Just a year ago I attended a workshop for entrepreneurs.
At the end of the meeting, a very sociable girl, Faby, who I saw talking to several of the attendees, approached me and with a beautiful smile and great charisma asked me about my expectations. I was flattered, for a moment I thought she worked in protocol or something similar.
Quite confidently I started to tell her a bit about my product, a delicious coffee cocktail that I created some years ago while I wanted to impress my partner back then.
I have always been good at combining ingredients to create fantastic flavors, but that cocktail took absolutely all the credit, I think some angel whispered in my ear how the ingredients should be mixed to create a unique and exquisite flavor.
Faby told me she wanted to try this delicacy. I had some samples with me, because you never know, even though we would not be exhibiting our products that day. She was fascinated and enraptured, she told me that they would surely give me the credit and whispered in my ear "keep that recipe safe".
I naively answered "I confess that I don't even have it patented and although I have it well engraved in my mind, I also had it written in my recipe notebook", I said raising the notebook.
Please don't judge me for being an idiot, but I really thought Faby was doing some kind of social work there and wanted to help me. I was carried away by the emotion.
When I got home I realized that my recipe notebook was gone.
I didn't think much of it, at least I remembered the most important recipes to the letter.
A week passed and I went to my personal appointment with the bank manager. She received me very kindly but when she tasted my cocktail she looked at me angrily and asked me if I was making a joke, I made her understand that I had no idea what she was referring to.
She showed me the screen of her phone, that's when I saw Faby marketing my cocktail as hers, when I saw her at the event I had no idea she was an influencer. The bank manager showed me a beautiful bottle of Monica's cocktail and said "what a coincidence that they have the same flavor, I just tasted it, a client brought it to me. I don't know how you managed it but you faithfully copied the flavor and this has been in vogue for less than a week"
The was very curious to know exactly what had happened, just for that reason she listened attentively to my version and although it seems incredible she immediately believed in me. She told me that it was quite logical, given that I also showed her photos that to some extent supported my story.
She told me frankly that no one was going to believe that story and that legally I couldn't do anything, or maybe he could, but it would be very cumbersome and expensive and that she wasn't going to get involved in that, since he didn't know if that influencer would have influence in other instances.
In silent desperation, I begged for her help. He told me again that he would not get involved, however, he looked for the list of attendees of the day of the event and by ID number he located her in the system and the influencer had an account in that bank, his eyes sparkled, he covered a good part of the screen and only showed me her home address, he told me "record it well in your mind, do not tell anyone where you got it and go talk to her, maybe she is as nice as she appears on the screen" this last thing he said with a lot of sarcasm.
I spent days and nights in front of Faby's house, trying to come up with a plan. I saw her many times treating the janitor of her house badly and I also saw a girl who would come in very early and leave almost at dusk.
One day I approached the girl and asked her how her boss treated her, the woman seemed desperate to get it off her chest, she told me that Faby exploited and mistreated her and the janitor. That in real life she was the opposite of how she looked on the networks.
After a few months I managed to make an alliance with Faby's two employees, and after telling them my plan and my motives, they agreed.
Just when Faby was posting some content on her networks, the watchman let me in and the girl added some sleeping drops to her coffee. Faby slept like a rock.
I wrote a long text in their networks, one part said:
"I have had great economic gains with the cocktail, I make it known publicly that I will give a year's vacation to my loyal employees and 10% of the profits obtained.
I will donate the mansion where I live to create a home for street children that I myself will take care of with the rest of the profits, I will leave you my home address so that you can come whenever you want to make sure that I am keeping my word and since I will now be busy with charity work, here is the recipe for the cocktail,it's so simple you won't believe it..."
I never had recognition for my star recipe or economic gain, I was left with the satisfaction that the money was used for what I wanted, and in record time.
And they won't create it for me, now Faby acts with humility and empathy and we are partners in a new business, we use her fame for marketing and my new recipe of vegan coffee cookies as a star product.
