Entrepreneur’s Lament (Part 1)

It's Sunday and in today's lounge article, here's a lighter take on an entrepreneur's struggle to raise funding. Enjoy!

I’m an entrepreneur and have a startup, you know;

Here’s my story, sorry – it’s one of sorrow...

I have this sexy product idea, you see;

But none of these fools are funding me!

I went first to the most dependable source known to me,

My dearest friends and my most loving family.

“Go get a job” – said my dad and mom said “Get a wife”,

And my friends said – “Dude we’re broke, now get a life!”

But who wants a job? And what is life?

Seeing your million dollar idea, slashed with a knife...

So I decided to fight; I would persevere,

Like Steve Jobs – my hero – I would never fear.

Driven by my idol, the great Mahatma ji,

I went on a fast; no food till dad gave money.

On day one, they laughed and made lots of fun,

But two days later, hearts melted and the deal was done.

I registered my company and set up shop,

Even hired a developer and gave him esop.

But times are tough and this is an expensive land,

And there’s only so much you can do with seventy grand.

People told me, I should go see an investing angel,

Who would help me raise some ‘seed’ capital.

But I’m not a farmer, and angels are fiction,

What was I to do, with this strange contradiction?

To the VCs I should go, the realization dawned.

And once again, with new determination spawned,

I researched and e-mailed every fund that I could find,

But none responded, no matter how many times I did remind.

Using my network, I finally got that difficult break,

This fund said, “We’ll meet, but ten minutes is all you can take."

My heart thumping with hope eternal, to the meeting I went,

What happened next, I’ll share in part 2 of this lament...