Chapter 155: Coin Investment
Chapter 155: Coin Investment
Earth Resource's business planning had been the toughest part.
"Will we hit $20 billion in revenue from the cloud division this year?"
"Hmm. Probably 400% growth over last year?"
It was the ambitious New Year's plan we'd set.
We'd worked hard to grow the cloud division, and now it was April.
"Shin-ah, cloud revenue for this month looks like it'll hit $1.9 billion."
"Yeah?"
"We should reach $2 billion next month."
"That's ahead of our yearly target."
The cloud division's quiet but terrifying growth.
"We need to keep growing Earth Channel subscribers steadily."
"Want to run some events?"
"We can't blow tens of billions on ads. If our current subscribers feel like there's nothing to watch and leave, we're done. We need to focus on movies and dramas."
That was from last year's meetings.
Earth Channel's revenue came straight from subscribers, so we held meetings from clock-in to clock-out.
But...
"We've broken 600 million subscribers."
"Yeah."
Despite the friction with China, Earth Channel was growing at an absurd pace.
That whole mess with China actually seemed to help the business in several ways.
As for the coin business... it was going so well there wasn't even much to say.
Every operations report left us stunned by the revenue figures.
The department store acquisition and the booming shopping mall division were no different.
"I'd like to acquire a department store in New York."
Alison from the shopping mall division made the request.
"New York?"
"Yes. Real estate prices there have dropped a lot due to COVID. Neiman Marcus went bankrupt, so we're looking at cherry-picking their viable stores."
Neiman Marcus was America's luxury department store brand.
Founded in Texas in 1907, it had become New York's top department store since the 1970s.
Their store was right next to Hudson Yards, the city's new landmark.
"The mid-range chain JCPenney and clothing brand J.Crew have filed for bankruptcy protection too. I think their prime urban locations are worth acquiring selectively."
"Hmm. Won't that pile on too much work?"
The shopping mall division had been slammed right from launch with a flood of orders for Source Coins.
After acquiring the California hotel chain, the entire staff had pulled all-nighters.
Once we took over the idle department store, customers lined up before opening day—what could we do?
Alison grinned.
"Work never stops anyway. We're struggling to keep up as is, but I want to scale it up even more."
Had she gotten addicted to the grind?
The acquisition funds could come from the shopping mall's own profits.
Expanding while business was hot didn't sound bad.
"Go ahead and acquire it."
"Yes, sir. Thank you for trusting me with this."
"Oh... and one more thing."
"Yes?"
"While you're at it, pick up a hotel too. I stayed at one in New York, and it was pretty good."
I'd been mulling hotel acquisitions for a while and decided to slot them under the shopping mall division this time.
Alison griped that adding hotels would mean too much work, but after listening for a few minutes, I said,
"Alison, I hire people I trust."
I had no choice but to trust them.
I didn't know much myself.
"Thanks to how well you've run the shopping mall division, we're even diving into department stores. Hotels will be next. You're the only one I trust to handle it all. Unless you're tied to something criminal, I won't replace you. Couldn't even if I wanted to."
"Sir..."
The way to win over your staff? Respect and fat paychecks.
Then the news rolled in.
[Isung Electronics' Earth Phone Sells Out Completely]
Earth Phones sold out 10 million units the moment they launched.
―Isung Electronics slacking off or what?
―Not expensive, big screen, huge battery. Perfect for me.
―Boomer special. Big screen and long battery? Love it. Me included lol.
―Selling on Carrot. But it's $200.
―$200 for that? Why? Get the foldable one.
―It's the Black Red Signature Phone from Earth Phone.
―Jennifer designed it herself.
―BTR Phone too.
―No way BTR members designed that?
―Yup. They did the colors and back engravings.
Dream Art Rainbow mobilized all its celebrities to promote Earth Phone.
Teaming up with Isung Electronics meant Korean drama stars and K-pop idols jumped into phone marketing.
[Black Red Jennifer: "Designing a phone was a special experience."]
Famous female idols' custom patterns engraved on the phones.
They used them themselves and posted promo videos on Earth Channel.
In the U.S., people were lining up to pay ten times the price.
"Earth Phones are selling like hotcakes."
As Earth Resource's CEO, I was relieved.
But then Oh Myeong-woo came at me with a serious face.
"Shin-ah, get me an Earth Phone, any means necessary. Jennifer edition. Pink, gold, whatever. Pink preferred."
"Didn't you swear off idols? Said 2D was best?"
"Watching on a screen in the States got my heart racing again. Crowd psychology is scary. One second you're watching a video, next you're a fanboy."
"..."
Eddie and the other programmers begged for a bunch too.
"Bro, I want the Jennifer-designed Earth Phone."
"Don't worry. I'll hook you up."
With Eddie asking too, it was my duty as Earth Resource CEO.
―Vice Chairman Seon Jae-yong: Earth Phone response is insanely hot.
Seon Jae-yong from Isung Group reached out first.
―Kim Shin: Yeah, saw the sold-out articles.
―Vice Chairman Seon Jae-yong: Articles don't capture it—the on-site hype is even bigger.
―Vice Chairman Seon Jae-yong: European carriers' buyers flew to Korea on purpose.
―Kim Shin: To buy Earth Phones?
―Vice Chairman Seon Jae-yong: Yes. Even Japan, where Isung phones never sold well, is blowing up.
―Vice Chairman Seon Jae-yong: Carriers took pre-orders—Japan alone hit over 10 million.
―Vice Chairman Seon Jae-yong: We think it's the combo of fair price, solid specs, and Earth Channel's brand image.
Earth Phone's large display and battery rivaled flagships.
With smartphones maturing, who cared about CPU speed wars?
It had a reasonable price, a user-friendly design, and fresh branding from the collaboration between Isung and Earth Channel.
Idols' involvement made it a must-have from teens to forties.
―Vice Chairman Seon Jae-yong: Internally, we planned 30 million units this quarter, but we're ramping up.
―Kim Shin: Great news.
Pre-installed Earth Channel app.
Every sale meant auto-subscriptions and royalty streams—sweet.
―Kim Shin: Performance is solid though. Margins okay?
I worried about Isung's profitability.
―Vice Chairman Seon Jae-yong: Phones get cheaper per unit at scale. Material costs never exceed half anyway.
―Kim Shin: Got it.
There was no need to fret over chaebols.
Why worry about Isung when they're raking it in?
―Vice Chairman Seon Jae-yong: Fans love it, so we're eyeing more price points and designs.
―Kim Shin: Sounds good.
I hesitated but had a favor to ask Isung's head honcho.
―Kim Shin: Got a personal request.
―Vice Chairman Seon Jae-yong: What is it?
―Kim Shin: Can you snag me about 100 Black Red Jennifer Earth Phones?
―Vice Chairman Seon Jae-yong: Had me worried since it's you asking. We've got reserved stock post-production. I'll send 200 each of Black Red and BTR versions.
―Kim Shin: Thanks.
Not even a real phone salesman, begging Isung's top dog for phones.
The embarrassment was all mine.
* * *
Han Chae-won was greedy for money.
She scoured for investments using royalties from her book.
"Real estate rises, but taxes suck, and it's too stuffy."
She met tons of people for stock tips.
"Hello, I'm Ko Seung-hwan, head of Asia Economic Future. Our 20 traders strive for top returns..."
She checked out high-return "experts," but they reeked of scams.
Even docs' connections to brokerage execs gave scammy vibes.
"Don't wait for the perfect moment. Invest like you eat. Trust capitalism—buy stocks."
"Just keep buying scams?"
"Yeah. Best is buy-and-hold, do nothing."
"What's your branch's return?"
"Can't disclose."
Korean stock market crawled with con artists, she figured.
Her interest turned to coins.
"I'll strike it big with coins. No rule says only Kim Shin gets rich."
Back at Arcor, Kim Shin quit and dipped into coins.
He had lost more than 90 percent of his principal, but she thought he had learned from the experience.
"I timed it wrong. If I'd held instead of selling, it'd be multiples now."
She browsed coin forums.
―Doge! Doge! Doge! Woof! Woof! Woof!
―1,600% YTD gains. Curious? Join Coin Heaven group chat.
―Altcoins chilling, paying off sweet.
―Ditched Korean stocks, so freeing. Coins trade 24/7—stressful, but U.S. pumps are fair.
―Kimchi premium sucks buying, loves selling.
―BTC, ETH, Source, Ripple. Big Four lead coin world!
―Earth Resource buying more department stores.
―Source hitting $40? Bro Kim Shin shines...
―Source no fireworks, but steady coin. Lol.
―Retirement pension coin. Never dumps kk.
Han Chae-won lurked forums for days and concluded.
'Even reactions say coins are the future.'
Countless cryptocurrencies were surging.
People hammered the market for gains.
In the days she watched, some jumped over 30%.
'Should've written the book sooner, prepped ahead—tens of times richer.'
If Kim Shin jackpot-ed coins, so could she.
She focused on coins that were outperforming the four largest cryptocurrencies.
'High returns, stable, big market cap, high volume.'
Weighing returns, cap, liquidity—she found her pick.
"Steady rise since year-start. Solid cap."
Han Chae-won committed to Roona, promising 20% interest.