| I told my family that I finally accepted that | | | | steps to take the call in private. I jumped |
| my passion had become an ob- session, and you | | | | up and got into micro-brew's face. I told him |
| could even call it an addiction. They all | | | | he was under-capitalized. He was giving away |
| laughed. What had taken me 25 years to | | | | his intellectual property. His burn rate was |
| accept, they had known for years. | | | | twice as fast as this so-called "angel" |
| | | | investor was revealing. Big Pharma would pay |
| My wife detected my addiction as early as | | | | a much higher multiple for the company if he |
| our honeymoon in Paris. All I wanted to do | | | | would listen to my suggestions.He looked |
| was spend time at the Bourse trading francs | | | | bewildered. I said it again, "Don't make the |
| on the spot market. She kept on nudging me to | | | | deal - you'll lose your company to this |
| see some old picture in the Louvre.For my | | | | chamber of commerce man of the year wanna-be |
| daughter, it became clear when I demanded | | | | in seven months."The conversation on the cell |
| that her prom date be an officer in Junior | | | | phone ended, and Mister Single Malt Scotch |
| Achievement. I thought it was a good way to | | | | asked, "Do we have a deal? " Micro-brew |
| ensure that she dated a young man with career | | | | looked at him, then me, and said.... "No |
| aspirations. She saw it differently.It had | | | | way!" He reached for his beer and slid into |
| been six months since I had read a business | | | | my booth.I don't have to tell you what |
| plan. And I missed it. I mumbled when the | | | | happened next. You all know it too well. We |
| Wall Street Journal driver came down my | | | | sat for three and a half hours, re-doing |
| block... only to skip my house. My wife had a | | | | spreadsheets on his laptop, and playing out |
| block on our cable television - no more | | | | various pro-formas.I finally stumbled home, |
| MSNBC, and it was no better on the Internet; | | | | embarrassed and yet delirious with joy over |
| I couldn't access Bloomberg.Last Tuesday, a | | | | the deal I had structured. My wife could see |
| power stronger then myself won out. I don't | | | | me hiding the business plan under my coat. |
| know how, but I ended up at the | | | | She demanded to see my cell phone. Quickly |
| Harvard-Yale-Princeton Club. My eyes focused | | | | she went through the calls I had made in the |
| on the booths along the back wall. I | | | | last four hours. She knew the area codes: New |
| immediately saw the signs. A shot of | | | | York, Brussels, London, and my newest haunt, |
| single-malt Scotch, half finished, was being | | | | New Delhi. I had been lining up angel |
| used as a paperweight on a four-color | | | | investors.What could I say? I had already |
| business plan. The reader, a silver-haired | | | | used up my inventory of "I promise it will |
| executive with monogrammed reading glasses, | | | | never happen again." She had been going to |
| was analyzing spreadsheets as he | | | | her own meetings and knew that she needed to |
| simultaneously served volleys of | | | | go on with her life and not let my addiction |
| staccato-like questions at the young man | | | | manipulate her.Had I called my sponsor? She |
| across the table.This young man was obviously | | | | had not seen his number in my cell phone's |
| new to the game. His dark blue suit looked | | | | call list. " No," I whispered.She made me |
| like he had not worn it since his bar | | | | return to Entrepreneurs Anonymous (EA). I had |
| mitzvah, and the tie must have been knotted | | | | stopped going to my meetings. I had beaten it |
| eight years ago and never unraveled. He had | | | | or so I thought. But the truth is, we never |
| ordered the latest micro-brew, but had not | | | | do. I was just like everyone else in EA. I |
| taken even one sip.I sat at the next booth | | | | matched the profile perfectly. Eighty percent |
| and listened in. I smiled as I heard the two | | | | of members have a relapse within their first |
| argue over burn rates, traction projections, | | | | six months. I was now another data-point |
| alpha/ beta sites, and most stridently about | | | | confirming that statistic.Hesh Reinfeld |
| valuations.A cell phone rang, and the | | | | writes a syndicated business humor column. |
| single-malt Scotch stood and walked a few | | | | |