TUNA LIFE by Erik Hamre Read Free Book Online Page A

“Can it be used on humans?”
    “Can what be used on humans?” Frank asked.
    “The technology. It’s basically just camera technology isn’t it, so can it be used on people? Can I take a picture of myself, find a piece of clothing I like on the internet, and see how I would look like wearing that piece of clothing?”
    “I guess so. I would have to make some adjustments, some calibrations, but the principles would be the same. But I don’t understand. Who would want to test out a piece of clothing on a computer screen?” he asked.
    “Just the rest of the population,” Andrew said with a smug smile. He could definitely see a potential for the technology Frank had developed. Yes, a few changes had to be made, and the technology was still very rudimentary, but he could definitely see a potential. “How much money do you need to come up with a finished product?” Andrew asked.
    Frank shrugged his shoulders. “No idea.”
    “Ok. Let’s say a hundred grand. That should be sufficient for the development. If we need additional funds to market the service, we can always raise more funds at a later stage. I’ll set up a new company later today. We all go in as equal partners. I’ll handle the financial bit. Ken design and legal. And you Frank, You’ll be our new CTO, our Chief Technology Officer.”
    Andrew stared Frank straight in the eyes. He was playing a high-stakes game here. There was absolutely no reason for Frank to let either Andrew or Ken become part-owners of the technology he had created. That wasn’t totally correct, though. Frank had clearly just shown that he had absolutely no idea what the regular consumer wanted. If he was to ever make a single dollar off his technology, he needed Andrew and Ken, young people with knowledge about the market and its preferences.
    “Deal.”
    To Andrew’s surprise, Frank accepted the proposal straight up. No negotiations required. Andrew extended his hand, and they sealed the partnership with a handshake. Frank walked over to the bar and pulled out a bottle of his best home-brewed vodka.
    “Let’s celebrate,” he said.
    Andrew glanced at his watch, thinking it was a wee bit early for a drink.
    Ken was already holding a glass in his hand.
     
     

12
    MONTH 3
     
    NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 3
    NUMBER OF USERS: 0
    VALUATION: $500K - $750K
     
    The meeting with Y-Bator, four days earlier, had exceeded all of Andrew’s expectations. Richard Smith had pulled Andrew to the side after his presentation, and confessed that not in his wildest dreams had he ever expected to see Andrew again. And now, only two months after their first meeting, Andrew had returned with a pitch and a slide deck that had blown Richard away. Andrew had put together a great team with a potentially disruptive technology, and most importantly; the product had a potential gigantic market. Andrew had spent a whole week polishing his PowerPoint presentation. Part of his old job in Avensis Accounting had been just that; to prepare fancy business plans and impressive cash flow forecasts so that his clients could secure funding, and the bankers could have their back clear. Andrew hadn’t bothered too much with details in his presentation though. He had focused on the market, the ridiculously large market.
    In the end, that was the important thing. If the market was big enough, they could always figure out how to make money later on.
    Halfway through the presentation it had dawned on Andrew how correct Frank had been in his summary of the internet. People still didn’t have a clue what to use it for. It was still in its very infancy. The average person only visited a handful of websites every day, and their habits seldom changed. The mobile market was the same. After downloading sixty-three different mobile apps the first few days after buying his first smartphone, Andrew now only used six or seven of them on a daily basis. The rest were clutter. Free stuff he had downloaded because he enjoyed downloading