So it happened again: Somewhere in San Francisco, I met Ron; and with him came yet another start-up. This is not the place to advertise it; but if you’re curious, check out www.tokbox.com, and be prepared to see how it becomes yet another Silicon Valley success story. (Remember, you heard it here first!) Rather, it brought to mind my encounters with Larry Page (Thank you, Terry Winograd, now a happy grandfather),at a time when nobody had yet heard of Google. Soon afterwards, he and Sergey Brin became known for what today is not only a success story, but a business phenomenon.
Is it the intention of this blog to brag about the people I met (and at times inspired) at one or another moment in my life? It is not. It is rather the chance to express my never-diminishing enthusiasm for those who dare. They are not obsessed with a grade in a class: “This is devastating for me. Only a B.” And they are not the perpetual complainers: “Everything stinks!” Some had, maybe, good ideas, but could not turn them into the success they longed for. My respect goes to those who identified with their idea(s) and challenged the settled views from the eternal better-knowers. (When I argued in favor of Google, not because of my interaction with Larry Page, I heard, “Search engines!—don’t we have enough of them?”) My prediction (and many heard it from me first) was that they would succeed. They did better than that.
It’s not easy, but whether you make it into the billionaires club or only join those who, driven by passion, run their own small innovative business, you will find a reward in attempting the impossible, instead of wasting your life on the beaten path (and complaining that nobody taught you better).