Everyone else is floating in, and Delia looks distinctly uncomfortable—he’s still shaking her hand, and she’s clearly trying to politely pull her hand back, but he’s oblivious. Nerves and excitement have clearly gotten the better of him.
To the rescue.
I leave my chair and grab him around the shoulders with chummy familiarity, giving him a rough, playful shake. “Down boy,” I say with a laugh. “It’s all good. Now, I think we’re all here, so you can get started whenever you’re ready.”
Delia gives me a wide-eyed look of amused amazement, and then a wincing grimace. I just wink at her, and then while I’m up pour myself a cup of coffee…and one for Delia. Black, with a touch of creamer, how I’ve noticed she likes it.
Back in my seat, I ignore the way Delia is staring into her coffee as if trying to understand how it got there. As if me doing something nice for her is some kind of apocalyptic miracle.
Marcus has his laptop connected, has his presentation cued up, papers and notes shuffled and straightened. “All right. Here we go.”
Once he’s started and talking about his product and vision, he’s smooth and professional. He starts small, goes over their line of minor products, detailing their specs and how many different places have orders for them and sharing rave reviews, and then he pauses to dig a clear plastic divided organizer from his bag, in which is a sampling of the smaller pieces, so everyone at the table can get a feel for the actual product.
“And now, for the product I’m sure you’re all eager to hear about—our framing sections.” He changes the slide, and it’s a video. “Rather than tell you about them, we put together this short video toshowyou what we can do.”
It’s a slickly produced piece of marketing, showing the production of the framing sections from start to finish, and then there’s a time-lapse of a house being built, using Tree-Free products exclusively.
When the video ends, he holds out his hands in ata-dagesture. “As you can see, you can use our framing sections in conjunction with traditional lumber and all that. But obviously, our goal is to provide a whole line of products, from framing and roofing trusses and shingles to subflooring, flooring, wiring, plumbing, lighting…everything. If you use it to put up a building, we have plans for it. Including basic two-by lumber, which will cut more easily and with less mess than wood, for a fraction of the price and a fraction of a fraction of the total impact on our planet.”
I look around, and I can tell everyone is at least intrigued, and some are visibly impressed.
Delia is harder to read. “These are built to match the standard pre-built framing sections you can buy from anywhere else?”
Marcus nods. “Absolutely. Exactly the same dimensions in every way. They’re interchangeable.”
“And you claim that they’re stronger?”
“I’m not just claiming—it’s proven fact. Wait—here, I brought documentation…” He rummages in his folder and comes up with a stapled stack of papers, which he sends around the table to Delia, who flips through it. “Stress tests show our product is demonstrably superior, and not just a little bit, but a lot. You can see the numbers for yourself, there.”
She nods. “I see. And cost?”
Marcus goes into an in-depth discussion of cost breakdown, but I can see on Delia’s face that she’s sold before he gets halfway through. It’s a duh, though. Superior product for less. Easy win.
“And what about your capacity for order fulfillment? Can you provide uninterrupted, reliable delivery, on time, every time? This is a brand-new thing you’re doing, and even putting in a test-size order is a risk for us.”
“Great question, absolutely.” Marcus whips out a calculator and does some fast math. “The honest, no-BS answer is that we are not quite ready to be your comprehensive, sole supplier just yet. We simply don’t have the infrastructure in place—yet. We’re still a young company, still building it all out. But here’s what I’m offering. Order, say, a thousand units. I can fulfill that in a matter of two weeks, and that’s a guarantee. I’ll give you a thousand units for ten percent off what we would normally charge per section. Try them out. See what you think. I’m confident you’ll order more. And once we have cash flow, we’ll start going gangbusters building out our process. I know the numbers you guys are doing, in terms of framing section orders…if you take this chance on us, give us six months, and we can be your sole supplier.”
Delia looks at me, a long, steady, thoughtful glance. Questioning. Is she asking what I think before making her own decision?
I shift in my chair. “Okay, full disclosure here—I own a stake in Tree-Free. But I bought in because I believe in what these guys are doing. And I think it’s on the cutting edge of what will eventually be the standard.” I tap the table. “Responsible tree harvesting is a joke, and you all know it. Sustainable, green, all that? Lip service, and I bet you all know it even more than I do. Trees take years to grow and require acres and acres…yet we can’t seem to stop clear-cutting forests left and right even to save our own air.” I point at Marcus. “This? It’s the answer. What he hasn’t emphasized is that the materials they use to create their products is all recycled. That’s part of the infrastructure he’s talking about—they collect plastics from all over the place, stuff that doesn’t normally get recycled, and they break it down and do some sort of science-y shit to it, to make this polymer. So not only are theynotusing trees, but they’re taking plasticoutof the system and actually recycling it. Now, I’m not, like, some tree-hugging save the whales freakazoid, right? But I do like being alive, and I think at this point, it’s kind of obvious to anyone with half a brain that the shit we’re doing to this planet is killing it, and thus…ourselves. And I feel like this is one small thing our company can do that will make an actual difference.”
Delia eyes me speculatively. Looks around the table, sees the nods. “Okay, I’ll bite. One thousand units.” She spins her pen around her middle finger. “But Marcus, I have to be clear, here—I have no patience for supply breakdowns. Fail to fill our orders, or cause us delays, and I’ll cut the contract so fast you won’t know what hit you.”
“Understood.” He nods, the eager beaver that he is. “Absolutely understandable. That’s why I want to start small, just a thousand units. I can do more, a lot more, but I want to start small and earn your trust.”
Delia slaps the table. “Smart man. Okay, well, if you’re all in agreement, I’ll leave you with Boyd to work out the details. I have another meeting to get to, so I’ll bid everyone goodbye for now.” She pauses at the door. Glances back at me. “Thai…you coming?”
I wasn’t aware of any meeting, but I’ll play along. “Sure thing. See ya, Marcus.” I clap him on the shoulder. “Nice pitch. Now just follow through, buddy.”
He grins at me. “I’m on it—I’m all over it.”
I grab my things and refill my coffee on the way out, put a lid on it, and find Delia waiting at the elevator. “Did I miss a meeting memo?”
She has a folder open, hands it to me. “No, but you are, as you told Marcus, co-executive and my partner. So I have to start including you in big decisions. Like this one.”
It’s a proposal for a development deal. Sixty prime acres just off a major highway, not far from a booming little town. Sixty acres divided into two-acre lots, with an HOA banquet center, a park, gated…and the front elevation proposals are not your average mid-threes spec home. These are upscale, all brick, four thousand square foot minimums.
“This is a major proposal,” I say, flipping through it. “This is big time.”
