to withdraw from the Chinese market today, the Google suite will naturally no longer exist in the Android system in the Chinese market.

He Jian saw this as an opportunity to use someone else's resources to his advantage.

"The architecture is set up, but we're missing applications."

The Android system is currently commonly found in flagship feature phones priced above 4000 yuan in China, so it doesn't have much of a market. Naturally, it needs to be imported and translated from overseas by those who want to steal the fire.

"Let's look for resources in the Hu Luxia post on the Zhongguancun forum first!" He Jian lowered his voice: "I heard that the moderator Wang Sanjin is also gathering a cracking team, keep a close eye on it."

He suddenly stood up, rolled up the "Mobile Internet White Paper" into a paper tube, and clapped his hands.

"Don't push away that collaboration with the small workshop in North China. Help them with system compatibility. When the app store launches, we might be able to promote it using their phones. Even a small amount is still something."

Summer was getting stronger outside the window, and Wang Teng nodded seriously.

Software developed by Chinese people should be controlled by Chinese people.

Touchbao General Manager's Office.

Outside the glass curtain wall, the Huangpu River flows eastward to the sea, and the sunlight reflects off the waves in Liang Jiawang's gold-rimmed glasses, creating a myriad of sparkling stars.

He slammed the stylus down on the table: "How's the video call project coming along? It's crucial for attracting investors and reshuffling the company."

TouchPal Technology has just completed its Series A funding round, with Walmart's angel investor being Li Gan, a veteran entrepreneur from Silicon Valley.

He casually twirled the custom-made fountain pen, the metal cap tracing a smooth arc between his fingers.

“The core code is 80% complete, and the demo is ready to be released at any time.” Li Gan paused for a moment: “But Li Qiaoli has been constantly telling investors that ‘the team must stay together for the future to exist,’ which has made those Wall Street vampires hesitant.”

Liang Jiawang loosened Hermès' tie, his Adam's apple bobbing in the shadows.

"Women are just too soft-hearted! Since she's blocking our way, let her get out of the game first—He Jian is too busy taking care of himself to protect her."

He got up and opened the French windows, letting a gust of damp air from the river rush into the office. “TouchBag must be rooted overseas. Do you know how many potential paying users there are in the North American market every year? Fifty million is just the beginning! As for China…” He sneered, grabbed the Wall Street Journal from the table and threw it onto the pile of documents: “A place rife with piracy doesn’t deserve to talk about commercial value.”

Li Gan stroked his chin, his gaze meeting Liang Jiawang's: "I'm worried that He Jian and Wang Teng will notice something amiss, given their influence in the technical department."

“We can hire technical staff, but we have to replace the people.” Liang Jiawang suddenly pressed down on the desk, his fingertips almost digging into the solid wood: “Once the video call project is launched, we’ll go to investors with impressive overseas data—by then, who will need them?”

The towering buildings of Lujiazui outside the window were reflected in his eyes.

Whether it's individuals or companies, survival comes first, then ideals. Relying on mature overseas payment systems is the way for "small but beautiful" tool software like TouchPal to survive.

Orange Technology's small workshop.

Chen Mo looked at the rudimentary TouchPal website on the screen of the secondhand laptop, waiting for the other party to reply as soon as possible after considering it.

According to Chen Mo's memories from his previous life, TouchPal is now a company that has received Series A funding from Wall Street. Can Orange Technology, this small workshop, really catch their eye?

It's important to understand that Orange Technology is definitely not going to offer a large, one-time licensing fee right now, so they're going with a revenue-sharing model.

The licensing fee for the first batch of 1000 Orange 1 phones from TouchPal is only NT$500. It all depends on whether they are willing to cooperate with Orange.

"Ding!" My phone suddenly vibrated, and the location of the unfamiliar number was displayed as "Shanghai".

Chen Mo pressed the answer button, and a cheerful voice from the other end, belonging to a young man, came through: "Mr. Chen! Hello! This is Wang Teng from TouchPal, the head of the technical department. We can proceed with the licensing cooperation you mentioned."

Chen Mo dragged the chair around, sat up straight, and the chair legs scraped against the cement floor with a screeching sound.

Before he could even speak, Wang Teng had already launched into a frank and straightforward monologue.

"We've already added you as a friend on the Zhongguancun forum. Don't worry about input method compatibility; we have a ready-made adaptation solution and will strive to release a test version within three days!"

For only 500 yuan, you even get system compatibility support! You're so generous, young hero!

That 500 yuan was well spent!

"Thank you so much, Mr. Wang!" Chen Mo's voice was slightly hurried as he quickly searched for the Orange 1.0 OS installation package on his computer. "I'll send you the system image right away. Let me know if you need anything!"

The second generation of internet professionals grew up listening to the first generation of internet professionals, who dreamed of breaking the deadlock with the Chinese character card and were legendary figures in software, all while the dial tone of Ying Haiwei's phone was ringing.

Witness the Chinese people's journey from "How far are we from the information superhighway?" to "The pioneering era of portal websites!"

Afterwards, the second generation of internet professionals took over the mantle from the first generation, and began to cultivate their expertise in vertical internet sectors, striving to catch up with foreign counterparts.

Three generations of internet professionals grew up amidst heated debates on the Zhongguancun Forum, pursuing the idealism of Xinshan (WPS versus Microsoft) and Tianya (the pinnacle of BBS culture), and personally experiencing the fierce battles in the fields of search engines (Baidu vs. Google), e-commerce (Alipay vs. eBay), and social networking (Tencent vs. MSN).

The second generation of internet entrepreneurs defended the domestic internet market in competition with North American giants.

Now, with the support of the first and second generations of internet professionals, the third generation of internet professionals is finally qualified to stand at the forefront of the mobile internet era and on the same starting line as foreign giants in North America.

The Zhongguancun Forum is now a hub for talent, poised to unleash a wave of mobile internet revolution.

Those tech geeks fiercely debating the merits of the Android ecosystem versus the closed iOS system in forum posts, and those grassroots developers sharing tutorials on flashing ROMs for counterfeit phones, are like magma surging from underground.

When Apple 4 bursts open the floodgates of smartphones, it will bring a disruptive understanding of industry rules, using code and creativity to tear apart the defenses built by traditional giants.

In the vast blue ocean of the mobile internet, where endless possibilities lie, let's write our own legends of "grassroots comeback" or "second-generation Lao Deng's rebirth and living a second life," for the fourth generation of internet professionals to see.

The moment he hung up the phone, Chen Mo logged onto the Zhongguancun Forum and stared at the popping message in his private messages: "Chu Bao-Wang Teng" avatar. A smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.

He certainly knew the significance of TouchPal in the mobile internet era; it was a hidden master in the technical field among a host of mobile internet companies.

At this moment, the olive branch extended by the other party reminded him of Lei Jun's saying from his previous life: "If you stand at the right place at the right time, even a pig can fly."

When time comes, heaven and earth all work together.

Chen Mo didn't know why TouchPal was so interested in this "small deal" and was even willing to help Orange's phone with compatibility, but he also felt that there must be some reason behind their enthusiastic attitude that he didn't know.

(End of this chapter)