Entrepreneurs and small business men spend much of their lives fluttering between cafes with wireless

internet and virtual offices. Both act as the transient hosts of meetings between business

Starbucks on the Piccaddilly, at the bottom of Bond Street, oddly plays its own role in this world of
hybrid business venues.

Young and clean cut, the man in a blue suit at the corner table is a junior in one of the finance houses of
nearby Berkeley Square, or perhaps a mid-ranking manager in the consultancies that act as “cleaner
fish” around the whales of hedge fund management.

He is conducting the annual review for a woman in her early twenties, an office manager. Starbucks
seemed a friendlier venue than a meeting room in the office; and meeting rooms are hard to come by in
most offices anyway. Choosing Starbucks for the review will set the woman at ease, although as the
hour progresses it is he that will find the review more difficult.

She is

man interviewing for his startup

That afternoon, a couple will set up their own temporary Human Resources department in the corner
with the blue velvet sofas. Deep, armless sofas that see tourists lounging but require interviewees and
interviewers to sit forward, to stop looking too relaxed.

This couple are a man and a woman, both dressed in suits that aspire to greater heights and are yet
unsure of whether they will reach there, much as the wearers. Each holding notepads in leather binders,
they are listening to the third in a stream of candidates for a job. Still in the raw early days when sales
will matter more than marketing, strategy or other intangibles, the company are looking for a business
developer.

“What is the salary you are offering?”, asks one hopeful, wearing a suit and black trainers.

“We are still a young company, so we are looking for people who will be rewarded by the excitement of
this position … you will meet clients ever day, you will have a very responsible role. The salary will grow
depending on how the company grows.“

“But there will *be* a salary?”.

At the next table sits the next candidate in line, waiting to be interviewed. She eavesdrops casually.
“Oh yes of course, it’s a commission salary. There is no fixed salary, ybut we pay you a commission
based on the sales you generate”.

“And what is that commission?”

“It will depend, we don’t have the levels yet, we still need to meet to discuss the levels”

So it emerges, across the eight interviews to be conducted today, that there is no salary, and only a
dimly conceived job description. The winning candidate will sell holidays in Africa for this embryonic
travel agent. There may be an office in south-east London or it may be at the flat of one of the founders
– different candidates are given differently vague responses.

At the end of the afternoon, the