The Heart of the Working People Part 3 ~ by Shlomo Klein

Try Listening!

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to facilitate a meeting between an inventor, his partner, and venture capitalists.

The meeting came about when I was at lunch at a neighbor’s house during a previous weekend and reacquainted myself with an old friend. Although we both grew up in Brooklyn, and he now lives near me in Long Island, our paths have not had the opportunity to cross.

We caught up as to what each other was up to recently. I told him that I was in the middle of editing my Young Adult novel for a December/January publication, and still had my day job of running a company in the beauty industry.

At this, he mentioned that he was the Director of Finance for a private equity firm and that his company was currently looking at another beauty company to invest in, wondering if I was familiar with them.

Responding that I was not, I proposed that his firm might be more interested in looking at my friend’s company that recently patented something for the beauty industry.

Fast forward two weeks later, and we had a meeting yesterday with my friend, his partner, and my neighbor’s company.

Picture this, an inventor with 30 years experience as a hairdresser, his partner, worth $200 million dollars, and the two private equity investors representing a 100 partner investor group that make minimum investments of $50-$100 million in companies. The money in the room was astounding, even more so was the complete disconnect of the three primary individuals that were running the meeting! 

Don’t misunderstand me, each one wants the deal done, but what was so surprising was that people don’t actually listen when the other asks a question. It seemed that everyone had a spiel that they wanted to say, and that was their main focus.

For example:

1) The inventor had a video showing the benefit of his product over the competition. He showed the video, everyone got it, and yet he said, “Let’s watch it again!” His partner and I both secretly motioned to him, not to do so. I get it, he’s proud of his invention, it’s his baby! He wants to share that with the world, but don’t waste time in a meeting of this nature.

2) The equity people asked, “how come no one else in the world has come up with this?”

        The investor answered (I kid you not), “if you took all the brains of my competition, and crushed them into a little ball, it wouldn’t come near the size of my brain!”

        Really? Bro! No one is denying that you have an incredible product. These investors wouldn’t have taken time for the meeting otherwise! But Business 101 says, don’t put down the competition.          It’s tacky.

3) The equity guys asked, “for the amount of money that you’re asking for, what are you giving us in return?”

        The inventor answered that he was putting up the patents as collateral.

        They then responded that it wasn’t enough, because there weren’t sales to justify the investment they were being asked to make.

        The investor responded with a long-winded soliloquy about I’m not sure exactly what.

       Now I was sitting there, knowing full well that the company already had sales and confirmed purchase orders, in six months, of over two million dollars!

       No one said it?! Why the heck not? I didn’t feel that I had the right to speak up, because I hadn’t seen the actual financials, and I didn’t represent the inventor, I was only the matchmaker.

4) The equity people didn’t think they could make the type of investment being asked, in return for only the patent rights. I was told by the inventor, the day before , that he would be offering an equity stake for the investment. During the meeting, neither the inventor, nor his partner said that they were offering equity. 

WHAT?!

Eventually, they did say that they would offer equity, but why did it take so long to answer their direct question? This wasn’t a negotiation to get an investment in return for an equity stake, the basic deal had already been laid out.

In the end, the product was so revolutionary, and the market so proven, that the deal will most probably go through, in spite of everyone’s not listening to what the others were saying.

This is an incredible life lesson that I learned. No matter if it’s a conversation between two people, or a multi-million dollar deal, people innately are more interested in hearing the sounds of their own voice, than listening to the other person. I can only hope that I spend more time in the future listening, than talking.

Shlomo Klein is a screenwriter, movie and TV/streaming series

Shlomo Klein

reviewer, and businessman who lives in Long Island, New York. His movie scripts include: John Ericsson’s Monitor – A historical re-telling of the events leading up to, and including, the battle of the Civil War Ironclad’s and Men of Midway - The story behind the Battle of Midway, the greatest naval battle in US history. The fight against the Japanese that turned the tide of war in the Pacific, and the men responsible for it. He is a lover of naval war ships and was originally inspired as a child by many visits to the USS Enterprise.

To connect with Shlomo, click the link below.

TWITTER

A Personal Writing How-To ~ by Author Emily Gallo

photo courtesy of pexels

There is no right way to be a writer. There is no time of day or amount of hours appropriate for everyone. There is no location or type of venue that gets the creative juices flowing for everyone. There is no rule of thumb about how to design a plot that works for everyone. 

There is no way to make an outline with any specific number of plot points that works for everyone. There is no guide to developing characters that must be followed by everyone. There are many books and articles on how to write, but what excites one person as the best book on writing, is not necessarily everyone’s favorite. 

Just as they say that everyone must find their own voice or style, everyone must also find their own comfortable approach to the writing process. And it may be after trial and error, or by accident, that it is stumbled upon. Here’s mine . . . for what it’s worth.

photo courtesy of pexels

I can write any time of day. But I don’t. I write in the morning because I like to write in cafes and drink Earl Grey tea while I write; drinking black tea in the afternoon doesn’t appeal to me. I am not an introvert or a lover of solitude. Writing in a café gives me just the right amount of people-time. I can visit with the other café denizens as long and as often as I want and they are always considerate about my desire to stop talking and start writing. 

photo courtesy of Pexels

The buzz of conversation and people watching stimulate my creativity. At my favorite café the tables are just the right height and the chairs are just comfortable enough to keep any possible back issues in check. At home I tend to type on a bed or couch or at a table that isn’t the right height so if I don’t get up every twenty minutes, my piriformis muscle and my sciatic nerve will remind me of their presence. Also, writing in a café gives structure to my day. I have an “office” to go to, or a “job” I must do a couple of hours a day. It’s the motivator. If I don’t show up, the café baristas will know that I didn’t write that day. I wear a Fitbit for the same reason: it’s like someone’s watching so I need to walk my 10,000 steps. 

I started writing screenplays while sitting in the ICU watching my

photo courtesy of Pexels

first husband, the father of my children, as he lay in a coma. I was still teaching elementary school at the time, but it was Christmas Vacation so I had my days free. My first screenplay was somewhat autobiographical. I had unfortunately spent similar time in hospitals watching both my mother and father die so I followed the old adage: “write what you know.” It was the best therapy I could have ever done. But the screenplay? Not so great. It got me on the road, however, to becoming a writer. 

I wrote two more screenplays and lo and behold, my third one was in development for production. The management company had found funding, the unit producer and director had been chosen, a studio was on board.  And then, in typical Hollywood fashion . . . nothing happened. I found out later how common this was in the entertainment industry. Even famous directors, actors and writers have movies already made and then shelved. At that point I decided to switch to novels where I would have more control. 

photo courtesy of Pexels

Now, after five novels have been published, I am back into getting them produced as films or as a series. A few production companies have expressed interest. So now I am back into screenwriting. Another example of how hard it is to make a plan and stick to it. Better to “go with the flow.” You just never know . . .

As for how I choose my characters, plot and setting, it is another example of how I let things just play out. I listen carefully to everyone’s stories, be they people I know well or people I read about. A kernel of information gets me interested and then the research begins. I have the setting and at least a couple of the characters and an idea of plot when I start. But it is after I start writing that the story and characters develop. 

It is the same way I approach life. One of my favorite quotes came from a podcast about a man who was almost eaten by an alligator. He lived and only ended up losing one arm. When he awoke his doctor said to him, “Okay, that happened. Now you get to choose what happens next.” That has kept me positive, optimistic, and enthusiastic.

My last piece of advice is the one attributed to many experienced

photo courtesy of Pexels

authors: WRITE! There are many appropriate quotes about just doing or persevering. My favorite is attributed sometimes to Michael Jordan and sometimes to Wayne Gretsky 
. . . “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” 

Author and screenwriter, Emily Gallo resides in California with her husband and fur babies. You can reach out to her at the links below.

AMAZON
WEBSITE
TWITTER
INSTAGRAM
FACEBOOK