The animals
were atwitter. The final night of Disrupt! Barnyard was about to start.
Rooster was
nervous. He had been asked to judge but felt out of
place. Last year's winner of the business plan contest had been an app that reminded
cows to chew their cuds. Rooster knew more than he cared to about cows,
but he was pretty sure he couldn't have dreamed up that business in a million
years.
Fortunately,
Horse and Big Pig were also judges. Horse had written a thousand articles
about tech and knew his stuff. Pig had made his name last year
investing with two ducks in an ethanol plant. ("Corn wants to eat
the world" had become an important investment thesis at Big Pig's firm.) Maybe Rooster
would luck out and one of the final plans would involve corn.
Black Rat was
up first. The crowd settled back, ready to be dazzled. "Hello
everyone." Rat looked nervous. The crowd cheered, even the
crows in back who could be counted on for a heckle or two as the night went on.
"I am a serial entrepreneur and tonight..."
Rooster
stopped listening. "Serial entrepreneur?" he whispered to Horse
and Big Pig. It didn't seem that long ago he had been chasing Rat out of
the shed with the fermented corn feed crumble.
"And
tonight's business plan," Pig added. "That's two. Two is
'serial' in anyone's book." Pig had a habit of saying everything
like he was the smartest animal in the barnyard.
Horse forced
a laugh. "I've written a thousand articles and no one has ever
called me a serial journalist. Rooster has been running the coop for a
decade and he's not a serial manager."
Big Pig
snorted. "Serial murderer. Serial philanderer. Serial
entrepreneur. It makes sense if you think about it."
The three
turned back to Black Rat who was explaining his latest app. Rooster was
appalled. Rat was proposing a service that encouraged the barnyard
animals to post lies about each other, anonymously. The lies would be
kept on line for two milking cycles and then be permanently deleted. But
Rat said "permanently" in a funny way, like an old piece of fermented corn
feed crumble had risen in the back of his throat. "It's really all about
community," Rat explained.
Pig leaned
in, fully absorbed. He hadn't expected anything quite this good.
Rooster raised his wing. Something was very off.
Rat saw
Rooster and paused. "How did you come up with this idea?"
Rooster wondered. Rat smiled. "Well, it's always been my dream
to be an entrepreneur." Then he turned back to the crowd. "The
world needs entrepreneurs!" The audience erupted.
Horse smelled
the problem. "Wait, Rat. What problem is this app designed to
solve?"
Rat paused
again. He seemed a little confused. One of the crows in back cawed.
"Let him present!" Rat found his bearings. "Thanks,
but I think I understand what the judge is asking." He turned to Horse.
"I have a passion for this app," he said. Then his tail
rose as he emphasized, "I am very passionate about this entire app
space."
Rat beamed.
He'd come fully prepared for this question. "It's everyone in
the barnyard!" he exclaimed. "Everyone has a secret ax to
grind." Then he went for the coup de grace: "My disruptive new
service is about community and transparency!"
The Disrupt! audience roared. The crows
hooted agreement. Big Pig leaned
back, satisfied. "This kid really knows his stuff," he
whispered to Horse and Rooster. "I could get passionate about this
space, too."
Rooster
looked at Horse. Horse looked at Rooster. Both had the identical
thought at the identical moment: By comparison, last year's cud-chewing
app was looking better all the time.