＜ Coca-Cola. (1) >
Late 1897, Atlanta, Georgia.
The headquarters of the Coca-Cola Company.
A few days after giving the Coca-Cola Company chairman Candler an investment offer, he boarded a train from New York to Atlanta and hurried down to the Coca-Cola headquarters.
I followed Candler’s secretary, who was waiting at the main entrance, to his office.
“Nice to meet you, Arthur Candler. My name is Detroit D. Morgan, who is an outside director at JP Morgan. This is my secretary, James.”
“It is an honor to meet Morgan’s son-in-law. Nice to meet you, James.”
Candler stood up with a nervous expression on his face.
For entrepreneurs, dealing with investors and shareholders is the most difficult. However, I smiled because I thought there was no need for pressure.
Today, I am an angel investor.
angel investor.
“haha. Thank you for setting the side up. Rather, I am only sorry that I came late on the topic of my investment proposal.”
The slow filing of the 19th century was an unexpected ambush.
The reason I was late was partly because of the time it took to ride the train from New York to Atlanta, but the biggest was the long time it took to process the paperwork that sold business cards belonging to JP Morgan Bank.
Thanks to this, I was given the position of an outside director with no real power, but with no real power.
‘For investors, trust is life.’
Fortunately, the power of JP Morgan Bank was strong.
Candler struggled not to express himself, but his outstretched hand was trembling like a tremor.
‘The first impression effect is perfect.’
I shook hands with Candler and sat down on a chair.
“Actually, although I am an outside director of JP Morgan Bank, today that individual has come to invest.”
“Yes? Wasn’t JP Morgan Bank coming as an institutional investor?”
Candler furrowed his eyebrows.
I calmly explained the expected reaction.
The reason I came as an individual investor instead of JP Morgan Bank was to monopolize it, but it was also because of the interference in management of large banks at the end of the 19th century, almost taking over them at the colonial level.
‘Unlike JP Morgan Bank, I came here with the intention of becoming an angel investor, so it would be a good proposal for Candler.’
In other words, it is a win-win transaction.
I took out a notepad and a pen and started drawing large banks and their profit structure.
Click.
square square.
“I think Mr. Candler is well aware of the physiology of the big New York banks. New York’s big banks are the ones who value loan returns as the best value. Money comes first. As someone from Morgan, I’d say it’s a little different. In particular, JP Morgan Bank is one of the most vicious banks in the world. They are wolves that eat not only the loan proceeds, but also the company itself.”
“…if it’s a bank, I know it so well that it makes me cringe.”
Candler grinded his teeth.
After all, no bank would have been willing to lend money to a company that only had cola recipes without any hesitation.
There must have been harsh conditions or interest.
“Besides, even if you make an institutional investment in JP Morgan Bank, there is no guarantee that your money flow will improve. No, in the first place, they invest only when they are sure that they will make money. They will not even look at the speculative ratings among their own credit ratings.”
“…continue.”
Candler closed his eyes and folded his arms.
I secretly moistened my dry lips with my tongue.
“But even if the Coca-Cola Company makes money for them, that’s a problem. The big banks in New York are staunch monarchs. When a crisis strikes them, they will rush through the Coca-Cola piggy bank with a knife called dividends. Any remaining voting rights will be forfeited. And they will appoint directors at will, put them on the board, and turn Mr. Candler into a scarecrow.”
“… it makes sense.”
In fact, in the Great Depression and Panic that occurred before 1900, the austerity of the banks was murderous. It’s no different in modern times.
Even the most recent Panic of 1893 occurred less than five years ago.
Simply put.
Now was the time when the poisons of big banks were on the rise.
“So that’s what I need.”
“Why is that? Even if JP Morgan Bank is a dividend payer, even if it is difficult to receive investment, will your credit rating go up by receiving their investment?”
“Isn’t there a way to avoid having to give up the sovereignty of a company for the sake of a credit rating or something?”
“……ah!”
As I pointed my finger at myself, Candler marveled.
It’s not JP Morgan, but I was also a member of the Morgan family. Even if you don’t have to go through the painful procedures of JP Morgan Bank, you can do it at James Sun.
But Candler was not completely convinced.
“good. Let’s say you’re from Morgan, and you’re good at bringing in cash. But isn’t that all? What vision have you come to see? If you don’t understand our Coca-Cola Company, you won’t be able to feel the difference from the banks.”
“Wait. James, bring it.”
I beckoned to James.
James opened his black briefcase and pulled out a bundle of Coca-Cola bonds worth $100,000 that I owned.
Seeing the bundle of bonds, Candler widened his eyes.
“…Did you buy junk bonds?”
“Junk bond on my corporate bonds, I just saw the future in this company. A future that will become a giant that will dominate the beverage market. And a future that will compete with water, a human necessity.”
widely.
I took the Coca-Cola glass bottle from the side of my briefcase on the table.
“I believe that one day I will one day bring Coca-Cola to mankind, just as I bring bottled water to mankind. do you know There will come a day when 1.9 billion Coca-Cola will be consumed every day.”
profit.
He opened the bottle with a bottle opener and poured the Coke into his throat. I felt like my throat was going to burst from the boiling carbon dioxide, but it was only at this level that it could be called a performance.
I hit a one-shot, and put the empty bottle down in front of the candler.
“It is delicious. turn it off.”
‘shit.’
I don’t know.
I looked up at Candler secretly, but Candler still had his mouth wide open in shock.
I fiddled with the empty glass bottle.
“Mr. Candler.”
“……Yes.”
“Aren’t you getting a headache from your recent bottling problems?”
“Yes?! No, how do you do that?”
For the first time, Candler gave a bewildered expression. The bottler problem is a recent issue, and only a person with some information about Coca-Cola can recognize it.
but i know
‘I only drank Coca-Cola for 40 years. this bastard I must have drank more than you?’
Coca-Cola was introduced less than 20 years ago.
Even if James didn’t tell us about the bottling business, he knew everything inside the Coca-Cola Company from his past memories.
“And each bottling company has a different method of processing the undiluted solution, so there is a problem that the taste is different.”
“…you are really interested in Coca-Cola.”
Candler stuck out his tongue and looked at me with a sympathetic face.
“If you receive my investment, I will take responsibility for the funds needed to establish the bottling holding company and bring it to the fullest. We can also hire talented managers.”
It is also a proven talent.
“……after.”
Candler wiped his face with both hands.
I wanted this time, so I held out my hand.
“I am confident that the future bottling system will have a profound impact on the vision of the Coca-Cola Company. We are here to help.”
“…..Oh My God.”
“Would you like to invest?”
Candler stared piercingly at my hand for a moment, then grabbed hold of it.
“Invest, I will.”
***
click.
James closed the car door and got into the driver’s seat with a briefcase.
“young master. Why?”
“what?”
“Did you hand over your voting rights? When I first got a 75% stake and invested $1 million, I thought I was resourceful, but I don’t understand why they gave up their voting rights.”
“Ah, that.”
Bourneung.
James glanced at me as he drove the car.
I shrugged.
“I just gave voting rights to people who were good at management. In addition, as a major shareholder, did you not have the right to veto (the right to veto)? It is my own consideration that I will not interfere with the management in every case.”
“Are you talking about caring?”
In the first place, most of that 75% is not Candler’s stake. These are the shares that Candler received from the founding members of the Coca-Cola Company.
‘Except for Candler in the first place, you wouldn’t think that Coca-Cola can grow any further now that it has entered the 50 US states.’
I would have thought a million dollars would be appropriate.
That is the essence of the original management.
Even if you’re on the road to success, you can’t sleep comfortably with your feet up when there’s a blade of surplus under your feet.
‘Candler was just ‘a little’ braver than them. In that sense, it was a good deal for Candler and for me.’
But I left Candler 25% with the intention of running it right.
“James, do you think you could get a $900,000 investment for a $2,500 recipe?”
“That’s… that’s great.”
“He’s a great bastard. The successors of Dr. Pampertin, who developed the recipe, sold it to Candler at a bargain price.”
This novel was posted at https://noblemtl.com
Only then did James acknowledge Candler’s talent.
“Bocchan, by the way, is bottling such an important business? Isn’t it just selling Coke in a bottle? Will it make a profit?”
“me.”
I made eye contact with James.
“very.”
As of 2017, Coca-Cola Bottling Company is a conglomerate with an operating profit of nearly 2 trillion won.
For reference, this company only monopolizes ’14 out of 50 US states’.
If you add bottling companies around the world, it means that you will have tremendous cash-generating power.
Money will be copied!
‘Candler sold this huge market to three lawyers for only a dollar.’
It was handed over in 1899, so by now 1898, business proposals must have come from lawyers.
I don’t know if it’s a historical Candler, but today’s Candler will politely grind the proposal into a shredder.
I’m sure.
“James.”
“Yes, Master.”
“How much loan can I get from JP Morgan Bank with my name as collateral?”
“Your name… as collateral?”
“okay.”
James thought for a moment as he turned the wheel, then opened his mouth.
“10 million dollars.”
“……”
“You could get a $10 million loan. However, if you cannot pay it back, your name is Pa in the family register. Of course, all property will be confiscated.”
When I asked, just in case, I got a harsh answer. I shivered from the chill once, and covered myself with wool.
Winter in New York was cold.
“…I will wake you up when you arrive.”
***
roll around.
I was rolling around in the bed of a German mansion, rolling the duvet.
I wasn’t even an adult yet, but I didn’t have the face to put on.
“damn. You forgot about Groton School.”
Besides, the fact that I had to go to school by itself made me more and more fatigued.
The good news is that the SAT you took in your previous life will not appear until 1926.
“Because there was no college board yet.”
120 years ago, I could feel the fact that I was America. A rosy world where neither World War I nor the Great Depression has yet been experienced.
It was a romantic era when people believed that advanced future technology was advancing mankind.
“You don’t come to your senses until the Titanic explodes.”
In particular, the upper class who were close to newspapers had fantasies about technological development.
However, he was so drunk that he fell into the ideology of the chosen people and reached the point of discriminating against people of color.
It was no different than the Groton School I was going to attend.
Because Groton School is a prestigious school, and among the talented people it has produced, there are many children from the political and financial circles.
for a moment.
I hugged the pillow.
‘The Groton School… I’ve heard of it somewhere.’
I tried to remember.
When I entered school, I felt like I had read it in a history book.
‘The alumni lineup of the Groton school was all gorgeous.’
‘Politics?’
Stop.
I trembled.
“James.”
“Yes, Master”
“When was I born?”
“…you were born in 1882.”
“Born in 1882……”
shudder.
The gears in my head that had been scattered around began to align one by one.
Born in 1882.
Graduated from Groton School.
Graduated from Harvard University.
He dropped out of Columbia Law School.
Elected to the New York Senate.
Served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy during World War I.
and…..
‘The first four-term president of the United States.’
Instantly, I could feel the chicken meat rising from the back of my hand.
The chicken meat scratched around the raised neck.
wow.
He hugged him tightly as if the pillow would burst, and murmured as if possessed.
“FDR……!”
＜ Coca-Cola. (1) > end
