Strangest place I've closed a deal

A family vacation last June produced "one of the oddest coincidences in my life," said Billy Bauer, a marketing director at his family's company Royce Leather.

"My family are big outdoorsy people," he said. "Fishing is what we look forward to doing wherever we go on vacation."

Bauer was on a marlin fishing trip off the coast of St. Martin when he got into an argument with his brother over a new wallet they'd developed with built-in GPS and theft-protection technology.

A buyer for a major industry catalog was also on the boat. "He overheard us talking about our wallet and wanted to know more," said Bauer.

That conversation led to a $40,000 deal.