Chapter One: Obstacles and Possibilities

by Terri Main

Cindy Ella Marquez stared at the computer screen. Her eyes flicked down the lines of code searching for that one line, expression, or typo that keeps crashing the program. She is so close. If she can debug the program, maybe she could convince Ms. Helstrom to present it at TechAngel Con. But she had to work fast. The conference was just a week away.

Cindy paused, took off the heavy-rimmed glasses she always wore, and rubbed her eyes. She did her regular exercise to reduce eye strain. She looked at her hands. She looked at the water cooler across the bullpen from her cubicle. She looked at the picture of her father who taught her how to code long before he built Marquez Tech Solutions. Then she looked at Ms. Helstrom’s office.

Ms. Helstrom! Cindy also snorted to herself when she used that name. Ms. Helstrom was actually Katheryn Helstrom Marquez, her step-mother. Even before her father died five years ago, she would not use the Marquez name. He thought Helstrom made a better impression on clients.

“Cindy!” The intercom blared out. “Stop daydreaming or working on that fool program of yours and get in my office now!”

Ms. Helstrom’s office was almost three times as large as Cindy’s cubicle. In fact, it was larger than the living room in her apartment. It was done in whites and pastels. Kathryn’s desk was a pure white table desk with rounded corners.

The original works of art on the walls were chosen mostly because of how they fit the color scheme and how well they would impress clients rather than artistic value.

The one exception was a framed collection of four Polaroid photographs of houses. They were each small, older homes in need of painting or repair. One had an old tricycle and a rusty swing set in the yard.

The woman behind the desk was elegantly dressed in a designer outfit on the borderline between professional and after-hours. Her auburn hair was upswept without a single strand out of place. Her Botox-enhanced forehead was wrinkle free as was her face after her latest “medical retreat.”

Cindy compared her stepmother’s elegant appearance to her own plain-Jane look. Hair-pulled back in a ponytail not quite long enough to swing adorably behind her head. Bare minimum of makeup with just the faint remnants of lipstick remaining on her lips. A simple pantsuit she got on sale at Walmart five years ago.

Yes, Kathryn Helstrom Marquez was ever bit the successful female CEO in appearance as well as results.

“Cindy, TechAngel Con is next week. Every venture capitalist, investment banker, and angel investor on the West Coast will be there. We will be showcasing several new AI-Powered stock trend prediction software services we have in development. We have dominated the market here in the Pacific Northwest. It is time to scale up to national prominence.”

“About the conference…” Cindy began. Before she could continue, the door to the office burst open. Two women about Cindy’s age pushed through the door. In appearance, they were younger versions of the CEO. This is not surprising since they were her daughters. Each were dressed as elegantly as their mother although their skirts were somewhat shorter, and their heels a bit higher. 

“What’s this all about, Mother?” Said the tallest of the two as she primped her perfectly coiffed black hair which framed her face. “There’s a sale on at Masterson’s. I’ve got my eye on a new Louis Vuitton handbag.”

“As if you don’t already have a closet full of handbags, Emily.” Said the short, blonde whose hair fell in waves half-way down her back.

“Totally unlike your roomful of shoes, Connie.”

Kathyrn held up one hand. “Girls, Girls. We can talk shopping later. I need you two to hear progress reports from your departments. I didn’t make you vice-presidents in charge of new product development and marketing so you could build up your wardrobe.”

Cindy cleared her throat. “About the conference…”

“Yes, about the conference. We will be pitching our new forecasting software. Emily, when will be able to launch?”

“We should be out of beta testing next month. After that, it’s up to marketing.” Emily cast an insincere challenging smile to Connie.

Cindy felt like she had become invisible. Once her step-sisters were in the room, she ceased to exist.

“We already have the beginnings of a marketing campaign in the planning stage. As soon as sister dear is ready for launch we will be ready to start promoting starting with TechAngel Con. I hired a new person with expertise in these types of events. She is with FGM Support Services and her name is Carolyn Hatch. She will join us at the airport. Meanwhile, we are preparing the promotional materials. I just hope that Emily can keep the project under deadline.” Connie returned the false smile to Emily.

“Oh, here’s her card.” Connie handed the card to her mother.

Kathyn looked at the photo on the card. “Hmm… Looks familiar. Probably saw her at some other conference.”

She hands the card back to Connie. “Whoever she is, she had better do a good job. This is our opportunity for massive growth if we can just get an infusion of capital. We might even be able to take the company public.”

“Public? But it’s our family business!” The words just exploded out of Cindy’s mouth. All three women looked at her. She felt as if each eye had a laser pointed at her heart.

“I’m sorry,” she said hurriedly. “It just father started this… It’s been my home… It’s been part of him… Forget what I said.” Cindy could feel a single tear creep down her cheek. She quickly brushed it away. “Of course, it would be very good for the company.”

No one said anything more for several seconds. Finally, Kathryn said to her daughters, “That’s all I have for you two. But I need to talk to Cindy for a few.”

The other two women walked out the door. Emily mouthed as she went out the door, “Girl, you’re in trouble.”

Kathyrn picked up a paper from her desk. “You know what this is?”

Cindy began to answer but was cut off.

“This is the server log. Do you know how many hours you have been logging on the main computer this month?” She paused and looked down the list. “Okay, you’re the math genius not me. It’s a lot. Server time doesn’t come cheap. It appears you have too much time on your hands. Because I don’t see my authorization on any of this time. That means it was not company business.”

“But it could be company business,” Cindy spurts out. “I’m working on a new AI-Powered health program. It was something Father and I were collaborating on when I was at MIT before…” Her voice trailed off.

“Your father… Your father…” Kathyn sighed. “I loved him, but he was a dreamer and had no business sense at all. The only thing he knew about spreadsheets was how to create a program for one. We almost lost the business before I took over management.”

Cindy tried not to roll her eyes hearing how Ms. Helstrom saved the business. She just slumped into a chair across from her stepmother’s desk.

“I know. You’ve heard the story before. Your father had these idealistic plans and didn’t have an ambitious bone in his body. That’s fine if you want to be a monk. But this is business and business is about making a profit. Our flagship product MarketCast he created to help small investors and public pension fund managers. He wanted to sell the program on Amazon for $39.95 so factory workers and secretaries could manage their retirement portfolios. I was the one who stopped that foolishness. I was the one who pitched it to hedge fund managers, stock brokers, investment bankers, and Fortune 500 finance companies. We make 10,000 times $39.95 on each sale.”

“Yes, but we have enough money now, and what I’m working on could turn a profit and help people at the same time.” Cindy felt like she was pleading. She hated sounding desperate.

“Cindy,” Kathyrn’s voice softened. “Your desire to help others is admirable. But this is a business. And in a business, there is no such thing as ‘enough money.’ You either grow or die.”

“But, mothe- Ms. Helstrom – this could make money. It’s called DocMatch. Dad and I hit a brick wall when we were working on it because of traditional programming limitations. But with advances in AI it’s feasible.”

Kathryn leaned back in her chair and sighed, “Okay, tell me about it.”

Cindy leaned forward, “You know that lives can be saved if people went to the doctor early. But many don’t because they don’t know if what they have is serious enough to call a doctor, and if so, what doctor. What specialty? This program asks questions about symptoms, lifestyle, medications, and insurance or lack thereof. Then it creates a preliminary health assessment and recommends doctors likely able to provide a solid diagnosis and treatment plan and helps make an appointment with that doctor.

“It could be sold to individuals complete with some basic health assessment supplies like a oximeter, heart monitor, and blood pressure cup. It could also be sold to doctor’s offices and clinics to streamline their operations. Insurance companies and HMOs could use to make referrals. But the really exciting part is that we could distribute the program free of charge to social service agencies, homeless shelters, and free clinics. I’m already testing the system with a local homeless shelter. We only have a dozen or so doctors in the system who take patients for free or on a sliding scale.”

Kathryn had been leaning forward and getting more and more interested until Cindy began talking about social services.

“Helping the poor?” she sneered. She got up and began to walk around her desk. “See those houses on the wall. Four of them. Those were the houses I lived in when I was in the foster system. And when I aged out of the system, you know what happened? They put my stuff in a couple of garbage bags and showed me the door. I WAS poor. But I worked hard, got a scholarship, and made something out of myself. Nobody helped me.”

She stopped talking and stared at the pictures of the houses for a few more seconds.

“But that’s ancient history,” she continued. “I can see that there are some commercial applications. We could make some money. But we specialize in financial forecasting systems. We would have to rebrand ourselves or spin off a new company. It would cost too much to get started.”

“That’s why, I think we should include this proposal at the conference. I could answer any questions. There have to be some investors who can see its profit potential. They might be in the medical field.” Cindy said sensing the slightest possibility.

Kathryn pauses a moment and starts laughing. “You think I would let you anywhere near those investors? Look at yourself. You are the typical computer geek. Sure, you’ve got a doctorate from MIT in computer science, but you look like it. Investors have to see the razzle dazzle. It’s not enough to be good, you have to look good. No, Connie and Emily will be in the booth. And, this proposal? We’ll talk about it later. Much Later. Now, get out of my office and get to work. Get down to Connie’s office. You’ll need to help collate sales materials, stack up the brochures and get everything ready for the booth. She’ll also give you your assignments for the conference. But none of them will include you being visible at the conference.”

Cindy stood up, head down, “Yes, Ms. Helstrom. I’ll get back to work.”

“Oh, and Cindy, don’t do any other work on that DocMatch stuff in the office work on that on your own time and use your own computer.”

“Yes, Ma’am” she sighs and walks out the door.”

In the back of the building, a tall woman with black hair watches as Cindy drags herself down to her stepsister’s office. She picks up her phone and taps out a number.

“FGM Headquarters” says the voice on the other end of the phone. “How may I direct your call?”

“Connect me with FGM One.”

“Connecting now.”

After a few bars of “Dreams can Come True,” a voice says, “FGM One.”

“This is FGM Scout 34. I have eyes on our next client. Alert the team. This mission is going to be one for the books.” (to be continued)

Sometimes a Great Idea is Not Enough

People often think that all you need to succeed is a great idea. Unfortunately, many great ideas never come to fruition. In our story today, Cindy has a great idea. What she doesn’t have is the backing of others and resources.

Ministry is like that as well. John and Marti have created an incredible ministry reaching around the world with the message of grace turned outward.

None of that was possible based on an idea alone. Even hard work, dedication, and faith are not enough. Any success the Catch ministry enjoys today is because of the resources supplied by our MemberPartners and other supporters like you.

As we enter 2025, The Catch Ministry has some amazing plans. Over the next few days we will be sharing those plans with you, but none of us can do this work alone. Like Cindy we will need help. Your donations make this ministry succeed. Join in creating a miracle by making your donation before the end of the year.

Oh, and stay tuned. You don’t want to miss the next chapter in Cindy’s journey.