(Almost) The Board Meeting and Me
A small business must be viewed from many angles, which makes the realm of entrepreneurship daunting. Though the founder of a company should treat his brainchild with the passion that he would a breathing organism, it is customary for outside investors to provide their support with less nurturing emotion (like when yielding crops); further still, a management team must ignore the larger picture in order to efficiently specialize and complete tasks; Oh, and there will be lawyers to make sure nobody has “beef”.
Which is why I ordered chicken throughout the two-day DailyMe board meeting this week. A modern-age Knights of the Round Table in some respects, the reunion marked the most power I’ve ever seen consolidated in our world of personalized media. It was a chance for my employers to flesh out the final product, as well as their launch plans, for all of those that care. The South Florida summit began with a bonding dinner on Monday night, and the final investor flew back out yesterday afternoon. The time within that interval was filled with presentations, demonstrations, commendations, computations, collaborations, and, ultimately, congratulations. No water sports were involved.
In hindsight, the event was very well-received. Everyone got along well, was satisfied with the product, and had no trouble with small-talk. I can verify only the latter observation first-hand, however, because I was just invited to the initial meal. Conversation topics ranged far and wide, with one portion of the group discussing Hillary Clinton’s recent cleavage-shot. Things were so comfortable, in fact, that one investor gave details about his recent wisdom tooth removal (the anesthetic left him knowing the lyrics to every John Fogerty song).
Yes, the kick-off meal was quite fun, but I admit feeling intimidated in the beginning. This was in part because I couldn’t decide where to sit at the table: I had to find a power-broking adult willing to forego the banquet’s networking potential by sitting next to a non-professional teenager. Fortunately, the tablemates did not find me burdensome, and graciously welcomed me into “big boy” conversations throughout the night. Only, like, two people I met asked what toys I was getting for my birthday.
The other concern came later, when I realized that I was in position to order my food before all others. The restaurant must have pre-empted my “how expensive should my food be” question days earlier, though, because every appetizer had the same price.
The real winner at the end of the evening was education, because I learned worlds about DailyMe’s many faces. And after hearing the next day’s meeting went off without a hitch, I say it’s time we launch, already.
Peace, Love, and Personalized Media.
-John the Intern
