
Inc Magazine: "Lucky things happen to entrepreneurs who start fundamentally innovative, morally compelling, and philosophically positive companies." - vlad
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20050101/lucky-or-smart.html
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vlad
I just realized he also has a 58 page book called Lucky or Smart
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/140006290X/104-7347251-5666331?v=glance&s;=books&n;=507846](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/140006290X/104-7347251-5666331?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

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."

------
pg
One thing I dislike about the phrase "lucky or smart" is that it excludes a
third quality more important than either of those two: energy.

All the successful startup founders I know are lucky, smart, and driven-- but
above all, driven.

~~~
vlad
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.

------
zaidf
"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.

~~~
vlad
This article is insanely good. It's not a three paragraph blog post, it's a
four page article from somebody who was there. Keep reading! :)

~~~
zaidf
This guy's behind Village Ventures. Would've never known.

Small world:)

------
vlad
Tripod's Accidental Business Plan:

1\. 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.

------
Goladus
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."

~~~
pg
As an alum, makes me wince. One of those "mission statements" where they have
to get too much into one sentence, and it's all generic anyway.

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whacked_new
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.

~~~
davidw
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.

------
leisuresuit
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.

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mynameishere
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.

~~~
vlad
Thanks!

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Mistone
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!

~~~
nicomarchesotti
I agree with you!

Socrates: "knows more the one that knows that dosen´t know anything, that the
one that thinks that knows"

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nicomarchesotti
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!

~~~
vlad
Thanks! Glad you liked it!

------
ecuzzillo
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."?

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mikesabat
Great Article with an unbelievable line- "Thank god they invented the word
muffin, or I'd be eating a cupcake for breakfast"

I'm buying this guys book.

~~~
vlad
Thanks! Glad you liked it!

