Luck of the Draw

“You should come!” said Jeff Grabow, my friend at Ernst & Young. Jeff was focused on private companies and was a good “introducer” on the service firm side of entrepreneurial activity. I listened.
“It’s March 5th in Palm Springs. This is our eighth year for the International Software Partnering Conference. It’s just two days: down in one, back the next. You can play in a golf tournament if you come down Sunday. I’ll send you some info.”
“Palm Springs? Are you trying to lure investors from the eastern winter?” I asked.
“No, this really is a partnering event. Young companies, just what you like.”
I looked over the material he emailed me. The Advisory Committee had some good names in it: Ann Winblad from Hummer Winblad, Mike Volpi from Cisco, Eric Schmidt from Novell. Osprey, Nokia, USVP, and Accel were also listed VCs. Plus, Accompany and ClickNet were attending. Might be worth a quick visit. With only 50 companies participating, one could actually cover a good chunk of them. Why not? I booked a flight into Ontario, a car, and a spot at the Westin Mission Hills.
As expected, I did get to cover a lot of ground in the sessions. I talked with Jim Rose of Accompany about progress. Ernst did a good job of providing meet and greet opportunities. At an evening reception, I met an interesting young man. Noticeably absent at such an event was his nametag.
I introduced myself, to which he said, “Hi.”
“Going stealth tonight?” I inquired.
“I’m just here to look, to see who’s here. I’m not really partnering. I’m looking for investments.”
“As are many. The question of the day is, ‘Are there good investments left?’ I’m getting a little worried about a shake-out.” He agreed.
“Are you investing for a firm or yourself?”
“No,” he said. “Just for myself. But I don’t want people calling me. I want to find them.”
“Okay, well, here you are!”
He seemed to warm up to me, adding almost in a whisper, “People here don’t really know the key thing to success in this Internet era. It’s … luck!”
I laughed. “That certainly is a defining variable,” I conceded.
“No, really! People think they have to be smart, have a great product, own a market. But they can do all that and still lose everything! It really comes down to luck. I know! I’m not that smart.” He smiled and continued. “I have been very lucky.”
I appreciated his candor and his humility. It was a refreshing change amidst all the hot shot entrepreneurs and hyper-analytical investment bankers. “So then, can you tell me how to be lucky?”
He laughed and said, “No. Just don’t underestimate the role luck plays in all this.” We smiled with appreciation for a truth shared and continued our wanderings through the crowd and buffet tables.
It was said that luck favored those who act. I might modify that to say she favored those who stayed in motion, increasing the chances of bumping into a good opportunity. With that in mind and a fresh beer in hand, I pushed myself toward another cluster of techsters.