Thanks for meeting me here.

I was already here.

Uhm, yeah why are we in your basement?

It’s his workshop.

Mark knows, but basement makes it sound more like Sven’s going to kill us all.

It listens to the Sven or it gets the hose again!

Thanks, Dan. Anyway, I’ve been thinking.

And here we go…

What?

You thinking, all of us in the basement… this ends badly.

It does not, just listen.

Down in front!

Anyway, I’ve been doing freelance design work for a long time. It gets old after a while.

You’re joining the Peace Corps?

Why would one lead to the other, Melina?

Who can say!

I can, and I’m not joining the Peace Corps. I just think it’s time for a change in my life.

You’re not gonna make stuff anymore?

Oh, no I don’t intend to quit designing. I love it too much.

And you’re excellent at it.

Thank you. But that brings me to my next point. I’m excellent at this.

Didn’t you just say that?

It bears repeating.

Fair! Carry on!

What I am sick of is working alone. So I had a thought.

Hire midgets and make this Santa’s workshop?

I want jingly elf shoes!

Who doesn’t?

You guys should listen.

Sorry.

And I thought, what I need is some help. But not midgets. Nothing wrong with midgets, mind.

Sure, sure.

But I thought why not form a company.

You have a company, the LLC you freelance under?

I mean a different company.

Because the new name will make you feel better?

Because a new corporate structure will help.

Help what?

Launch things correctly.

So this is a party to celebrate your new company name?

Not quite, though, I’m hopeful we will do that as well.

Get to the point, Sven, you’re losing these ragamuffins.

I am not a ragamuffin.

You’re kind of a ragamuffin.

I like ragamuffins.

The point is I want you all to come form this new venture with me and co-own it with me.

What?

I can’t design toys.

Don’t we all have jobs already?

Yes. But I have a bunch of money saved up and I think we all need to stop working for other people and take a chance on ourselves.

You want us to form a new company with you.

Yup!

I’ve already said yes. Between us we have enough money to make this work.

And it isn’t like my old contacts won’t still work.

Did you miss the part where none of us can design toys?

Well, Natasha can run the office.

Wait I don’t want to be the office manager…

But everyone will be afraid you’d hit them with a chair or something. But you wouldn’t fear any of them.

Fine.

No chair hitting!

Don’t break my rules, then.

Jacob you’re a great sales guy, how long have you been bouncing around jobs selling things for other people and going where the money is?

Years. Yeah I could sell toys.

Exactly! Mark?

Yeah, I know. Mark, you’re a good customer relations person. Mark, won’t you drive our sleigh tonight?

Pretty much, how often have you helped me with clients regardless?

Lots.

So?

And I can help test toys!

Actually, yes, you can. I need a good tester. Everyone will be asked to help and to come up with toys ideas but Melina you’d be needed as the head tester. Play with toys, try to break them in normal usage ways.

This sounds like heaven.

And me?

Oh, you’re just here to look pretty.

Hey!

Kidding. Dan, you’re the pick-up man. You are good at all of this, really. So you’ll work with whomever needs you that day.

That sounds a bit like you don’t actually need me.

So not true! But we will need more hands on deck at different times in different places. Having someone who knows how everything works will be invaluable.

All right. I’m sold on the idea. But in reality?

Yeah, I mean just all of us walk away from our jobs for this crazy idea?

Why not? If not now then when? If not this then what?

She’s right. We have funding to stay afloat and pay everyone, not huge but enough, for three years. So we have three years to make money off this.

Nice!

And that’s without mentioning that I already make money at this, not enough for all of us, but enough that the leap to that isn’t impossible.

And if we fail?

Then we fail. And we go back to our old lives and find news jobs.

You make that sound way easier than it is.

Yeah. But that’s because we won’t fail.

You know what? Fuck it. I’m in.

That’s three. Melina? Dan? Jacob?

I’ll do it. This sounds awesome.

I get to test toys and be paid for it? Uhm, yes.

This is where I say something like “You guys would get killed without me, so sure,” isn’t it?

If you feel you must.

You guys would get killed without me. So sure.

You guys are above and beyond the best friends a guy could ask for.

Yeah, we’re crazy. So what’s the new company name?

Wind-Up.

Oh that’s sweet.

Good choice.

And now we celebrate!

Oh yes. There’s a few bottles of champagne over there, Mark if you would? And I have a line on a good space to lease for an office. And… this is going to be great.

Or at least crazy.

Or at least crazy!