Although the future looked bleak, the Hugheses couldn't have
imagined how soon FSPI's outlook would change. Entrepreneurial
to the core, Hughes had taken an ingenious step six months earlier
that was about to rescue FSPI's bottom line.
Retracing the earlier events that would eventually fuel
FSPI's comeback, Hughes says, "After attending conferences
on interactive television, one day I realized there wasn't an
industrywide magazine for the phenomenon of interactive television.
So I came up with a [magazine] name I thought would be
perfect." Hughes immediately invested $1,500 in securing a
trademark on the name "Interactive Age."
The result of that foresight couldn't have been scripted
better by the Hugheses themselves. With FSPI's cash flow and
the Hughes' spirits waning, "out of the blue, the phone
rings, and it's an attorney saying his firm represents a major
magazine publisher who's interested in purchasing all of the
rights to my [magazine name] trademark," says Hughes. Not one
to cave in to excitement, Hughes was cautious. "My instincts
told me `Don't negotiate over the phone. Ask them to fax an
offer,' " remembers Hughes.
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The fax arrived within minutes. Hughes knew he had nothing to
lose, so he countered the attorney's faxed offer of $5,000 with
an offer of $120,000. "As it turned out, the publisher had its
magazine literally on the presses when the lawyers discovered I
owned the trademark," says Hughes.
Aware that the publisher was between a rock and a hard place,
Hughes was prepared to go for broke. When a second offer was made,
this time for $25,000, Hughes kept his eyes planted firmly on his
company's long-term needs--and declined.
The Hugheses reeled with anticipation and waited. At the end of
the week, Hughes recounts, "The attorney called and said,
`I'll fax you one final offer on Monday with a contract that
needs to be signed and faxed back immediately, and we'll send
you a certified check.' "
Pacing all weekend, the Hugheses agreed they'd take whatever
the publisher offered. "We figured their [final offer] would
be around $40,000 to $50,000," Hughes recalls. "Lo and
behold, it was $120,000. I called Cheryl and told her, and then I
think I danced around the room a little bit. It was total
elation."
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