Venture Capital Pie

Reading about Frank Quattrone's deal with federal prosecutor's got me reminiscing about those heady days of the Dot Com Bubble. Quattrone personally contributed a great deal to inflating that balloon, and in tribute I have dug up a song I wrote shortly after the bubble burst (with apologies to Don McLean).

Venture Capital Pie

A long, long time ago
I can still remember how
that money used to make me smile

And I knew if they heard my pitch
I’d convince them they’d get rich
and maybe they'd be happy for awhile

But the April ruling made me shiver
with every business plan I’d deliver
Bad news on the ticker
I couldn't get much sicker
I do remember how hard I tried
to get those investors to decide
But they just shrugged
and I just cried
The day the bubble died!

We started singing:
Bye, bye venture capital pie
drove my Lexus down to Sand Hill Road
to give it a try
But them good old boys just said
“The well has run dry.
No more funding for pie in the sky!
No more funding for pie in the sky!”

Copyright © 2001 Philip Bookman

(The "April ruling" refers to the April 3, 2000 Microsoft court ruling that signaled a market crash and is considered to have been the day the Dot Com Bubble really burst. Sand Hill Road is the Silicon Valley street where many VCs have their offices.)