Jason adjusted his collar as he walked into the Sequoia Capital boardroom.
Three venture capital firms. Ten partners. Combined net worth: several billion.
They were here because PulseCast wasn't just a startup anymore—it was a movement with teeth, and Jason's refusal to sell had lit a fire under Silicon Valley.
As he entered, a woman with platinum-blonde hair and dark red lipstick stood to greet him.
"Jason Nash. I'm Serena Talbot, managing partner. We've been watching you."
Jason offered his hand. "Glad to give you something worth watching."
She smirked. "Let's see if the show lives up to the pitch."
---
The meeting lasted ninety minutes.
Charts. Projections. User growth. Burn rate.
Jason delivered it all with precision and fire. No overpromising. No fluff.
"Unlike most platforms," he said, "we don't rent our creators—we invest in them. And they're investing back in us."
He clicked to the final slide.
"PulseCast isn't a company," he said, "it's a cultural operating system. We're not just monetizing attention—we're building gravity."
Silence.
Then Serena leaned back and crossed her legs.
"We'll give you $50 million at a $400 million valuation. Pre-money. 20% stake."
Jason didn't flinch. "That's low. We're not even done with Series A, and we're already outpacing Twitch's Year Three metrics."
A younger partner tried to chime in. "But Twitch had a bigger infrastructure pipeline—"
Jason cut him off. "And no global mobile-first creator strategy. We do."
Serena raised an eyebrow. "Counteroffer?"
Jason stood. "$60 million for 15%. I'll open a creator fund with 10% of it—publicly—and your name will be on the banner. You'll be the face of the new creator economy."
Serena tapped her pen thoughtfully.
Then smiled.
"Deal."
---
That night, the PulseCast office was alive with celebration. Leo uncorked champagne. Amy brought pizza. Naomi, in a rare moment of calm, danced barefoot on the breakroom couch.
Jason stood by the window, phone in hand, watching the number tick up.
Valuation: $400M. Funded. Growing. Global.
Naomi slipped beside him, glass in hand.
"You did it."
He looked at her. "We did."
She leaned in. "Tell me something, future billionaire."
"What?"
"When we hit a billion valuation... what's the first thing you're going to buy?"
Jason grinned.
"Not a thing."
She raised an eyebrow.
He leaned in.
"I'm going to buy back time."
Then he kissed her—slow and sure—as the city lights danced across the glass.