But that's all fake.
Coffee shop and restaurants are ground-zero for Low Status meetings that go nowhere.
Is just this my "opinion"?
I called one of the Top 30 producers in Hollywood, Brant Pinvidic, to ask his opinion about “coffee shop and restaurant meetings"...
... isn't that how Hollywood "works"?
Brant immediately gets excited when I ask him about Starbucks ...
“I HATE Starbucks meetings!", he says.
WHY?
Brant tells me: "When I get invited to STARBUCKS for a meeting, I think to myself ... Really? That's where we’re doing THIS?
... Starbucks is all the 'juice' you have?"
(Brant's domain is Hollywood, where "juice" means resources, influence and power. Or in other words, "CLOUT")
He continues:
"So you invited me to sit down in a tiny half-height chair like in a doll house...
- To discuss all our confidential information out in the open for anyone to hear...
- with the sound of blenders and espresso portafilters slamming in my ear...
- While I'm squinting to see some tiny PDF on your ipad?"
Next Brant starts half-yelling at me... as if I had just invited him to a Starbucks meeting ...
“Hey Oren, When Comcast offered $3.8 Billion for Dreamworks, did they say 'Meet us at Starbucks, we have something to show you?'"
"When Verizon decided to buy Yahoo for $4.9 Billion, did Hans Vestberg tell Marissa Myers, “Let’s grab a quick lunch at Mastro’s, just the two of us and 37 lawyers, 12 accountants and my bankers?”"
Brant continued, "In fact ...
... name ONE important deal that was done at Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks or Peets Coffee... YOU CAN'T!"
What Brant is saying is: public spots lack seriousness, and imply your deal is weak, and a thin-veil above a “startup idea.”
YOUR $100K DEAL is no less important to you than a $4.8B deal is to Yahoo.
So, I suggest you take yourself seriously, and do deals in a place that says "this deal matters."
Of course, I agreed with everything Brant is saying, but at this point in the conversation ...
... you know how these Hollywood guys are ... they get really spun-up and keep going and going.
And Brant ... he keeps going: “Listen Oren, I’ve got another 20 rules for dealmakers...”
“#2, Be the first to leave every meeting and phone call."
"#3: Don’t be greedy—because buyers will walk away from “over-negotiators”"
------------------------- end of email clip from Oren Klaff
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