Wednesday, April 27, 2011

The Accidental Billionaires (Pg. 165-227)

Summary:
As Tyler, Cameron, and Divya get ready to graduate, they launch their website, ConnectU, formerly known as the Harvard Connection. Tyler and Cameron plan to make a go for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and hope ConnectU gains popularity. However, Tyler is still bitter about Mark's actions, and how it didn't work out for them. The story then goes to Silicon Valley, where Mark and his programmers coincidentally come across Sean. Sean is moving out his girlfriend's house, and has no place to stay. Which is perfect, because Mark just moved into a new house down the street. While he crashes at their new place, Sean thinks about Eduardo's whereabouts, and his involvement. He starts to question Eduardo's relevancy and importance to thefacebook. Later on, Eduardo quits his internship in New York, and heads to Silicon Valley. On the flight trip, he starts to get irritated with Mark's association with Sean, and their level of involvement. When Eduardo arrives at California, he is picked up by Dustin and Mark, and is driven to a party Sean is attending. As they meet Sean and his wild stories, Eduardo notices something strange; Victoria Secret models flirting with Mark. Eduardo then leaves four days later, after days of business meetings and partying.
The story then flips back to Tyler and Cameron, as they compete in the Henley Royal Regatta. His team loses by two seconds, and the opposing team receives the trophy and celebration. While being congratulated for effort by their host father, he mentions his daughter taking pictures, and asks the brothers if they can be found on thefacebook. Tyler and Cameron are shocked to hear how it's now international, while their website, ConnectU, is only in numerous schools. Tired of hearing about thefacebook, Tyler and Cameron decide to go after Mark.
Back in New York, Eduardo calls up Mark and argues about his position in thefacebook and how he's still the businessman. This comes after he learns that Parker has set up meetings with potential advertisers. Eduardo then sends Mark a letter reassuring his position as CFO, which Mark and Sean views as a cry for attention and childish. Trying to get his point across, Eduardo freezes thefacebook's bank account, which is under his control.
Afterward, Sean and Mark are on a elevator ride to meet Peter Thiel, founder of Paypal, head of Clarium Capital, and on of the richest men in America. While waiting to reach their floor, Sean starts to think about Eduardo's immaturity with the letter, and freezing the bank account, which could have possibly risked thefacebook as a whole. Thefacebook desperately needs money for a structural renovation, to pay for servers, and because of Tyler and Cameron's lawsuit against them. Which is why they needed to secure Peter Thiel as their angel investor, to help them secure thefacebook financially.

Quotation:
"Eduardo would go back to school. But Mark Zuckerberg had found his place in
the world." (Mezrich 225)

Reaction:
Seeing as this is Sean's thinking, he views Eduardo as finding his education priority over thefacebook. Mark in the other hand, is completely dedicated to thefacebook, enough not to return to Harvard. Sean is sure about Mark's involvement, viewing it as his place in the world, what he's fitted to do. This is a contrast to how in the beginning of the novel, his personality and social awkwardness wouldn't seem to get him anywhere far, according to Eduardo.

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