Randy is giving a talk at George Washington Univ and was half-jokingly asking me for advice on what to say to The Kids Today. My very first thought was to repeat, word-for-word, this quote Jason Calacanis gave the New Yorker back in October 1999…
“Last winter, I spoke to the Harvard Business School,” Calacanis recalls. “Now, I would never get admitted to that school, except maybe to work in the cafeteria-I got 1150 on my S.A.T.s. But I got to speak to the whole class here in New York, and I told them, ‘I have one piece of advice for you: quit. Leave school tomorrow, take whatever money you have left that you would have spent on tuition, and start an Internet company. Because if you stay in school for the next two years-if, when everybody else is dreaming and innovating, you spend time on the bench, watching the game go by-you’ll miss the greatest land grab, the greatest gold rush of all time, and you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.’ You should have seen the look on their faces: they were terrified. And you know why? Because they knew I was right.”
… I was totally drinking this kool-aid back in 1999. I actually ripped this quote out and taped it to the bedroom wall in my West Village apt. (I was working at Jupiter at the time - I think we just IPO’ed. My math told me that if I stuck around 3 years and the stock hit $300 I’d be worth dot com millions! And of course, that worked out.)
Anyway, a few months later me and Andy Krucoff tried to sell the IM name “SmartestChild” for $30,000. (For an IM name! Not even a domain name!) The potential buyer wrote me back immediately…
“Tell your friend that the go-go days of the internet are over. I’ll give him $500”.
…. annnnddd SOLD! (ha!)
Oh, moral the story? I told Randy he should tell the kids the things we wish we knew in college… skip the business degree. Become a famous photographer, professional poker player or superstar chef! (we such suckers!)
