VC:VC Haikus

I love the Haiku form … the constraints force you to find the perfect words and to trade off one word for another.

I felt only a Haiku could capture a mystery that was presented to me, and solved a moment later, during my wonderful ride with friends on Sunday morning.

Bright red mess ahead.
Dead squirrel in biker’s path?
Smells rise: fries, ketchup.

This got me thinking about other topics for Haikus. How about something from the fabulous Haikus for Jews by David Bader.

Monarch butterfly,
I know your name used to be
Caterpillarstein.

For the venture capital world, some commentary on a still topical trend from a 2006 Business Week haiku competition; this entry by Andrew Watson.

Web two point zero
Last year’s catch phrase, this year’s thing
Whatever it means

For the world of non-profits, I found this from someone called Rhonda on the 29 Gifts website.

a new day has dawned
another day of giving
i can't wait to start

(“Giving” in the context of the 29 Gifts website is different from charitable giving, but the haiku works for either!)

To round this off, a couple more from me… first a venture capitalist’s lament

Another quarter;
sales, cash targets missed again.
Why did we invest?

and, at last, a celebration

10-bagger! Hooray!
At last, a celebration.
IRR triumph.

(10-bagger: a venture capital investment in which we make 10 or more times our money when we our shares in the company. 
IRR: Internal Rate of Return: a standard measure of Venture Capital fund performance.)