EPISODE

3. Articles of Incorporation

While Gavin Belson begins to hype Nucleus, a competing compression platform, Richard learns that the name Pied Piper is already registered to a sprinkler company, forcing him to negotiate. Meanwhile, Erlich goes on a vision quest for a new company name, and Peter Gregory proves elusive when one of his companies asks for money.

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Richard and Jared discover that the Pied Piper business name is already in use by an irrigation company in Gilroy, California. While Jared, Dinesh and Gilfoyle begin brainstorming new names for the application, Erlich decides to find a new name for the company. He embarks on a vision quest in the Sonora Desert, but ends up having a panic attack after consuming too many hallucinogenic mushrooms. Adamant on keeping the original name, Richard attempts to prove that he is a good negotiator by convincing the irrigation company to give up the name Pied Piper.

Initially the company's owner asks for $1000, but after reading about the technology's success on the web, he angrily demands a much larger sum. He ends up driving to Palo Alto to confront Richard, and after much arguing, Richard manages to keep the name for almost the original price. Erlich, still in the aftermath of his vision quest, returns with a child by his side, convinced he has found another version of himself. Meanwhile, Peter Gregory becomes obsessed with Burger King products, leaving his assistant Monica in a difficult position with one of their clients, who need an urgent cash injection or risk firing hundreds of people. Biding his time, Gregory ends up investing in sesame seed production, earning a huge profit in stock and solving the situation to Monica's and their associates' relief.

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Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, Silicon Valley season 1. HTML formatting and reference markers removed.

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