In mid-2007, a small group of investors made a breakthrough discovery: a new way to spin a non-flammable yarn—and knit it into a fabric that felt as soft and luxurious as cashmere. This discovery would result in a dramatic texture change for non-flammables, as all previous fabrications were bulky and needed to be reinforced in order to work.

These investors knew they needed someone to drive the effort of commercialization as quickly and efficiently as possible. Given Fabrizio Balestri's documented experiences with successful start up companies, he was chosen for the job. By September, he was on board to lead the effort as Lorica International's COO.

After investigating the technical yarn market and working closely with their partners, Fabrizio and his team knew they needed to take three critical steps to successfully bring this product to market.

In the early 1990s, Union Benefit Life, a newcomer in the student lending industry, began utilizing an outreach technique that had never been used before in the student finance arena: direct-to-consumer marketing. Unfortunately, while this technique proved very successful in generating loan applications, it strained the relationship between Union Benefit Life (UBL) and college Financial Aid Administrators, who were not used to lenders taking such a proactive approach to market loans.

Within a year of UBL's entry in the business, Financial Aid Administrators (FAAs) nationwide had begun a brutal campaign of criticism against the company, most notably on the FAA's listserv, which featured email after email charging UBL with misleading advertising and deceptive mail practices. UBL's CEO contacted Fabrizio Balestri to help.

It's important to note that UBL was not doing anything wrong—they were getting the word out about an important and highly viable loan product that benefited many families.

In 1996, American Express announced they were entering the student lending industry—a decision that was met with tremendous goodwill throughout the financial aid marketplace. Having purchased Educational Funding Company shortly before, American Express had a strong core team, a few outstanding sales representatives, and the weight of a giant Brand to help push their cause forward.

However, as the company prepared to launch this new student lending division, it faced a unique marketing challenge: With a household name in financial services and a sterling reputation, how would American Express stand out in an industry that had already defined its role before it had even opened its doors?

This may not seem like a significant problem—certainly, American Express already had the kind of name recognition most companies longed to have, and the company was very well-respected. However, the student lending division had to grow its sales force from four to fifty in record time, which posed an immediate personnel challenge.