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The Next Big Thing is the second page-turning installment in Sadie Hayes' Start-Up series, following twin college students Amelia and Adam as they attempt to make it in the competitive world of Silicon Valley.
Amelia and Adam's new company, Doreye, may have won over Silicon Valley, but the trouble is far from over. After facing down skepticism, a meddler from their past and a saboteur who makes their app malfunction right when it matters most, drama suddenly seems to be brewing within the ranks. While Adam has money signs in his eyes and enough charm to win over the investors, Amelia decides she wants to give away their app for free, leading to discord and a separation of responsibilities—and power.
As if that weren't hard enough on their relationship, Adam and Amelia are both keeping secrets from each other, the kinds of secrets that could change everything if revealed. As they grow farther apart, others grow closer together. Patty finds a new boyfriend—and a fascinating new job—to distract her from Chad; Adam becomes involved with an older woman who seems to be as interested in Doreye as he is; and TJ starts to notice that Amelia is more than just a computer nerd with the tensions running high, Adam makes a decision that topples Amelia's carefully constructed life and sets off a chain of events that could threaten the future of Doreye. Can Amelia find a way to save their company before it's too late?
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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor
SADIE HAYES is the pseudonym for a highly positioned Silicon Valley executive. She holds several degrees from Stanford University, and has spent years working in the tech industry, both as an entrepreneur and as an investor. If you work in Silicon Valley, you might not know Sadie Hayes. But she knows you.
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Next Big Thing
By Sadie HayesSt. Martin's Press
Copyright © 2013 Sadie Hayes
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-250-03568-4All rights reserved.
1
All Hands on Pitch Deck
Adam Dory felt the impending doom of his own suffocation as the walls closed in on each other and the air left the room. He could feel T.J. and Amelia on either side, oblivious to what was happening to them. The two just sat there, trapping him as if they enjoyed watching his potential slowly peter out.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat this: I don’t believe in your team.”
Adam concentrated his eyes on the venture capitalist, Ross Brown, who sat at the table before which the three Doreye cofounders stood, delivering this news.
He wished T.J. and Amelia would go away. Especially Amelia. People didn’t treat her like a prima donna because she wasn’t girly, but she had lately become the worst kind of high maintenance. Worse than any of the sorority girls Adam knew. She took every opportunity to blabber on about Internet freedom, and insisted they not charge users for any of Doreye’s services. She acted like her programming was the only thing in this company that mattered, despite seeing how hard Adam—whose job it was to make money—worked.
“Your product is one of the best I’ve ever seen. The design is flawless, the user experience unmatched. And your business model is really provocative,” Ross Brown went on, referring to the PowerPoint presentation Adam had just delivered, a fifty-page deck of slides articulating the business plan he’d slaved over for the past three weeks in preparation for this meeting. It was because of Adam’s hard work that they were now asking Pingree Kort Collins, one of the world’s most prestigious venture capital firms, for a ten-million-dollar investment. That they were sitting across from Ross Brown, the firm’s most prolific partner, was a testament to their success.
“Unfortunately, plans and products aren’t the only pieces of a company: The team is critical, and I’m concerned about you three.”
“Do you mind if I ask why?” T.J. piped up, his voice shaking in an effort to control his frustration. Adam clenched his jaw. He knew T.J. was going to try to blame this on him, and it made him furious. If the team wasn’t doing well, it was because T.J. was too busy working out and schmoozing with investors to do any actual work. What did he care? Unlike Adam, who had no money and two-and-a-half more years of college to get through, T.J. had graduated and was already rich. For him, Doreye was just another toy, like his BMW, to show off to girls.
Ross Brown lifted his eyebrows and tilted his head, studying T.J. as if to discern whether he really wanted to know. The two junior partners at the table smiled surreptitiously at their boss, like hyenas eager to witness a mauling.
He undid the buttons at his wrists and rolled up the sleeves of his crisp white shirt, showing off his tanned and muscular forearms.
“For starters, none of you has any experience.” T.J. started to protest, but Ross cut him off. “And no, T.J., watching your father invest in start-ups does not count. In addition, you’ve got competing male egos in T.J. and Adam and competing sibling egos in Adam and Amelia.” Ross paused. “Which might lead you to believe Adam is the problem, were it not for the fact that eliminating Adam would leave just T.J. and Amelia, who would never get any actual work done since T.J.’s too distracted by girls and Amelia would rather write code than make money.”
The hyenas smiled, their eyes darting across the three victims before them.
Adam looked at T.J., whose face was red, either from blushing or with rage. “So what do you suggest we do?” T.J. asked firmly.
Ross Brown shrugged and sat back in his chair. “For starters, define your roles.”
“What do you mean?”
“None of you has a title. If you want to make this work, you need to be very clear. Who is responsible for what? Amelia should obviously be chief technology officer, responsible purely for the product and its development. Take her out of the business side of things entirely. She gets no say in how you make money.”
Adam watched his sister drop her head as she toyed with the zipper on her hoodie. Finally, Ross was saying something that made sense.
“T.J. should be CEO, obviously, given his connections, his age and experience, and his ability to talk confidently when presenting.”
Adam’s jaw fell open. T.J.? CEO? Adam should be CEO. He’d just delivered a twenty-minute speech about Doreye; was he not “talking confidently when presenting”?
“What am I then?” he heard himself blurt.
Ross smiled, pleased with himself for predicting exactly how Adam would react. “You’re chief operating officer, in charge of execution.”
“Execution?”
“Yes. You’re the only one hungry enough to make this thing work. Amelia builds the product and T.J. is out talking about it. You make sure the company functions and that the right people are in the right positions.”
“I’m human resources? HR?” Adam choked. Was Ross Brown seriously suggesting that Adam’s value was hiring and firing people and making sure they remembered to submit their expenses on time?
“COO may not be the most glamorous role, but it’s critical. And human resources is the most critical of all. If you’d been listening to me three minutes ago you might have noticed that the whole reason I’m passing on this investment is because I don’t believe in your team.” Ross’s voice was irritated. “That’s your human resources,” he said sardonically, glaring at Adam for a moment before standing up from the table, the hyenas following his lead. Adam felt his face flush.
“On that note, I’ve got another meeting. Keep me informed of progress. If you’re able to address some of the issues we’ve talked about, I’d be happy to give Doreye another look. As I said, it’s one of the most promising products I’ve seen in quite some time, but you’ve got a lot of work to do.”
* * *
Ross and the hyenas let the door of the conference room fall shut behind them. The tension in the room was thick, and Amelia could feel her heart pounding, afraid to look up at T.J. or her brother. Things hadn’t been very organized since they’d gotten back from Maui—Amelia would sometimes go days without seeing either of them—but she was embarrassed to know outsiders like Ross were talking about it.
“I think he’s right,” T.J. said, finally breaking the silence.
“Of course you do,” Adam jumped in angrily. “You want to be in charge.”
“Someone needs to be,” T.J. snapped. “And clearly neither of you is capable of it.”
“I’m sorry?”
“Amelia doesn’t even want us to make money, and you’re too afraid of her to insist we do.” T.J. was talking only to Adam, as if she weren’t even there. She looked up defensively.
“I—” she tried to interject softly.
“What?” T.J. turned to her, irritated. “You don’t.”
“I just think—” Amelia’s desire to keep Doreye free for users and open-source for developers had been a hot...
All Hands on Pitch Deck
Adam Dory felt the impending doom of his own suffocation as the walls closed in on each other and the air left the room. He could feel T.J. and Amelia on either side, oblivious to what was happening to them. The two just sat there, trapping him as if they enjoyed watching his potential slowly peter out.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat this: I don’t believe in your team.”
Adam concentrated his eyes on the venture capitalist, Ross Brown, who sat at the table before which the three Doreye cofounders stood, delivering this news.
He wished T.J. and Amelia would go away. Especially Amelia. People didn’t treat her like a prima donna because she wasn’t girly, but she had lately become the worst kind of high maintenance. Worse than any of the sorority girls Adam knew. She took every opportunity to blabber on about Internet freedom, and insisted they not charge users for any of Doreye’s services. She acted like her programming was the only thing in this company that mattered, despite seeing how hard Adam—whose job it was to make money—worked.
“Your product is one of the best I’ve ever seen. The design is flawless, the user experience unmatched. And your business model is really provocative,” Ross Brown went on, referring to the PowerPoint presentation Adam had just delivered, a fifty-page deck of slides articulating the business plan he’d slaved over for the past three weeks in preparation for this meeting. It was because of Adam’s hard work that they were now asking Pingree Kort Collins, one of the world’s most prestigious venture capital firms, for a ten-million-dollar investment. That they were sitting across from Ross Brown, the firm’s most prolific partner, was a testament to their success.
“Unfortunately, plans and products aren’t the only pieces of a company: The team is critical, and I’m concerned about you three.”
“Do you mind if I ask why?” T.J. piped up, his voice shaking in an effort to control his frustration. Adam clenched his jaw. He knew T.J. was going to try to blame this on him, and it made him furious. If the team wasn’t doing well, it was because T.J. was too busy working out and schmoozing with investors to do any actual work. What did he care? Unlike Adam, who had no money and two-and-a-half more years of college to get through, T.J. had graduated and was already rich. For him, Doreye was just another toy, like his BMW, to show off to girls.
Ross Brown lifted his eyebrows and tilted his head, studying T.J. as if to discern whether he really wanted to know. The two junior partners at the table smiled surreptitiously at their boss, like hyenas eager to witness a mauling.
He undid the buttons at his wrists and rolled up the sleeves of his crisp white shirt, showing off his tanned and muscular forearms.
“For starters, none of you has any experience.” T.J. started to protest, but Ross cut him off. “And no, T.J., watching your father invest in start-ups does not count. In addition, you’ve got competing male egos in T.J. and Adam and competing sibling egos in Adam and Amelia.” Ross paused. “Which might lead you to believe Adam is the problem, were it not for the fact that eliminating Adam would leave just T.J. and Amelia, who would never get any actual work done since T.J.’s too distracted by girls and Amelia would rather write code than make money.”
The hyenas smiled, their eyes darting across the three victims before them.
Adam looked at T.J., whose face was red, either from blushing or with rage. “So what do you suggest we do?” T.J. asked firmly.
Ross Brown shrugged and sat back in his chair. “For starters, define your roles.”
“What do you mean?”
“None of you has a title. If you want to make this work, you need to be very clear. Who is responsible for what? Amelia should obviously be chief technology officer, responsible purely for the product and its development. Take her out of the business side of things entirely. She gets no say in how you make money.”
Adam watched his sister drop her head as she toyed with the zipper on her hoodie. Finally, Ross was saying something that made sense.
“T.J. should be CEO, obviously, given his connections, his age and experience, and his ability to talk confidently when presenting.”
Adam’s jaw fell open. T.J.? CEO? Adam should be CEO. He’d just delivered a twenty-minute speech about Doreye; was he not “talking confidently when presenting”?
“What am I then?” he heard himself blurt.
Ross smiled, pleased with himself for predicting exactly how Adam would react. “You’re chief operating officer, in charge of execution.”
“Execution?”
“Yes. You’re the only one hungry enough to make this thing work. Amelia builds the product and T.J. is out talking about it. You make sure the company functions and that the right people are in the right positions.”
“I’m human resources? HR?” Adam choked. Was Ross Brown seriously suggesting that Adam’s value was hiring and firing people and making sure they remembered to submit their expenses on time?
“COO may not be the most glamorous role, but it’s critical. And human resources is the most critical of all. If you’d been listening to me three minutes ago you might have noticed that the whole reason I’m passing on this investment is because I don’t believe in your team.” Ross’s voice was irritated. “That’s your human resources,” he said sardonically, glaring at Adam for a moment before standing up from the table, the hyenas following his lead. Adam felt his face flush.
“On that note, I’ve got another meeting. Keep me informed of progress. If you’re able to address some of the issues we’ve talked about, I’d be happy to give Doreye another look. As I said, it’s one of the most promising products I’ve seen in quite some time, but you’ve got a lot of work to do.”
* * *
Ross and the hyenas let the door of the conference room fall shut behind them. The tension in the room was thick, and Amelia could feel her heart pounding, afraid to look up at T.J. or her brother. Things hadn’t been very organized since they’d gotten back from Maui—Amelia would sometimes go days without seeing either of them—but she was embarrassed to know outsiders like Ross were talking about it.
“I think he’s right,” T.J. said, finally breaking the silence.
“Of course you do,” Adam jumped in angrily. “You want to be in charge.”
“Someone needs to be,” T.J. snapped. “And clearly neither of you is capable of it.”
“I’m sorry?”
“Amelia doesn’t even want us to make money, and you’re too afraid of her to insist we do.” T.J. was talking only to Adam, as if she weren’t even there. She looked up defensively.
“I—” she tried to interject softly.
“What?” T.J. turned to her, irritated. “You don’t.”
“I just think—” Amelia’s desire to keep Doreye free for users and open-source for developers had been a hot...
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