Sheryl Gong, Marketing, PayPal

“Buying a knife is like buying a new pair of shoes,” Denise Nelson, the General Manager of Perfect Edge, told me as I perused the endless wall of knives. “You have to try it on and see how it fits,” she said as she handed me the handle of a lightweight Gyuto Japanese knife that fit perfectly in my hand.  

Mike Solaegui, the owner and founder of Perfect Edge, also shared some useful shopping advice as we chatted. “When you buy fruit, you should buy it from a produce stand. When you buy meat, you should buy it from a butcher. And when you buy knives, you should buy them from a knife store,” he said, explaining that to get the best quality for anything you buy, you should go straight to the source.

Here at Perfect Edge, they are experts in cutlery and knife sharpening and it’s obvious that they really know their stuff. Last week our PayPal team was on location to film an interview with Mike as he told us why he loves PayPal Here and how it has helped his business grow. Here are just a few behind-the-scenes pictures from the shoot:

Just like his father, Mike started his career as a butcher and realized that there was a growing demand for good quality knife sharpening, as many of his customers would frequently bring in their knives to be sharpened. He then retired from the meat business and decided to create his very own cutlery-sharpening machine and Perfect Edge was born. With the boom of mobile trucks, he decided to take his business on the road, and now services more than 800 hotels and restaurants throughout Northern California. 

Unlike the “cutting” edge technology that he had created, he realized that taking payments on his mobile truck was still a challenge. His previous credit card processing system was expensive and inconvenient, so he started using PayPal Here and now taking payments on his truck has never been faster and easier! He told us during the shoot, “Now we can fly!”

Despite being a little intimated by technology, he couldn’t believe how easy it was to use and now recommends it to many of his friends and colleagues. He simply carries the card reader in one pocket and his cell phone in the other, taking payments instantly and on the spot, which is great when he’s on-the-go at places like farmers’ markets. Now he can take all credit card types and regardless of the card, it’s the same, simple fee - 2.7% per swipe, which is great for his business and, more importantly, makes his customers happy (not to mention, they feel more secure with a name that they can trust).

At 66 years old, Mike is still as sharp as a Wusthof blade and has successfully expanded his business both nationally and internationally, and has no plans to retire anytime soon. If you’re lucky, maybe you’ll see his truck at your local farmers’ market!