He nodded. "Yes, but I didn't know you were actually so far from Baltimore."
I commented, "He got the county mixed up with the city."
Missy smiled and gave a small shrug. "They're not precisely the same thing. You drive down?"
"I flew, actually, but I wonder if that was such a good idea. We must be an hour from the airport."
She nodded. "If I need to go to New York, I usually take the Metroliner from Penn Station, and then take a cab or limo in Manhattan. You don't have to come in from JFK that way." I nodded in agreement with that. In another life, I had frequently taken the trains from Albany to New York, and then from New York to Baltimore. I thought it beat the bus or flying all to hell.
"I'll keep that in mind.", replied Colvin. "What made you guys decide to operate way out here? I'd think downtown Baltimore would be the business district."
"Yes, to a certain extent it is, although a lot of stuff has moved out of the city. It's just that, well, we're all from the Towson and Timonium area, and we didn't want to work in the city. When we set up things, Carl was building his house out in the sticks, so we compromised and came here. Office rents are a lot lower, too." She looked at me, and asked, "Have you introduced him to everyone?"
"Yes, though Jake Senior was just in passing."
"Why don't we all get together over lunch? We can run down to the Wagon Wheel.", she said.
I glanced at Colvin, who nodded. "Fine by me. Let the others know. I don't think anybody has anything else planned today."
She shook her head. "Nothing much this week, but next week is jammed, remember. I have to spend a few days in the city, and you and Jake Junior are flying out to the west coast."
"Dig us up at lunchtime, and we can go over." I led Colvin back to my office and we sat down. "Okay, shoot!", I said, starting the interview.
Until lunch, Colvin asked me a variety of questions about the three deals we had done with the three tech firms. He also wanted to know why I was going to the west coast. That question I deflected, since it was to meet with a few outfits we were not public with yet. He took that rejection with good grace.
A little after noon, Melissa stuck her head in the door and announced they were heading over to the nearby restaurant for lunch, so I stood and we followed. I drove Geoff over with me, and they followed in Melissa's mom bomb minivan. The Wagon Wheel is actually over towards Parkton, but is a decent local restaurant. Lots of comfort food, and the pies are first rate.
Over lunch we were all quizzed about how we had all first gotten together and what our backgrounds and histories were. Then, after lunch, I dumped him on John, and let him make the rounds with everybody. The next day was more of the same, only a photographer showed up, and took individual photos of us, as well as a group portrait or two. The only disquieting note came on Wednesday afternoon, when Colvin asked if he could meet Marilyn. I hesitated at that, and he pushed a bit. "You know, meet the wife and your children, get a little background, that sort of thing."
It had been a few years, but the thought of my children in the public eye again made my blood run cold. I answered slowly, but precisely. "I realize that to a certain extent I am newsworthy, and by extension, my wife is also, but my children are not. They are minors, and my understanding of the law is that they may not be photographed or mentioned by name without my express consent, and that consent will not be made. I do not wish to cause you trouble, but this is nonnegotiable. Is that clear, or do I need to bring one of my lawyers in?"
"Understood, sir."
I nodded in appreciation. "Thank you, but I have my reasons."
The issue came out a month later. I know this because Melissa came into the office after lunch carrying a half dozen copies. She came into my office with a big shit-eating grin on her face. "Carl, can I get your autograph?" She dropped one on my desk, and I just stared!
I figured we might have been part of a blurb, or maybe a boxed paragraph besides the article on private equity groups. Instead my picture was on the cover, sitting on the edge of my desk, one foot on the floor and the other dangling, a smile on my face, wearing a good gray suit. The cover article was titled, 'The New Face Of Venture Capital'. "Oh, Holy Christ!", I exclaimed.
"You're famous, boss!"
"You're fired! This is all your fault! Yours and John's. Go tell him he's fired too! You're all fired!"
Missy laughed at this and left a copy on my desk. You could hear the uproar throughout the place as people began reading the story.
I couldn't help it. It was like watching a car crash in a race. You know you shouldn't be watching it, but you can't tear your eyes away. I knew I had work to do, but I had to read it anyway. I got up and closed the door to my office.
One of the first things Carl Buckman said to me after I introduced myself was, "I can't imagine why anybody would want to read about me. I have got to be the most boring guy on the planet!"
Not hardly.
I rolled my eyes at that. I remembered saying it, and it looked like it was coming back to haunt me. What else had I blathered on about?
Buckman, 30, is the President and CEO of the Buckman Group, a virtually unknown private equity and capital firm. Unknown, that is, until they were discovered to be the venture capitalists behind three of the biggest and hottest tech IPOs of the past decade. Now they hold ownership positions and board seats on three of the fastest growing companies in Silicon Valley - Microsoft, Adobe, and Autodesk - and they are just getting started.
The company is the creation of Carl Buckman, one of the most intriguing Renaissance men to be seen in recent years. In an industry filled with accountants and lawyers, he is neither. His own story is even more interesting than that of his company. A combination of triumph and tragedy, he is one of the most unique individuals to shake up Wall Street in recent history.
I debated crossing things out with a black Magic Marker, but realized I would do better with a paint brush. I wondered if the fire sprinklers would go off if I burned the thing. I kept reading.
Physically, Buckman is just under six foot tall, with a tough and wiry build. His nose was obviously broken and never rebuilt properly. He is extremely fit; he spends an hour every morning exercising and lifting weights. His voice is a gravelly baritone, and he speaks with a distinct southern accent. He is normally courteous and well spoken, but that can change. When I asked if I could meet his wife and family, for background purposes, the temperature of the room dropped precipitously, and I was told in no uncertain terms that his children were off limits. "Or else!" Buckman is extraordinarily protective of his family. He has good reason to be. More on that later. [Editor's Note: Fortune does not publish photographs or names of minor children without a parent's permission.]
Wait until Marilyn reads this shit! I was never going to hear the end of it!
The article seemed to alternate between segments about my personal life and discussions of what the company was doing. It was very obvious that Mr. Colvin had done his research. He had quotes from both Bill Gates and John Warnock of Adobe about what I had brought to the table besides money. A typical paragraph was:
When asked by Gates why Microsoft should accept an investment from a relatively unknown company, Buckman boldly replied, 'Because of me. Everyone else you'll ever deal with will be either a lawyer or accountant. I'm the only guy you'll ever deal with who can actually understand what you do.' Then, at the closing of the deal, after signing the paperwork, Buckman gave Gates the code, free of charge, to create a DOS menu system, the highly popular Batch Menu Builder system, which he had written in his own spare time. The program was embedded, virtually unchanged, in DOS 2 and all subsequent versions. The system, which allows average users to create DOS menu systems, was considered internally at Microsoft to be almost as valuable as the money Buckman invested.