Moritz told Levchin, “If you go forward with this merger, I’ll never sell a single share”—the implication being that a merged company would grow and grow forever. It was one of those classic VC call-to-greatness challenges. The senior venture statesman was asking the young entrepreneur, do you want to forge a major company that will be remembered years from now? Or do you lack the character to make your mark on the universe? Levchin was suitably impressed. He dropped his objections to a sixty-forty deal, subordinating his coding pride to Moritz’s grand vision. The path to a merger was now
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