The firm had a plan to finance five entrepreneurs that year.
After discussing for about an hour, four applicants were selected.
"There are three candidates remaining among the applicants shortlisted by us. We need to select one out of the three" said Karthikeyan, the Chairman of the Selection Committee.
After a short discussion, one person among the three was eliminated.
"There are two promising candidates. Which one are we going to select?" asked Karthikeyan.
"My choice is Murthy. His academic background is impressive. His financial position is also sound. His family background suggests that he has good contacts. Considering all these, I feel that the chances of his succeeding in his venture are very bright" said Shanmugam, one of the members of the committee.
Some other members endorsed his view.
Ramani was silent.
"What Mr. Ramani? What is your view?" the Chairman asked Ramani.
"If we can select two people, I will support selecting Murthy. But, if we have to choose just one person, then my choice is Senthil" said Ramani.
"I am surprised by your choice, Mr. Ramani. In fact, I wonder how Senthil was shortlisted in the first place. I think we shortlisted him because the product he intends to manufacture was appealing to all of us. I had some reservations about him, even at the time of shortlisting him. But I thought I could express my view at the time of final selection and refrained from objecting to his getting shortlisted. He is a first generation graduate. His communication skills are poor. During the interview, he struggled to reply cogently to the questions posed by us. Neither his economic background nor his social background is impressive. Don't you think that for a person to succeed in business, it is important that the he has a good economic and social background?" said Shanmugam, in an emphatic tone.
"Yes, they are important. But what are even more important are enthusiasm and perseverance. Given the weaknesses of Senthil as outlined by you, it would have been an easier and more convenient option for Senthil to focus on his studies, score well in the examinations and aim to get a good job. But, driven by a missionary zeal, he focused his efforts on developing an innovative product and succeeded in his mission, undergoing a lot of struggles in the process. In spite of facing many hurdles and failures, Senthil succeeded in his efforts, by keeping his enthusiasm alive. Did we not hear him narrate the struggles undergone by him, during the interview? Did you notice how excited he was while talking about his efforts? It is my strong opinion that his zeal and perseverance will help him succeed in his venture" said Ramani.
"I think that if we decide to finance his venture, we will be taking a huge risk" said Shanmugam.
"The very objective of venture capital is to fund ventures involving risk" quipped Ramani, smiling.
When the Chairman put the matter to vote, the majority of the members voted in favour of selecting Murthy.
"See this!" Ramani showed a cheque to Shanmugam.
"This is a cheque issued by someone in your favour. Why are you showing it to me?" asked Shanmugam.
"This is a dividend cheque. This has been issued by Senthil's company!"
"Senthil...Who?...Oh, the person who had applied to us two years back for venture capital funding! But, we didn't finance him. How did you get a dividend cheque from his company? That means..."
"Yes. Your guess is right. After our company rejected Senthil's application, I financed him in my personal capacity. His energy, enthusiasm and perseverance made me feel confident about the success of his venture. So, I took the risk and invested my own money. In two years, his company has become profitable and paid dividend to the shareholders!" said Ramani, with a felling of pride and elation.
'But, Murthy's company is yet to take off!' thought Shanmugam.
Section 2
udaiyadhu udaiyarO maRRu.
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