Nic Watson

Within a week or so of deciding to launch a company, in one of the most anti-capitalistic societies in the world … I was at the gym … I was doing the StairMaster and I overheard this British kid talking to the French gym owner … now me, I am not a small talker … I am not good at chatting or pretending to be interested in … small talk…. However, as the only other English speaker in the gym … I was stuck.

Nic came over – we “chatted” about France and what he did … I was pluggin away on the StairMaster, sweating and tired, most probably irritable … but when I heard him say, …I own a company that does website design … a smile came across my face as I thought about Sophie negotiating the hell out of this kid to do our website … we needed a website desperately.

Over the next couple weeks, we hired Nic and his team to do our website. Nic came up with the naseba logo that we still use today, a logo that will never change and I am very proud of this logo.

We paid Nic what he felt was a lot of money (I would have paid double had he closed me properly) and we got the ultimate logo and website. We both won.

After the website was finished, Nic came to me and said …I know you are a start up and you can not afford to pay me, but I will work for just commission … I want to learn how to sell and negotiate….

I can remember exactly where I was, the time of the day … even what I was wearing … I was so impressed by what he said … I told him that we would pay him a basic salary, just like the other 3 people …we paid him 500 euros a month…

He sold 3 deals his first 2 weeks in the office. Over the course of the last 5 years, Nic has done IT; website design; worked …American hours… while living in Monaco … as well as consistently sell and lead his teams by example. He never asked for extra money for all the extra work he has done. Never. He never complained about being schlepted around from Dubai to Bangalore to London to Monaco….

He is an IT nerd … but at the same time, he is a brilliant sales man … certainly, one of the best in the company. As I type, I reflect on all the IT he did for us for free; all the web design he did for us for free … all the hours he worked to ensure we succeeded, while never asking for anything….

Nic is the God Father of my daughter … however, he gets no slack from me….