The

Entrepreneurial

Code

Lessons from an

Ivy League Entrepreneur

Chapter Twenty-Two

The university college card market, like any marketplace, had annual trade conventions, where professionals met to listen to presentations and exchange ideas.  Johnny, Maverock, and Abe were about to attend their first industry conference.  Many of the campus administrators were already friendly with each other from attending these types of events year after year.  That meant word-of-mouth could be important. 

For all they knew, Poppycock and Mr. Bureaucracy from the University had warned their colleagues at other schools not to work with University Services Inc.  That’s why the three partners needed to step up their game and start networking with potential clients in the industry.  They needed to spread the word about how their program enjoyed the highest usage rates in the industry and how popular it was with the local merchant community. If necessary, they needed to spin their conflict with their alma mater as a positive.  "Imagine how great we would have done if we had been in partnership with the school?"  The fact they were so young was spun as a benefit too, because it meant they were “in touch” with students.

Johnny, Maverock, and Abe put their story into full effect at their first NACCU conference in Atlanta, Georgia.  It was Johnny’s first conference and he carried his suit in a plastic bag from Today’s Man.  His lack of experience was visible in his double-breasted olive suit that his mother purchased for him a few years back.  He wore an ecru dress shirt without collar stays (so his collar would curl upwards) and an earth toned tie that reminded Abe of puke.

Meanwhile, Johnny and Maverock would tease Abe for his sophistication. He had a travel bag for his pressed blue suit, wore matching cordovan shoes and belt, and brought his dress shoes with a pair of cedar shoetrees inserted.  Johnny and Maverock thought Abe’s “shoetrees” were ridiculous.

The three of them were the youngest people in the conference by 20 years. The first night kicked off with a lobster dinner in the hotel dining room and they were seated at a table with a dozen other attendees. They were all university officers, and any one of them was a potential client.  Maverock chummed away while Johnny, who never had lobster before, didn’t know how to eat it.  All he knew was that it was rumored to be expensive. 

Johnny watched the man across the table eating the body of the lobster, which confused him.  Was that why they brought out the whole thing?  Maverock obviously didn’t have much experience eating lobster either, because he grabbed a fork and dove into the guts.  Neither Maverock nor the man across the table looked like they thought twice about it.

Fortunately for Johnny, the gray-haired man to his right noticed his dilemma, leaned over, and advised him to stick with the claws and tail. The man across the table happened to be looking up at that moment, saw what transpired and said, “I just eat everything.  It’s lobster!” The Business Services people were not the most sophisticated bunch, Johnny decided.

Throughout the conference, Johnny, Maverock, and Abe listened to speakers as they presented topics relating to college card programs.  Maverock was happy to mingle with the crowd and exchange business cards.  He raved at length about the success of the Bullfrog Card.  Maverock had a knack for this sort of thing, and seemed to be connecting well enough with other attendees. By the next year, Maverock would have the company become a NACCU conference ID sponsor.  Although on that day, Johnny still felt like they were the black sheep of the affair.

 

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.