In May of 1996, Protis Global was on the brink. Three or four months had passed with no placements, and the pressure was mounting. With capital nearly depleted and the future uncertain, a pivotal moment arrived.

One of the key regional managers at Gillette took a chance and hired Bert Miller and Protis Global to find a new lead sales manager. That trust marked a turning point. The candidate selected was Jeff Suttner from Revlon, and just like that, Protis Global made its very first placement. The fee: $17,500.

Just a week and a half later, a second placement brought in $35,000. From nearly zero to almost $53,000 in less than two weeks, this back-to-back success didn’t just save the business—it launched it.

That momentum fueled a first-year total billing of $309,000, setting the stage for a profitable and promising future.

The rest, as they say, is history.