Chapter 9
Three days after the divorce, the 400 million dollars hit my account.
With the money I'd already made from selling shares on the secondary market, I had over 500 million dollars in cash.
I texted Alex to grab dinner.
"So, have you made up your mind? You're really going to invest in CloudBuild?"
Alex asked, wagyu beef on his fork, and looked at me.
"Not just invest," I said. "I want to take control and run the show myself."
Alex paused mid-bite.
"Luke, this is serious. CloudBuild's A round is valued at about 70 million dollars. If you want majority control, you'll need to put in at least 35 million, and that's just to get your foot in the door."
"70 million dollars," I said.
"What?" Alex asked.
"I'm putting in 70 million for 51% of the shares. And on top of that, I'll personally add another 17 million to build out the team and push into the market," I said.
Alex stared at me for a few seconds.
"You're really going all in?" he asked.
"I already went all in once for someone else. This time, it's for myself," I said.
Alex laughed.
"Alright, I'll connect you with the CloudBuild team. But fair warning, these guys are geniuses, but they've got tempers to match. Being their new boss won't be easy," he said.
"Doesn't matter. I'm not here to make friends," I said.
A week later, I stepped in as the new boss at CloudBuild Solutions.
The founder and CTO, Kevin Bright, was just over thirty, a MIT grad with black-rimmed glasses. He looked like a quiet intellectual, but he was stubborn as a mule.
At our very first meeting, he threw down the gauntlet.
"Mr. Chandler, I'm glad you're investing, but let me be clear. You don't get a say in the tech decisions," Kevin said.
I looked at him.
"Mr. Bright, that 70 million dollars didn't just buy me shares; it bought me decision-making power," I said.
"Then you can take your money back," he replied, pushing up his glasses. "I'd rather have no money than let an outsider dictate how I run my technology."
The rest of the room fell completely silent; no one dared to make a sound.
I calmly took a sip of water.
"So, are you using reinforcement learning or a hybrid setup for your AI energy algorithm?" I asked.
Kevin looked stunned.
"Uh, hybrid architecture," he replied.
"And that dynamic load balancing module... Did you come up with the key patent yourself, or is it licensed from MIT?" I pressed.
He looked stunned again.
"We developed it ourselves," he replied.
"Alright, then tell me. How are you guys planning to make BACnet and Modbus play nice together in your system?" I pressed.
Kevin's face changed.
He went from guarded to genuinely surprised.
"Wait, you actually know about this?" he asked.
"My first company was all about industrial IoT," I said.
I set my glass down.
"Mr. Bright, I'm not here to micromanage. You call the shots on the tech side, but when it comes to market strategy, funding, and overall direction, that's my territory. Got a problem with that?" I asked.
Kevin stared at me for a few seconds.
Then he reached out his hand.
"Looking forward to working with you, Mr. Chandler," Kevin said.