When we last left our intrepid entrepreneur he had arrived
in India from Nepal by way of China.
The Big City
Because he had no idea what the sign at the city limits said
(ed. No Solicitors) he was not sure which city he was in but there were
thousands and thousands of people and few snakes.
It didn’t take many sales calls for Allen to realize that
while India did indeed have electricity and curry and Pepto Bismol, it didn’t
have a lot of phone lines.
This was a setback for the sales of home facsimile machines.
Time and Technology marches on
Allen had seen a cell phone before his sojourn in the
Himalayas, but as they were expensive and heavy enough to defend yourself
against grizzly bear attack, he never thought they’d catch on.
Everyone had one
At least everyone in this city and certainly everyone in
this bar.
They were all technology mad.
They would discard their old cellphone
for the latest model, or that was what he would tell the IPS (Indian Police
Service) officer when questioned about his recent acquisition.
Exploring the device he found you could talk, text or txt,
play pointless games and it seemed to have that damned Internet on it.
He also found that online payments had caught on big time.
Specifically, mobile payments.
This development called for extensive research and an hour
later Allen knew he was on to something big.
It seemed that many companies in India were considering a
move away from the current mix of desktop online and mobile payments to mobile
payments only.
Possibly a brilliant move
No longer do you have to stand in line for the cashier, to make an impulse purchase, you can be mediating an international dispute, going to couples therapy or contemplating in the throne room.
If you have a free thumb, you can purchase the object of your heart’s desire. O.A.C.
Sure those who are used to desktops and even (shudder)
catalogs where you get a decent picture and legible text might be reticent, and
so what if the largest group with the most disposable income (or at least
savings) with potentially fading sight…
Allen had read enough. He would target service the mobile
market.
He reasoned that younger people did not have the experience of their elders.
The lack of a product was not the problem.
The problem was
how to get the product in front of the largest number of marks customers at the
cheapest cost.
This was also the question on the minds of a group that Fate
was toying with.
The start-up woman’s clothing designers became convinced
that Allen’s entrepreneurial prowess and Mobile Application Development skills
could translate their Plus size clothing line to a plus size bank balance.
Later they were to agree that they should not hold their board meetings in a bar. At least not one that was home to Allen.
Not one to say no to an opportunity, or temptation for that
matter, Allen had one job in front of him; Find out what Mobile Application
Development was.
That and how to make a compelling presentation. Compelling enough to get a cheque.
That and how to make a compelling presentation. Compelling enough to get a cheque.
They agreed to reconvene in the same location during a
popular local time. Happy hour.
He then applied himself to understanding Mobile Application
Development, or MAD for short, and 30 minutes later he was talking a local
artist into drawing his ideas out on Bristol board for future consideration in
his newly formed company.
Presentation day dawned and quite a bit later than dawn, the
designers, Allen and his artist were situated around the boardroom table. The
waitress took their orders and commerce was commenced.
With the artist holding up the presentation and Allen pointing out the main selling points with an umbrella from one of the drinks, things were going well until one of the up-starts from the start-up asked why he was not using PowerPoint.
Viewing questions as an opportunity, he took the opportunity
to excuse himself and get another round. On the tab.
After several rounds of negotiations, Allen felt more sure
of a sale ‘tho less sure of his ability to read the room, and he decided to
offer the ladies some sage business advice.
He suggested that the group abandon their hopes for a mobile application in favour of a website aimed at desktop users ‘cause “Those little mobiles can’t accommodate your product even in landscape mode”.
From there, talks headed south and so did Allen, leaving the
group with the bar tab and the artist.
Watch for further adventures of our budding billionaire as
records are released.
All products trademark of their respective companies.
All products trademark of their respective companies.
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