Half a month later, the IMDB website followed in the footsteps of Nicholas Shopping Network and was also listed on Nasdaq.
The IMDB website had a significant impact on the film and television industry, firmly establishing itself as a cornerstone in contemporary movie public opinion! The main sources of revenue for IMDB were as follows:
1. Film promotional fees paid by production companies.
2. Selling user rating data, which helps film companies formulate strategies based on audience preferences.
3. Commercial advertisements.
4. Content service provisions to traditional media outlets.
5. Earnings from DVD sales. Currently, IMDB wasn't fully powered, but once it gained momentum, they could potentially sell tickets directly online, establishing a thorough online-offline integration!
In addition to these avenues, many more lucrative opportunities awaited development. As long as users and traffic remained high, the website could turn a profit!
However, at this juncture, IMDB's revenue was limited due to its smaller user base and various operational expenses. If they could break even, it was considered a success! Thankfully, Henry's strategic insight helped identify numerous profitable pathways, or else IMDB might have seen substantial losses!
The IMDB website had begun as a modest movie database, yet on the day of its IPO, its valuation soared to $3 billion!
Internet-based stocks captivated Wall Street investors, leading the internet company AOL to reap similar benefits and achieve a breakthrough market valuation of $7 billion!
On the same day, the stock price of Nicholas Shopping Network increased by $1!
Afterward, Henry received updates from the domain name management firm: "On the second day following the IMDB website listing, more than 1,000 new domain names were registered!"
Henry was astounded by the news!
It appeared that interest was peaking across the board!
The allure of internet success wasn't simple to attain!
When a website lacks traffic, securing it involves significant losses! Broadbands, servers, staffing costs—all of these add up! Of course, if a website garners enough traction to go public, that's another story altogether!
Henry remained unfazed, as the domain name management company and Noah's Ark were profiting significantly!
When a user applies for a domain name, the fee is $100, meaning that if 1,000 registered, that was $100,000 earned without breaking a sweat! Additionally, they would impose a $50 annual management fee thereafter. The domain management firm merely waited for revenue to roll in!
In the following days, registrations continued to overflow, leaving Henry feeling a rush with every dollar earned...
Noah's Ark abruptly experienced a surge in its server hosting business, with the number of server sites within the U.S. filling up significantly. Noah's Ark then decided to expand its service locations to cater to user demand! Unsurprisingly, its servers sold in considerable volumes! They had recently rolled out their second-generation Ark series servers, upgrading performance while maintaining affordability. This time, as the internet stocks surged, countless eager entrepreneurs rushed into the industry, and amidst this frenzy, 400 units sold—each priced at about $50,000, yielding an impressive profit margin of $20,000 per unit for a total of $8 million in net profit! The subsequent order flow remained steady, establishing the second-generation Ark server as the hottest product available!
After IMDB went public, the website thrived, leveraging its newfound capital—and Noah's Ark quickly transitioned from losses to gains! Competition for server services grew increasingly fierce; for now, however, Noah's Ark retained an unassailable lead, commanding two-thirds of the market share while the remaining third divvied among firms such as IBM, HP, and Dell!
Noah's Ark prioritized technological development, with that share of investment accounting for 40%. This dedication enabled them to remain ahead of competitors! Even so, Henry had provided guidance, steering R&D in the right direction and eliminating potential roadblocks, leaving other companies, like IBM, struggling to keep pace.
Furthermore, research and development of the blade server moniker neared completion. Once realized, it would set a significant benchmark! Financial institutions and telecommunications entities would opt for blade servers, built around a main chassis equipped with multiple "blades." Each blade operated as an independent system, capable of running various programs suited for specific user groups. Not only could the server cluster resource-share across numerous blades, but adding more blades could enhance overall system performance.
With multifaceted advantages, the blade server concept was predestined to become a market staple! Whereas others remained devoted to outdated tower and rack servers, Noah's Ark had already taken the initiative to advance!
---
With the successful listings for Nicholas Shopping Network and IMDB, Henry's fortune swelled. Were this information to become public knowledge, eyebrows would raise! Nevertheless, he preferred to stay in the background, maintaining his holdings through the Nicholas Group of Companies!
The Nicholas Group is an offshore enterprise established in the British Virgin Islands. Aside from Geely Hutt, who knows Henry is the sole shareholder, no one else grasps the magnitude of his investments; only that the chairman is a definitive major stakeholder.
This Fabled listing achieved significant success, creating four billionaires, over ten millionaires, and an army of newly coined millionaires. A line of luxurious vehicles shimmered beautifully beneath the company building!
Henry remained in his old Ford, believing direct purchases of luxury vehicles yielded little awe. Instead, he yearned to order a bulletproof high-end car!
As Henry's value increased, he realized that his safety was potentially at risk. If someone discovered the extent of his wealth, he might be targeted for robbery. This was why Henry preferred to operate under the radar!
Having watched enough Hong Kong films, it was clear that wealthy characters often fall victim to kidnappings for ransom, and Henry shared that concern!
After Nicholas Shopping Network went public, Henry cashed in $1 billion at the stock's peak price, placing an order for a bulletproof vehicle worth tens of millions through Ford. Customizations were only just beginning, forcing Henry to make do with his old Ford for now.
He chose Ford over Japanese competitors like Toyota or Honda for a reason: in a collision, American cars often emerge akin to their rugged fighters, whereas Japanese cars were prone to danger, leading to potential catastrophic consequences. Henry remained haunted by the tragic car accident involving his parents in this lifetime!
For safety's sake, Henry hired numerous security guards—veterans of the U.S. special forces with remarkable qualifications. His lead bodyguard, Sean Houston, insightfully remarked, "Every year, countless U.S. soldiers find themselves in limbo after retiring. If only we could secure them jobs!"
That moment sparked a revelation for Henry—the renowned private military and security consulting firm, Blackwater!
Soon enough, Henry found himself contemplating how a private security business might shift the landscape!