What would you do if you were a young startup entrepreneur, and one day, out of the blue, you found a message on your phone from someone claiming to be a rep of the nation’s largest retail chain—which wanted to do business with you? If you were Yosef “Joe” Martin, founder and president of Merchandize Liquidators, you would ignore the message thinking, as Martin did, “This must be some kind of joke.”

Martin was compelled, however, to return the call when the rep contacted him again. A wise move, because it turned out the rep was legitimate, and yes, Martin and Merchandize Liquidators had attracted the attention of the nation’s largest retailer, and yes, it did indeed wish to do business with him.

 …