It didn't quite work out that way. They never explained why, but it had to have been the three big tech IPOs in a row that made us known. It wasn't like we handled them, either. We just owned pieces of the three hottest offerings in a year. Who were we? Where did we come from? How did we operate?
Both Melissa and John agreed we had to cooperate. If you don't control your story, somebody else, somebody who doesn't have your best interests at heart, will control it. I couldn't fault their logic. I simply reminded everybody that we couldn't speak about non-public deals or divulge confidential information of any sort. Any communications would be by one of the five of us.
The reporter showed up on Wednesday morning a little before ten. Missy had warned us all he was going to be there in the morning, but I didn't give it a lot of thought at the time. When he didn't get there at nine, I figured he would show when he showed, and went into a meeting in my office with Jake Junior and a couple of the tax lawyers and accountants. At ten, John knocked on my door and came in without waiting for a reply. He found us working at my conference table, and we all looked up when he came in. "Quick, guys! It's the boss! Look busy!", I said, and picked up some papers in front of me and shuffled them. We had pulled this stunt on John before, so everybody picked up their papers and rattled them loudly.
John turned to the man behind him and said, "See what I have to put up with? Are you sure you want to interview anybody here?"
There was a pleasant laugh and a tall, slim figure came around from behind John and stepped into the room. "I'll take my chances."
"On your head be it!" He came closer and said, "Carl, this is Geoff Colvin from Fortune Magazine. Behave or I'll tell Marilyn on you."
I dropped the papers on the table and stood up. I came around the table and extended my hand. "Mister Colvin, welcome to the Buckman Group." I turned back to the others. "We'll finish this up later, but you guys have the general idea. Pack it up and get to work. Jake, stick around a bit."
Jake nodded and leaned towards the others to speak quietly. I turned back to Colvin. For some reason he looked familiar, but not completely. Then it hit me. In another thirty years or so he would be one of the senior editors at Fortune and a nationally recognized speaker on business - and bald! "I'll behave. He really will tell Marilyn on me! How can we help you, Mister Colvin."
"Call me Geoff. Who's Marilyn?"
"I'm Carl. Marilyn is my wife, and she is already convinced I'm not ready to play with the other children yet. If John tattles on me, I'm a dead man." Jake came over to my side as the others filed out, and I introduced him. "This is Jake Eisenstein, Jr., our Vice President of Operations. I'm sure you'll want to talk to him about your story. He actually makes things work around here."
"I'm sure I'll be talking to him, but maybe later.", he answered smoothly. He wasn't being palmed off, not yet, anyway.
"And on that cue, I'm going to go and earn my living. Nice meeting you, Mr. Colvin." Jake shook hands and departed, leaving me in my office with the reporter.
I ushered the writer over to the corner of my office, where I had a sofa and a few armchairs set up around a coffee table. When we got our new offices I made sure we had someplace to work (the conference table) and chat, besides just my desk. I could meet people comfortably as needed. I knew enough about Colvin to know he was a very sharp guy, and I didn't need to be antagonistic.
"How was your trip? You managed to find us, I see.", I started.
"Yes, eventually. I was told that your company was in Baltimore, but it's not, is it?", he said.
"Not precisely. We're in Baltimore County, not the City of Baltimore. We're probably forty minutes away from the downtown area."
"So, what made you start a company out here?"
"Very simple. It's where we all live. My entire team is from the northern Baltimore suburbs, including me. I live even further away from the city, so we put the office here as a compromise."
"Baltimore is not what comes to mind when somebody mentions venture capital.", he replied.
I shrugged. "Money is fluid, as are ideas. A hundred years ago you might have been right. Now, the world gets smaller by the day. Communication gets easier and cheaper. How will we be communicating a hundred years from now? We could be anywhere on the planet and communicating instantly without even thinking of distance."
"So you think we'll all be separated in the future, spread out over the planet?"
I shook my head. "Hardly. For one thing, the long term historical trend is for increasing urbanization. By sometime in the early 21st century the majority of humans on this planet will be living in metropolitan areas. We aren't separating, but congregating. Second, there will always be a need to sit down with others over a cup of coffee at a diner and shoot the breeze and toss ideas around. In that regard, we are at a disadvantage here, but it's a very nice place to live."
Colvin was a smart, well-read, and articulate talker, not terribly surprising for a top notch writer. We spent several minutes discussing future trends, and then I asked, "So, Geoff, what brings you to Hereford?"
"Well, you and the Buckman Group. I started writing an article on the face of venture capital and private investing in high tech areas, and for the last few years, you and your company have been popping up. I'm here to find out why.", he answered.
"Well, we'll be happy to talk to you, but you understand that we can't discuss any current or upcoming deals. We've signed confidentiality agreements, that sort of thing. Otherwise, I'll introduce you to the people who really make things happen around here."
"My understanding is that you're the one who makes things happen. It's your name on the door, after all."
Great! I just waved this off and smiled. "No one man can do all that you think I can. I have several partners, and this is a team business." I stood up and said, "Let me show you around."
Colvin got up and I led him out of my office and down the hallway. I pointed at John's closed door, and said, "You've already met John. He's our chairman of the board, and is one of the designated grownups."
"You have more than one?"
"Number two is Jake Eisenstein. He's our Treasurer." Jake's office door was open and directly across from John's. When we looked in, he was looking at us and scratching his head, but he was scratching it with a middle finger. "Jake's not only old, he's grumpy, too!" I continued down the hall and stopped at Missy's door. It was open, but I knocked on the doorframe anyway.
"Hello?", she said, looking up from her computer screen.
I stepped inside, bringing Colvin with me. "Melissa, I'd like you to meet Geoff Colvin, from Fortune. Geoff, this is Melissa Talmadge, our Vice President of Investments. Melissa deals with a lot of the stuff involving Wall Street."
Missy rose up and came around her desk. "Hello. Welcome. I think I talked to either you or your editor once or twice."
"Both, actually. First me, then him."
"Well, you obviously made it. You find us okay?"