Tech investor Yossi Vardi spoke recently at TechCrunch40. Vardi is perhaps best known for being the original investor in instant messaging pioneer ICQ. Michael Arrington describes Yossi as someone who invests in people, not business plans.
To help make his point and establish his philosophy for investment, Vardi quoted Theodore Roosevelt’s 1910 speech at the Sorbonne:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” – Theodore Roosevelt
Inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs and business provocateurs.
I read the Techcrunch article and liked Vardi’s approach, especially the fact that if someone tried and failed previously, he was even more likely to invest in them. His theory being that they will want to succeed even more now.
Like the blog, but post more regularly, please?
Barbara, I’ve got that ICQ song somewhere… I’ll drop it in an email!
Boz, thanks for the comment. I agree with you and Vardi; if you don’t take risks, you’re not likely to fail… or succeed. And I’ll work on that other thing. 😉