Cool speech given at a dinner. IBM buys this startup. IBM guy at the deal dinner.
IBMer:
“You have struggled and fought. You have made a product. You sit with customers who ask you about your funding, your other accounts, your history and manpower.
They make you feel small and you fight to win them.
Let me remind you of June 6, 1944.
As they sat in their fortified bunkers in Normandy, the western outpost of the empire, the German soldiers were part of a machine that had vanquished all enemies. Completely destroyed countries. They talked about removing whole armies. Their guns trained on the horizon they were fearless.
On June 6th early that morning, a tiny boat cracked the horizon. A little vessel of a few men.
Imagine what the Germans thought of this speck.
How could they have known, however, that behind this tiny boat followed the greatest, largest, most powerful and best organized armada of ships and men and guns and tanks the world had ever seen.
Startup, you are that vessel. Our 500,000 salesmen, engineers, managers, and staff are that armada.
We will call for you in China. We will call for you on governments. We will…”
Pretty awesome. Consumerization, be damned.
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