With the house renovation completed and his parents slowly moving to the island, Craig was able to shift his full focus to his next project: finding a new buyer for SerenadeMe.
It was no easy task. Not only would the board have to approve of the person, but the buyer would also need to outbid Brett. Craig had to be tight-lipped during his search, doing most of his poking and prodding through friends and acquaintances who could be trusted to keep quiet.
The only person who knew what Craig was up to was Barney, and while he supported Craig’s efforts, he wasn’t able to help. He said he felt like he was “one step away” from getting on a boat and floating away. The best he could do was introduce Craig to a few people.
After three weeks, Craig thought he might have something. He flew out to San Francisco and met with one of Barney’s old friends, Phoenix.
The guy was a classic startup workaholic, much like Barney. He’d created an extremely successful image editing software company over the course of a decade. Four years ago, he sold it off, hoping to find happiness in retirement.
“My life has been empty ever since,” he confessed, sitting pool-side at his sprawling mansion. “There’s no hustle in my life. No one counting on me. Nothing matters.”
Craig could empathize. “I think I’d be the same way. Barney can’t wait to leave, but I’m not so sure. I love what we do. Slowing down might be nice, but walking away entirely? I wouldn’t know where to go.”
They spent hours talking about the ups and downs of business, and Phoenix was fascinated with the story of SerenadeMe. As the day progressed, however, the majority of his questions were about Rose.
“I’ll be honest,” Phoenix said. “I like to keep up on what Barney’s doing, and I read that story in the paper. It’s interesting, but…I’m not sure about the matchmaker thing.”
Craig laughed. “Why? Matchmaking is an ancient art. Parents have been doing it for their children for centuries.”
“The goal then was to join their farms, not to find love,” Phoenix countered. “How can this matchmaker work better than your algorithm? It seems too woo-woo for me.”
“You trust a computer to match people, but not a person?”
Phoenix paused, thinking on this, and then said, “Yeah. I do. The computer has data. The person just had experience, and a limited lifetime’s worth at that.”
“She uses the algorithm, but she improves on it. Brings in a human element, makes people face whatever lies they’ve been telling themselves.”
At that point, they’d been talking for over six hours – the span of lunch, after lunch drinks, dinner, and dessert.
Craig didn’t feel the need to hold back. “Rose is incredible. She’s the type of person you dream of when you start a company.”
Phoenix raised an eyebrow. “A unicorn?”
That was one way to think of her. “Honestly, yeah. We’re thinking about having her train more matchmakers so we can expand, but I find it hard to believe anyone can be as good as she is.”
“Then it’s not scalable.”
He shook his head. “It might not be.”
The twinkling lights flickered above the pool and reflected in Phoenix’s eyes. “I love a challenge.”
“Not a challenge.” He laughed. “It really might be impossible to replicate her. She’s amazing. Rose is…she’s everything.”
Craig stopped and cleared his throat. Perhaps he’d said too much.
Luckily, Phoenix didn’t seem to notice. He was on a high. “I don’t know if I buy her schtick yet, but I’m excited, and that’s something I haven’t felt in months. Years, maybe. It sounds like a great place to be. I’m going to meet with my accountant and talk numbers. I want in.”
“Yeah?” Craig couldn’t stop smiling. “That would be incredible. I think I’d actually be happy selling to you.”
A laugh burst from Phoenix and he shook his head. “You’re terribly straightforward, do you know that?”
He shrugged. Once he might’ve agreed, but now, with all the hidden thoughts he had about Rose… “Yeah, you could say that.”
On his flight back home, Craig got a message from Phoenix. “You know,” he wrote, “you could stay on as COO. I think we’d work well together.”
That sealed it. Phoenix was the perfect fit. He didn’tneeda job or a company; he was coming to SerenadeMe because of a genuine interest. Best of all, he wasn’t a creep.
There was still a lot of work to be done; in Craig’s case, convincing the board that this was the right move. His flight got him back in time for a board meeting the next morning, but as giddy as he was, he couldn’t bring anything up about Phoenix yet.
