"In 1991, as a college freshman, I had an idea for an online service offering "real life" education to college students: practical advice about jobs, personal finance, and health. I made the simple observations that no one was teaching us these subjects in the classroom, and that computers -- rather than books or TVs -- had become the primary medium of communication and entertainment."
That in itself is extraordinary for a college freshman in 1991.
as a freshman in college 1991, he was about 21 years old. That's from wikipedia, which, by the way, is only a few sentences long. Talk about a low profile multimillionaire.
Thanks for the article. Bo Peabody is the newest addition to my list of awesome people.
One thing I find contradictory though, is that he says that amazing things happen when smart/inspired people get together, yet Village Ventures funds programs away from VC-filled cities, so companies can work from their local towns. While the argument for the "home setting" is there, this is the direct opposite of YC's mode of operation, and I cannot help but agree with YC more on this one.
Nevertheless, great guy, much respect. He'd make a great speaker not only for entrepreneurship but also life in general.
YC is already changing a couple of variables in the funding function, so it probably makes sense to try and not modify the others, if they can help it. Also, 20 somethings are going to be pretty happy in places like Boston or SF. They're fun places to be at that age.
Once you start getting older, though, you either have a lot of money, or those cities are just too expensive. And even with a lot of money, they're a rat race - a millionaire stuck in traffic is just as stuck in traffic as the minimum wage worker in the next car over.
So I'm happy to see someone giving that kind of model a go and wish him the best of luck.
It reminds me of something I once read on a job posting:
"Cornell University is a bold, innovative, inclusive and dynamic teaching and research university where staff, faculty, and students alike are challenged to make an enduring contribution to the betterment of humanity."
Unfortunately the tech industry is full of ego maniacs who can't work well with others. It's something about working with computers that makes people think they're smarter than everyone else.
It's a good article, and he sounds like a smart/decent chap. Funny thing is, from the earliest days, I've learned Pavlovian-like to respond to the word "Tripod" on any webpages by clicking the red "X" as fast as possible. Oh, well.
Contents:
Chapter 1: Start a company that is innovative, morally compelling and philosophically positive; this will attract smart, motivated people that will do great things because they are smart and motivated (Enron aside)
Chapter 2: you are born an entrepreneur or a manager - accept who you are because you cannot change
Chapter 3: entrepreneurs are B students, managers are A students - unfortunately I was a B student in high school and an A student in college, something the author does not address
Chapter 4: strive to be good enough to survive; if you do you will be bought by a company that can make you great; but don't be great on your own or you will not survive
Chapter 5: have faith
Chapter 6: don't take no for an answer
Chapter 7: entrepreneurs don't have power - "get used to it"
Chapter 8: stay calm and be gracious in difficult situations
Chapter 9: read the WSJ daily, the NY times on Sunday and pick one other reputable weekly or monthly business magazine - and don't read any other form of press
Chapter 10: always sell
Chapter 11: know what you don't know
Here are excerpts from Amazon reviews:
Review 1:
"This small book from the founder of Tripod is worth the hour it will take you to read it. Peabody was a `B' student and suggests that successful entrepreneurs are almost always `B' students: good at lots of things, experts at none. To compensate, `B' student entrepreneurs need to hire `A' student managers (and coders and VPs), who are excellent a one or two things, to successfully take a startup to maturity. This revelation is not rocket science, and not an entirely new concept either, but it is very interesting to hear how this strategy played out for Peabody and Tripod.
Even though he made millions, Peabody does not boast or make the silly claim--like many Internet millionaires--to have known all along that he was destined for greatness. In fact he is quite humble: he readily admits he was making a lot of his business strategy up as he went along, and that with Tripod, it could have just as easily gone the other way and ended in failure.
The three salient lessons from this very short memoir of an entrepreneur: work very hard, hire the right people, and be smart enough to know when you are getting lucky."
Review 2:
"The advice he gives is mainly for Type-A personality entrepreneurs; Risk-taking, project-starting individuals whose main focus is getting product out the door so their effort can be called a success.
For anyone who does not fit that mold, this book is not necessarily speaking to you. However, even if its not directed at you, you'll still gain some insight into why people like Peabody behave and think the way they do.
What I liked most:
-- Always sell. As the person at the top of the organization, always sell.
-- Recognize which role is naturally in you: Entrepreneur, or Manager, and then excel in that role.
-- Know what you don't know. Don't try to buffalo your way through things. To me this is part of being intellectually honest."
Did he lose anyone else when he said "Ego is also the culprit when entrepreneurs cling to their role as founder rather than turning their companies over to more capable managers."?
It does indeed say "Lucky or Smart" in the title of the article, but that's not what the article is about. The entire piece is actually about what one should do after they experience luck--mainly, admit it, ride it, and keep their ego in check.
I'm used to ignoring article titles in most publications, as they are always sensationalized (as they should be). A big indicator of whether the title was likely written by an editor instead of the author themselves, or not, is how generic or cliche the title is.
I'm blown away this article, it is contrarian yet so logical. He comes across as extremly humble yet super smart, driven, and clearly a big winner despite his "good luck." I also love the concept of "knowing what you don't know", as entrepreneurs
we must always be aware that we don't have to have the right answers just know how to get to that answer through others.
I'm jazzed!
Great post! I am also buying this guys book! There is a very good book about "luck" but it´s in spanish ("la buena suerte") and I don´t find any english version.
Luck only passes through one door, but only we have the key to open it!
25 comments
[ 4.6 ms ] story [ 51.6 ms ] thread1. Hire Smart People
2. Employees Create Idea + Company
3. Sell Zero-Value, 1 million user startup for 60M$
4. New stock goes up 10x further
5. Sell half a billion in stock 3 months before the crash
6. Invest it all in real estate
And the author says, it's all luck. He doesn't have an ego.
That in itself is extraordinary for a college freshman in 1991.
Small world:)
as a freshman in college 1991, he was about 21 years old. That's from wikipedia, which, by the way, is only a few sentences long. Talk about a low profile multimillionaire.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Peabody
One thing I find contradictory though, is that he says that amazing things happen when smart/inspired people get together, yet Village Ventures funds programs away from VC-filled cities, so companies can work from their local towns. While the argument for the "home setting" is there, this is the direct opposite of YC's mode of operation, and I cannot help but agree with YC more on this one.
Nevertheless, great guy, much respect. He'd make a great speaker not only for entrepreneurship but also life in general.
Once you start getting older, though, you either have a lot of money, or those cities are just too expensive. And even with a lot of money, they're a rat race - a millionaire stuck in traffic is just as stuck in traffic as the minimum wage worker in the next car over.
So I'm happy to see someone giving that kind of model a go and wish him the best of luck.
"Cornell University is a bold, innovative, inclusive and dynamic teaching and research university where staff, faculty, and students alike are challenged to make an enduring contribution to the betterment of humanity."
Contents: Chapter 1: Start a company that is innovative, morally compelling and philosophically positive; this will attract smart, motivated people that will do great things because they are smart and motivated (Enron aside)
Chapter 2: you are born an entrepreneur or a manager - accept who you are because you cannot change
Chapter 3: entrepreneurs are B students, managers are A students - unfortunately I was a B student in high school and an A student in college, something the author does not address
Chapter 4: strive to be good enough to survive; if you do you will be bought by a company that can make you great; but don't be great on your own or you will not survive
Chapter 5: have faith
Chapter 6: don't take no for an answer
Chapter 7: entrepreneurs don't have power - "get used to it"
Chapter 8: stay calm and be gracious in difficult situations
Chapter 9: read the WSJ daily, the NY times on Sunday and pick one other reputable weekly or monthly business magazine - and don't read any other form of press
Chapter 10: always sell
Chapter 11: know what you don't know
Here are excerpts from Amazon reviews:
Review 1:
"This small book from the founder of Tripod is worth the hour it will take you to read it. Peabody was a `B' student and suggests that successful entrepreneurs are almost always `B' students: good at lots of things, experts at none. To compensate, `B' student entrepreneurs need to hire `A' student managers (and coders and VPs), who are excellent a one or two things, to successfully take a startup to maturity. This revelation is not rocket science, and not an entirely new concept either, but it is very interesting to hear how this strategy played out for Peabody and Tripod.
Even though he made millions, Peabody does not boast or make the silly claim--like many Internet millionaires--to have known all along that he was destined for greatness. In fact he is quite humble: he readily admits he was making a lot of his business strategy up as he went along, and that with Tripod, it could have just as easily gone the other way and ended in failure.
The three salient lessons from this very short memoir of an entrepreneur: work very hard, hire the right people, and be smart enough to know when you are getting lucky."
Review 2:
"The advice he gives is mainly for Type-A personality entrepreneurs; Risk-taking, project-starting individuals whose main focus is getting product out the door so their effort can be called a success.
For anyone who does not fit that mold, this book is not necessarily speaking to you. However, even if its not directed at you, you'll still gain some insight into why people like Peabody behave and think the way they do.
What I liked most:
-- Always sell. As the person at the top of the organization, always sell.
-- Recognize which role is naturally in you: Entrepreneur, or Manager, and then excel in that role.
-- Know what you don't know. Don't try to buffalo your way through things. To me this is part of being intellectually honest."
All the successful startup founders I know are lucky, smart, and driven-- but above all, driven.
I'm used to ignoring article titles in most publications, as they are always sensationalized (as they should be). A big indicator of whether the title was likely written by an editor instead of the author themselves, or not, is how generic or cliche the title is.
I'm buying this guys book.
Socrates: "knows more the one that knows that dosen´t know anything, that the one that thinks that knows"