All In Startup: Launching a New Idea When Everything Is on the Line

Chapter 1First Appearances Can Be Deceiving

She was at the bar. Owen immediately knew it was her. He hadn’t gotten the greatest look at her face on the treadmill at the gym, but he could tell from the hair and the shirt. Natural blonde and she was wearing another Sparksys shirt. Was she a sales rep? Owen wasn’t as familiar with the company as he should have been. Having your own business really puts a damper on learning about other companies, especially ones where nobody is exactly sure what they do.

He knew Sparksys made an important part of microprocessors for smartphones and that somehow they’d managed to make that sexy. It wasn’t deliberate advertising on their part, but they were known and featured in many magazines for the ridiculous perks their employees received. Owen wasn’t sure, but he had read something about their offering something called the 7 C’s, where every year for seven years they’d pay for a week or two-week or something visit to a different continent. That’s insane. How much does that cost? Wait—that’s just the kind of company that’d buy bicycles for its employees.

“Hey.”

Owen looked down. The woman had approached him. She was definitely a sales rep. Women don’t approach you in Vegas unless they’re offering up some sort of service. Maybe it was callous, but the first thought that flashed through Owen’s mind was: couldn’t they pick a sales rep with bigger boobs? Oh well—he’d listen to her pitch, pretend to sound interested, and then possibly pick up the name ...