Our team comes from affluent families, we grew up in the upper east side and prosperous neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Now we live near a silicon manufacturing and correctional facility, and scavenge for resources to survive.

1. Lease for Free?
When the moment calls for creativity, you’ll surprise yourself. I had a demo in LA, and 5 hrs before my flight departed the computer I leased for the occasion still hadn't arrived. Being that I'm a Mac owner & that the rest of our team was traveling with all the company laptops, naturally I panicked. After the frantic “#$%#@!!” I jetted off to Fry's. With no restocking fee and a 30-day return policy an expensive lease was turned into a “free” one.

2. Big Industry Events for Cash Strapped Companies
There was a big industry event that cost $1,000/person. Buyers from all across the country were going to be there, & we needed 3 of us there to get face time w/ current leads, originate new ones, & determine trends. In total, the event would cost $3,000 for 5 days, & we didn't have the cash. Convincing the exec. director of the event to create the first "student" ticket, I got myself in for $300, w/ no meals included. Our 2nd team member decides to tell registration that he registered, & throw a fuss when they didn't find his name on the list. Introducing himself as "Tron Greenberg", he was mistaken as a registered attendee & got the badge & meal tickets. W/ 1 badge left, I returning to the reg. desk b/c my "girl friend" threw away my badge. I received a 2nd badge at no cost. W/ all 3 badges, only 1 "correct" name tag & Greenberg's venue meal tickets, we zoomed off to Kinko's to do some creative copying, turning a $3,000 event into a $300 event.

It's crazy the things entrepreneurs do to survive, I wonder if there are more out there like us.