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I offered to skip the pitch event to relieve any speculation about my involvement with Engage, but since I attend this event every year, both Charlie and I thought my absence might send the wrong message. Specifically, that I either don’t support my brother or that I’m out of the game, and neither is a message that will do any good, for Charlie, for me, or for Swop. No, it’s best to stick to business as usual, which means that I’ll be evaluating potential endeavors regardless of whether my brother is a candidate or not.
As I wait for the event to begin, I flip through the materials that have been provided. Each of the ten companies presenting have distributed an executive summary, the bios of their officers, samples of press they’ve received, and a high-level glimpse of their financials. I know that Lisa wrote most of the content Engage compiled, and as I read through it, I picture her sitting at her desk, brow furrowed in concentration as she pecks away at the keys, a hint of a smile on her lips when she writes something that satisfies her. The story she tells on paper is compelling, a difficult feat given it centers mostly on stats to justify the product and intended market. And compared to the other materials in my hand, well, there really is no comparison. For anyone that invests in people, not profits, like I do, there’s really only one company here worthy of consideration, and if I hadn’t already known that, Lisa’s words would have coaxed me to that inevitable conclusion.
That’s my girl. I smile, wishing like hell she could be here tonight to see what she helped create. But each company is only allowed two attendees, and Charlie had understandably brought the CFO to answer any questions about finances. I’m only here because as a career investor I have a standing invitation.
“Is it really that good?” Robert asks as he takes the seat next to me. Robert oversees a boutique fund in Denver that caters to high-net-worth individuals, and while he doesn’t understand my strategy of putting people before profits, he isn’t too obtuse to dismiss it. Overall, he’s a decent guy, even if he is always being pressured to produce exceptional returns.
“Is what good?” I ask.
“Your brother’s company?” Robert gestures toward the papers in my lap. “I know you have to say it’s good, but you’re grinning like a kid in a candy store. Got some inside info to share?”
I shake Robert’s extended hand. “Even if I did know something, you know I couldn’t share it.” I wink.
“Can’t blame a guy for trying, though.” Robert sits down. “But seriously, what gives? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile like that.”
I hadn’t been aware I was smiling. Damn, I have it bad. I can’t wait for this night to be over so I can tell Lisa the truth.
“I’m just really happy for Charlie, for getting to this moment.”
“Well, I’m sure he had lots of help.” Robert laughs, elbowing my arm. “I mean, these are nice materials. Expensive.” He flips through the documents. “Raised a million in the friends and family round, impressive.”
“Charlie has a lot of supporters,” I say diplomatically. That’s not untrue, but it also doesn’t single me out as the deepest pocket, exactly like Charlie wanted.
Robert eyes me cautiously but wisely backs off. “These are very well written. You did a nice job of telling him what to include.”
“Actually, I haven’t seen any of these documents until today.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. Education is Charlie’s thing. I told him he should apply to this competition, but beyond that, I didn’t have anything to do with it. That’s why I’m so happy for him. I think he and his team did a great job.” Especially my girl.
“There you go grinning again. I think I believe you. You aren’t cocky enough to grin like that if you had a hand in it.”
I chuckle.
“Hey, I was sorry to hear about Swop,” Robert says.
My grin fades, hopefully not so fast so as to draw attention to it. “What did you hear?”
“That the patent got denied. Someone else already had one in process.”
“I heard that rumor, too.” I study Robert for a minute, trying to figure out what I’m missing. I didn't share any documents with Robert, mainly because the guy’s clients would want too much control, and I want to protect Kurt from that. As with any industry, rumors are part and parcel of doing business, but I contained the rumor about a competing patent. Or I thought I had, so where is Robert getting his information?
“You must have lost a lot of money on that one,” Robert commiserates.
“I haven’t lost anything.”
“Really?” he balks.
“Really.”
“I guess I figured Swop would’ve shut down. I mean, without the patent, they’ve got nothing, right?” The guy seems a little nervous, strange for someone who typically makes sound investments and should be earning a solid return for his clients. Normally I wouldn’t dwell on that, but now, given the data breach with Swop, my guard is up. How much should I let on?
“Then I guess it’s a good thing the patent hasn’t been denied.” I shrug nonchalantly.
“It hasn’t?” Robert seems to lose a little color.
“Not that I’ve been told, and I would hope I’d be the first to know.”
