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The Middle Way is a specific concept that Lawrence realized after a Car Crash. The Middle Way is the drastic task of balancing 2 opposite sides into a perfect balance. Pixar, was the perfect example of that. Pixar, Lawrence thought, was able to balance the discipline of Business and the spastic art of animation. Lawrence was so fascinated about the fact that it all came full circle. His favorite principle in philosophy is the perfect explanation for an amazing part of his life, Pixar.

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Lawrence was part of the Board of Directors for Pixar, and previously, it's CFO. But now, those roles were eliminated after the purchase. This gave Lawrence the opportunity to explore things that fascinate him. He was always fascinated with philosophy and after meeting plenty of people who were just as fascinated, he and his new found colleagues established the non-profit Juniper, with its purpose to connect the modern western world to eastern philosophical practices. A new start, for a new age.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/25/business/disney-agrees-to-acquire-pixar-in-a-74-billion-deal.html

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According to the Laws of Physics, something that is doing an action cannot keep doing so forever. This very principal can be applied to not only physics, but Business. Pixar has so far had blockbuster after blockbuster until Lawrence started to question how long this trend would continue. So he decided to talk with, you guessed it, Steve. Steve was now back at Apple leading it back to what you know today as of 2004. They talked, and realized that the single business of Animation, if it fails once, can cause chaos. So there were then two options: diversify the business or have Disney buy them out. Disney had the resources to protect the culture and life at Pixar, therefore they decided to offer to them first. Bob Iger, the successor of Eisner, was willing to buy out the company, while maintaining the unique culture that it has built. On January 24th 2016, Disney announced the acquisition at $7.4 billion.

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https://pixar.fandom.com/wiki/Ratatouille_Credits

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In the closing credits of movies, only the people who had direct impact on the movie were featured. However, Lawrence and his department were on the Administrative team, which were not mentioned in the Credits. Yet, Lawrence felt they needed credit. Animation is much different from live action, as finance relates directly to the quality of the animation compared to finance in live action where it didn't have as much of an impact. It wasn't easy to do this, but eventually Disney sided and now you can see in a separate section in the credits in most Pixar films, "THANKS TO EVERYONE AT PIXAR WHO SUPPORTED THIS PRODUCTION" followed by the names of the staff.

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https://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/25/business/disney-in-10-year-5-film-deal-with-pixar.html

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Lawrence and his associates is now working with Disney's people on the final part of the contract, which is said to be the most stressful. Provisions cover the "what ifs" in a contract. It is the longest part in a contract. It took a long while, but they eventually finished it. On February 24th, 1997, Lawrence on behalf of Pixar and Rob Moore on behalf of Disney completed the contract with the signing.

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Once they decided their goals, Steve called Disney. Eisner, the CEO at the time, said he was open to renegotiating, yet it took several months for Disney to respond. They were able to negotiate in Pixar's favor for all but one major topic: Branding. Eisner's main concern was if Pixar would become Disney's worst enemy. Lawrence and the team would not stand for this, and decided to simply walk away. Until Eisner changed his mind, and allowed for them to have equal branding rights.

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The Disney renegotiation is one of the tough spots for Lawrence. Yet his cards are much more pleasing than before. Now that he has the trust of his company and Steve, Toy Story's success, and the successful IPO, he now has room for renegotiation. So he and the team of execs formulated their goals to get in order to ensure the success of Pixar. The independence of Creative Control, more favorable release windows, a true 1:2 profit share, and branding rights.

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https://www.cultofmac.com/456126/steve-jobs-billionaire/

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Following the SEC filings, the Roadshow, and the Toy Story numbers, is the final listing on Nasdaq. Lawrence, and his banking partners, all were eagerly waiting for the posting. Depending on how high the price went, The company could be worth Several Million or nothing. Lawrence has estimated a price of $12-$14. The price for the IPO was significantly higher. They pushed the price to $22 dollars a share due to high demand, yet it wasn’t the only surprise they would find.

At the end of the first day’s trading, Pixar’s stock was at $39. That gave Pixar a market value of close to $1.5 billion and did indeed make Steve a billionaire.

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https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1400342017/weekend/?ref_=bo_rl_tab#tabs

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This weekend in November of 1995 would change everything. The gross total of Toy Story could make or break Pixar. Especially considering that the IPO follows the release of Toy Story, Lawrence and everyone at Pixar was anxious. Everything Pixar has worked on all comes down to this moment, when they hear the ticket numbers. Lawrence receives a call, anxiously hoping it is above 10 million. The number he receives is mind blowing.

““Thirty million!” I continued. “Even more, audience polling is off the charts. Disney thinks the film will have a huge run. It will sail past a hundred million, and probably past a hundred and fifty million.””

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Steve wanted an immaculate IPO with the biggest names in banking. Specifically, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. The two banks toured Pixar and evaluated the company. Yet, due to the uncertainty in Pixar, they simply could not do it. So they settled for a boutique bank in Silicon Valley, and an entertainment bank in New York. Far from the grandeur that Steve had wished for, but closer to the reality of an IPO.

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Am Initial Public Offering, or IPO, is done when a Private Company goes Public. What this means is when small pieces of ownership of a company are sold to the general public on a public marketplace, which is done to raise funds for the company. This is what Steve wants. IPOs, while with its perks, also have its downsides. Many of which can hurt the company. Yet this was one of the main goals Steve has in mind.

“The risks in Pixar’s business plan, combined with the perils of taking a company public, conspired to make me cautious. Steve would have none of it, though.”

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Steve and Lawrence needed to figure out a way to finally make the business lucrative. In its current situation, it is possible but simply not easy. The Disney Contract in part is the main source of the issues. So they decided to outline 4 key objectives. These four objectives must be met in order to finally gain some traction.

“-QUADRUPLE OUR SHARE OF THE PROFITS
-RAISE AT LEAST $75 MILLION TO PAY FOR OUR PRODUCTION COSTS
-MAKE FILMS FAR MORE OFTEN THAN WE KNEW HOW
-BUILD PIXAR INTO A WORLDWIDE BRAND”

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Many employees were promised Stock Options, but none of them received them. This was due to Steve’s reluctant attitude to stocks, just as he was kicked out back at Apple. In Lawrence’s eyes, he compared it to culture. The employees promise of wealth once the company got up on its feet brought them to work hard and keep endearing. Yet, such endearment was nearing the end of its rope. So after push and pull, the Stock Options were set and Steve gave in.

“Start-ups were bound together by the opportunity for their founders and employees to share the spoils of success. This was one of the main incentives for joining a high-risk venture versus a more established company.”

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In order to create order, Lawrence had to distinguish a clear goal for Pixar. It couldn’t keep switching between film making, commercial making, and RenderMan. He talked with Ed and Steve about this key issue. While they were both hesitant to give up key parts of the business, they were willing to do so if it meant moving forward. And so, Pixar became strictly an Entertainment Company.

“Fully committing Pixar to becoming an entertainment company focused on animated feature films was our only shot.”

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In order to accurately predict the success of Toy Story and to understand the possible earnings, Lawrence’s needed a model to base it off of. The problem was that there is no model for computer animated films, and all the models were kept confidential. But with the help of Disney and an accounting firm Lawrence was tied to, he was able to create the basis of a model. Yet without data, the model didn’t work much, so there was simply no real way of predicting Toy Stories success.

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Toy Story, the feature film they were producing for Disney, had a trick up its sleeve. Unbeknownst to Lawrence, Pixar was locked in an agreement with Disney. They were restricted to 3 films with Disney and Disney only, with a 1:10 charge of profits, and no brand recognition. This one sided agreement couldn’t keep Disney afloat, even if they produced a blockbuster. Lawrence, frustrated, had absolutely no course of action. Steve simply suggested to ride out the Toy Story release before trying something. Lawrence, at this cross roads, simply recalled a saying from a former mentor:

“There’s nothing you can do about where the pieces are,” he’d say. “It’s only your next move that matters.”

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Most know not to make changes as soon as you walk in the door. So Lawrence laid back for a short while, that way he can understand the more minute aspects of Pixar. He discovers the disconnect between the employees and Steve. He then looks further into RenderMan, the only lucrative branch of Pixar. The software is used by many major studios for major projects, but it simply wasn’t worth it in a business sense. Regardless of the fact that it received much recognition and awards. He also finds that other companies are infringing on RenderMan’s patent, and is able to settle it so. In his first several months, he works on the major small issues in Pixar, yet it wasn’t easy.

“But in my exploration of Planet Pixar, somehow I felt I was now about to enter its murkiest terrain.“

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Lawrence, with his financial background, was the reason Jobs wanted him for Pixar. It wasn’t too long after the tour of Pixar that Jobs officially offered him the position. Yet, Lawrence was on the fence. So he consulted his current boss and he gave him his blessing. So, after consulting his wife, he took the job.

“A few days later Steve made me an offer to become Pixar’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, and a member of an Office of the President that he would create with himself as CEO, Ed Catmull as chief technology officer, and me as CFO.”

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After discussion with Steve, Lawrence was invited to visit Pixar. In this visit, he met Ed Catmull, Co-Founder of Pixar. After a brief interview, he received a tour of Pixar. He was shown several major components of the company, RenderMan development, Commercials, and lastly the feature film project, code name Toy Story. The office was small, but it was filled with talent in Animation, Photography, Storyboards, and more. The real treat was the screening room. Even though it’s small and filled with old couches, it was key to the production of animation. He was then shown the first couple minutes of the feature film, and was amazed.

“As the clip came to an end, Ed looked over at me. “What do you think?” he asked. “Ed, I hardly know what to say. This is extraordinary. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

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Initially, Lawrence Levy had no idea what Pixar was. All he knew was that it’s Job’s latest venture, behind his 2nd computer company NeXT. Per investigation, Pixar has had a rough history. After the company was spun off from Lucas-film, Jobs purchased it in hopes of the company developing a high tech imaging computer. Yet it failed, and no one knew what was keeping it a float.

“A call from Steve Jobs out of the blue? That was startling. But the initial thrill faded rapidly; rudimentary research revealed that Pixar had a decidedly checkered history.”

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It is November 1994. Lawrence Levy has had a successful career in business, specifically finance and before that Law. Until one day he gets a call from Steve Jobs. Steve invites Lawrence to an unknown company called Pixar, which is in need of financial organization. That’s where Lawrence comes in.

“I picked up the phone, not knowing who it might be. The last thing I expected was to speak to a celebrity.“

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Levy, Lawrence. To Pixar and beyond: My Unlikely Journey with Steve Jobs to Make Entertainment History. Mariner Books, 2017, Amazon Kindle, www.amazon.com/Pixar-Beyond-Unlikely-Journey-Entertainment-ebook/dp/B01912OSA0/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?keywords=pixar&amp;qid=1579406248&amp;s=digital-text&amp;sr=1-2.