It is often said that in Silicon Valley, they celebrate failure. This is a bit of a misnomer, it’s not the failure that’s celebrated it’s the act of going for the win. It seems that everyone in Silicon Valley has a story of how they left a secure job to go to work for a startup, or left a big company to company to start one of their own (PS I- I’ve done both), and it didn’t work out, or it did work out and now they can’t wait to do it again.
The impetus for this post was the closure today of Verified Identity Pass, the much-ballyhoo’d creators of the “Fly Clear,” program which for a fee let certain airline passengers move through security checks much more quickly. The company was the creation of Steve Brill, who has had many successes and many failures over the years. His biggest successes were very big, CourtTv, and American Lawyer Magazine. His failures have also been big, along with Clear, there was Brill’s Content and Inside.com.
The lessons learned here:
- Not every one hits a homerun every time
- You’ve got to step up to the plate to even have a chance
- More people want to read/watch semi-sleazy stuff (like CourtTV – no comment on lawyers) than read a self-described “media watchdog” publication
The baseball analogies just happened, they weren’t planned. I think it’s because the SF Giants are much more fun to watch than I anticipated them to be this year.
I grew up watching “60 Minutes.” I still watch it every Sunday. It’s an amzingly well done show, but there are certain things about their style that make me want to tear my hair out. The one that really gets to me is the artful use of the non sequitur. I know that it is not an exact correct use of the term, but for lack of a better one I am using it here.
This past Sunday, 60 Minutes re-ran an interview with chef Alice Waters of Chez Panisse. In the last 30 seconds of the segment, Waters talks about her desire to see a sustainable garden at the White House. This segment originally aired in March. After this running Leslie Stahl said, “Five days after this story first aired on March 20th Michelle Obama broke ground for a garden on the South Lawn of the White House.”
There is no mention of whether the subject of the previous story had anything to do with that garden being established, but apparently we are supposed to think that they did. I am confused. Watch the last 30 seconds of the interview for yourself and let me know wha tyou think.
Basically, the gist of the story is that when something like this drops into your lap as a company, you run with it, and you run hard. I’m actually reading the John Daly autobiography right now (don’t worry I’m reading other books as well), and yes you can follow John Daly on Twitter.
There are a lot of people in the Sacramento-area that serve as a support network for people starting businesses. Some of these people make money doing it, some people try and make money doing it, some do it because they love it, and some do it for all of the above. Most importantly if you are starting a business, find those that can help you. Where do you find them you ask? At breakfast!
Some of the people participating in this breakfast:
Stumble It!
