I was talking to a senior relative at a birthday party.
He asked me where I am working.
I said I work with a startup.
“Oh yes, startups. I know, they are popular these days. I heard the government is doing something to help them” he said. Apparently he’d read in the news.
“So how do you like it in a startup?” he continued.
“The kind of a person I am, I prefer working with startups” I sipped my coke and replied casually.
“What kind of a person are you?” he asked squinting one of his eyes.
“I am a startup kind of a person”, I said spontaneously, shrugging my shoulders as if I’d offered a self-explanatory and simple answer that requires no further paraphrasing or explanation.
“Hmm”, he sounded puzzled. He perhaps wanted me to elaborate, but was perhaps shy or hesitant to ask.
“You see, people who prefer working with startups are a different species, with a different anatomy”, I said, seeing an opportunity to pull his leg for some entertainment in an otherwise boring party.
“What?” he was taken aback and almost spurted soft drink he had sipped.
I was quick enough to jump backwards to dodge it, just in case.
I explained, “Startup enthusiasts have a brain, two eyes, two ears, one nose, one mouth, two hands and two legs.”
He looked disgusted as if I had cracked a poor joke.
I repeated, “Yes, startup enthusiasts have a brain, two eyes, two ears, one nose, one mouth, two hands and two legs.”
“So you mean normal humans do not have a brain, two eyes, two ears, one nose, one mouth, two hands and two legs?” he asked in a sarcastic tone.
“Startup enthusiasts have a brain, two eyes, two ears, one nose, one mouth, two hands and two legs that are a tad different”, I explained.
And then I briefly explained further.
See below for a semi-graphic version of what I told him.
