Halt and Catch Fire (2014) s03e02 Episode Script
One Way or Another
1 On our network, users can already have a conversation, send mail, share information, connect.
But this promises to be far more.
This is the world's first virtual handshake deal.
- A trade.
- A trade made on your computer that swaps tangible items between users.
You get everything you want without ever leaving your home.
You do everything from your keyboard.
The only person you'll ever see is the mailman.
We're looking for the right partner.
We've currently got 100,000 dedicated users and we're growing, so expansion like this requires another level of funding.
We need to add more bodies to the coding team, - enhance our interface, and purchase - How much? In the back of our prospectus you'll find a detailed breakdown of I saw the number.
I'd just like to hear it said out loud.
$1.
4 million.
Our base is loyal and costs only rise in success.
So our churn rate, page 25, and our burn rate, 26, are practically nonexistent.
In its first year alone, we believe Mutiny Exchange will see upwards of a half a million deals.
Today, we're offering you the opportunity to make the first one.
Told you, Mac.
You were right.
First-rate.
Best I've heard in a while.
Why am I one of the last to hear it? Because we've been assessing the VC landscape I've heard you've been up and down Sand Hill Road with this.
Well, we're new in town.
We're hungry and we want to move fast.
Okay, I get that.
Our portfolio is 27 companies deep as of Q2 '86.
We are in on 3Com and Cisco and shit, Tim, that reminds me, I gotta call Sandy back.
One of your best was Oracle.
IPO'd last month, two million shar, $55 a pop.
Sure did.
Larry made us $55 million.
Are you telling me you could do the same? Well, lend us 1.
4 of that 55 and we'll show you.
We've been burned in the past.
We will throw our hat in the ring only to have our offer shot up and down the Valley.
I don't like games and I don't want to be used as a stalking horse.
If we were to move on this and give you a term sheet, we'd want a no-shop in return.
We wouldn't be here if we weren't ready to do business.
Excuse me, Mr.
MacMillan, sir.
If I can have a moment of your time.
Sir.
3,000 to one.
Those are the odds of getting hit by lightning in your lifetime.
They're also the odds of getting hit by a computer virus.
But in, like, five years, those odds are gonna go way up.
For for viruses, not lightning.
But that's why your work is so critical.
Because people are focused on today and you're already into tomorrow.
- Do you have a name? - Yeah, of course.
It's Ryan.
Ryan Ray.
Ryan, it's 52 degrees in that water.
I'm gonna get into some dry clothes.
I work for Mutiny with Cameron Howe and Gordon Clark.
MacMillan Utility is basically Sonaris virus with lipstick.
And only two KLOCs out of 452 separate it.
And those two KLOCs completely changed the functionality and purpose of the entire program.
It's completely amazing.
And, you know, I pulled it apart in less than a day.
Trying to impress me, Ryan? Uh, yeah, that was sort of the point.
Can I ask you a question? Yeah, sure, anything.
The Bay Area has 13 breaks worth surfing.
How many did you go to before you found me? Honestly? Four.
12 days and the same old song and dance.
He's still working on Mac.
Okay, so then Tim's either full of shit or he's got no juice.
Harpor was our last shot.
We've got a couple more meetings, but they're smaller boutique firms.
If we get denied first-round funding across the board, then it'll be impossible to get that stink off no matter what we do next.
I don't get it.
The idea is great.
The prospectus kicks ass every meeting we've gone into.
14 VC firms and nobody's stepped up, why? Well, these clowns want to make you wait.
They think it gives them some kind of an allure.
But it just takes one of them to ask you to the dance.
God, I love how even the metaphors in this business are sexist.
We can hit them with all the data and all the hard facts we want, but the minute we walk in there, they still see just one thing.
You guys can't take this stuff so personally.
- But this company is us.
- Well, just give it time.
Bos, we haven't heard back from a single investor in weeks.
What do you want me to say? Look, the fact that you two are women I'm sure doesn't help matters.
I think I liked it better when you were lying to us.
These smiling VCs out here love to grin and screw you, don't they? At least in Texas they stab you in the front.
What? Tim Hankel from Harpor Capital.
Tim, hey, have you heard from Mac yet or do I have to keep calling you until you take out a restraining order on me? Ha, I know, I know.
I'm sorry it's taking so long, but it was worth it.
We are a go.
I told you I'd get Mac on board and I'm a man of my word.
He just got back from Aspen, but he's off to LA tomorrow, so he wants something in place before he leaves.
You two free to talk first steps tonight? Yes, let me check my schedule and get back to you.
No, you can do that without the GOTO statements.
And it's always better without spaghetti branching.
Structured programing.
BÃhm-Jacopini style.
BÃhm-Jacopini.
You got it.
Yeah, I'll write it down.
Walking the floor, not really working, wearing a tie.
You looking to become management? What? No, no.
I got another bullshit deposition today.
Going in tomorrow, too.
MacMillan lawsuit? Yep.
That's three already this month.
Is that intimidating? Getting grilled with Joe MacMillan staring at you with those eyes of his? No, he's not there.
It's just me and the lawyers.
More boring than brutal.
You know, they ask you the same stupid questions over and over, hoping you'll slip up.
Give anything if it was to be over so I can collect the damn check already.
That'd be sweet.
Better brush the nacho dust off your tie first.
Okay, gentlemen.
Gentlemen, it's that time of the week again.
I know.
I love it, too.
All right, I need some clarification on your supply needs because, well, there was a bit of confusion last time.
After we made the deal with Hayes for the 2400s, I got on the phone with the fella from Fulfillment and he asked if I wanted those additional RS-232 cables to which I, per your wise instruction, reply, "No, sir, those are not the droids that I'm looking for.
" So after he got done laughing his ass off, he explained that someone must be messing with me.
Well done, boys.
I appreciate it.
Moving on.
All right, I need an update on the graphics extension for the Mutiny Exchange demo y'all are working on and how it will interface with existing neighborhood graphics.
We have the sprite engine mostly working, but we still have a problem with the scan line rendering.
Yeah, we're getting a tile map cache miss, so we're losing synchronization on the palette.
Okay, well, hold it.
So is the thing with the palette connected to the - As I said last time - Hey.
we should be using a blitter on a bitmap so we can do it in software and not freeze out devices that don't have support for hardware sprites.
Okay, slow down.
Slow down.
Are we in agreement here? You're talking about a whole new change of course.
Doesn't matter.
Just scribble down what we say, give it to Cameron, she'll understand what we're talking about and stop wasting our time.
You know, I'm not sure I got all that.
See, sometimes I'm a bit slow.
Need things repeated to me twice.
Why don't you stand up and say that to my face? You want to stand right up and repeat that to my face, son? Hey, Bos.
Bos, you got a sec? Real quick.
Bos.
Hey, listen, look, I know you hate these meetings.
Oh, yeah, compared to a prostate exam, no, I positively love them.
- Look, this is not my forte, Gordon.
- I understand.
The girls got their plates full, but Cameron says, - "Bos, you want to come in" - Okay, okay, let me run them.
Okay? I speak their language, so they can't mess with me and it could be more efficient.
Look, I'm not trying to step on your toes Wake me if there's a problem.
- Gordon.
- Yeah? Um, thanks for having my back.
Yeah, sure.
Listen I know what it's like to be the smartest guy in the room and I also know it's a waste of time trying to prove it.
Let your work speak for itself and be open to the possibility that people that don't understand you, they're not necessarily trying to get in your way.
How can I if no one can see the work? I have ideas.
Real ideas.
They might sound theoretical, but I can make them happen.
I told Cameron and Donna, but they didn't even listen.
They just had Bos pay me to shut up.
What ideas? On the way back to the lodge, Dawkins says, "Let's make snow angels.
" He lies down in the snow, sticks out his arms, and then passes out just drunk as a skunk.
We called him Snow Jesus the rest of the trip.
Okay, glad you had a good ski thing.
Tim said that you wanted to discuss first steps.
- I want to level with you.
- Okay.
I'm sure you heard about AT&T axing Viewtron.
Oh, yeah.
Some folks in town think that is the end of online newspapers, but I have got some insight into what's really going on over at Knight Ridder and I think that just real opportunity is being vacated there.
Which means? Which means I'm gonna go in big on videotex.
It's gonna tie up more of our capital, which also means I don't think I can do 1.
4.
I'm sorry.
- Oh.
- Oh, so it's a pass, then.
No, hold on.
It's not that black and white.
We still want you in the portfolio.
Your concept has just great potential.
And, honestly, the two of you, - really sharp.
- Mm-hmm.
- Oh, thank you, but - Tim, you want to walk them through it? Yeah, okay, so we can't do 1.
4, but what if we aim for a leaner, meaner Mutiny Exchange? - You mean cheaper? - No, smarter.
Doing more with less.
Like, for instance, I think you can make do with half as many new hires as you have laid out in the prospectus.
Yeah, and I think you can skip the server computer upgrades, at least initially.
Less risk, more reward.
It's a surefire way to go.
- Does that sound good? - You know, let's just hold off on the just for a second.
What I'm hearing is that you want to lock us up by investing a fraction of what we're asking.
No, you're misinterpreting what we're saying.
Oracle was the same deal.
Investment grew over time.
It's how things get done out here.
Okay, so then how much money are you offering us? That is a number that we are still trying to figure out.
That's what this was all about, getting the ball rolling, assuming that you are amenable.
Well, we've put a lot of thought into this and there really isn't much fat.
Yeah, you know, there's no fat.
Well, ahem, you two are new to the Valley and I know you want everything that you want right away.
But out here, funding is like doubles tennis.
Mm-hmm.
You got to know who you're partnering with.
- Mm-hmm.
- Can you trust each other? Do you play well together? Is it a good fit? And that's not easy to know after just one meeting or even over dinner.
Yeah, listen, we both know that success in this industry comes down to timing.
We have to be first to market, and without sufficient funding, our ability to do so is seriously compromised.
And then we all lose.
I hear that, but let's just just take a beat, enjoy our meal, see how the evening goes.
And then maybe I will look into cutting you a good-faith check in the morning.
I'm gonna pop out for a call.
Just think it over.
I thought this was a serious meeting.
- We are serious.
- What the hell was that? It was an opportunity for you guys to jump to the front of the line.
Isn't that what you wanted? Wow, okay, my apologies if he misread things.
What could he have possibly misread? We have been nothing but professional.
Are you kidding? You guys call every day for two weeks.
You drop everything the night he calls you to dinner.
And I'm sorry, but nobody wears that shade of lipstick unless they have come to play.
We're going.
No, you know what? I'm going to tell him I want our discs available beyond stores aimed at the computer crowd.
What's the point of making something free if no one can find it? Listen, be creative.
We're after first-time PC users.
We should be in grocery stores, video stores, malls.
We want to be everywhere they are.
I want people sick of seeing us the same way I'm sick of seeing you.
Go.
Cynthia! - Are you Ryan Ray? - Yeah.
Mr.
MacMillan will see you.
Every day this week at 9:00 A.
M.
, I've got a meeting scheduled with Ryan Ray.
How long did this take you? Two hours.
Okay, you're here.
You've gone to a lot of trouble to be here.
You've got three minutes.
Okay, then I'll cut to the chase.
I want to work at MacMillan Utility.
Want is very different than need.
- Okay, I need to work here.
- Why? Because I'm fascinated by antivirus software.
I'm not.
It bores me.
Okay, um, because you set the gold standard and you're looking for your next challenge.
I am, too.
What makes you think you know what I'm looking for? I don't.
Yeah, that was presumptuous.
Only you know that.
What makes you think I know what I'm looking for? Because you're brilliant.
Wait, don't you? I mean, you don't have to answer that.
Why would you? I just Whatever you want to do next, I'm in.
This is a test and that was the wrong answer, right? This is a test and that was the right answer? I don't know what you want me to say.
Whatever you actually came here to say.
I can't imagine that I've heard it yet.
I feel like you're judging me.
It doesn't matter what I say.
Even when you're not talking, you seem disappointed.
You could ask me what color the sky is and I would say blue and somehow I'd be wrong.
You would be.
It's overcast.
You plucked Gordon Clark out of obscurity, right? He was nothing before he met you.
I know him.
I work with him.
So you keep saying.
I'm just as good as he is and a hard worker with initiative.
I learned you surfed, so I woke up at 5:00 in the morning for two weeks straight and cased 11 beaches to find you.
I hacked a security company.
Your security company.
Doesn't any of that prove that Okay, this is gonna sound weird and I feel ridiculous even saying this, but I know that something's coming.
Something big.
Like a train and all I want is to jump on board.
But it's getting faster and faster and I'm terrified that I'm gonna miss it.
That night that night that you spoke at the Castro, I was like, finally, somebody sees the world the way I do.
And I knew right then that this was my ticket on that train.
I don't know what else to tell you, man.
I just want to work with you need to work with you.
On anything.
Please.
Nobody listens to me.
No one takes me seriously.
I don't want to get left behind.
Your three minutes are up.
You look great.
Mrs.
Clark, Miss Howe.
Follow me.
Thank you.
We're just going right down there.
Oh.
- Mm-hmm.
- Thank you.
- Okay.
- Should we sit? - Hello.
- Hi.
- Oh, Diane.
- Donna, hi.
Oh, my God, I feel so stupid.
I had no idea you were the Gould in Amador Gould Gilson.
Small world.
Smaller valley.
But this is great.
Now we don't have to waste time exchanging pleasantries or small talk.
- Except for - Yes, Cameron Howe.
Oh, Diane is a mom at Joanie's school.
Okay.
Oh, wait, the mom of the girl that Joanie beat up? I heard it was more of a draw.
This is Elias Amador.
He'll be joining us.
Hello.
Full disclosure, I haven't had time to read this, but love how you've grown Mutiny and can't wait to hear what you've got.
I can't tell you what a nice change this is, pitching to a familiar face and Elias.
- Shall we just? - Whenever you're ready.
Imagine a place you could go where whatever your passion, whatever you collect or love, it's available to you at the push of a button.
A rare Spider-Man comic, a bootleg Dylan concert, first edition Fitzgerald, even a hard-to-find part for your Apple II.
It's all there.
You don't have to scour the local flea market.
On the chance that they might have it.
- Or hit every garage sale.
- On the chance that they might have it.
Or even leave your home.
Because you're connecting to people across the country - who are all part of - Let me stop you right there.
Everything you're saying sounds terrific, but just to cut to the chase, you're shifting your core business from chat to trade, yes? No, not shifting.
We're expanding.
And it isn't the first time.
We started with games.
We noticed that our users were chatting during games, so we moved into chat and our base jumped exponentially.
And then we noticed that our users were trading during chat, so we go where the user behavior takes us.
It's our business model and it's proven to be highly effective.
Right, just to be clear, though, your expansion is predicated on the idea of swapping goods through a BBS? - Yes.
- Yes, exactly.
Elias, anything you'd like to ask? I'm good.
Thank you.
Okay, thank you for coming in.
Our pleasure.
We'll look forward to But I'm afraid it's a pass.
I'm sor I don't understand.
Don't you want to at least look at the numbers? No, sorry.
Okay, well, thank you for your time.
Thank you.
- Thank you for coming in.
- Yeah.
Unbelievable.
So much for sisters doing it for themselves.
Jesus, they say the next best thing to a yes is a quick no.
You can't get much quicker than that.
Yeah, well, that was too goddamn quick.
It's like she made up her mind when she saw it was me.
No, she didn't.
Mr.
Clark, you created the Sonaris virus that took down WestNet, yes? No, I created a fetch program to detect network size.
Due to an error, it self-propagated.
I had nothing to do with it infecting WestNet.
But it's your contention that the MacMillan antivirus software is a variation of this fetch program? No, no, it's not a variation.
Only two kilo lines of code out of 452 were changed.
I know this because I changed them myself and hand-delivered it to Joe.
Yes, he may have added some bells and whistles since then, but, come on, he's not fooling anyone.
When you say you hand-delivered the program, was that a gift or a transaction? Aren't gifts a type of transaction? You give a gift to a friend.
You have a transaction with a business partner.
Okay, did you just make that up or is that a real thing? Mr.
Clark, at what address did you live on the date of July 30, 1985? Same address that I lived at on February 17, 1985, and January 27, 1985, and May 1, 1985, and every other date that you've asked me about.
Could you please repeat the address? 2824 DePue Drive, Richardson, Texas.
And did Mr.
MacMillan visit you at your residence at 2824 DePue Drive on July 30, 1985? Yes.
And how did he know that you lived at said address? Because he had been there before.
And why had he been there before? Because we were business partners.
And friends? Yeah, and friends.
So, when he visited you on July 30, 1985, at 2824 DePue Drive, was that as a business partner or a friend? I don't know.
You'd have to ask him.
From your perspective.
From my perspective? From my perspective, Joe MacMillan does things for one reason and one reason only and th Hey, excuse me, we are right We had an agreement to keep these depositions private, Mr.
MacMillan.
Please, finish that thought.
Because he's a selfish, self-loathing, self-serving piece of shit.
I'm prepared to offer you 50% of my stake in the company.
Mr.
MacMillan, this is completely It's an even split.
I've got one condition.
I want you to come run it with me.
Mr.
MacMillan, I'd really prefer that you run something like this Aaron, it's fine.
60%.
70%.
Come be my partner and 70% of the company is yours.
Mr.
Clark, my professional advice would be to seriously consider I'd like to state for the record that this is not a legitimate offer.
It's fully legitimate.
I'll sign anything you put in front of me.
Just say the word, Gordon.
I don't want to work with you, Joe.
I think we now know what this lawsuit is really about.
Returning to the date of July 30, 1985, Mr.
Clark, from your perspective, did Joe MacMillan come to your residence at 2824 DePue Drive as a business partner or a friend? I have no idea.
What are we looking for anyway? A mistake.
My parents are up in their bedroom wrapping presents for my birthday party.
Like I don't know exactly what they're doing.
They still think of me as little.
Well, it's 'cause they've never seen you throw back a whiskey and smoke a cigar like I have.
I never did that! You're joking.
I wish I didn't have to have a birthday party.
I don't believe in birthday parties.
You can do that? Yeah, it's your birthday.
You can do whatever you want.
Did you find the mistake? No.
So who's coming to this stupid party your parents are making you throw that you don't really want to have anyway? Okay, let's take it outside, okay? All right, everybody, let's move it on out to the backyard.
Slip'N Slide is out there.
Let's go, let's go.
Everybody out.
Move it.
Get out of here.
Go.
Go.
Joanie, you've got another guest to greet.
Joanie! Oh, thank goodness.
Come on in.
Jennifer knew the name of the street, but not the address.
So we parked, prayed, and followed the screams.
I wasn't expecting you.
Joanie invited Jennifer and seeing as how I am her chauffeur, we're part of a package deal.
Where should I put this? You know what? The girls and the gift table are all out back.
I cannot believe she's here.
I guess Joanie patched things up with Jennifer.
God, I'm telling you, girls at this age, it's crazy.
One day they're mortal enemies, the next day they're best friends.
What? Well, I mean, she's here.
Should we take advantage of it? No, I don't want to face that humiliation again.
Daddy, Daddy! Watch me! Hey, Ryan, you made it.
Yeah.
I can't stay long.
- Not that it's not a nice party.
- Thanks.
I wouldn't know; I've never been to a 10-year-old's birthday party.
Well, not since I was 10.
What do grown-ups do at these things? Oh, well, drink.
Hey, so so listen, we're not supposed to be talking shop today, but I had a few ideas on how to move your chat idea forward.
Oh, yeah? Really? How? Yeah, well, all right, listen.
A few years back, CompuServe had this CB Simulator that I was totally obsessed with.
We could start with that as a rudimentary template.
My idea is way more advanced than CompuServe.
I know, I know.
All we would take from CompuServe is is the shared memory virtual array manager from the CBSIM code.
We make it bigger so we can support more users and the rest we build from scratch.
That would be a time-saver.
Yeah, totally.
Come here.
No one designs in a vacuum.
What's the point in reinventing the wheel if your true innovation is creating the tire? Yeah.
Take the Giant, okay? Say what you will about it, but I started with a IBM PC and made something that was twice as fast at half the cost and portable at 15 pounds.
I thought that was Joe MacMillan.
Joe MacMillan might have pulled the specs out of his ass, but turning them into a working product? No, not really his bag of tricks.
- Hey.
- Hey.
Howdy, Ryan.
Look at this.
- What you got there? - Got it for Joanie.
- Robo Butler.
- That looks ridiculous.
Yeah, well, it ain't your birthday, is it? - What's it do exactly? - Here, look at this.
Lookit here.
Come here, let me show you.
Come on.
Look, all right, here.
Get your beers right there into the metal paws.
Come on.
If you got to put the beers in his hands, why don't you just take them with you? I mean, what's the point of having the robot bring them to you? 'Cause he's a butler, man.
It's what he does.
- All right.
- Now back up.
Back up.
Watch.
Joanie gonna love this.
Hey! Look at him.
Come on there, butler.
Look at me, I'm Robo Butler.
Would you gentlemen care for more beers? Bos, it's so slow.
I mean, look, it's taking forever to get here.
I could've walked over here faster.
I got the receipt.
Don't give that to Joanie, all right.
You're only gonna upset her.
She gonna love it.
Hey, nice to see Joanie and Jennifer getting along.
Just so you know, I get 60 proposals a week.
Most weeks I pass on all 60.
It really had nothing to do with you.
No, I completely understand.
It was a really quick no you gave us in there, though.
All right, let's talk, but not out here.
Are you laughing at my butler, children? Get out of here.
Scram, all of you.
Get out of here.
Dang butler.
Oh, hell.
Oh, for Christ's sake.
I've been combing over our prospectus, replaying our meeting, trying to figure out why Elias's note derailed things.
I've narrowed it down to three possibilities.
A: Elias doesn't believe our user base will embrace Mutiny Exchange as rapidly as our projections, which is wrong.
B: Elias thinks our timeframe from development to beta is overly optimistic, which is also wrong.
C: Elias is a sexist jerk who doesn't believe two women can run a company, which - Okay.
- I'm leaning towards C.
Elias is a sexist jerk, but better than most.
He doesn't care who runs a company as long as it makes him money.
Okay, then I'm at a loss because you're a smart woman and Exchange is a great idea.
I am smart and it is a great idea.
And that's your problem.
You didn't allow for D.
Another company is already doing this.
What? Who? It's a small outfit Elias has been tracking as a potential investment.
SwapMeet.
It's a good name.
I wasn't aware of it.
Otherwise I never would have had you come in.
What do you know about them? Only that they have an 18-month head start.
And at the end of the day, that's what informed our decision.
It made no sense to bet on Mutiny in a battle you weren't just losing, but didn't even know you were fighting.
Hey, wait, guys, do you want to come play? Okay, let's play a game.
Hey, sweetie.
You doing okay? Oh, she's really pulling focus, isn't she? Kind of like it's her birthday party and not yours.
Look, honey, I just want you to know how proud I am of you for inviting Jennifer.
It shows real maturity.
- Okay.
- A birthday's not just a party.
It's marking a passage of time in your life.
You're showing me you're not just a little girl anymore Okay, I heard you.
Growing up and you're proud of me.
- Can we just do the cake now? - No, no.
Come here.
I want to make sure you hear what I'm saying.
Okay, you did a really grown-up thing today and your dad, he couldn't be more proud of you than he is right now.
Stop saying that.
Cameron paid me 20 bucks to invite Jennifer to come.
Okay? I hate Jennifer.
Can we just do the cake now, please? - Everyone's asking for it.
- Yeah, sure.
Let's do the cake.
Okay, I've been on Mutiny asking around, trying to figure out what I could about this SwapMeet.
- And? - From what I can tell, it sounds seriously less robust than what we have in mind for Exchange.
Plus, it's focused on sports memorabilia, so I just can't see it reaching anywhere near the size and scope of our user base.
Hey, sure was weird that Jennifer came to the party, wasn't it? Yeah.
We will not lose to an inferior product.
- I refuse to be Betamax.
- 'Cause I don't remember inviting her.
Oh, no, we didn't.
Joanie did that all on her own.
- Wasn't that mature of her? - Yeah, it was.
It shows a hell of a lot of maturity that she would invite Jennifer.
Which, you know, reminds me.
What? What is this for? For all your help today.
Okay.
Thanks.
Uh, I'll be in my room.
She went out and grabbed some cups for us at the party.
Ryan Ray.
Ryan.
Mr.
MacMillan.
Ryan, I want you to do something for me.
Um, okay.
What? I want you to stand up.
I want you to take a long look around.
I want you to make sure you see every single person in that room.
- Are you doing that? - Uh, yeah.
Good.
Now forget them, because you don't work with those people anymore.
I'll see you tomorrow at my office, 9:00 A.
M.
sharp.
Oh, my God.
I'll be there.
Thank you.
Now, Ryan, there's one more thing I want you to do for me.
- Incredible.
- Look.
It's her.
Turn around.
Isn't this a bit formal for us? We could just meet at Jennifer's birthday party next month.
Oh, no, we'll just be a minute.
I admire persistence, I really do, but we've been over this.
Even if I wanted to, I couldn't convince my partners to fund your expansion.
- I'm sorry.
- No, we understand.
- That's not why we're here.
- No, because you're right.
SwapMeet is our competition.
It'd be foolish for you to invest over a million dollars just to see if we can catch up.
And that's why we've done our homework.
And what we found is that while SwapMeet does have a functional program that it would take us a year or more to compete with, what they don't have is anywhere near the size of our user base.
We don't want you to help us compete with SwapMeet.
We want you to help us buy them.
It's not a million to fight a war, it's a few hundred thousand to win it.
Yes! Yes! Oh, my God, I'm I'm so sorry.
Hey, Ryan.
Great news.
I tracked down that CBSIM code, so we can get started today.
You know, just just you and me.
I'm going to work for Joe MacMillan.
But this promises to be far more.
This is the world's first virtual handshake deal.
- A trade.
- A trade made on your computer that swaps tangible items between users.
You get everything you want without ever leaving your home.
You do everything from your keyboard.
The only person you'll ever see is the mailman.
We're looking for the right partner.
We've currently got 100,000 dedicated users and we're growing, so expansion like this requires another level of funding.
We need to add more bodies to the coding team, - enhance our interface, and purchase - How much? In the back of our prospectus you'll find a detailed breakdown of I saw the number.
I'd just like to hear it said out loud.
$1.
4 million.
Our base is loyal and costs only rise in success.
So our churn rate, page 25, and our burn rate, 26, are practically nonexistent.
In its first year alone, we believe Mutiny Exchange will see upwards of a half a million deals.
Today, we're offering you the opportunity to make the first one.
Told you, Mac.
You were right.
First-rate.
Best I've heard in a while.
Why am I one of the last to hear it? Because we've been assessing the VC landscape I've heard you've been up and down Sand Hill Road with this.
Well, we're new in town.
We're hungry and we want to move fast.
Okay, I get that.
Our portfolio is 27 companies deep as of Q2 '86.
We are in on 3Com and Cisco and shit, Tim, that reminds me, I gotta call Sandy back.
One of your best was Oracle.
IPO'd last month, two million shar, $55 a pop.
Sure did.
Larry made us $55 million.
Are you telling me you could do the same? Well, lend us 1.
4 of that 55 and we'll show you.
We've been burned in the past.
We will throw our hat in the ring only to have our offer shot up and down the Valley.
I don't like games and I don't want to be used as a stalking horse.
If we were to move on this and give you a term sheet, we'd want a no-shop in return.
We wouldn't be here if we weren't ready to do business.
Excuse me, Mr.
MacMillan, sir.
If I can have a moment of your time.
Sir.
3,000 to one.
Those are the odds of getting hit by lightning in your lifetime.
They're also the odds of getting hit by a computer virus.
But in, like, five years, those odds are gonna go way up.
For for viruses, not lightning.
But that's why your work is so critical.
Because people are focused on today and you're already into tomorrow.
- Do you have a name? - Yeah, of course.
It's Ryan.
Ryan Ray.
Ryan, it's 52 degrees in that water.
I'm gonna get into some dry clothes.
I work for Mutiny with Cameron Howe and Gordon Clark.
MacMillan Utility is basically Sonaris virus with lipstick.
And only two KLOCs out of 452 separate it.
And those two KLOCs completely changed the functionality and purpose of the entire program.
It's completely amazing.
And, you know, I pulled it apart in less than a day.
Trying to impress me, Ryan? Uh, yeah, that was sort of the point.
Can I ask you a question? Yeah, sure, anything.
The Bay Area has 13 breaks worth surfing.
How many did you go to before you found me? Honestly? Four.
12 days and the same old song and dance.
He's still working on Mac.
Okay, so then Tim's either full of shit or he's got no juice.
Harpor was our last shot.
We've got a couple more meetings, but they're smaller boutique firms.
If we get denied first-round funding across the board, then it'll be impossible to get that stink off no matter what we do next.
I don't get it.
The idea is great.
The prospectus kicks ass every meeting we've gone into.
14 VC firms and nobody's stepped up, why? Well, these clowns want to make you wait.
They think it gives them some kind of an allure.
But it just takes one of them to ask you to the dance.
God, I love how even the metaphors in this business are sexist.
We can hit them with all the data and all the hard facts we want, but the minute we walk in there, they still see just one thing.
You guys can't take this stuff so personally.
- But this company is us.
- Well, just give it time.
Bos, we haven't heard back from a single investor in weeks.
What do you want me to say? Look, the fact that you two are women I'm sure doesn't help matters.
I think I liked it better when you were lying to us.
These smiling VCs out here love to grin and screw you, don't they? At least in Texas they stab you in the front.
What? Tim Hankel from Harpor Capital.
Tim, hey, have you heard from Mac yet or do I have to keep calling you until you take out a restraining order on me? Ha, I know, I know.
I'm sorry it's taking so long, but it was worth it.
We are a go.
I told you I'd get Mac on board and I'm a man of my word.
He just got back from Aspen, but he's off to LA tomorrow, so he wants something in place before he leaves.
You two free to talk first steps tonight? Yes, let me check my schedule and get back to you.
No, you can do that without the GOTO statements.
And it's always better without spaghetti branching.
Structured programing.
BÃhm-Jacopini style.
BÃhm-Jacopini.
You got it.
Yeah, I'll write it down.
Walking the floor, not really working, wearing a tie.
You looking to become management? What? No, no.
I got another bullshit deposition today.
Going in tomorrow, too.
MacMillan lawsuit? Yep.
That's three already this month.
Is that intimidating? Getting grilled with Joe MacMillan staring at you with those eyes of his? No, he's not there.
It's just me and the lawyers.
More boring than brutal.
You know, they ask you the same stupid questions over and over, hoping you'll slip up.
Give anything if it was to be over so I can collect the damn check already.
That'd be sweet.
Better brush the nacho dust off your tie first.
Okay, gentlemen.
Gentlemen, it's that time of the week again.
I know.
I love it, too.
All right, I need some clarification on your supply needs because, well, there was a bit of confusion last time.
After we made the deal with Hayes for the 2400s, I got on the phone with the fella from Fulfillment and he asked if I wanted those additional RS-232 cables to which I, per your wise instruction, reply, "No, sir, those are not the droids that I'm looking for.
" So after he got done laughing his ass off, he explained that someone must be messing with me.
Well done, boys.
I appreciate it.
Moving on.
All right, I need an update on the graphics extension for the Mutiny Exchange demo y'all are working on and how it will interface with existing neighborhood graphics.
We have the sprite engine mostly working, but we still have a problem with the scan line rendering.
Yeah, we're getting a tile map cache miss, so we're losing synchronization on the palette.
Okay, well, hold it.
So is the thing with the palette connected to the - As I said last time - Hey.
we should be using a blitter on a bitmap so we can do it in software and not freeze out devices that don't have support for hardware sprites.
Okay, slow down.
Slow down.
Are we in agreement here? You're talking about a whole new change of course.
Doesn't matter.
Just scribble down what we say, give it to Cameron, she'll understand what we're talking about and stop wasting our time.
You know, I'm not sure I got all that.
See, sometimes I'm a bit slow.
Need things repeated to me twice.
Why don't you stand up and say that to my face? You want to stand right up and repeat that to my face, son? Hey, Bos.
Bos, you got a sec? Real quick.
Bos.
Hey, listen, look, I know you hate these meetings.
Oh, yeah, compared to a prostate exam, no, I positively love them.
- Look, this is not my forte, Gordon.
- I understand.
The girls got their plates full, but Cameron says, - "Bos, you want to come in" - Okay, okay, let me run them.
Okay? I speak their language, so they can't mess with me and it could be more efficient.
Look, I'm not trying to step on your toes Wake me if there's a problem.
- Gordon.
- Yeah? Um, thanks for having my back.
Yeah, sure.
Listen I know what it's like to be the smartest guy in the room and I also know it's a waste of time trying to prove it.
Let your work speak for itself and be open to the possibility that people that don't understand you, they're not necessarily trying to get in your way.
How can I if no one can see the work? I have ideas.
Real ideas.
They might sound theoretical, but I can make them happen.
I told Cameron and Donna, but they didn't even listen.
They just had Bos pay me to shut up.
What ideas? On the way back to the lodge, Dawkins says, "Let's make snow angels.
" He lies down in the snow, sticks out his arms, and then passes out just drunk as a skunk.
We called him Snow Jesus the rest of the trip.
Okay, glad you had a good ski thing.
Tim said that you wanted to discuss first steps.
- I want to level with you.
- Okay.
I'm sure you heard about AT&T axing Viewtron.
Oh, yeah.
Some folks in town think that is the end of online newspapers, but I have got some insight into what's really going on over at Knight Ridder and I think that just real opportunity is being vacated there.
Which means? Which means I'm gonna go in big on videotex.
It's gonna tie up more of our capital, which also means I don't think I can do 1.
4.
I'm sorry.
- Oh.
- Oh, so it's a pass, then.
No, hold on.
It's not that black and white.
We still want you in the portfolio.
Your concept has just great potential.
And, honestly, the two of you, - really sharp.
- Mm-hmm.
- Oh, thank you, but - Tim, you want to walk them through it? Yeah, okay, so we can't do 1.
4, but what if we aim for a leaner, meaner Mutiny Exchange? - You mean cheaper? - No, smarter.
Doing more with less.
Like, for instance, I think you can make do with half as many new hires as you have laid out in the prospectus.
Yeah, and I think you can skip the server computer upgrades, at least initially.
Less risk, more reward.
It's a surefire way to go.
- Does that sound good? - You know, let's just hold off on the just for a second.
What I'm hearing is that you want to lock us up by investing a fraction of what we're asking.
No, you're misinterpreting what we're saying.
Oracle was the same deal.
Investment grew over time.
It's how things get done out here.
Okay, so then how much money are you offering us? That is a number that we are still trying to figure out.
That's what this was all about, getting the ball rolling, assuming that you are amenable.
Well, we've put a lot of thought into this and there really isn't much fat.
Yeah, you know, there's no fat.
Well, ahem, you two are new to the Valley and I know you want everything that you want right away.
But out here, funding is like doubles tennis.
Mm-hmm.
You got to know who you're partnering with.
- Mm-hmm.
- Can you trust each other? Do you play well together? Is it a good fit? And that's not easy to know after just one meeting or even over dinner.
Yeah, listen, we both know that success in this industry comes down to timing.
We have to be first to market, and without sufficient funding, our ability to do so is seriously compromised.
And then we all lose.
I hear that, but let's just just take a beat, enjoy our meal, see how the evening goes.
And then maybe I will look into cutting you a good-faith check in the morning.
I'm gonna pop out for a call.
Just think it over.
I thought this was a serious meeting.
- We are serious.
- What the hell was that? It was an opportunity for you guys to jump to the front of the line.
Isn't that what you wanted? Wow, okay, my apologies if he misread things.
What could he have possibly misread? We have been nothing but professional.
Are you kidding? You guys call every day for two weeks.
You drop everything the night he calls you to dinner.
And I'm sorry, but nobody wears that shade of lipstick unless they have come to play.
We're going.
No, you know what? I'm going to tell him I want our discs available beyond stores aimed at the computer crowd.
What's the point of making something free if no one can find it? Listen, be creative.
We're after first-time PC users.
We should be in grocery stores, video stores, malls.
We want to be everywhere they are.
I want people sick of seeing us the same way I'm sick of seeing you.
Go.
Cynthia! - Are you Ryan Ray? - Yeah.
Mr.
MacMillan will see you.
Every day this week at 9:00 A.
M.
, I've got a meeting scheduled with Ryan Ray.
How long did this take you? Two hours.
Okay, you're here.
You've gone to a lot of trouble to be here.
You've got three minutes.
Okay, then I'll cut to the chase.
I want to work at MacMillan Utility.
Want is very different than need.
- Okay, I need to work here.
- Why? Because I'm fascinated by antivirus software.
I'm not.
It bores me.
Okay, um, because you set the gold standard and you're looking for your next challenge.
I am, too.
What makes you think you know what I'm looking for? I don't.
Yeah, that was presumptuous.
Only you know that.
What makes you think I know what I'm looking for? Because you're brilliant.
Wait, don't you? I mean, you don't have to answer that.
Why would you? I just Whatever you want to do next, I'm in.
This is a test and that was the wrong answer, right? This is a test and that was the right answer? I don't know what you want me to say.
Whatever you actually came here to say.
I can't imagine that I've heard it yet.
I feel like you're judging me.
It doesn't matter what I say.
Even when you're not talking, you seem disappointed.
You could ask me what color the sky is and I would say blue and somehow I'd be wrong.
You would be.
It's overcast.
You plucked Gordon Clark out of obscurity, right? He was nothing before he met you.
I know him.
I work with him.
So you keep saying.
I'm just as good as he is and a hard worker with initiative.
I learned you surfed, so I woke up at 5:00 in the morning for two weeks straight and cased 11 beaches to find you.
I hacked a security company.
Your security company.
Doesn't any of that prove that Okay, this is gonna sound weird and I feel ridiculous even saying this, but I know that something's coming.
Something big.
Like a train and all I want is to jump on board.
But it's getting faster and faster and I'm terrified that I'm gonna miss it.
That night that night that you spoke at the Castro, I was like, finally, somebody sees the world the way I do.
And I knew right then that this was my ticket on that train.
I don't know what else to tell you, man.
I just want to work with you need to work with you.
On anything.
Please.
Nobody listens to me.
No one takes me seriously.
I don't want to get left behind.
Your three minutes are up.
You look great.
Mrs.
Clark, Miss Howe.
Follow me.
Thank you.
We're just going right down there.
Oh.
- Mm-hmm.
- Thank you.
- Okay.
- Should we sit? - Hello.
- Hi.
- Oh, Diane.
- Donna, hi.
Oh, my God, I feel so stupid.
I had no idea you were the Gould in Amador Gould Gilson.
Small world.
Smaller valley.
But this is great.
Now we don't have to waste time exchanging pleasantries or small talk.
- Except for - Yes, Cameron Howe.
Oh, Diane is a mom at Joanie's school.
Okay.
Oh, wait, the mom of the girl that Joanie beat up? I heard it was more of a draw.
This is Elias Amador.
He'll be joining us.
Hello.
Full disclosure, I haven't had time to read this, but love how you've grown Mutiny and can't wait to hear what you've got.
I can't tell you what a nice change this is, pitching to a familiar face and Elias.
- Shall we just? - Whenever you're ready.
Imagine a place you could go where whatever your passion, whatever you collect or love, it's available to you at the push of a button.
A rare Spider-Man comic, a bootleg Dylan concert, first edition Fitzgerald, even a hard-to-find part for your Apple II.
It's all there.
You don't have to scour the local flea market.
On the chance that they might have it.
- Or hit every garage sale.
- On the chance that they might have it.
Or even leave your home.
Because you're connecting to people across the country - who are all part of - Let me stop you right there.
Everything you're saying sounds terrific, but just to cut to the chase, you're shifting your core business from chat to trade, yes? No, not shifting.
We're expanding.
And it isn't the first time.
We started with games.
We noticed that our users were chatting during games, so we moved into chat and our base jumped exponentially.
And then we noticed that our users were trading during chat, so we go where the user behavior takes us.
It's our business model and it's proven to be highly effective.
Right, just to be clear, though, your expansion is predicated on the idea of swapping goods through a BBS? - Yes.
- Yes, exactly.
Elias, anything you'd like to ask? I'm good.
Thank you.
Okay, thank you for coming in.
Our pleasure.
We'll look forward to But I'm afraid it's a pass.
I'm sor I don't understand.
Don't you want to at least look at the numbers? No, sorry.
Okay, well, thank you for your time.
Thank you.
- Thank you for coming in.
- Yeah.
Unbelievable.
So much for sisters doing it for themselves.
Jesus, they say the next best thing to a yes is a quick no.
You can't get much quicker than that.
Yeah, well, that was too goddamn quick.
It's like she made up her mind when she saw it was me.
No, she didn't.
Mr.
Clark, you created the Sonaris virus that took down WestNet, yes? No, I created a fetch program to detect network size.
Due to an error, it self-propagated.
I had nothing to do with it infecting WestNet.
But it's your contention that the MacMillan antivirus software is a variation of this fetch program? No, no, it's not a variation.
Only two kilo lines of code out of 452 were changed.
I know this because I changed them myself and hand-delivered it to Joe.
Yes, he may have added some bells and whistles since then, but, come on, he's not fooling anyone.
When you say you hand-delivered the program, was that a gift or a transaction? Aren't gifts a type of transaction? You give a gift to a friend.
You have a transaction with a business partner.
Okay, did you just make that up or is that a real thing? Mr.
Clark, at what address did you live on the date of July 30, 1985? Same address that I lived at on February 17, 1985, and January 27, 1985, and May 1, 1985, and every other date that you've asked me about.
Could you please repeat the address? 2824 DePue Drive, Richardson, Texas.
And did Mr.
MacMillan visit you at your residence at 2824 DePue Drive on July 30, 1985? Yes.
And how did he know that you lived at said address? Because he had been there before.
And why had he been there before? Because we were business partners.
And friends? Yeah, and friends.
So, when he visited you on July 30, 1985, at 2824 DePue Drive, was that as a business partner or a friend? I don't know.
You'd have to ask him.
From your perspective.
From my perspective? From my perspective, Joe MacMillan does things for one reason and one reason only and th Hey, excuse me, we are right We had an agreement to keep these depositions private, Mr.
MacMillan.
Please, finish that thought.
Because he's a selfish, self-loathing, self-serving piece of shit.
I'm prepared to offer you 50% of my stake in the company.
Mr.
MacMillan, this is completely It's an even split.
I've got one condition.
I want you to come run it with me.
Mr.
MacMillan, I'd really prefer that you run something like this Aaron, it's fine.
60%.
70%.
Come be my partner and 70% of the company is yours.
Mr.
Clark, my professional advice would be to seriously consider I'd like to state for the record that this is not a legitimate offer.
It's fully legitimate.
I'll sign anything you put in front of me.
Just say the word, Gordon.
I don't want to work with you, Joe.
I think we now know what this lawsuit is really about.
Returning to the date of July 30, 1985, Mr.
Clark, from your perspective, did Joe MacMillan come to your residence at 2824 DePue Drive as a business partner or a friend? I have no idea.
What are we looking for anyway? A mistake.
My parents are up in their bedroom wrapping presents for my birthday party.
Like I don't know exactly what they're doing.
They still think of me as little.
Well, it's 'cause they've never seen you throw back a whiskey and smoke a cigar like I have.
I never did that! You're joking.
I wish I didn't have to have a birthday party.
I don't believe in birthday parties.
You can do that? Yeah, it's your birthday.
You can do whatever you want.
Did you find the mistake? No.
So who's coming to this stupid party your parents are making you throw that you don't really want to have anyway? Okay, let's take it outside, okay? All right, everybody, let's move it on out to the backyard.
Slip'N Slide is out there.
Let's go, let's go.
Everybody out.
Move it.
Get out of here.
Go.
Go.
Joanie, you've got another guest to greet.
Joanie! Oh, thank goodness.
Come on in.
Jennifer knew the name of the street, but not the address.
So we parked, prayed, and followed the screams.
I wasn't expecting you.
Joanie invited Jennifer and seeing as how I am her chauffeur, we're part of a package deal.
Where should I put this? You know what? The girls and the gift table are all out back.
I cannot believe she's here.
I guess Joanie patched things up with Jennifer.
God, I'm telling you, girls at this age, it's crazy.
One day they're mortal enemies, the next day they're best friends.
What? Well, I mean, she's here.
Should we take advantage of it? No, I don't want to face that humiliation again.
Daddy, Daddy! Watch me! Hey, Ryan, you made it.
Yeah.
I can't stay long.
- Not that it's not a nice party.
- Thanks.
I wouldn't know; I've never been to a 10-year-old's birthday party.
Well, not since I was 10.
What do grown-ups do at these things? Oh, well, drink.
Hey, so so listen, we're not supposed to be talking shop today, but I had a few ideas on how to move your chat idea forward.
Oh, yeah? Really? How? Yeah, well, all right, listen.
A few years back, CompuServe had this CB Simulator that I was totally obsessed with.
We could start with that as a rudimentary template.
My idea is way more advanced than CompuServe.
I know, I know.
All we would take from CompuServe is is the shared memory virtual array manager from the CBSIM code.
We make it bigger so we can support more users and the rest we build from scratch.
That would be a time-saver.
Yeah, totally.
Come here.
No one designs in a vacuum.
What's the point in reinventing the wheel if your true innovation is creating the tire? Yeah.
Take the Giant, okay? Say what you will about it, but I started with a IBM PC and made something that was twice as fast at half the cost and portable at 15 pounds.
I thought that was Joe MacMillan.
Joe MacMillan might have pulled the specs out of his ass, but turning them into a working product? No, not really his bag of tricks.
- Hey.
- Hey.
Howdy, Ryan.
Look at this.
- What you got there? - Got it for Joanie.
- Robo Butler.
- That looks ridiculous.
Yeah, well, it ain't your birthday, is it? - What's it do exactly? - Here, look at this.
Lookit here.
Come here, let me show you.
Come on.
Look, all right, here.
Get your beers right there into the metal paws.
Come on.
If you got to put the beers in his hands, why don't you just take them with you? I mean, what's the point of having the robot bring them to you? 'Cause he's a butler, man.
It's what he does.
- All right.
- Now back up.
Back up.
Watch.
Joanie gonna love this.
Hey! Look at him.
Come on there, butler.
Look at me, I'm Robo Butler.
Would you gentlemen care for more beers? Bos, it's so slow.
I mean, look, it's taking forever to get here.
I could've walked over here faster.
I got the receipt.
Don't give that to Joanie, all right.
You're only gonna upset her.
She gonna love it.
Hey, nice to see Joanie and Jennifer getting along.
Just so you know, I get 60 proposals a week.
Most weeks I pass on all 60.
It really had nothing to do with you.
No, I completely understand.
It was a really quick no you gave us in there, though.
All right, let's talk, but not out here.
Are you laughing at my butler, children? Get out of here.
Scram, all of you.
Get out of here.
Dang butler.
Oh, hell.
Oh, for Christ's sake.
I've been combing over our prospectus, replaying our meeting, trying to figure out why Elias's note derailed things.
I've narrowed it down to three possibilities.
A: Elias doesn't believe our user base will embrace Mutiny Exchange as rapidly as our projections, which is wrong.
B: Elias thinks our timeframe from development to beta is overly optimistic, which is also wrong.
C: Elias is a sexist jerk who doesn't believe two women can run a company, which - Okay.
- I'm leaning towards C.
Elias is a sexist jerk, but better than most.
He doesn't care who runs a company as long as it makes him money.
Okay, then I'm at a loss because you're a smart woman and Exchange is a great idea.
I am smart and it is a great idea.
And that's your problem.
You didn't allow for D.
Another company is already doing this.
What? Who? It's a small outfit Elias has been tracking as a potential investment.
SwapMeet.
It's a good name.
I wasn't aware of it.
Otherwise I never would have had you come in.
What do you know about them? Only that they have an 18-month head start.
And at the end of the day, that's what informed our decision.
It made no sense to bet on Mutiny in a battle you weren't just losing, but didn't even know you were fighting.
Hey, wait, guys, do you want to come play? Okay, let's play a game.
Hey, sweetie.
You doing okay? Oh, she's really pulling focus, isn't she? Kind of like it's her birthday party and not yours.
Look, honey, I just want you to know how proud I am of you for inviting Jennifer.
It shows real maturity.
- Okay.
- A birthday's not just a party.
It's marking a passage of time in your life.
You're showing me you're not just a little girl anymore Okay, I heard you.
Growing up and you're proud of me.
- Can we just do the cake now? - No, no.
Come here.
I want to make sure you hear what I'm saying.
Okay, you did a really grown-up thing today and your dad, he couldn't be more proud of you than he is right now.
Stop saying that.
Cameron paid me 20 bucks to invite Jennifer to come.
Okay? I hate Jennifer.
Can we just do the cake now, please? - Everyone's asking for it.
- Yeah, sure.
Let's do the cake.
Okay, I've been on Mutiny asking around, trying to figure out what I could about this SwapMeet.
- And? - From what I can tell, it sounds seriously less robust than what we have in mind for Exchange.
Plus, it's focused on sports memorabilia, so I just can't see it reaching anywhere near the size and scope of our user base.
Hey, sure was weird that Jennifer came to the party, wasn't it? Yeah.
We will not lose to an inferior product.
- I refuse to be Betamax.
- 'Cause I don't remember inviting her.
Oh, no, we didn't.
Joanie did that all on her own.
- Wasn't that mature of her? - Yeah, it was.
It shows a hell of a lot of maturity that she would invite Jennifer.
Which, you know, reminds me.
What? What is this for? For all your help today.
Okay.
Thanks.
Uh, I'll be in my room.
She went out and grabbed some cups for us at the party.
Ryan Ray.
Ryan.
Mr.
MacMillan.
Ryan, I want you to do something for me.
Um, okay.
What? I want you to stand up.
I want you to take a long look around.
I want you to make sure you see every single person in that room.
- Are you doing that? - Uh, yeah.
Good.
Now forget them, because you don't work with those people anymore.
I'll see you tomorrow at my office, 9:00 A.
M.
sharp.
Oh, my God.
I'll be there.
Thank you.
Now, Ryan, there's one more thing I want you to do for me.
- Incredible.
- Look.
It's her.
Turn around.
Isn't this a bit formal for us? We could just meet at Jennifer's birthday party next month.
Oh, no, we'll just be a minute.
I admire persistence, I really do, but we've been over this.
Even if I wanted to, I couldn't convince my partners to fund your expansion.
- I'm sorry.
- No, we understand.
- That's not why we're here.
- No, because you're right.
SwapMeet is our competition.
It'd be foolish for you to invest over a million dollars just to see if we can catch up.
And that's why we've done our homework.
And what we found is that while SwapMeet does have a functional program that it would take us a year or more to compete with, what they don't have is anywhere near the size of our user base.
We don't want you to help us compete with SwapMeet.
We want you to help us buy them.
It's not a million to fight a war, it's a few hundred thousand to win it.
Yes! Yes! Oh, my God, I'm I'm so sorry.
Hey, Ryan.
Great news.
I tracked down that CBSIM code, so we can get started today.
You know, just just you and me.
I'm going to work for Joe MacMillan.