Buffett on Business School

I recently watched a special on CNBC featuring Bill Gates and Warren
Buffett . It was filmed in November at Columbia Business School, but I
caught a re-run. One moment that struck me was when a Columbia student
asked Buffett (who got a masters from Columbia Business School) what
the most valuable part of his degree was.

In his response, he explained that he was lucky to have found his
passion early in life and knew exactly what he wanted to do after
business school. Given that, he had already read a lot of the material
they covered. So he didn't feel that he gained any incremental
knowledge while being there. But he did gain the inspiration and
confidence to launch into the next phase of his career (which
obviously turned out quite well for him). The class work didn't
change his life, but the experience and the close interaction with his
professors was extremely valuable.

Buffett has a knack for distilling subjects into concise, simple
ideas. His response sums up the experience I had in business school as
well. I've been a nut about technology and entrepreneurship for awhile
so I didn't gain much incremental knowledge from business school about
running a startup. But I engrossed myself in the entrepreneurial
community, spent time with successful entrepreneurs and early-stage
investors, and launched a business. A passive walk through business
school for the diploma, the course work, and some networking, is a
horrible investment. But used properly, it can be a great opportunity
to refine your interests, experiment, make a few mistakes, and launch
the next stage of your career with a vengeance.

You can read more about Keith on his personal blog, The Journey of Entrepreneurship.

Spring Time in Ithaca

I'll be the first to admit that Ithaca winters aren't for the faint of heart. But there's nothing like a brutal February to make you deeply deeply appreciate a warm day in March.

This will be my sixth spring time in Ithaca (though not consecutive) and I have to say that I truly love it. There's nothing like getting back outside and going for a run to break up a day's work. I lived in California for a few years and fell in love with the weather there. But I sure do treasure spring days here more than I have anywhere else. Of course it'll probably snow again, but that's a different matter. It's exciting to see the campus come alive after a winter of hibernation.

It's crazy to think that we only have 8 weeks left until classes are finished. I don't think anybody is quite sure what to expect when embarking on an MBA. A lot has changed for me both personally and professionally in the past two years and all for the best. It's an interesting journey and I probably won't know its true effects for awhile, but it has been a good one and I'm glad I pursued it.

You can read more about Keith on his personal blog: The Journey of Entrepreneurship

The Best Hobby in the World

I had the pleasure of attending a dinner last week with a great venture capitalist and one of the entrepreneurs he funded. During introductions, he mentioned that he had the best hobby in the world. So we waited in suspense while he explained. It was a longer story than expected, but definitely interesting and unique.

A number of years ago he sent out a request to hundreds of his contacts: neighbors, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, friends from elementary school, students, etc. He asked them all to submit a list of the 10 best books they had ever read. In return, he would compile these lists and send a printed, bound volume to each of the respondents with everyone’s 10 favorite books. He received over 150 responses, compiled them, and sent bound volumes to everyone as promised. Many of the lists were accompanied by notes or personal stories. His friends were touched by the responses and read a variety of books they never would have explored on their own. He started repeating the exercise every year with different subjects: 10 best restaurants, 10 best movies, 10 most memorable places, etc. The responses became more literary as people started sharing personal stories from their lives. He was pressured by his contacts to host a party where they could all meet each other. So he began hosting an annual party, with an average of 150 people coming from all over the country (sometimes the world) and spending the weekend at his house. Many would meet with huge hugs as if they’d known each other for years, even though they had never actually met before. They shared so many stories that many already had a sense of mutual respect and interest.

My explanation doesn’t do justice to the story or to his unique hobby. But throughout the evening, what I found was that above everything else he was proud of the people in his life. He had experienced financial success as an investor, but that wasn’t what made his life fruitful. It was all about the entrepreneurs he had helped, the business partners he had worked with, the family members he spent time with, his neighbors, his friends, etc. Looking at business icons it’s easy to find people who gained the world but gave up a piece of their soul in the process. I am in pursuit of a rewarding career, but I hope to look back at the people and adventures in my life more than any money I make.

You can read more about Keith on his personal blog: Keith Cowing: The Journey of Entrepreneurship

Know Where You're Aiming Before You Pull the Trigger

In the startup world, speed can count for everything. You have to be quicker and nimbler than the big players. That's your key advantage. But it's easy to get caught up in the urgency and move without thinking. In the beginning, you put together a road map of where you want to go. Like any entrepreneur, I'm always anxious to light the fire and get going. I like action, progress, products, sales, anything that keeps things moving. But some recent conversations reminded me how important it is to re-focus on your end game.

While it sounds obvious, it's easy to lose sight of exactly what you're building and why. You may build a product because it's useful and has a potential market, but miss an even bigger opportunity. After launching my first company, I felt under the gun to hire a development team and build a product. While that's true, I should have felt even more pressured to keep talking to customers. You need to know what your customers want and and how to approach their problems. You don't build a product for yourself, you build it for them. Pulling the trigger on a development project is exciting, but may be the wrong move if you still have some research to do.

With one core business idea, there are probably at least four different paths you could take with it. Each path will end with a slightly different product and a slightly different set of market conditions. You should do some rough calculations (back of the napkin assessment) and investigations into each of these markets. You might have started down one path which is interesting and has potential, but find another that has the true golden opportunity. So before you pull the trigger and build something, make sure you truly know where you're aiming and why.

Find Hands-On Investors to Help Grow Your Startup

One thing I've learned while becoming an entrepreneur and looking for funding is that there are drastically different types of investors out there. Money is not just money. Yes, if you only have one option for capital (which can frequently be the case), then by all means take it (if you need it). But if you have any choice in the matter, there is a gigantic difference between passive investors and hands-on investors. I don't mean that just in terms of how much time they spend looking at your business and helping you grow, but also whether or not they're hands-on in your market.

If you're a web company, for example, it's great to have an investor who blogs, experiments with web services, loves the Internet, and is an active participant in your field. These "hands-on" investors can get you a lot farther than somebody who is only looking for a financial return and is indifferent about your market.

This is more applicable to early-stage companies, where the path is treacherous and a lot of work is done molding and building the business. For more established companies that need growth capital, it's not as important where the money comes from as long as there aren't too many strings attached. But if you're an entrepreneur or an aspiring entrepreneur looking for cash, try to find a hands-on investor who knows and loves your market. It'll make a big difference.

You can read more about Keith on his personal site, Keith Cowing: The Journey of Entrepreneurship

San Diego

I took a brief trip to San Diego with my wife this weekend. She was in Southern California during the week for work, so I decided to meet her out there and enjoy the weekend. We ate great food, enjoyed a little sunshine (though it did seem cloudy for sunny California), went kayaking, visited the zoo, toured La Jolla, and uh...ate a lot of great food. It was a quick trip, but it was definitely refreshing. With a hectic schedule and a lot of things to think about, it's hard to get away. But sometimes a quick break can help you reset and hit the ground running again. Right off the red-eye Monday morning I was directly into a full day of work. But for that brief weekend I was at peace and over the next couple weeks I'll be more productive as a result.

You can read more about Keith on his personal site, Keith Cowing: The Journey of Entrepreneurship

Turning Down a Job in a Shaky Economy

I had some great experiences this summer. I spent a few weeks working for a web company and the remainder of my summer working for a consulting firm. I also raised funding for my own startup and officially launched the business. That brings me to the point of my post, which is that I turned down a solid job during the worst economy I've seen in my lifetime. Technically, I actually turned it down before they could give it to me. Sure, I might be crazy. But I'll tell you what happened.

During the summer, I was presented with a tremendous opportunity to pursue my dream of building a business. It was an opportunity that might never resurface and it was a perfect time to turn my ideas into a living, breathing company. That being said, I decided that I would not accept a job offer from the consulting firm even if I got one. So it wasn't useful for anybody, including myself, my fellow interns, and the firm, for me to be in the pool of applicants anymore. This was not the case when I signed up for the internship in February. But given where I stood in August, I wanted to be open and honest. I explained that I had decided to pursue something else and, given the situation, I felt it was right to leave the job offers for those who really wanted them.

Perhaps my actions were unnecessary. It always feels good to get a job offer and companies don't want to be turned down. But the firm took it surprisingly well, expressed appreciation for my candor, and said that we could stay in touch (especially if my company took a nose dive and I was suddenly on the job market again). Sometimes you have to push your ego aside and do what feels right.

Of course there's the other issue. We're in a very shaky economy, entering a time of uncertainty, and I turned down a solid job. I have a wife, a dog, and in a few years will probably have kids, all of which are reasons to have a stable income and reliable cash flows. But instead I decided to take the home run swing, chase I what I love, and see what happens. I guess that's the spirit of an entrepreneur.

You can also read about Keith on his personal site, Keith Cowing: The Journey of Entrepreneurship

Introducing Keith Cowing

As a two time Cornellian, I love it here in Ithaca. I received my bachelors in Electrical and Computer Engineering and worked in engineering, marketing, and project management. After experiencing Silicon Valley and Wall Street, I came to the Johnson School to pursue my passion for entrepreneurship. Now I'm the founder and CEO of a venture-backed startup (a lot can happen in your first year at business school). Life gets a little crazy with a business, a wife, a dog, classes, exams, and a number of interests. But that's what makes the ride worthwhile.