My Shot
A Parody of: My Shot by Lin-Manuel Miranda
In celebration of Scott Bailey’s 10 years at MassChallenge
Written in 2020
[Scott]
I am not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
Hey yo, I'm just like MassChallenge
I'm young, scrappy, and hungry
And I'm not throwing away my shot
I’ma do entrepreneurship in college
I prob'ly shouldn't brag, but dag, I amaze and astonish
The problem is I got a lot of brains but no experience
I gotta work hard to be heard
With every word I drop knowledge
I’ma make calls in the halls, reppin’ in flannel
Tryin' to reach our goals, my power of reach unstoppable
Only twenty-two but my mind is older
These Boston brick streets get colder, I shoulder
Every burden, every disadvantage
I have learned to manage, I don't have title to brandish
I walk these streets famished!
The plan is to fan this spark into a flame
But damn, it's getting dark, so let me spell out the name
I am the S-C-O-T-T-B-A-I-L-E-Y so come with me
A startup renaissance that’s yet to be
Great Recession keeps sh*ttin' on us relentlessly
Essentially, businesses fail endlessly
Thank god MA’s running a spending spree
Status quo ain't gonna set the startups free
Let us lead a revolution in this industry
Enter me (he says in parentheses)
Don't be shocked when your history book mentions MC
I will lay down the laws to gets us far
Eventually, you'll see our ascendancy
And I am not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
Hey yo, I'm just like MassChallenge
I'm young, scrappy and hungry
And I'm not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
Hey yo, I'm just like MassChallenge
I'm young, scrappy and hungry
And I'm not throwing away my shot
It's time to take a shot
[startup 1]
I dream of life with a founding legacy
MassChallenge will help accelerate my company?
[startup 2]
Accelerate, how you say, how you say, predominate!
When we launch, we make other sides panicky
So watch out!
[John]
Yo, I'm a business apprentice
And I got entrepreneurs in loco parentis
I’ma start a revolution 'cause I know it's my chance
To make more pie, instead of makin’ some slides
I'm gonna take a shot
[Akhil]
But we won’t effect change
Until the dreamers have the same chance as you and me
You and I. Do or die. Wait till I sally in
the stadium with the first startup battalion
Have another shot
[skeptic]
Geniuses, lower your voices
You keep out of trouble and you double your choices
I'm with you, but the risk is fraught
You've got to be carefully taught
You talk, but it won’t be bought
[Scott]
Hey, check what we got
Mister John Harthorne, hard rock like Lancelot
I think your plans look hot
Akhil, I like you a lot
Let's hatch a plot blacker than the kettle callin' the pot
What are the odds the gods would put us all in one spot
Poppin' a squat on conventional wisdom, like it or not
A bunch of innovation ecosystem constructionists?
Give me a position, show me where the connection is
Oh, am I talkin' too loud?
Sometimes I get fired up, shoot off at the mouth
I never had a couple mentors before
I promise that I'll make y'all proud
[all]
Let's get these guys in front of a crowd!
I am not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
Hey yo, I'm just like MassChallenge
I'm young, scrappy and hungry
And I'm not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
Hey yo, I'm just like MassChallenge
I'm young, scrappy and hungry
And I'm not throwing away my shot
Everybody sing
Whoa, whoa, whoa
Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa
Ay, let 'em hear ya
Let's go
Whoa, whoa, whoa I said shout it to the rooftops
Whoa, whoa, whoa said, to the rooftops
Whoa, whoa, whoa come on
Come on, let's go
Rise up
When you're living for your needs, you rise up
Tell your friend that he's gotta rise up
Tell your mentor that she's gotta rise up
When are these startups gonna rise up?
When are these investors gonna rise up?
When are these governments gonna rise up?
When are these communities gonna rise up? Rise up
[Scott]
I imagine growth so much it feels more like a memory
When's it gonna hit next?
Organically, a few weeks ahead of me?
When I see it comin', do I jump or do I wait and see?
Is it like a beat or tsunami?
See, I never thought I'd join a revolution
Where I come from folks all like the steady
Ask anybody why we livin' fast and we laugh, reach for a glass
We have to make this moment last, that's plenty
Scratch that, this is not a moment, it's the movement
Where all the hungriest souls with something to prove went?
Foes oppose us, we take an honest stand
We roll like Moses, building a promised land
And? If we really start a renaissance?
'Zat a guaranteed opportunity for global startups?
Or will the fire we lit get no recognition, burn and die without any evolution?
I know the action in the street is excitin'
But Jesus, between all the pitchin’ 'n fightin'
I've been readin' 'n writin'
We need to handle our housing situation
Are we a nation for the people? What's the state on population?
I'm past patiently waitin' I'm passionately smashin' every expectation
Every action's an act of creation
I'm laughin' in the face of setbacks and sorrow
For the first time, I'm thinkin' of going solo
And I am not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
Hey yo, I'm just like MassChallenge
I'm young, scrappy and hungry
And I'm not throwing away my shot
[all]
We're gonna rise up (time to take a shot)
We're gonna rise up (time to take a shot)
We're gonna, rise up, rise up
It's time to take a shot
Rise up, rise up, it's time to take a shot
Rise up, it's time to take a shot
Rise up, take a shot, shot, shot
It's time to take a shot, time to take a shot
And I am not throwing away my shot
Not throwing away my shot!