Following the media fallout, Nick was on edge for a while. Even though he had more knowledge packed into his head than the average person, he was still just a guy in his twenties. Facing that kind of international heat and the potential for real-world danger made it impossible not to get a little paranoid.
But as the weeks rolled by and the sky didn't fall, he started to breathe again. Aside from a massive spike in pings on the company's internal network from unknown hackers, there hadn't been any tangible fallout.
Those cyberattacks were all slammed shut by the custom firewall Nick had built. Ironically, the strength of the defense only drew more heat, as curious white-hats and pro hackers started poking around just to see how the "unbreakable" code actually worked.
With Black Friday and the holiday rush approaching, Zack's joint venture had to hit the brakes. While the Intelligent Unmanned Logistics Warehouse had made great strides, it wasn't battle-tested yet. To ensure they didn't blow their sorting capacity during the biggest shopping window of the year, Amazon temporarily suspended the pilot.
Without the warehouse to use as a sandbox, the R&D team paused their field work. Zack and the rest of the crew took the rare window of downtime to head back to Tampa for some much-needed rest and reorganization.
At ten that morning, in the fourth-floor conference room, a group of employees sat with hot coffee, whispering about their morning commutes. Suddenly, the door swung open, and Nick walked in with Tyler and the senior leads. The room went silent instantly.
"Alright, let's get started."
Nick looked around the room. "The new year is right around the corner, so the goal today is to lay out the roadmap for next year."
"We founded this company at the start of this year and hit the ground running with some incredible results. But you all know those wins were built on existing tech we brought to the table. To grow, we can't just ride the coattails of one project forever. You need to prove your value through new innovations."
"In this company, everyone has to prove they belong."
"People who don't add value aren't needed, and if you aren't needed, you have no value here."
"I want you to take that to heart. I've put together a very generous reward package for those who deliver—so generous that Tyler actually complained about the budget. But the bottom line is: you have to produce results and convince me first."
The atmosphere in the room turned heavy. Even though Nick spent most of his time in the lab and didn't meddle in daily HR, it didn't mean he was out of the loop. Every major move required his sign-off; even Tyler and Zack deferred to him on the big stuff. Everyone knew that the twenty-something at the head of the table was the true captain of the ship.
Scanning the room, Nick's expression softened into a smile. "Alright, don't look so grim. Relax. I'm a fan of a low-stress work environment, and I genuinely want to be friends with the people I work with. We have a long road ahead, and I want a team of like-minded people grinding alongside me."
The room let out a collective breath, and the tension eased.
Seeing them relax, Nick continued, "Let's talk logistics. First, we're consolidating our current projects into Project Group 1. This group will coordinate the Amazon warehouse partnership, the DJI drone shows, and our other active contracts."
"I'm putting Terry in charge of this. He knows the tech inside and out, and he's been with the R&D team since day one. His focus will be the technical hand-offs with our partners. On the commercial side, the Business Department will handle the operations. This is our main revenue stream right now, so I need Business to treat it with kid gloves."
Giovani, the Director of Business Operations, spoke up immediately. "Mr. Nicholas, don't worry. My team is going all out to make sure every project stays on track."
Giovani was forty-two, the elder statesman of the company. Nick had hired him specifically for his steady hand and risk management skills. Since he'd joined, the contract negotiations with DJI and other partners had become significantly more profitable for the company.
Originally, Nick and Tyler were hesitant about hiring someone from a big-name internet firm in Tampa, but after one meeting, they realized Giovani's grasp on tech-sector commercialization was unparalleled. He'd seen the potential in Nick's "startup" and left a VP role elsewhere to help them break through the ceiling.
Nick nodded. "Focus on stability for now. Don't chase scale just for the sake of it. Buy us the time we need for our new R&D. It won't be long before the next big thing drops, so keep building out the ops team. Soon, it'll be your time to shine."
Giovani's eyes sharpened. "Are you saying a new product is ready?"