Knowledge@Wharton

The plot: Four innocent but Internet-savvy prospective students come to Wharton Welcome Weekend. They all land in the same mini-cohort only to discover, amazingly enough, they all want to start a dot- com. Worried that attending Wharton might delay their Internet riches, the group talks about launching sporkvan.com, a flatware delivery service for corporate cafeterias.

The prospective students then discuss their idea with Big Bob Alig, Wharton director of admissions and financial aid, but unfortunately are overheard by a spy planted by Alig's arch-nemesis, Ms. Beelzebub (a venture capitalist from the firm Kleiner Perkins Beelzebub, also known as the "dot-com devil"). Informed of the goings-on, Beelzebub seizes on this chance to take on her long-time nemesis and begins her mission: to tempt the prospective students to the dark side - e-commerce - with a very well-secured offer of first-round funding.

In the scenes that follow, Alig struggles to prevail against Beelzebub's tactics, which include taking the prospective students on a "hell trek" to expose them to the harried lifestyles of investment banking, consulting, and finally, Silicon Valley, where "Net Fever, Net Fever" is in full swing.

In the end, though, Alig uses sad story of Abby, Wharton drop-out and founder of Chopstickvan.com, to reveal the horrors of starting a dot-com without the benefit of advanced corporate finance and second-year marketing research classes. The students are convinced - and decide to come to Wharton.

This year's Follies, aptly titled "The VC Who Loved Me: A Dotcomedy," was put on by a team of more than 100 MBA students and included tunes from television shows Gilligan's Island and Laverne & Shirley and musicals Grease and a Chorus Line.

Here's a sample, titled "Net Fever" and sung to the tune of "Night Fever" by the Bee Gees.

Dollar, yen or pound
There is money all around
If your business plan is
sound
You can fund it

VC's don't really care
'bout nice suits or
perfect hair
polyester's what we wear
And we're money

Venture capital funding
We search every day
Controlling our minds and
our souls
We have revenue models
With no profits at all!

It's Internet Fever, Net Fever
We've been workin' all night
Internet Fever, Net Fever
Gonna launch a website

Here I am
Prayin' for this startup
to last
We need money so we
can grow
Capital from
Our IPO

Internet Fever, Net Fever
We've been workin' all night
(Feels like forever baby,
don't you know)
Internet Fever, Net Fever
Gonna launch a website
(Make so much money baby,
don't you know)

When our bank account's
low We need cash and we can't
fake it
Give us just enough to make
the next payroll
We got options on our mind
To investors we are talkin'
We're gonna take it public
But keep control

New sources of funding
We find every day
Financing our Mercedes
Benz
Awaiting the moment
When the timing is right

Here I am
Prayin' for this market
to last
As we watch the ticker fly by
Our market cap
Reaches sky high!