a word, just sat there watching and listening.
That evening, Chris didn’t ask much else about Fishbowll. He didn’t think Andrei was going to tell him anything and he wondered if he might frighten him off. He really didn’t know what to make of the pale young man sitting opposite him, who was silently dipping into the dishes arriving at the table. There certainly wasn’t anything kitsch and try-hard about him, as Chris had expected from the website name. And the fact that he hadn’t bothered to ask what people were prepared to offer for the site was somehow deeply impressive. If anyone else had said that to him, Chris wouldn’t have believed it, but for some reason he suspected that in Andrei’s case it was true. Chris was intrigued, deeply intrigued, both by Fishbowll and its founder. He wanted to know more about Andrei Koss and his vision for the website. Yet he had no idea what Andrei was thinking or whether he had any interest at all in prolonging the conversation with him.
He didn’t know Andrei well enough yet to realize that if Andrei had had no interest in what he had to say, he would have got up and left.
So it was a genuine surprise to Chris when Andrei called him a couple of days later and asked if he could talk with him again. Although he had no plans to go up to the Bay Area, Chris immediately said he was going to be in Palo Alto for a meeting early the following week and could make time to see him. This time, rather than suggesting a place, he asked where Andrei would like to meet. Andrei named the first place that came into his head.
16
IT WAS HAMER’S first time at Yao’s. He could see that the waiters knew Andrei well. Chris ordered kung pao chicken. Andrei didn’t even need to say that he wanted the chicken and shrimp fried noodles.
‘I’m running what appears to be a large and growing business,’ said Andrei matter-of-factly as soon as the orders were taken. ‘I’m twenty-one years old and I’m well aware that I have no experience that prepares me for this.’
Chris nodded. He was impressed both by Andrei’s insight and his honesty. At the same age, still in college and running his own first start-up, he had messed things up precisely because he had lacked both. He was also interested in the way Andrei had made a statement of apparent humility come out more as an assertion of control. Chris had seen a lot of guys running start-ups. The more he saw of Andrei Koss, the more interested in Fishbowll he became.
‘It’s not that easy to find disinterested advice,’ said Andrei.
‘And you think I’ll offer it to you?’
‘You’re the first guy I’ve met who hasn’t tried to buy my company.’
Chris laughed. ‘Full disclosure. You know I’m an investor.’
Andrei nodded.
‘OK,’ said Chris. ‘Well, let me see how I can help you. What do you want to know?’
‘I want to know what I’m not doing that I should be doing. I want to know what I am doing that I shouldn’t be.’
‘Good questions. I had to go through two start-ups before I learned those lessons.’
‘I’ll pay you for your time,’ said Andrei quickly.
Chris laughed again.
‘I don’t expect any favours.’
Chris leaned forward. ‘Andrei, you’ll be doing me the favour. But I need to know some numbers. I need to get some sense of the scale of what you’re doing. How many users have you got?’ He saw Andrei hesitate. ‘It’s confidential, I promise. But, full disclosure again, I may use the numbers myself to decide whether to make you an offer of some cash. I won’t divulge anything to anyone else.’
Andrei hesitated a little longer. ‘OK,’ he said. ‘Thirty-two million.’
‘How long have you been running?’
‘Eight months, more or less.’
‘That’s good.’
‘They have an extraordinarily high usage rate. And we have an exceptional geographic and demographic diversity, which generates a lot of demands. I’ve got a thousand things people are asking for.’
‘And the things you want to do?’
‘I’ve got a thousand of those as well.’
Their dishes arrived.
‘Tell me your vision,’ said Chris, digging into his kung pao chicken.
‘It’s there on the website.’
‘Tell me in your own words.’
‘They are my words.’
‘Andrei, just tell me.’
‘Connectedness,’ said Andrei. ‘Most social networks put you in touch with people you know, and if you’re lucky, through them you might connect with other people. That’s still a relatively contained and insulated subset of the total group you may want to