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I smiled and took a sip of my martini. “A journey half done, is yet begun“, I offered. “If you are sure that you know where you are going, you will probably not end up where you should be. So where did you end up?”
I have decided …
“I have decided to not be an angel investor,” she said.
I took a bit of time to absorb her statement. It wasn’t exactly what I expected to hear. “Explain“, I requested.
“When I was a little girl I asked my father what I should be“, she said. I hummed the melody of an old song as she finished. She laughed and offered, “Yes, that is about it. He told me that business was the way to go. I suppose that was because he had worked for a large company most of his life and always dreamed of running his own business. But, for whatever reason, I set out to become an entrepreneur. I was pretty good at it and it defined my life – or most of it.”
Both of us knew the costs that her decision had extracted. She had not been able to maintain a stable relationship – was now leaving her childbearing years behind without having had children. Business has been an expensive master in some very melancholy ways.
“Now, I found myself continuing on that road – the one that my father suggested all those years ago. You have lead me to see that road in a different way – from above rather than at ground level. I now realize that I have a chance to take an entirely new road – to change my life and its direction.”
“That had to be a frightening thought when it first came,” I observed.
“You’re damn right it was and I was pissed at you for a while. I asked you to help me with an investment and here I was looking in the mirror, trying to decide who this person really was. The problem was that the mirror showed more than me; it showed my life – past and present. But it wouldn’t show me my future. ”
I let the comment settle and then decided to ask. “Well, I’d like to hear something of your journey. But first I would be less than prudent to ask, what’s the check for?”
“You got me into this mess and you can damn well help me get out. I need to decide what to do about the company. Consider it a retainer.” And then she smiled.
Next?
I still wanted more of the story so I suggested that we enjoy our drinks and my cigar – putting the business discussion off for the next day. “Have you decided what you are going to do,” I asked? She paused then began, “I remembered what you had told me about Delphi and the Oracle. How two gods reigned during different parts of the year. Apollo, the god of light and the sun; truth and prophecy, was ascendant nine months of the year. But for the other three months another god – Dionysus, god of wine, wine cups, wineskin, grapes, theater, and fertility – reigned. It took me a while to figure out what that meant and why you thought I should hear it – but I finally did. I decided that I needed to let Dionysus and a bit of winter in.”
“A journey half done, is yet begun“, I offered.
“Yes“, she responded. We spent the rest of the time in idle chat and reminiscence. As for the company and team, they would learn their fate soon enough.
© Dr. Earl R. Smith II
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The Money Chase: What Does Investment Grade Mean? Part 2
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The Money Chase: What Does Investment Grade Mean? Part 3
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The Money Chase: What Does Investment Grade Mean? Part 4
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The Money Chase: What Does Investment Grade Mean? Part 5
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The Money Chase: What Does Investment Grade Mean? Part 6
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