Chapter 6: Finding our First Home: A Tale of Sublets, Shoes, and Smoke
In some respects, we really had two birthdates: that day in February 1992 when we officially started Capital Trade (while sitting in our old ICF offices), and that day in July 1992 when we moved into our first home at 1420 K Street, NW. While the ICF barter deal gave us some time to find rental space, we had to find a more permanent solution to our space needs. Those needs were simple: small, cheap and short-term. Having no clue if this new venture would survive beyond one or two years, we certainly did not want to sign a long-term lease. That put us solidly into the short-term sub-lease market, but small spaces for around 10 people were not easy to come by. We looked at some great space in the National Geographic building, but it was a bit too small. Another interesting site we looked at was right on Connecticut Avenue, just above a chocolate store. We nixed this one because we thought there might be too many nearby distractions. Had we had access to a crystal ball at the time (and a bit more money), we would have mortgaged ourselves to the hilt and bought a small office townhouse in Dupont Circle.
One of the potential spaces we visited was an office wing leased by the Footwear Industries Association. This was a bit of a coincidence, as Chuck had handled one of their antidumping cases during his Commerce days. The FIA was interesting in subleasing half of their space. The space would require minimal improvements. And, most importantly, they did not require personal guarantees! We signed the two-year sublet and moved to our new home. Still operating on a shoestring, we furnished our first offices with card tables from home and used furniture we purchased from our new landlords. We didn’t even have to move the stuff – it was already there. The office decorating colors were mauve and cream with bright brass accents – very 80s. And as a plus, the space included a tiny balcony accessible from the front office, just large enough for one or two people to stand and gaze out on K Street. The balcony proved to be extremely popular with visiting clients who liked to smoke.
Our new digs were just off McPherson Square. With a backlog that included a massive set of steel investigations, we often worked late into the night. We soon discovered that our new neighborhood was a lively place after hours. In those days, McPherson was still a popular location for certain “personal service” business operators. Signs posted in front of our new offices banned parking from 10pm to 6am. Some of us witnessed a police chase, complete with gun fire, in the adjoining alley. Cheap and short-term it was, so we had to live with the surroundings.
From the outset, CapTrade sought to create a “one-stop shop” for analytical work related to international trade issues. Other consulting firms in the unfair trade space were heavily concentrated on the “Commerce side” of unfair trade cases, an area that required knowledge of accounting, data programming, and international trade transactions. Others were focused on the “injury side,” which relied on microeconomics and finance. And some firms worked primarily for U.S. companies, while others concentrated on the export/import side. We built a staff that had skills in both areas and worked on both sides of the aisle. Over time, our varied skill base would allow us to pursue consulting opportunities in other areas, including analytical support for international trade negotiations, general litigation support, and intellectual property disputes.
The SparcStation, our first high powered, multi-person computer
The four founding principals were about the same age, with school age kids, so one of us was attending a school auction every couple of months. At one of these events, a CapTrade principal was the winning bidder for two two-hour sessions with a corporate psychologist. The principal thought it would be a good idea to bring the guy in, let him analyze us, and give us advice for how to succeed. Because we were so busy, it took us several months to find a slot for the first session.
The corporate psychologist came to our new mauve and cream offices. As we sat around a table, the psychologist asked us a bunch of questions about our structure and organizational processes. We had no idea what he was talking about: we had not had the time to develop such constructs, as we were too busy trying to bring in revenue. At the end of the first session, the guy basically predicted that we wouldn’t last more than one or two more years. We never scheduled the second session.
Our three-year sublease at 1420 K Street went by quickly. We extended for another year. And then another. But by this time, we were beginning to think that this CapTrade thing might have legs. We were getting a little tired of the mauve. So we began to look for a more permanent home.
Next up . . . . .Chapter 7: We Throw our Hat into the Ring
