Esther Dyson

I'll go around telling people maybe I'd invest and I can still be part of the scene and learn a lot and So I shut down the East European publishing part and started investing in Eastern Europe. Though my first investment was, I don't know whether, I don't know the date, but it was a company called Paragraph. And

The founder, Stepan Kochekov, I'd invited him both to the East-West High Tech Forum and to PC Forum, where he met Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. So one day I get this phone call, and he says, Esther, we want to give you 1% of the company. You say yes, then lawyer call, please. Yes, okay. So I had a, yeah, they ended up selling the company to Silicon graphics for, I think 50 million or something.

The founder, Stepan Kochekov, I'd invited him both to the East-West High Tech Forum and to PC Forum, where he met Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. So one day I get this phone call, and he says, Esther, we want to give you 1% of the company. You say yes, then lawyer call, please. Yes, okay. So I had a, yeah, they ended up selling the company to Silicon graphics for, I think 50 million or something.

The founder, Stepan Kochekov, I'd invited him both to the East-West High Tech Forum and to PC Forum, where he met Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. So one day I get this phone call, and he says, Esther, we want to give you 1% of the company. You say yes, then lawyer call, please. Yes, okay. So I had a, yeah, they ended up selling the company to Silicon graphics for, I think 50 million or something.

And I had 1% of that and that it was an infinite ROI in percentage terms. And cause I'd paid zero and that kind of, helped get me started, along with Lee Valentine's million dollars. And that's how it began. Interestingly, the biggest success there was a company called Luxsoft, which ultimately got sold to CVC, and another company that competed with

And I had 1% of that and that it was an infinite ROI in percentage terms. And cause I'd paid zero and that kind of, helped get me started, along with Lee Valentine's million dollars. And that's how it began. Interestingly, the biggest success there was a company called Luxsoft, which ultimately got sold to CVC, and another company that competed with

And I had 1% of that and that it was an infinite ROI in percentage terms. And cause I'd paid zero and that kind of, helped get me started, along with Lee Valentine's million dollars. And that's how it began. Interestingly, the biggest success there was a company called Luxsoft, which ultimately got sold to CVC, and another company that competed with

It called EPAM that I ended up getting an investment in because one of the companies I had invested in got sold to EPAM and so forth. So in a sense, I got two really good deals out of five. And again, I learned a lot and hung around and met people who are friends to this day.

It called EPAM that I ended up getting an investment in because one of the companies I had invested in got sold to EPAM and so forth. So in a sense, I got two really good deals out of five. And again, I learned a lot and hung around and met people who are friends to this day.

It called EPAM that I ended up getting an investment in because one of the companies I had invested in got sold to EPAM and so forth. So in a sense, I got two really good deals out of five. And again, I learned a lot and hung around and met people who are friends to this day.

Some of those have complicated histories like 23andMe, but every one of them I learned a ton. And that I see investing is invest in an education, invest in something useful. And then there's a lottery ticket attached. What I don't want to do is invest in something where if there's a problem, I think, oh, I shouldn't have invested in that person. And that was a dumb idea.

Some of those have complicated histories like 23andMe, but every one of them I learned a ton. And that I see investing is invest in an education, invest in something useful. And then there's a lottery ticket attached. What I don't want to do is invest in something where if there's a problem, I think, oh, I shouldn't have invested in that person. And that was a dumb idea.

Some of those have complicated histories like 23andMe, but every one of them I learned a ton. And that I see investing is invest in an education, invest in something useful. And then there's a lottery ticket attached. What I don't want to do is invest in something where if there's a problem, I think, oh, I shouldn't have invested in that person. And that was a dumb idea.

There are many things I've invested in that failed that I think would have been good. Many things I invested in that I learned a ton from. And then there's some that I also have to make a huge amount of money on. And you need to have a broad enough and diverse enough portfolio for that to work. Net investing in startups is a profitable enterprise.

There are many things I've invested in that failed that I think would have been good. Many things I invested in that I learned a ton from. And then there's some that I also have to make a huge amount of money on. And you need to have a broad enough and diverse enough portfolio for that to work. Net investing in startups is a profitable enterprise.

There are many things I've invested in that failed that I think would have been good. Many things I invested in that I learned a ton from. And then there's some that I also have to make a huge amount of money on. And you need to have a broad enough and diverse enough portfolio for that to work. Net investing in startups is a profitable enterprise.

Right. And you just need the few that people think you were so smart. And the reality is sometimes you're lucky and sometimes you're unlucky. But the statistics work in your favor unless you have really bad judgment.

Right. And you just need the few that people think you were so smart. And the reality is sometimes you're lucky and sometimes you're unlucky. But the statistics work in your favor unless you have really bad judgment.

Right. And you just need the few that people think you were so smart. And the reality is sometimes you're lucky and sometimes you're unlucky. But the statistics work in your favor unless you have really bad judgment.

It helps have good timing, too.