Page 116 of 12 Years
‘Oh yes. I remember you telling me about that during your interview.’
‘Yeah. I think I’m ready to build something again. I’m sorry to leave the Pantheon team though. Also, I must apologize to you, because you gave me a chance to work here.’
‘Well,’ Advik said. ‘You got to do what you got to do. I built Pantheon to help entrepreneurs achieve their dreams. How can I hold back my own people from doing the same?’
‘Thank you.’
‘I hired you because I loved your profile. You had experience. Plus, you had the ability to make bold moves. Like that comedy career you tried.’
I winced.
‘That was so cool. Do you still do stand-up gigs?’
‘No,’ I said. ‘That died a few years back.’
‘Why?’
‘Long story,’ I said.
‘Hmm. Anyway, what’s the start-up?’
‘Well, I’m calling it SecurityNet. It’s a cybersecurity company, particularly for cloud-based platforms.’
‘Okay, sounds interesting. I like ideas that can be described in one line.’
‘Thank you.’
‘Tell me more. I’m curious. How does it work?’
Over the next fifteen minutes, I gave him an outline of what SecurityNet was going to be, and its use case in the fast-growing cloud-server space.
Advik came back to his desk, sat down, opened a drawer and took out a cheque book. In trueWall StreetGordon Gekko style, he slid it towards me. ‘I want in,’ Advik said. ‘On whatever you’re doing. I like what I heard.’
‘Really? Advik, it’s brand-new. I need to build it up from scratch.’
‘That’s okay. The sooner I get in, the bigger the upside.’
‘Pantheon invests in companies that have achieved a certain size. SecurityNet hasn’t even begun.’
‘I’m not investing as Pantheon. I’m investing in a personal capacity. How much do you need to get started?’
‘Half a million US dollars.’
‘And who’s funding it right now?’
‘I have some savings. My best friend, Mudit, is putting in some money. That’ll cover half of it. For the rest, I was going to approach some VC firms.’
‘No need,’ Advik said. He wrote a cheque for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars and handed it to me. ‘Works?’
‘Wow. I came here to resign. I thought you’d be mad. I’m getting a cheque instead.’
‘That’s how life works sometimes. Am I in then?’
‘What percentage do you want for this?’
‘I’m putting up half the investment. So, fifty per cent?’
‘I’m doing all the work. I keep fifty per cent for that. The remaining fifty, you, Mudit and I divide on the basis of our investment ratios. You’re putting in half the money, so half of fifty. Twenty-five per cent.’
