``And that, my friends, is the reason why we manufacture the circuit board using the three-dimensional printer,'' Peter said somewhat pompously as he sipped on his flute of champagne. Around him gathered a small throng of technology enthusiasts who were partly there to bask in his glory and partly to get some exposure to him as a part of the networking process that the college's career counselling group hosted that particular afternoon.
Eileen was one of the crowd listening to Peter's banter about how his start-up was undercutting major manufacturers on printed circuit boards for specialised runs and gaining a rather niched market. The manner in which it was done was fascinating, but she could not shake away the discomfort over the pompousness of Peter himself. There was something obnoxious about him that she could not quite place, and unlike her peers who were looking on at him googly-eyed, she saw no need for any form of obeisance or flattery.
As though reading her mind, Peter suddenly turned his attention away from his fawning fans and looked at her directly. ``Hi, you there? What's your name? You seem rather thoughtful over my story, is there something that you would like to ask?''
Eileen could feel her face slowly warming up as the adulatory eyes of the fans of Peter collectively gazed upon her. Mustering up her courage, Eileen stood straight and looked back at them.
She blurted ``I like how your business plan works out using the latest in additive manufacturing, but must you sound like a jerk while you were working on it?''
There was a sudden hushed silence that fell upon the group. The gazes of adulation from her being lucky enough to be singled out by Peter transformed quickly into gazes of disbelief and disgust, as though her questions had profaned their idol and saviour in a way where there was no way of sanctifying it ever again. Eileen realised her faux pas and could feel that blush growing ever more radiantly throughout her.
But Peter merely chuckled as he sipped from his flute of champagne.
``Gutsy question. You are right in your observation that I sound like a jerk while working on the whole concept in my start-up. The truth is, I had to be a jerk just to get things moving. The one thing that successful start-ups never tell you is the sheer amount of barriers both social and political that are in the way of the pursuit of a new line of business. The many regulatory commissions that I had to convince to provide with a permit to run an additive manufacturing lab in a gazetted light industry zone, the various occupational health related inspections with respect to the plastic fibres from the PCBs, and of course, the need to actually talk to investors to get the seed funding.
``I didn't want to be a jerk,'' Peter continued as he eyed Eileen. ``But when I started acting like one, things started to move smoothly for the company. And because of that, it has sort of become my public persona.''
``I like your style,'' Peter said after a short while. ``Would you like to consider working for me once you have graduated?''
