The

Entrepreneurial

Code

Lessons from an

Ivy League Entrepreneur

Chapter Nineteen

“You shall judge a man by his foes as well as by his friends.” – Joseph Conrad

 

Johnny and his partners hoped their status as undergraduate students and their success with the Bullfrog Card would be factors in their favor when negotiating a partnership with the University.  Johnny was charged with the task of mending old wounds, and he placed several calls to a senior person in the Business Services office, but never received a return call.  He left repeated voice messages.

With time until graduation running out, Johnny began to panic.  Experience had taught him to be aggressive, so he tried to go over the heads of the people in the Business Services office.  It probably wasn’t the best move, especially since he was trying to mend broken relationships.  In Johnny’s mind, desperate times called for desperate measures, and he was desperate.

Somehow, Johnny got the idea to “drop by” the office of a distinguished member of the University’s Board of Directors.  The Director was the former CEO of a major pharmaceutical company and a multi-million dollar benefactor of the University. The fact that Johnny thought he could arrange a meeting with him was a long shot. 

Predictably, Johnny couldn’t get past the Director’s secretary, but he did meet with an assistant and they discussed Johnny’s situation at length. The obvious question from her standpoint was what any of it had to do with her boss. The answer was not much, but Johnny beseeched her to help him get a meeting with someone senior in the Business Services office.  He suggested to her that the Director’s prominence as both a businessman and a leader in the community made him relevant. Johnny even went so far as to suggest that it was important that the University not only supported entrepreneurship in the classroom, but also in real-life scenarios. The assistant assured Johnny she would try her best.  Nevertheless, Johnny walked out of the Director’s office pretty pessimistic about the chances of an intervention.

That next day, Johnny had a message on his voice mail from a senior person who worked in Business Services who was looking to schedule a meeting.  Johnny promptly returned the call, and set something up for the following evening. Evidently, the Director’s assistant was true to her word, and she placed a call on Johnny’s behalf. Once again, a half-baked idea seemed to have worked.  It was nothing short of a miracle, or so Johnny thought.

Just two days after contacting the Director’s office, Johnny put on his only blue suit and walked to the headquarters of the Business Services group, which was literally just around the corner.  Neither Maverock nor Abe wanted to join him. They sensed it would be bloody.

Johnny entered the building and made his way to an office on the third floor feeling a bit unsettled.  A receptionist led him inside the room, where the manager of Business Services sat at his desk. He was a big man, tall and broad and in his late 60s.  He had a thick head of white hair, wore glasses, and had a big puffy white mustache. He looked a lot like Colonel Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken.  The resemblance put Johnny at ease a little bit.

Mr. Andrew Poppycock immediately extended his hand and gave Johnny a forced smile.  It was the same kind of smile the runner-up of a beauty pageant might give the winner, after realizing that all eyes were upon her and people were taking pictures.  Johnny got the sense he was just going through the motions.

Poppycock thanked Johnny for coming, but went on to explain it would be impossible for the school to work with him.  Poppycock’s group was intent on extending the U-Card’s capabilities.  He saw no reason for students to carry two cards.  “Neither do we,” Johnny chimed in. “We would be happy to market our program as an off-campus account that worked on the U-Card.”  Poppycock forced an even weaker smile.

Poppycock was quick to point out they were looking to hire someone part time and that, economically, it wouldn’t pay enough to support the founders of Johnny’s company.  “We accept!” Johnny said without hesitation.  Poppycock looked at Johnny blankly like he was about to throw up.  You could see the wheels in Poppycock’s head turning and that he wasn’t prepared for this development.

Johnny went on to explain that money wasn’t the driving factor.  Johnny told Poppycock how they planned to expand the business model to other universities, and they needed the credibility that came with patching things up with their own school.  The price they were willing to pay was the Bullfrog Card business.  They would essentially donate it to the school.  They would accept whatever pittance the school paid them to manage it, but Johnny and his partners wanted a reference.  Johnny thought it was a good deal for everyone.

Poppycock turned pale.  Johnny had backed him into a corner.  Poppycock gave up trying to feign any form of a smile, and just glared at Johnny.  He leaned forward in his chair. The gloves were coming off.  He said:

“First of all, I don’t appreciate getting phone calls from the office of [the Director]. I thought that was highly inappropriate.  I agreed to meet with you, but I won’t work with you.  The name, “University Services,” the on-campus address, the name “Bullfrog Card,” you are trying to pretend you’re the University! Frankly, I question your integrity and your ethics.”

Poppycock was rattled.  He stood over Johnny shaking his fist as his eyes bulged out of his head.  Unfortunately, Johnny had the bad habit of smiling when put in uncomfortable situations. This was especially bad at funerals, or when someone tells you their grandmother just died.  It’s also bad after someone has just gone on a tirade, venting at you, and is waiting for a response.

When Johnny cracked a smile, it just made Poppycock even angrier.  His face turned four shades of purple before Johnny’s very eyes.  Johnny thought Poppycock’s head might pop off from the pressure building inside of him.  Things weren’t going according to plan.

Johnny quickly composed himself and tried to appeal to Poppycock’s sense of reason.  Johnny reminded him that the company’s name was perfectly legal and within their rights.  Johnny informed him how the on-campus address was a fluke of luck, and that the name “Bullfrog Card” was from the class project and it just stuck.  You could tell Poppycock wasn’t buying anything Johnny was saying.  Johnny was wasting his breath.

Johnny attempted one final appeal to Poppycock’s business acumen.  After all, Johnny and his partners had spent a lot of time and money assembling the program.  It was successful and they were willing to hand it over to him.  There was certainly value in what Johnny offered.  It didn’t make business sense not to work together.

Unfortunately, Poppycock had already made up his mind.  He just couldn’t get past the history.  Having regained his composure, he sat back in his chair and nodded his head mechanically. When Johnny finished talking, he stood up and motioned Johnny to the door.  That was the meeting with a senior person in the Business Services office that Johnny fought so hard to get.

 

Copyright  2005 by Chris Cononico
All rights reserved. No part of this manuscript may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.