The NY Times has a fascinating piece on Silicon Valley in general and Slide.com’s Max Levchin (formerly of Paypal) in particular. It also quotes other successful entrepreneurs, such as
- Peter A. Thiel, Levchin’s partner at PayPal who now runs hedge fund called Clarium Capital and as one of Facebook’s first investors is sitting one of the biggest paper gains of Web 2.0 fame;
- Dennis Fong, who sold his company to Viacom for $102M last year;
- James Hong, the dude behind HotorNot;
- Scott Banister, who happens to be a close friend of Levchin and who recently sold an antispam company to Cisco for a cool $830 million; and of course,
- Marc Andreessen, who needs no intro, but who summarizes the crux of this post with the following:
“It’s easier to start the next company than it was in the past,” said Marc Andreessen, who was a co-founder of Netscape Communications in 1994, when he was 22. It is also potentially more lucrative than it was even a dozen years ago, said Mr. Andreessen, who despite a net worth estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars is now at work on his third start-up, a social networking company called Ning.
“For the first time in history, you have a global market of 1 billion-plus people, all connected over an interactive network,” Mr. Andreessen said. “The opportunities are bigger than ever before.”
For the past week, I’ve been meaning to write the following, and this article gave the perfect platform. It has something to do with ageism, or to quote from Chris Rock, reverse ageism.
Ageism is stereotyping and prejudice against individuals or groups because of their age, it was coined in 1969 and usually refers to stereotyping against otherwise fine folks who are old, but in this post, I’m explaining how in any place other than Silicon Valley, ageism in business applies to young folks.
Andreesseen’s comment hits the nail on the head: the opportunities are bigger, and as such the entrepreneurs aim higher… and frankly, that scares the shit out of a helluva lot of people.
Should you change or should they?
“A hard guy to like, an easy guy to admire.”
Tonight, the Boston Red Sox take on the Colorado Rockies in the World Series, and talking about one Curt Schilling (who pitched Game 2), the announcer said “Schilling is a hard guy to like, an easy guy to admire.”
Funny… if you’re a member of the Boston Red Sox or a Red Sox fan, you love Schilling. But you know what, to everyone else, you can’t stand Schilling, particularly if you’re a Yankees - or Rockies - fan. In fact, while I am sure that Levchin, Fong, Hong, Bannister and Andreesseen are all great guys to friend and families, I’d say they too (or their type) are “hard guys to like but easy guys to admire” both because of their previous success… and the drive and ambition towards future accomplishments.
A World Away From Silicon Valley
As I read the article, I realized how unique Silicon Valley was. In the article, Levchin said a number of things that would raise eyebrows in Anytown, USA but are de rigueur in San Francisco.
And I won’t lie, they hit home because of a recent exchange I had recently.
Last week, I met a couple of gentlemen who told me: “we want to invest in your company and help you take things to the next level.”
Great, I thought.
But not a second passed when I heard the following, less thrilling phrase: “But, word on the street is…”
I looked up, wondering, “what street, and whose word are we talking about?”
“Go on”, I pressed them.
“Either people love you and have nothing but great things to say, or, well…”
Yes?
“… or they have other things to say.”
“What things?”, I asked.
“Some people say you’re crazy, you don’t listen and you can’t be controlled.”
Now I don’t necessarily think that any of those descriptions are right or wrong, when someone - even anonymously - has something to say about you, you should listen.
For the record, of course I know I talk too much (look at the length of this freaking post). I occasionally do crazy things (come on, how crazy?) and surely I know that there’s really only one person that can control me or keep me in check, and I’m not ashamed or embarrassed to say that that person is my wife: she’s my partner in both business and in life, she’s earned that right.
But as I nestled back in my seat and nursed my cup of Joe, I could not help but think of something a great leader once said:
“Call me arrogant, cocky, crybaby, whiner or whatever names you like, at least they’re not calling us losers anymore. If people like you too much, it’s probably because they’re beating you.”
That’s not my quote, but it’s something I certainly agree with. If you’re wondering who said that, it was Steve Spurrier, former Florida Gators football coach from 1990-2001 and one of the most successful collegiate coaches of all time. I first referred to that statement in my first book, Course To Success. In that book, I look at a number of themes and theories, one of which is Sigmund Freud’s Division of Mind Theory, and relevant today in the context of Levchin’s profile and the feedback I was given on myself:
The Id is the mental representation of primal needs such as the drive to satisfy hunger and sexual needs. It does not however distinguish between the internal mind and the outside environment. While it stimulates carnal drives, it fails to separate the imagery from the actual stimuli; in other words, the actualization (or in business terms: the execution).
The Ego does distinguish between the internal mind and the external reality. Without it, images and thoughts remain just that: an unrealized dream or an unsatisfied need. It makes you take the necessary action to meet your desires, dreams and aspirations. This is where actualization or execution comes into play. Those who can execute over and over again may indeed develop an ego, in the loose sense of the term.
The Superego represents one’s moral behavior. It is the mental reflection of a society’s rule of ethics and code of conduct. It is the Superego that balances the Id’s urges. These two are balanced by the more realistic Ego.
I made a parallel in the book between Freud’s framework and business, outlining that essentially, Ego is all that we want, Superego is us understanding that we can’t go after everything that we want without risking alienating others, and Id is the connection between wanting something and getting that thing.
GREED VS. FEAR
The point I’m trying to make, is not that I am a closeted psychology geek, but rather, that those who don’t understand the repercussions of vocalizing their wants and needs too loudly are bound to create enemies and critics. I don’t care who you are, if enough people hate you, you’re going down.
In other words, it’s fine to work hard to serve your needs, but to step on others to please your wants will create envy and jealousy, especially if you attain those. As such, you should certainly encourage your fear overtake your greed.
As a result, both our of sheer goodwill but also admittedly for cover-your-ass purposes, I’ve long sought to avoid making enemies and avoid being greedy, in either the literal or figurative sense of the word.
JUDGMENT DAY
In life, we all face judgment days when our fate is in the hands of others, be it by an employer or a judge/jury etc. Oftentimes, when the evidence is weighed, you might not be in attendance and won’t be able to plead your case. As such, if you don’t come across as a greedy person and have some fear, then the impression you leave others is an overall positive one so when a jury of your peers holds your fate in their hands, they are bound to be fair with you.
REALITY SETS IN
Of course, that’s idealism at its peak. The simple truth is that in Western culture where we have an envy thy neighbor’s everything, it’s unlikely that others will be honest and fair. Because of that, you cannot live life waiting for others to open doors up and help you become successful, you have to go after things… and I don’t care what anyone says, that is bound to create critics and enemies.
WORKING HARD VS. WORKING SMART
If you are fortunate, then you are born with a silver spoon in your mouth. It’s not your fault if your parents or family was well to do, good for you. But if you consider the data and look around, it’s fair to argue that if people open doors for you, you just don’t work as hard.
Yes, there are exceptions to that rule: Alexander the Great’s father was king, too, and he went on to achieve far more than his father did… but Alexander was driven to achieve more than his father, but there was one Alexander the Great. He was the topic of my second book. I’ll make a mention of my books, and surely some people don’t like that. Go write a f-n book if you have a problem, is what I think. The point is, it’s a test to see how people react.
STUDY THE SOURCE
Besides writing, I do a lot of reading, and despite what some people say, I also do a lot of listening. Sure, I talk a lot (and write a lot, as you can tell), but compared to the amount of information I take in, I’d say it’s quite minimal. But when I read or hear something, I take what is said at face value, but once it sinks in, I also study the source.
When people say “word on the street is so and so” my first reaction is: “don’t tell me who said it, but did you ask yourself why they said that and what their relationship to me is?”
Those are fair questions to ask, and more often than not, the source is either biased or anything but a primary one.
I’m almost pushed to ask: “Who are you gonna believe? Me, who is sitting here in front of you, or what so and so said about me?” I realize that even if a portion of what is said might very well be true, if someone’s conclusions about you is based more on what others say about you than their own interpretation, that says a lot about them.
HUBRIS = DOWNFALL OF MAN
Jack Welch had one of the most successful careers of any executive throughout the history of corporations. He stared his career at GE in 1969 and retired in 2001 as CEO and Chairman of one of the world’s most successful companies. One of his tips for young executives was not “wearing your ambition on your sleeve”, in other words, not showing more interest for your next job than your current one.
He was right… in corporations. That’s why I did not last very long in corporate environments. In July 1998, when I was 20 I began to work in customer service for the nation’s largest bank while I was completing my degree in finance. When peers would ask me what I wanted to in my career at the bank I’d answer “I’d like to run the bank in 20 years or so”. In my delusional mind, I was being modest by adding 20 years, thinking that I could run it for the next 20 years.
Clearly, that pissed off a lot of people… and to a large extent, it was clear to me that I was dreaming, so when my manager blocked my request to be transferred (after honoring my 18 month contract) to the corporate/investment banking arm of the bank, I tendered my resignation and accepted a job at one of the first search engines online, in 2000.
After nine months there, I wanted more responsibilities so I moved to a VP spot at a mid-sized online publisher. I did a lot there and by 2005, the company got acquired and I was effectively out of a job. So for a myriad of reasons, I started Mojo Supreme and focused on WatchMojo.com. It’s been a helluva ride, and I can honestly say that we’re no longer an expensive hobby but a very promising growth company.
A CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM
When you start a company, you are the company, sure. But on Day 2, your number one mandate is to build a team. There’s no feeling like it. I’ve managed to field a fantastic team by surrounding myself with people who compliment my skills and have a lot of runway in areas they hold comparative advantages in. I’d add that some of them don’t even know the extent of their potential, and I’d like to think that WatchMojo.com in particular and Mojo Supreme in general are fantastic platforms for them to go on to great things.
If you work alongside someone and can’t stand his drive or ambition, that sucks for you. Go get a job at a bank. But if you are looking to invest in someone or back an individual by investing your time, energy and network, I got news for you: you better expect to hear a bunch of people talking shit about the entrepreneur you are thinking of investing… because you want that entrepreneur to think big, act bigger and deliver the biggest company you have ever seen.
GO WEST?
It all boils down to culture. In California - namely Silicon Valley - unfortunately money has a disproportionate amount of cachet. But when the sun rises, age is inversely related to how much respect one gets. Yes, experience counts aplenty, and both investors and clients look for it, but you are only as good as your current project. In my city, unfortunately, that mindset does not exist, here, if you are young and driven, you’re invariably a threat, a nuisance, a parasite.
Russell Simmons once said:
“The arrogance of white men is why I’m here today. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be here. What the hell did they need me for if they were open-minded enough to allow this cultural phenomena to be part of their make-up,” says Simmons. “My independence is because they didn’t accept me. So every step of the way I’ve made more money.”
I hate to say it, but while I’m not black, I understand that comment all too well. I’ve been able to hold on to much more control and remain independent as a result of many being turned off by my brash ways. And you know what, I don’t care. But not because I’m a know-it-all (I’m not) or I think I am unbeatable (no one is). It’s because it all boils down to studying the source of your criticism.
LISTEN TO YOUR MAMMA
Everyone’s heard the expression: “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all”. But when someone asks you what you think of so and so and you can’t say anything nice, you are really only exposing your own lack of confidence.
That’s probably where the saying “A players hire A people” etc., comes from. If you know someone is good at something, you focus on those things, and as an entrepreneur, you recruit those people, and that’s how you go on to build championship teams.
Talking like that might alienate and intimidate lesser men… and that’s a good thing, because only then can you separate the wheat from the chaff.
Ultimately, you have to bear in mind that you can’t show your cards too much because your audience extends away from your backyard… but the people that help you build a championship team tend to be in your backyard, so avoid aligning yourself with the meek, even if it means recognizing what your weaknesses and limitations are.
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