Chapter 59: The Key to Unraveling the Secret of the Golden Light
Buzz, buzz.
A murmur filled the room.
The usually serene conference room of Buksan Ventures had been disrupted multiple times today.
“Did we really have an exception clause like that?”
“It’s there, but it’s never been used before.”
“By the way, Sprout Investments? Where is that exactly?”
“I feel like I’ve heard of it somewhere…”
Tap, tap, tap.
Lee Jong-hoon, the CEO, lightly tapped the table, and silence descended over the room once more.
“Are you certain Sprout Investments will proceed with the co-investment?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
Certain? Of course.
I’m the one making the decision—what’s there to doubt?
What mattered was ensuring this investment passed, no matter what.
Some might think, why not just invest my own money? But that would be an uninformed take.
The amount involved was significant, but more importantly, this deal needed the backing of a major player like Buksan Ventures.
In the gaming industry, development is crucial, but the role of the publisher is equally—no, even more—important.
The relationship between a developer and a publisher is like that of a crocodile and a plover bird.
Developers put their all into creating games, but without a publisher to promote and distribute them to the public, their work might as well not exist.
While large gaming companies typically have in-house publishing teams, small and mid-sized game studios almost always rely on external publishers to break into the market.
The market is crowded with publishers, each varying significantly in capabilities.
Moreover, small unfair practices between major publishers and smaller developers had become so normalized that they were practically industry customs.
Having the robust backing of a powerhouse like Buksan Ventures would naturally mean securing better terms with influential publishers.
“Alright, Studio SH’s total score stands at 9 points. While this ordinarily would disqualify the investment, as you all know, the exception clause allows for an investment to proceed at 9 points if a co-investment mitigates the associated risks. Does anyone have objections to this?”
The silence in the room was heavy.
Of course, no one raised objections.
The clause didn’t breach any principles.
I could feel the other analysts staring at me, their faces showing varying levels of disbelief.
“Good. Then, we’ll consider Studio SH’s investment proposal as provisionally approved… Matthew-ssi?”
“Yes, James-nim.”
“I’m counting on you to handle the co-investment details and carry out due diligence.”
The due diligence was necessary to assess the company’s financial transparency.
With a significant amount of money at stake, it was essential to evaluate how they’d managed their funds so far.
“Understood. I’ll take care of it.”
“Let’s conclude today’s meeting here. Thank you all for your hard work.”
And so, the grueling four-hour investment review meeting finally came to an end.
In the end, I succeeded in pushing through Studio SH’s investment proposal, though it had taken every ounce of effort.
A café near Gangnam Station.
Matthew, usually as calm as a gentle ripple, was visibly flustered as he asked with a stunned expression.
“Dylan-ssi… You’re the Representative of Sprout Investments?”
“I’m sorry for only telling you now. I wasn’t trying to deceive anyone—there were just circumstances that kept me from saying anything earlier.”
Originally, I had planned to keep it hidden until the end of my internship.
But once the co-investment was brought up, there was no way to conceal it any longer.
Besides, from what I’d observed and experienced, Matthew was genuinely an excellent mentor—someone I wanted to maintain a lasting connection with.
I didn’t want to keep anything from him anymore.
“The truth is…”
I briefly summarized how I ended up interning at Buksan Ventures.
Matthew, who had yet to fully recover from his initial shock, gradually shifted to an intrigued expression as he listened.
By the end, he let out a soft exclamation of admiration.
“Wow… In many ways, this is extraordinary. I’ve never encountered such a case, even in Silicon Valley.”
“I sincerely apologize once again. I only kept it hidden because I didn’t want to cause unnecessary disruptions. I never intended to deceive you, Matthew-nim.”
“Now that I’ve heard the whole story, I completely understand. Still, I didn’t expect Dylan-ssi to be someone with such significant assets. Hahaha. Honestly, this works out well. Co-investments can be a headache, but if you’re the decision-maker, it should go smoothly.”
So, this is what they call the ‘American mindset’?
Matthew was so cool about the situation that it left me momentarily flustered.
He even seemed slightly pleased.
It turns out I really hit the jackpot when it came to mentors.
“Co-investments can be broadly categorized into Club Deals and Multi Closings.”
Even though I already knew the basics, I listened intently, treating it as a valuable review.
“A Club Deal is simply when multiple investors sign the same contract at once. The advantage is its simplicity. You can handle all the necessary legal procedures for the investment contract—like management approvals, board meetings, and shareholder meetings—simultaneously. On other hand, Multi Closing means that separate investment contracts are made. This limits the influence of any negative decisions from other investors.”
“Let’s proceed with a club deal.”
It was a decision I’d already made in my heart.
Choosing the multi-closing method would have caused excessive delays.
In the case of Studio SH, they needed to receive capital as quickly as possible to expedite their launch.
“You’ve made the right decision. Most co-investments in Silicon Valley also prefer the club deal method. Speed is the lifeblood of startups, after all.”
Afterward, as the decision-maker for the co-investment, I worked closely with Matthew to discuss and coordinate various details.
“The total investment will be 8 billion won, with a 20% equity stake as requested by CEO Song Si-ho. Buksan Ventures and Sapling Investments will split the funding evenly, 50:50.”
“Understood.”
“Hahahaha.”
Matthew let out a hearty laugh.
“Well, that wraps up all the preliminary coordination between the investors. Usually, it can take months to finalize these details, but we’ve managed to finish everything in a single day. This is a first for me as well.”
“It’s all thanks to your experience and expertise, Matthew-nim. What’s the next step?”
“First, we’ll draft a preliminary contract based on today’s discussion and send it to CEO Song Si-ho for review. He’ll need time to go over it. Then, we’ll hold a final meeting to finalize and sign the agreement. After the contract is signed, the agreed funds will need to be deposited into the investee company’s account within seven days.”
Matthew’s clear and concise explanation was so impressive that I felt like applauding.
He truly deserved the title of the ‘top instructor’ in the venture capital world.
“Got it. And may I ask for one small favor?”
Matthew tilted his head slightly, his expression curious.
“What is it?”
“Could you treat me like an intern, just like before?”
Matthew raised an eyebrow as if to say, ‘What kind of question is that?’
“Of course, I’ll treat an intern like an intern. What, do you expect me to start treating you like security personnel or something?”
His deadpan response made me feel a wave of embarrassment for overthinking things.
At the same time, I felt grateful for his grounded demeanor.
“Right! Intern Dylan here! I’ll work even harder moving forward.”
“You’d better. If you slack off, I’ll assign you a mountain of homework.”
He teased with a sly grin.
“No matter what, homework is a bit…”
“Be thankful you’re not taking EXAMs.”
“Ugh… Please, anything but an exam. I’ll work harder, I promise!”
My exaggerated reaction, reminiscent of a rookie soldier being reprimanded, made Matthew chuckle.
With that, the contract procedures flowed seamlessly, and about a month later, news broke that Studio SH had successfully secured 8 billion won in Series A funding.
While it was a small feature, it managed to make its way into startup news outlets.
Studio SH Office, Pangyo
The once lively office atmosphere turned heavy.
“So… are the results not good?”
Song Si-ho lowered his head as though he were a criminal about to be sentenced.
“My apologies… The decline in ACCU (Average Concurrent Users) isn’t too severe, and ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) is fairly decent given the user base, but the real issue is…”
“The user base isn’t growing.”
“Exactly…”
Song Si-ho’s voice trailed off, sounding like a student caught in the principal’s office.
“Are you handling marketing properly?”
“The publisher has been aggressive with marketing efforts, but… sigh. What’s the problem? I can’t figure out why new users aren’t coming in. Honestly, I’m scared we’ll miss our golden time.”
The ‘golden time’ referred to the critical three months before and after a game’s launch.
No matter how well a game was developed, failing the initial marketing push meant there was little chance of revival or redemption.
“Don’t dwell too much on the negatives. The retention rate of the users we’ve gained so far is solid, which means the game itself is well-made.”
“You’re right… I’ll work even harder.”
Song Si-ho replied, nodding with newfound determination.
Looking at Song Si-ho sulking like a criminal made me feel equally disheartened.
After leaving Studio SH’s office, I reported to Matthew before heading home for the day.
Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep.
Click.
As soon as the door opened, my little black angels came running and lined up in formation to greet me.
The Samtan brothers, who had grown enough to match their mother’s size, were now fully grown cats in their own right.
-Meow!
-Nyaa-ong!
-Meowooong!
Born from the same litter and looking so similar, how could they have developed such distinct personalities?
Their shiny eyes gazed up at me, and the fatigue from the day melted away.
“You behaved and didn’t fight, right?”
But as if on cue, the three immediately turned and returned to their spots.
We live together, but cats are truly creatures beyond comprehension.
After a quick shower, I changed into comfortable clothes and turned my gaze toward the laundry basket piled high.
“Ugh, looks like it’s time to tackle all this laundry.”
Dragging my weary body, I loaded the washing machine and gathered the dried laundry I’d hung up earlier.
Dumping the dry clothes in the living room, I plopped onto the floor and began folding them slowly.
“Hey, Hey, Hey Gong-tan! You little rascal! How many times have I told you not to climb on that pile!?”
Perched proudly atop the neatly stacked dry clothes, Gong-tan was licking his paw when he glanced at me once before leaping onto the cat tower.
“That one always jumps on the laundry the moment I start folding. Whose personality did he inherit to be so peculiar?”
Shaking my head at the incomprehensible whims of my cats, I continued folding the laundry while slowly sinking into my thoughts.
Laundry itself was tedious, but folding clothes?
That was something I enjoyed, precisely because of this.
“There must be a reason why Song Si-ho gave off that golden aura, but I just can’t figure out what it is…”
Although I didn’t show it, I was deeply disappointed with the launch results of ‘Hunting Pig’.
Who would have thought the response would be this underwhelming?
Song Si-ho had apologized profusely, but it wasn’t him I felt ashamed toward.
It was Matthew, my mentor.
After all, this investment was practically pushed through because of my insistence.
“Haah… golden light… golden light… What could it mean? There’s definitely something, but what?”
The sudden burst of golden light during the pitch had to signify some kind of variable, but what exactly?
“Could it mean the project will skyrocket later…? Honestly, with how things are going now, that feels impossible…”
The more I thought about it, the more lost I felt.
As if wandering deeper into a maze, each thought only led to more uncertainty.
Letting out a sigh heavy enough to sink the floor, I tried shaking off my muddled mind by focusing on folding the laundry.
It was then, as I reached for the last piece—a pair of black slacks—to fold them, that something caught my attention.
“Hm?”
A strange texture inside the pants pocket made me tilt my head.
I slid my hand inside the pocket.
The fabric felt rough and stiff.
I pulled out the mysterious item.
“This is…?”
In my fingers was a faded, lime-green piece of paper, torn and crumpled to the point of resembling a rag.
[Norooq Partners / Sulayman / Executive Vice President]
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