Title: What they forgot to teach you about business that you need to know
1What they forgot to teach you about businessthat
you need to know
Steve Kirsch Chairman Infoseek
2Why pick me?
- Was it because
- Ive started 3 successful companies?
- Ive donated over 50M to charity?
- Dr. Evil was unavailable
3No time for lawyer/VC jokes
4If you leave early, youll miss the 10 minute
instructional video
- How to make megabucks on the Internet
- Stars Gates, Diller, Geffen, Spielberg,
- Shows techniques Robertson used in mp3.com
- Why do you think the mayor is here?!?!
- NOT AVAILABLE IN STORES
53 stages to any business
- Starting it
- Growing it
- Selling it
- What do all these stages have in common?
6The 3 things every entrepreneur needs to know
about MONEY
- How to
- make it
- grow it
- lose it
7HOW TO MAKE IT
- (and tips for starting a company)
8Do you have what it takes to start a company??
- Q Why are most startup companies started by
mediocre people? - A The really smart ones know better!
9How to recruit really good people
- Take your time
- Network
- Advertise in places where great people NOT
looking for jobs would be - Example
- Im looking for 5 entrepreneurs for a very hot
Internet startup that Im investing in contact
me at stk_at_infoseek.com
10Nobodys Perfect
- No perfect CEOs
- No perfect engineers
-
- The whole trick is getting people to work
effectively together to complement each other
11Know your strengths and weaknesses
- Focusing all your time on your strengths is a
trap (e.g., technology, product) - Spend at least as much time in filling your
weaknesses (e.g., marketing) - People tend to keep making the same mistakes over
and over again (e.g., under hiring)
12When recruiting remember Skills are easy to
acquire but simple behavioral change is nearly
impossible
- Example
- The toilet seat down problem
- Solution
- Learn how to compensate
- Ive known excellent management consultants who
consult for years before they realize this
13The single biggest mistake you can make when
starting or running a company and how to avoid it
- Hiring the wrong CEO
- (like yourself)
14People dont always tell the whole truth
- My 4 yr old I didnt do it!
- Our President
- Bill Gates ...
15Can you imagine Bill saying?
- I switched to Linux on my desktop because I
wasted too much time rebooting NT. - Yeah, bundling IE into the OS was a brilliant
afterthought. - We could have easily complied with the Sun Java
contract.
16How I personally made over 200 million in a year
- 1) Infoseek went from 5 to 100 in little over a
year - 2) Having 6M shares didnt hurt either
17How I made 10 million for my second startup
company as a result of attending a 4 hour free
course taught at a hotel
18Two courses everyone should take after they
graduate from college
- Presentation skills
- Negotiation skills
- Surveyhow many have taken these?
19How to sell 30 worth of lemonade in only 20
minutes on the Stanford campus and how it relates
to commerce on the Internet
20The most important skill for success in the real
world isnt taught at MIT, but thats starting to
change
21How to precisely value Internet companies
- Finallyfor the first time...the secret formula
revealed - Say someone asks
- Is Yahoo overvalued?
- You say...
- Well If you have to ask, you just dont get it,
do you?
22How AOL makes big money...
- The 2 step TOP SECRET strategy revealed here for
the first time. - Make it really EASY to sign up
- Make it really HARD to cancel
23My two biggest mistakes
- Refusing to acquire Yahoo for 20M in 1994
because I thought it was overvalued - Telling Michael Robertson to pound sand when he
wanted me to buy his company for 20M
24Michael Robertsons top secret business technique
for instant wealth
- If at first you dont succeed, try, try again
- It doesnt hurt to be
- in the right place
- at the right time
- with the right product
25HOW TO GROW IT
26How to legally avoid paying capital gains taxes
forever
- Always sell at a loss
- Donate the stock
- Die
- A complicated technique...
27How to consistently get a 60 average annual
return in the stock market
- Buy and hold
- 10 stocks max
- Microsoft, Cisco, Dell, EMC,
- AOL, Sun, Intel, Worldcom, Nokia
28What your stockbroker doesnt want you to know
why trading stocks may be riskier than gambling
in Las Vegas
- Spreads
-
- Stocks are completely unpredictable over the
short term - YOU LOSE
29Company announces great earnings (above
expectations) but its stock tanks. Why?
- Who the hell knows?
- Market explanations are always done AFTER the fact
30Why mechanical trading systems dont work
- Because Ive lost money in every proven, tested
system Ive tried
31HOW TO SPEND IT
32Best thumbs up investment
- EV1
- Up to 170 mi range 6 hr recharge zero
maintenance - Faster than my NSX
- 180 mph (in first gear)
- More effective than donating money to clean up
our environment - You get to drive in the HOV lanes too!
33Best personal vanity purchase
34How to automate your house
- My house was written up in Newsweek, LA Times, PC
World, - See the video on my web site
- www.skirsch.com
35(No Transcript)
36How to blow 100K in one nightStay in the
villas at the Bellagio
37So how about a house???
- Want to know how to buy real estate for no money
down?
38Where are they today?
- President of Allen Club in Atlanta Jail
- Charles Givens dead
- Tom Vu 20/20
- Dave Del Dotto selling long distance cards
- William J. McCorkle, King of the Infomercials
sentenced, along with his wife, to 24 years in
prison on fraud and money laundering charges
39Some of my other really cool toys
- Panasonic digital phone system FLASH
voicemail/attendant - Dragon NaturallySpeaking Mobile
- Panja/Phast home control
- Covad DSL
- Tek 840/DP printer
- Runco rear projection TV
- Miele washer/dryer
- Vantage lighting control
- BlackoutBuster
- Mouse Systems optical mouse
- Dual Pentium NT system with 4 OSes
- SGI 1600SW flat panel
- Sony DCR PC-1
- Olympus C2000Z digital camera
40My best personal investment (it was 15,000 and
its more than paid for itself already)
- Kodak DCS-520 digital camera
- Check out the sample on my web page
41(No Transcript)
42So youve now got all the toys
- House
- Car
- Vacations
- Subscription to Fortune
- Gateway PCs
- Panja home control system
- Private jet
- Assets for guaranteed income for rest of your
life - Now what?
43Where do you want your estate to go tomorrow?
- CHOOSE ANY TWO
- Family
- Taxes
- Philanthropy
- Who gets to spend your dough?
- You? Or the government?
44Giving it away is the best way to spend it
- We have a 50M fund at our local CF
- We DO give to make a positive difference in our
own lives and the lives of people we care about. - We DO NOT give not out of a sense of obligation
or payback or civic duty or because it is the
right thing to do or to create a legacy
45Why it is better to donate to charity sooner than
later
- No tax advantages to giving after you are dead
- No personal satisfaction to giving after you are
dead - Giving can ultimately benefit you or your family
- deviated septumpresbyopiahair
losssnoringlactose intolerancepsoriasisrecedin
g gumsnear sightedtorn ACLtype I
diabetesmacular degenerationringing in my ears
46Example
- Ten years from now, you might be diagnosed with
- Heart disease/stroke
- Cancer
- Macular degeneration
- At that time, starting a giving plan will be too
late to have an impact on your health - In hindsight, was keeping your assets sitting in
stocks the right move?
47Easiest way to donate
- Gift appreciated stock to a donor advised fund at
local Community Foundation (typically 5K
minimum) - E-mail them whenever you want to make a grant
- For any progressive community foundation
48Charitable fund advantages
- You can add stock (and liquidate) even if your
stock is locked up - Can donate to fund when stock peaks decide on
recipient later - Gift to charities at anytime from the fund
- Less hassle (no personal recordkeeping, no
periodic stock transfers, e-mail donations)
49Advantages of charitable fund
- Endowment compounds tax free forever
- You get to give away an infinite amount of OPM
and your annual grants will typically increase
each year - All this from a ONE-TIME donation!
50Giving may actually save you money!
- Example
- You donate to a CRT when your stock is locked up
at 50 - Trust can short other shares to lock in the gain
- Trust pays you back your donation over time
- Result
- You can actually end up with more money in your
pocket than if you sold that stock at 25 in a
selling window
51How to give intelligently
- Figure out the areas important to you
- Create your own criteria (I have 20)
- Make a long term commitment
- Realize that results are often hard to quantify
- See my website for details
- www.skirsch.com
52How we give
- Saving the world (NEOS, Ploughshares)
- Encouraging philanthropy (talks, website)
- Environment (we own two EVs, AB71, NRDC, EV tax
credits, solar vehicle) - Fixing what is broken (knee surgery advice, stem
cell ban, selling body parts, etc.)
53How we give
- Medical research projects (diabetes, bridge
funding gaps) - Medical sponsorships (3 yr 540K grants)
- Local (Tech Museum, AMTSJ, library, )
- Education (MIT, people skills)
- Misc (Mars Society, Buzz Aldrin, )
- Socially responsible investing (Targesome)
54Giving strategy
- Make periodic small donations as your stock rises
- Many notable philanthropists regret not having
taken advantage of this strategy. Dont make the
same mistake.
55Questions?
- Next up
- How to make megabucks using the Internet
- (10 minute video)
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