T’was the night before disruption … A startup Christmas poem
December 22, 2016 | Bobby Burch

With inspiration from Clement Clarke Moore’s classic A Visit from St. Nicholas, Startland News wanted to take a creative crack at wishing our readers a merry Christmas and happy holidays. Hope you enjoy 🙂
T’was the night before Christmas when all through the land,
Not a founder was sleeping, for at work they still stand.
Their laptops of silver did twinkle and gleam.
And on gizmos and gadgets they continued to dream.
Red-eyed they remained and alert in their lair
In hopes that disruption would soon be found there.
They scoured the market to find just the right fit
With the maxim “fail fast,” the duds they’d omit.
But the creators were restless with inspiration remote
More time to researching, they’d surely devote
“The investors stopped calling,” I said to my friend.
“Perhaps a bold pivot!” she replied with a grin.
Distraught and downhearted, I slunk in my chair.
“What can we concoct for the masses to care?”
And then in an instant, with speeds near gigabit,
I heard a thunderous crash like the roof had been split!
At once I turned round to my screen on the right
And before me stood Santa made of bits and of bytes.
“What here is the problem?” he chortled with glee.
“Our startup is flailing!” and he seemed to agree.
“We tried tweaking this and we shifted to that.”
I gasped in frustration, then he showed me his hat.
“Take a look at my cap — this advice you should heed.
It’s simple yet useful and fulfills a great need!
“Your pursuits are noble and aim for everyone,
But a product so broad is really tailored to none.”
Like a big bag of bricks his note arrived with a smack!
“A narrower focus will get us on the right track!”
Pixelated and plump, his cheeks rosy with cheer,
Santa whistled to summon his team of reindeer.
But I heard him exclaim when they left quite abrupt
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all who disrupt!”


2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
This voter-approved investor backed Zhou B Arts, KD Academy and a new hotel at 18th and Vine; now it has a new home
EDCKC absorbing initiative built to strengthen KC’s urban core after $60M in investments A move to transition the Central City Economic Development (CCED) program under the umbrella of a larger KCMO impact agency is expected to boost the urban core-focused initiative’s ability to uplift both the people and the places at the heart of Kansas…
Hidden costs of grief: Chef’s murder illustrates economic toll of gun violence in KC
Editor’s note: This story was originally published by The Beacon, a member of the KC Media Collective, which also includes Startland News, KCUR 89.3, American Public Square, Kansas City PBS/Flatland, and Missouri Business Alert. Click here to read the original story from The Beacon, an online news outlet focused on local, in-depth journalism in the public interest.…
‘The American dream is the Midwest’: LaunchKC powers next generation of startup job creators
Editor’s note: The following is part of an ongoing feature series exploring impacts of initiatives within the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City through a paid partnership with EDCKC. Relocating to Kansas City after winning a LaunchKC grant — and the community and infrastructure support that comes with it — gives Russel Karim’s startup a centralized…
Roz audits its path to $2.15M in early funding; how KC helped this AI startup scale its potential
A series of funding wins is boosting a Kansas City startup’s efforts to automate the most complex — and tedious — parts of compliance work, drawing from the co-founder’s own pain points and resources from a server-full of local entrepreneur support initiatives. With $2.15 million in funding under its belt so far, Olathe-based Roz — which…
