612. When the Past Came to Haunt

Satish was excited, when he came out of the venture capital firm, after completing his interview with them.

"I feel confident that they will finance my venture. What do you think?" he asked his friend Kumar, who was with him during the interview.

"I also feel that they liked your project idea. I hope they will take a favourable decision soon" said Kumar.

"I should thank you for referring me to this venture capital firm" said Satish.

"The owners of this firm follow a conservative approach. They won't consider any proposal, unless it is referred to them by a source they trust. Since one of the directors of this company is known to me, I recommended you to them. And, they called you for an interview. Generally, they will  have the interview only with the entrepreneur and his associates or executives. I don't understand why they insisted that I be present in the interview, when I am not involved in your venture!" wondered Kumar.

When Satish called up Kumar after two weeks and asked him whether he had any information from the venture capital firm, Kumar told him, "No. I didn't get any message from them. I think they will communicate with you directly. Wait for a few more days."

"Didn't the director of the firm you are acquainted with give you any hint about their decision?" asked Satish, concerned about the delay.

"No. And it won't be appropriate for me to ask him about this, either" said Kumar.

After about a month, Satish received a terse communication from the venture capital firm stating, "We regret that we are unable to finance your venture."

Satish rang up to Kumar, told him about the rejection letter and said, "I was very confident that they would finance my venture. I feel disappointed," conveying his disappointment.

After being silent for a few seconds, Kumar asked Satish, "Do you remember that during the interview, they asked you about the two year break in your career?"

"Yes, I do. I honestly answered that question, by telling them that I launched a business, but that since it didn't do well, I wound it up and took up a job once again."

"They also asked you about the details of that business, didn't they?"

"Yes, they did. I gave a detailed account of what business I had started, what the problems faced by me were and why I decided to wind it up. It appeared to me that they were appreciative of my being frank about that issue."

"They might have appreciated your frankness. But it was a business with good potential. It was true that you had some problems in marketing. But, if you had continued running the business for a couple of years more, it would have become successful. The person who bought that business from you has been doing very well now" said Kumar.

"What are you trying to say?" asked Satish.

"I think that your having started a business earlier and given up after a couple of years might have created a negative impression about you in the minds of the people who interviewed you. From your perspective, the option to quit the business and cut your losses rather than take the risk of suffering more losses, by continuing the business might have appeared sensible. But, people who run venture capital funds have the inclination to reward risk-takers and hence might have perceived your decision as a shortcoming on your part" said Kumar, somewhat reluctantly.

Satish was silent for a while and then asked Kumar, "Did you already expect this? Why didn't you tell me earlier? Now, I remember that while I was excited after the interview, you didn't share my optimism!"

"When, in the interview, they asked you about your earlier business,  I had an apprehension that this could be held against you. But since you were optimistic about getting a favourable decision from them, I didn't want to express my doubts and dampen your spirits. When they didn't communicate with you even after two weeks, I thought that they might be making enquiries about your old venture. Now, it appears that they gathered more details about your previous venture, and rejected you, thinking that you had not tried enough to make your earlier business profitable. Don't be disheartened. We will try to tap some other sources" said Kumar.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 62
Perseverance

Verse 612 (in Tamil):
vinaikkaN vinai kedal Ombal vinaik kuRai
thIrndhArin thIrndhanRu ulagu.

Meaning:

While doing a task, don't abandon it in the middle, thinking that it will be difficult to complete it. The world deserts those who desert an essential task.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'nidhi udhavi kidaikkumA' by the same author.) 

Verse 613 (soon)
Verse 611