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Tuesday, Feb 26, 2002
What I did at Work Today
February 25, 2002
I did some job interviews about 1996, but that was a symptom of discontent. I didn't switch companies after all, because I was offered my boss's job. It wasn't quite that explicit, but it was telegraphed that he was on his way out, and I was the next in line.
In 1993, I moved to a startup, but I had worked closely with the two founders for over 3 years. The interview was almost a formality. The hard part was disentangling from my previous employer, who had a tendency to sue people who left for a competitor.
So, I haven't really done a serious job search since 1989, when I entered the strange world of digital television. My interview today provided some much needed practice. I did well, but it was softball.
These guys have a little pile of VC money at the moment. That seems to be the only kind of pile the VC's are giving out. The financiers are ladling it out a million at a time, rather than opening up the 8-figure floodgates.
Beyond the little pile of money, it's not clear what they have. They're looking for a VP of Marketing to tell them what to build, and a VP of Engineering to tell them how to build it. But man, it's gonna be great!
I spent some time in Boulder last week with some friends who work at a major media/internet/cable conglomerate. They seem to be on to something. They're looking to define what television is going to be like. And it's gonna be different.
A Tivo in every pot. Content sliced and diced like magazines on a newsstand. One day you may hear children say "You mean you had to sit in front of the TV at a certain time to see a program? Weird! That would be like 'Hey you can't read Newsweek; it's Tuesday.'"
All this has me thinking about surfing. Technology transitions are like waves. Start-ups are about surfing those waves. The momentum of a start-up is not about how fast the founders paddle. It's about the speed of the wave, and whether or not you catch it. I'm starting to yearn for some salt water.