It was Mandy Hall that originally approached Gayle Pearson with her new business idea. Gayle was well known for her annual gala and was also known to funnel young people through the swim club primarily for the purpose of providing proven, reliable
staffing
for her charity events and other private parties.
Although she hadn't yet graduated from Mountain Vista, Mandy was planning to pursue a degree at State in the fall. She had applied, and been accepted, to several elite schools on both coasts but she had her reasons for wanting to stick closer to home.
Always the entrepreneur, she came up with a creative concept to start a new company to staff elite events with young up and coming talent like herself. Her company would provide a needed pipeline of quality people that could support not only all of Mrs. Pearson's occasions, but also events hosted throughout the year by other influential people in their city.
Mandy knew Mrs. Pearson through her parent's social circles and also from working at the coffee shop. So, one day when she saw her sitting alone, drinking her latte and reading the
Financial Times
, she decided to take a risk and give Mrs. Pearson a quick elevator pitch of her idea.
"Excuse me, Mrs. Pearson, do you have a minute?" Mandy asked softly.
Well if it isn't randy Mandy, Gayle thought to herself, looking up with a smile. She paused a couple of moments, appraising the pretty young woman in front of her. Isn't she adorable, she mused, a slut, but adorable nonetheless.
"Of course Mandy, please have a seat," Gayle said, motioning to her otherwise empty table.
"Thank you Mrs. Pearson," she said, sitting down in one of the empty chairs. "How are you?"
"It's a busy time of the year for me but I'm doing very well. Thank you for asking. So, how about you? I'll bet you're ready to move on from your cheerleader years and spread your wings."
Gayle smiled to herself because she had heard rumors of how Mandy had often spread more than her wings and that she had a particular set of skills that came in handy when it came to pleasing people.
"Yes ma'am, I'm definitely ready for college next fall."
"I'll bet. So, what do you want to be when you grow up young lady?" Gayle asked, teasingly.
"Well, I plan on majoring in international finance and digital marketing at State with the goal of starting my own company one day."
Gayle considered that for a moment. "That's quite ambitious Mandy, what kind of company?"
"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about Mrs. Pearson."
Mandy proceeded to sketch out her idea for a niche company that would specialize in providing the highest quality human capital for special events and take the worry out of this aspect of event planning, allowing her clients to focus on more important things, like fundraising and so on. She detailed her concept for a secure, online exchange and mobile app to allow clients to view the profiles of her associates, see their availability and directly request them for
work
.
With her chin in her hand, Gayle listened carefully to what Mandy was saying, the gears in her head churning as always. If there was one thing she was particularly gifted at, it was in quickly consuming and analyzing information, connecting the dots and seeing the art of the possible. She had a unique ability to see around corners and was generally two steps ahead of everyone else.
After Mandy was finished with her short presentation, she paused to get Mrs. Pearson's reaction.
"Very interesting and compelling Mandy. Tell me about your business model."
"Of course Mrs. Pearson. With my exchange approach, I plan to charge clients a flat retainer fee to have access to the service, list their events and even make requests for particular associates they want."
"Associates will be able to opt in or out, negotiate fees directly and we'll take a percentage of each transaction processed through my e-commerce engine. I haven't decided yet whether to charge associates a fee for the privilege of being part of this elite organization," she added with a smile.
"So, you plan to run all transactions through your company?" Gayle asked.
"Exactly," Mandy answered. "In fact, I've already set up the framework that will be needed."
"And these associates, I assume they will be employees of your company? How do you intend to recruit them?"
"Actually, we'll have very few actual employees in the company...maybe just myself to start. I envision that all the associates will be considered contractors, so in reality, they'll all be self-employed for tax purposes. As for engaging prospective associates, I plan to model my recruiting after the process you've already put into place for your own events," she said confidently.
"And what process might that be?" Gayle responded with a cocked eyebrow.
Looking her directly in the eye, Mandy said, "Mrs. Pearson, it's no big secret how and why you get your people hired at the swim club. And it's uncanny that each and every one of those people all seem to possess the same kind of qualities and virtues," she said, pausing momentarily for effect.
Mandy continued. "I admire your uncompromising and disciplined approach to attracting talent. It was actually you that inspired me to want to start my own company. You know the saying, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...wouldn't you agree Mrs. Pearson?"
Gayle pondered her response for a moment. Very ballsy and very impressive, she thought to herself.
She broke out in a smile. "You'll go far in life young lady," she said, taking a sip of her coffee.
Then Mandy added with a sheepish smile, "Although I must say I feel a bit slighted that I haven't been offered the opportunity to come work with you yet."
Gayle eyed her closely for a moment before speaking.
"As a matter of principle, I never take on the offspring of friends of mine as the work can be, shall we say, a bit unseemly and beneath their station. But I can also see where I may be able to make exceptions to my policy," she added with a wink.
"Now, how may I be of help to you? Are you looking for partners, investment or what?"
"Mrs. Pearson, I'd like to test out my concept for your next gala using your existing pool of interns, as I believe you refer to them. I wouldn't charge any fees, I just want to see if it can work, and I'm pretty sure it will. So, think of yourself as sort of a beta test partner. And if it proves out, we can discuss potential investment if you're interested."
And then she threw in, "And I would also like to work your gala as well."
"Hmm, I'll have to think about it. I'm intrigued by your business idea but as far as working the gala, I have rather rigid requirements for my people and you'd have to be properly evaluated to see if you're a fit."
Mandy stared back at her for a moment. "I'm pretty sure I'll pass your screening process," she asserted in an almost haughty manner.
"I like your boldness, you remind me a lot of myself at your age," Gayle said.
"Okay, the devil's in the detail as they say, so let's plan to meet in my office at the foundation on Wednesday at 1 p.m. to discuss things further."
Mandy nodded and smiled broadly. "Thank you Mrs. Pearson, I look forward to it."
And with that, Mrs. Pearson picked up her newspaper and began pretending to read, signaling their conversation was over for now. Mandy certainly didn't lack for brains or physical appearance, she thought. And Gayle knew that without a doubt she would indeed pass the vetting process with flying colors.
***
She was five minutes early to the meeting and was promptly ushered into Gayle's vast office by Evelyn, her long-time personal assistant, and took a seat at a conference table. A coffee service was brought in and Gayle soon joined her at the table.
With niceties aside, Mrs. Pearson informed Mandy she intended to invest in her new venture but only as a (very) silent partner. It wasn't an offer.