EIGHT
“ HOW’S MCMILLEN TREATING YOU these days?” Paul swung his arms back. Crack! The ball exploded down the lush, manicured fairway at the exclusive Stanford Golf Course.
Chris grabbed his ball. “We have a huge budget for staff, marketing, and technology. McMillen’s got pretty deep pockets, and they love what we’ve done with their digital footprint. You were smart to keep a stake, Paul. LazerShark is going to have a very profitable IPO in the near future. And Jay and I have the best of both worlds, fully funded autonomy.”
James sent his ball torpedoing toward the green and winked at Paul. “I’m not choking today.”
“I should hope not, Callahan. It’s about time you took some lessons to perfect that swing.” Paul picked up his bag and nodded at A.J. Morgan, his lawyer and trusted business partner. “Maybe you should sign up for some.”
A.J. stepped into a sand trap to free his ball. “Fuck off. Let’s take this little rivalry onto the tennis court, and we’ll see who needs a few lessons.”
“Okay, guys, you’ve got my attention. What’s your big idea?” Paul tapped the ball with his putter, sending it meandering toward the cup. It skirted around the lip and rolled backward. “Dammit!” He pointed the club at Chris. “Don’t mess up my shot, Camden.”
“Jay and I want to expand out of LazerShark, especially since we don’t own controlling interest anymore. We’re heavy into the gaming market, but we’ve uncovered another opportunity.” Chris chipped his ball onto the green so it landed directly in front of Paul’s.
A.J. snickered. “Who needs the help now?”
Paul carefully sidestepped Chris’s ball and sank his putt. “The dream team is finally back in action. Let’s hear it.”
James grabbed a putter from his bag. “There’s a huge market for tracking athlete performance. Biometric sensors are embedded in equipment and clothing, and coaches use the data to help them attack the competition. But there’s a gap nobody’s addressed yet. Taking the sensors a step further to measure external conditions like weather data, ground condition, altitude, air pressure. If we can combine that with player-performance measurements, it would position us to market it to a huge subscriber audience. What do you think?”
“Interesting.”
Chris grinned. “If we can pull together the data and make it available in a user-friendly format, we’ll make a fortune. We could leverage our LazerShark relationships and partner with athletic leagues, arenas, and stadiums. It’s a brand-new, untapped market with huge profit potential.”
“Who builds the sensors?”
“We’d have to find the right engineers to design them according to our specs.”
Paul raised an eyebrow at Chris. “What does your fiancée think?”
“She thinks it has promise. Come on, we want you guys onboard. You always said we needed to focus on the next big thing. Well, here it is. SportSensor.”
A.J. tapped his ball into the cup. “Lots of possibilities. Sounds like a winner, guys.”
“See if you can pull some numbers together, and we’ll regroup. I’ll have Alison schedule a meeting.”
“Great.” Chris pointed to Coupa Café. “Drink time. We’ve done enough work today. Hurry up and sink your putts.”
James rolled his eyes. “Dude, you’re crushing my momentum.”
Paul clapped James on the back. “Trust me, you want to end on a high note. You had one good day. Stick with basketball.”
“Christ, no caddies, no carts.” Chris grumbled as he hoisted the clubs onto his shoulder. “What the hell is up with that?”
“You opposed to a little exercise?”
“No, I’m opposed to getting a hernia before my wedding.”
“Yeah, there’s a condition that doesn’t exactly scream romance.” Paul set his bag down at an empty table on the patio. “What are you guys having?”
“Corona,” Chris grunted. “ Two for me.”
He approached the bar and winked at the pretty, young bartender.
“ HOW’S MCMILLEN TREATING YOU these days?” Paul swung his arms back. Crack! The ball exploded down the lush, manicured fairway at the exclusive Stanford Golf Course.
Chris grabbed his ball. “We have a huge budget for staff, marketing, and technology. McMillen’s got pretty deep pockets, and they love what we’ve done with their digital footprint. You were smart to keep a stake, Paul. LazerShark is going to have a very profitable IPO in the near future. And Jay and I have the best of both worlds, fully funded autonomy.”
James sent his ball torpedoing toward the green and winked at Paul. “I’m not choking today.”
“I should hope not, Callahan. It’s about time you took some lessons to perfect that swing.” Paul picked up his bag and nodded at A.J. Morgan, his lawyer and trusted business partner. “Maybe you should sign up for some.”
A.J. stepped into a sand trap to free his ball. “Fuck off. Let’s take this little rivalry onto the tennis court, and we’ll see who needs a few lessons.”
“Okay, guys, you’ve got my attention. What’s your big idea?” Paul tapped the ball with his putter, sending it meandering toward the cup. It skirted around the lip and rolled backward. “Dammit!” He pointed the club at Chris. “Don’t mess up my shot, Camden.”
“Jay and I want to expand out of LazerShark, especially since we don’t own controlling interest anymore. We’re heavy into the gaming market, but we’ve uncovered another opportunity.” Chris chipped his ball onto the green so it landed directly in front of Paul’s.
A.J. snickered. “Who needs the help now?”
Paul carefully sidestepped Chris’s ball and sank his putt. “The dream team is finally back in action. Let’s hear it.”
James grabbed a putter from his bag. “There’s a huge market for tracking athlete performance. Biometric sensors are embedded in equipment and clothing, and coaches use the data to help them attack the competition. But there’s a gap nobody’s addressed yet. Taking the sensors a step further to measure external conditions like weather data, ground condition, altitude, air pressure. If we can combine that with player-performance measurements, it would position us to market it to a huge subscriber audience. What do you think?”
“Interesting.”
Chris grinned. “If we can pull together the data and make it available in a user-friendly format, we’ll make a fortune. We could leverage our LazerShark relationships and partner with athletic leagues, arenas, and stadiums. It’s a brand-new, untapped market with huge profit potential.”
“Who builds the sensors?”
“We’d have to find the right engineers to design them according to our specs.”
Paul raised an eyebrow at Chris. “What does your fiancée think?”
“She thinks it has promise. Come on, we want you guys onboard. You always said we needed to focus on the next big thing. Well, here it is. SportSensor.”
A.J. tapped his ball into the cup. “Lots of possibilities. Sounds like a winner, guys.”
“See if you can pull some numbers together, and we’ll regroup. I’ll have Alison schedule a meeting.”
“Great.” Chris pointed to Coupa Café. “Drink time. We’ve done enough work today. Hurry up and sink your putts.”
James rolled his eyes. “Dude, you’re crushing my momentum.”
Paul clapped James on the back. “Trust me, you want to end on a high note. You had one good day. Stick with basketball.”
“Christ, no caddies, no carts.” Chris grumbled as he hoisted the clubs onto his shoulder. “What the hell is up with that?”
“You opposed to a little exercise?”
“No, I’m opposed to getting a hernia before my wedding.”
“Yeah, there’s a condition that doesn’t exactly scream romance.” Paul set his bag down at an empty table on the patio. “What are you guys having?”
“Corona,” Chris grunted. “ Two for me.”
He approached the bar and winked at the pretty, young bartender.
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