The almost poetic The Last Day by Francisco Dao on Pandodaily is about the CEO of a startup that failed, on the last day, with empty offices, broken dreams, and a maxed-out credit card.
He thought the hard part would be laying off his friends, but they knew it was coming and made it easy on him. They told him it wasn’t his fault, and for a moment he felt things weren’t all bad. But that was 10 days ago when the last one hugged him goodbye and graciously left. 10 days that he’d been alone, desperately searching for something, anything to save his company.
It was over now. Two years of work and dreams replaced by a landing page.
Read the whole thing. It’s haunting. And it reminded me of the Dropkick Murphy’s “Warrior’s Code,” their tribute to legendary boxer Mickey Ward who could take just unbelievable punishment and still win the fight.
This song is about Massachusetts’ own Micky Ward, a boxing legend who defines the heart and soul of the sport.
“It’s another murderous night
Another left hook from hell
A bloody war on the boardwalk
And the kid from Lowell rises to the bell”
Micky Ward vs. Arturo Gatti, Round 9, 2002 Ring Magazine Round of the Year. Why either boxer was still standing at the end of the round is beyond me. Ward won the fight by decision.
Sometimes, when you get knocked on your ass, it’s just about getting off the ground and trying one more time. A comment on Pandodaily expresses that sentiment well.
Yeah been there. Personally, the scene pictured above wasn’t as bad as the lead up. Knowing it was going to happen for a couple of weeks was worse – having to smile at your staff and parrot a vague (but nevertheless vaguely positive) line that something will come up, even although both parties knew that the company was fucked, having discussions with the bank where they send over a different rep (one whose cheap suit and pallid demeanour mark him out as the ‘shut them down guy’), walking into the first meeting with the liquidator to discuss their impending appointment. Wondering how much I’d get for my house (thankfully, it sold a few weeks before the local property market melted). That was the worst of it.
It took me 4 years to get over it, settle upon a new idea that might work, get funded, and get to a week before launch…
Form is temporary.