A modern bed-time story for the aspiring venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and consultants!

Long time ago in a far-away land, there was this King who had three daughters. One day, he summoned all his daughters to his royal office and asked them what they wanted out of life.

The eldest daughter said “Oh father, I want to marry a charming prince of a large kingdom, who would become king one day”. The king was pleased with her answer.

The middle daughter said “Oh father, I want to marry a charming CEO with a huge bonus package and stock options”. The king was pleased with her answer as well.
The youngest daughter said “Oh father, I want to start my own business”.

The king and the other two daughters were all shocked and dismayed by her answer. “You are a princess. You live in royal palaces surrounded by servants who would fulfill your wishes, not in an office or a board room surrounded by employees and “clients” and stuff!” the King replied.
“But, father, this is what I want to do with my life and not just get married”

The King was unhappy with her insistence, but respected her wishes. “Ok then. You are on your own. You shall receive nothing from me but your monthly allowance”.
The princess coyly left her father’s royal office under the mocking looks of her two other sisters.

As the days went by, the two daughters married the men of their dreams in great celebrations and festivities, while our young princess worked hard to earn her MBA from a good school living on her “little” allowance. To support herself, she also took a part-time job in a department store. While working there, she developed a good understanding of clients’ buying trends. She noticed that younger generation wanted more variety of casual/outing clothes that have a strong sense of style and a vibrant brand.

She thought and thought until an idea blinked! Why not launch her own “Princess Line” brand of younger fashion and accessories! She did a market study, evaluated the market size and growth rate, evaluated competition, performed her SWOT analysis, considered Porter’s five forces, identified suppliers, designed the supply chain and operations requirements, and created financial statements (balanced sheet, income statement and cash flow) for the next five years. All she needed was the capital to start her venture.

She went from one bank to another and from one VC to another, but no one would finance her thinking she is just a “spoiled” princess and would not be serious about her own business.
One day when she was leaving the offices of a VC, she got into the elevator with a young gentleman. He casually asked her if she worked there. She briefly gave him her 30-second short talk about her business idea. He was genuinely intrigued and gave her his business card; it read “Prince Charming” – **** Holding! What luck! And he was handsome too!

The next day she called him and arranged for a meeting. From that point on, things started taking a momentum. After, meetings, presentations and discussion, Prince Charming eventually provided the Princess with the seed capital.

She started her business by launching a limited line in one of the prestigious department stores (another investment of the Prince) and it was a hit! She expanded her operations by adding more line items, improving on the brand by linking it to her royal image, participating in public events, fashion shows and sponsoring events. The brand did position well with target audience. The business grew nicely to a level where it received further equity investments from private equity funds, some of those who had rejected the plan at first but now getting in at a premium!

Working together very closely, spending so much time together, and seeing how they complement each other, the Princess and Prince kindled and nurtured a loving relationship.
As in any happy ending, the Princess and the Prince got married and now they are running a portfolio of successful ventures and helping other entrepreneurs realize their dreams and potential.

“Dad/Mom what happened to the other two daughters?”

Well, the eldest daughter’s Kingdom turned into constitutional monarchy, in a democratic move by the parliament and people. Members of the royal family are living on set allowances and little political influence.

As for the middle daughter’s husband (the CEO), a year after their marriage he was caught in a financial scandal amidst allegations of insider trading and over the board “creative accounting” practices. He is going through legal investigations and persecutions.Through that process that is both long and tedious the princess and her infamous CEO are living on stipends that have to be approved on a month by month basis.

“Sweet dreams and goodnight”

Moral of the story? I leave that to your comments : )