Credibility came before the product
I wrote about Bloomberg in a January 18, 2021 First 1000 issue. The source says Michael Bloomberg had spent more than $4 million creating the software-and-hardware terminal before landing a customer, and had received $10 million when he left Salomon Brothers.
Year one was not a customer year. The issue describes consulting work with Merrill Lynch that lasted six months and produced $100,000 plus expenses. The consulting job mattered because it put Bloomberg close to a potential first buyer and built credibility before the terminal was ready.
That is a different kind of pre-sales work. The consulting was not just revenue. It was a way to get close enough to the buyer to understand who could approve the product.
Do the work that gets you the meeting
The source’s year-two story is deliberately absurd: Bloomberg bought two coffees and two teas every morning and walked the Merrill offices looking for someone reading a newspaper. Eventually he got a meeting with Ed Moriarty, the person who could make a terminal decision.
I would not copy the coffee ritual as a sales playbook. I would copy the focus. A large account is not “the market.” It is a person with a budget, a problem, and the authority to say yes. The early job is to find that person and earn enough context to make a credible promise.
Make the buyer’s downside smaller
Merrill’s first response was that it could build the product internally. When Merrill said it could get started in six months, Bloomberg promised to deliver in six months and said they would not have to pay if they disliked the result.
The issue says the final contract was signed two or three months later, so the six-month promise began after the contract. The original deal covered 20 units. When the first terminal crashed during the presentation, Merrill’s team still celebrated that something useful had arrived on time and committed to two additional units, according to the source.
The point is not “promise anything.” It is to turn a buyer’s fear into a bounded test. Define the deadline, the acceptance condition, the payment boundary, and what happens if the product misses.
The enterprise pre-sale checklist
If I were selling an unfinished enterprise product, I would ask:
- What paid work gets you closer to the buyer and teaches you the workflow?
- Who can approve the purchase, not just praise the demo?
- What is the smallest useful delivery that proves the idea?
- Can the buyer exit safely if you miss the promise?
- Which bugs are acceptable in a first delivery, and which break the contract?
The takeaway
Bloomberg’s first sale was not a polished demo. It was a credible relationship, a clear six-month promise, and a buyer-side downside that had been made small enough to try.
Sources and original research
Adapted from Bloomberg, published January 18, 2021. The historical funding, consulting, $100,000, coffee/tea, six-month guarantee, two-to-three-month contract delay, 20-unit contract and two-unit expansion are claims from the original issue. No current Bloomberg metrics or new founder research is claimed.
Updated September 21, 2026. Based on original First 1000 reporting and the sources listed above.