Читать книгу Wake Up and Sell the Coffee! - Martyn Dawes - Страница 33

One of the business angels I met in Cambridge was a little different to the others. Whilst they all brought money, Derek offered more. He came to meet me in Islington, where he asked intelligent questions and we arranged to meet again.

Derek had an interesting background. For some years he had chaired a number of growth companies and had been successful at it. We had solid discussions about Coffee Nation and he was genuinely enthusiastic about what I had and where it could go. He also brought real experience of how to get there.

We continued to talk over a period of some weeks, doing our own due diligence on each other. His previous business had been the largest independent operator of public payphones across Europe, so there was logic to his interest in Coffee Nation. There was a similarity between Coffee Nation machines and payphones; both were remote, unmanned, revenue-generating assets. I figured he could add a lot to my business. Derek proposed that he became chairman of the company and I was happy for him to do so.

Right from the start we were absolutely clear with each other that regardless of how painful the truth, it must always be told. Complete honesty was essential. It formed the bedrock of a very successful relationship that weathered various ups and downs over the next nine years.