The Kodak Slide Carousel That Almost Cost Me My Job

In 1997, I was a junior analyst helping my firm land a potential IPO we called “Project Portland.” 

The research team worked with the investment banking group to bring an IPO “over the wall,” a nod to the rules that kept research and investment banking activities separate. Once the research department was “over the wall” on a deal, both departments could work together. 

We prepared to woo the prospect, a growing business with decades of history, with a slide carousel meticulously crafted for the management team. We highlighted our retail and institutional distribution, relationships with the largest asset management firms, trading prowess in the sector, successful IPO’s we had managed, and our top-ranked equity research team. 

For those who don’t remember, a slide carousel was a circular holder of slides that allowed a slide projector to project the images onto a screen or white wall. The user could advance the slides forward or backward. What you saw on the screen was in color, which was a nice touch compared to the black and white handouts.

For some reason, 30 minutes before the management team arrived, I was sent to the board room to meet the lead banker on the deal to set up the slide carousel. I had never used one before and apparently, neither had he. When he tried to load the carousel into the projector, it didn’t fit and after trying to jam the carousel in a couple of times, he looked at me and yelled, “fix it!”  Given this banker’s clout, I am sure I could have been terminated the next day if I didn’t fix it.

I ran three floors down to the office where we had rehearsed the presentation, yanked a projector out of the wall and ran with it back up to the board room. 

Fortunately, the carousel fit into that projector! 

The slides and presentation went well. However, the IPO window for that company had closed and they decided to remain private.  “Project Portland” eventually sold to another public company. 

Sometimes, even when you get the slides right you lose.

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