Where We Met

6.

"Have you heard of Harding Tech?" Caitlin, Clara's personal assistant asked and passed a folder to her over the desk.

"I have. But I haven't really done much research. What about them?"

"Harding Tech is currently the best app developer in the country. They offer reliable iOS, Android, and Hybrid mobile app development services. They are known for their outstanding services for business applications, one of them includes a payment gateway too."

Clara nodded at her report. When Clara founded GlowCosmo two years ago, her primary focuses were only on social media platforms and e-commerce website. She had realised that it was time for her to embrace something new, something more challenging. Building a mobile app for GlowCosmo could heighten the consumers' shopping experience and improve method of transactions. It would definitely increase their revenue and bring them to the next level, opening up many more opportunities for GlowCosmo.

"Is their payment gateway secure then?"

"Very. They have a great reputation in that. It's safe to say that their payment gateway is the safest from hackers. Rumor has it that the CEO is a hacker himself. But we won't know that for sure because there's no information about him online."

"At all?" Clara arched a fraction of her brows.

"Well, he appeared on Forbes four years ago. Voted as one of the youngest billionaires in the country. But there was no name and no photo of him. They had just written that he wished to remain anonymous."

"Why would Forbes want him on it then?" Clara asked, cricking her neck.

"His story was worth it. He's a very intelligent and successful man. Many tech entrepreneurs looked up to him. Harding Tech was on the verge of bankruptcy when he took over his father's business. Yet they had managed to bounce back after only half a year. Ever since then, the company had soared to great heights... until today."

"Alright. Please call them and see if we can set up a meeting with them? I want Cindy on this too."

"There's one more thing you need to know though..." Caitlin paused for a moment and continued. "The company pretty much dominates the market for mobile app development, so they're quite fussy with the people they work with. They're very selective and only pick out the best."

Clara frowned at that. "Huh? But we're paying for their service."

"Yes. But in attempt to live up to their reputation, they don't serve SMEs. Their clients are mostly MNCs." Caitlin shrugged.

"It doesn't hurt to try. I'll come up with the plan myself but please let Cindy know I need a contingency plan just in case they reject us"

Caitlin nodded and passed another folder to Clara. "Oh and this folder right here has all the details on our competitors. A few new competitors were rising, nothing you need to worry about but there was one that caught our attention in particular because of their webpage. They had managed to literally copy and paste our webpage and make it to theirs."

That was one thing she hated the most in the business world. People who lacked originality and those who take credits for things that they did not accomplish.

"Does Joe know about this?"

"Yes and he's still trying to figure it out."

Clara glanced down at her wristwatch and frowned, "Well he's not fast enough. I wanna see him in 10,"

Caitlin nodded and left her office.

She went on Google to glean information about Harding Tech. There were information about their company, what they do and what they're good at but as Caitlin had told her, nothing about their CEO. Clara always did her homework on the founders of the companies that she came across with because it would help her know them better. What they like or what they didn't like — increase her success rate of getting them involved in her collaborations. But there really was no information on the CEO, not even a name when he was on the Forbes four years ago.