Pineapple on Canvas: The Odd Adventures of a Toy in the City

The one where Maher was Right.

     As Maher tapped the cover of his book, The Old Man and the Sea, he remembered how he had thought that the book was a very odd thing  for his mentor to have given him when he left his first job at the investment bank. Maher had received plenty of your typical parting gifts, Dom Perignon, Mont Blanc pens and the such, so the tattered copy of the book had really stood out. The touching inscription by his former boss, a gruff man of very few words, had been equally strange. It read:

     “Maher--even when no fish show up, don’t forget that you are one of the most talented “fisherman” I’ve had the privilege of training. You can’t control the elements all the time, but you’ll find a way to harvest your bounty. Stay strong even when the seas are rough. This book stayed with me throughout my career--I want you to have it.”

     Now, the meaning of the book was clear to Maher, and he treasured the gift more than he could express. Although he had had plenty of reasons to doubt himself, he had held firm in his beliefs and had been flexible in his approach to  mastering the “sea” of the investment community.

     The results were in; several months had passed and Maher’s two start-up investments were officially flourishing. Demand for the apps were off the charts, beyond Maher’s most optimistic projections, and there was serious chatter about buyout and funding offers from Apple, McGraw Hill, Berlitz and other large companies.

     As promised, Maher returned to the office with the three Zegna suits exactly three months later. In a rather brazen move, he had his secretary book the meeting the same day he had first visited the suits. At that time, he was shocked they had agreed to a second meeting, but now it was the three black suits that were very glad they had.

     When Maher entered the boardroom, the atmosphere was completely different. Caviar and champagne stations were set-up and the mahogany conference table was empty save for a small rectangular piece of paper. After the usual perfunctory greetings and handshakes, they all sat down.

     “We’ve been watching you, young man,” said black suit number one.

     “With interest,” added black suit number two.

     “This is for you,” said black suit number three, pushing forward the rectangular piece of paper to Maher.

     Maher pretended to look at the paper with disinterest. “Thank you, gentlemen. First things first, did you have a chance to also take a look at my term sheet? At this time, we will not be entering into any side letter agreements on fees or other economic items. All investors will be subject to the same terms.”

     Silence permeated the room and Maher regretted, for an instant, the words he had just said. After all, this would be the first real investor in his venture capital fund if he could get them to agree.

     The three black suits looked at each other, and black suit number one nodded.

     “We are prepared to accept the economic terms of your term sheet, although we may wish to discuss certain advisory board seat rights and access to management, but this can be a conversation for another time.”

     “Agreed, a conversation for another time.” Maher reached over and picked up the rectangular piece of paper. He slowly turned it around. Written across its face was a thirty million dollar figure. Maher tried not to let the shock show on his face, he simply nodded and said, “We are going to do a lot of good together.”

    The three black suits agreed simultaneously, and the champagne and caviar were brought to the table. At the end of the day Maher had raised over one hundred and fifty million dollars for his first venture capital fund, an unheard of amount even for someone with his pedigree, and he couldn’t wait to go back and share the news with Ella, and surprisingly, little Papple.
     Papple may not have realized his role, but his constant cheerleading had inspired Maher so much that he changed not only the investment objective of his fund, but also the name of his fund. The formerly named “Alt Energy Investments” had been changed to “The Pineapple Express,” representing the intensity in which Maher was hoping to storm the education app world and a throwback to the happy little fellow who was cute and yellow!