Revealed: Elon Musk's Plan to Build a Space Internet

Musk wants to wire the world—and one day, Mars—using satellites

Because he doesn't have enough going on, Elon Musk—he of Tesla Motors, SpaceX, SolarCity, and the Hyperloop—is launching another project. Musk wants to build a second Internet in space and one day use it to connect people on Mars to the Web.

Musk is tonight hosting a SpaceX event in Seattle, where the company is opening a new office. The talk will mostly be about SpaceX’s plans for hiring aerospace and software engineers in the Pacific Northwest to boost the company’s rocket-building efforts. But he'll also use the talk to announce his newest idea, which would launch a vast network of communication satellites to orbit earth. The network would do two things: speed up the general flow of data on the Internet and deliver high-speed, low-cost Internet services to the three billion-plus people who still have poor access to the Web. “Our focus is on creating a global communications system that would be larger than anything that has been talked about to date,” Musk told Bloomberg Businessweek ahead of the announcement.

The Space Internet venture, to which Musk hasn’t yet given a name, would be hugely ambitious. Hundreds of satellites would orbit about 750 miles above earth, much closer than traditional communications satellites in geosynchronous orbit at altitudes of up to 22,000 miles. The lower satellites would make for a speedier Internet service, with less distance for electromagnetic signals to travel. The lag in current satellite systems makes applications such as Skype, online gaming, and other cloud-based services tough to use. Musk’s service would, in theory, rival fiber optic cables on land while also making the Internet available to remote and poor regions that don’t have access.

“Our focus is on creating a global communications system that would be larger than anything that has been talked about to date.” 

In Musk’s vision, Internet data packets going from, say, Los Angeles to Johannesburg would no longer have to go through dozens of routers and terrestrial networks. Instead, the packets would go to space, bouncing from satellite to satellite until they reach the one nearest their destination, then return to an antenna on earth. “The speed of light is 40 percent faster in the vacuum of space than it is for fiber,” Musk says. “The long-term potential is to be the primary means of long-distance Internet traffic and to serve people in sparsely populated areas.”

This project, he says, will be based in the Seattle office. (Musk has yet to determine the location of the satellite factory.) The office will start with about 60 people and may grow to 1,000 within three to four years. The employees will also work on SpaceX’s Falcon rockets, Dragon capsules, and additional vehicles to carry various supplies (and soon, people) into space. “We want the best engineers that either live in Seattle or that want to move to the Seattle area and work on electronics, software, structures, and power systems,” Musk says. “We want top engineering talent of all kinds.”

Earlier this week, the entrepreneur Greg Wyler announced a similar effort through a startup called OneWeb. Wyler has spent the last 15 years trying to bring Internet access to the so-called “other three billion.” He started a telecommunications company in Rwanda that set up Africa’s first 3G cell network. Later, he founded a company called O3b, which owns a satellite network that delivers fast, cheap Internet to hard-to-reach places along the equator. Through OneWeb, Wyler looks to expand this vision and fill the skies with hundreds of satellites that will beam their signals down to low-cost, solar-powered rooftop antennas.

OneWeb has announced that Qualcomm and the Virgin Group will invest in its effort, which is expected to cost around $2 billion. Wyler has also already secured the spectrum needed to deliver such a service from space and expects to be up and running by 2018. He has a team of more than 30 engineers developing the satellites, antennas, and software for OneWeb.

Musk and Wyler have known each other for years. Musk, in fact, used to crash at Wyler’s guest house in Atherton, Calif. While there are major similarities between the two ventures, Musk says he’ll have an edge through SpaceX’s smarts and manufacturing techniques. “Greg and I have a fundamental disagreement about the architecture,” Musk says. “We want a satellite that is an order of magnitude more sophisticated than what Greg wants. I think there should be two competing systems.”

Musk describes his system as “a giant global Internet service provider” for anyone. But he wants to go even bigger than that: He sees it as the basis for a system that will stretch all the way to Mars, where he plans to set up a colony in the coming decades. “It will be important for Mars to have a global communications network as well,” he says. “I think this needs to be done, and I don’t see anyone else doing it.”

"We see it as a long-term revenue source for SpaceX to be able to fund a city on Mars."

The backers of OneWeb, including Virgin chief Richard Branson, contend that Musk doesn't have the rights to spectrum he’ll need to create such a network. “I don’t think Elon can do a competing thing,” Branson says. “Greg has the rights, and there isn’t space for another network—like there physically is not enough space. If Elon wants to get into this area, the logical thing for him would be to tie up with us, and if I were a betting man, I would say the chances of us working together rather than separately would be much higher.”

SpaceX will need to be careful with its ambitions: Satellite makers have a choice as to whose rockets carry their machines. According to Musk, SpaceX will focus on making satellites for itself for the time being, rather than competing with its customers, although that may change over time. “I think we would consider building satellites for ourselves and for other people,” he says. “We’ll start by building ones that address the specific application that we are working on, and then we will be more than happy to sell to other people.”

Musk said it will take many, many years to have his Internet service up and running. “People should not expect this to be active sooner than five years,” he said. And it’ll be expensive: Around $10 billion to build, he says. “But we see it as a long-term revenue source for SpaceX to be able to fund a city on Mars.”

3D Printing: Now and the Future

Somewhere, over a mountain range, a failing airplane part needs to be replaced. What if, instead of waiting for someone to discover the problem during a routine safety check, the part could signal for its own replacement, create a record of its flaws and set into motion an evolution of its own stronger, future predecessor? Upon landing, the improved part, printed while the flight was still in the air, could be installed.

Is this is a fantasy, or a realistic picture of the future? Will flexible, one piece machines make today’s assemblages of rigid parts look like antiques? It’s one thing to imagine machines evolving, but what about people? The way we see ourselves and the world might soon seem ancient as well. As manufacturing and fabrication methods continue to evolve, inspired by biology itself, in an ever-closer relationship between the physical and digital, the distant future of what it means to be human might look as radically different as the distant past--only faster. What kind of world will this be when hermit crabs resembling famous landmarks are the new normal?

What Innovation Looks Like

The future seems less far away and more bespoke every day. And it will be filled with new characters, like these from the Bold Machines project, an animated film called Margo.

As with most advances that end up radically changing the world, 3D printing might seem like silly fun to those who haven’t been closely following the industry. Technology is improving at a rapid clip, however, and new methods for improving manufacturing techniques are constantly being announced.

Many of the jobs of the future don’t exist yet, but the Department of Energy is already focused on creating the skills that will fill the need with a program to train workers. Already, there are robots made entirely of 3D printed parts. The FDA recently approved 3D printing for facial implants, an economical way to create options for patients in developing nations or those with specific needs that can be best met with a customized prosthesis, and a 12-year-old Chinese boy with bone cancer has a 3D printed spine, which will enable him to walk again after spending two months lying flat in a hospital bed.

Random Mutations

Jordan Husney, Strategy Director at Undercurrent, does things like explore biorobotics through the creation of remote controlled Venus Flytraps and work onthis pen for a transformative museum visitor experience. He was instrumental in one of GE’s first forays into 3D printing, a Grabcad contest facilitated by Undercurrentthat offered the engineers and others who use the site a chance to optimize, through what is known as “additive manufacturing,” a heavy bracket similar to those in a jet engine. A winner was chosen from 659 entries. GE has continued to develop itscapacity for 3D printing engine parts. Husney’s conclusion? Hardware is beginning to act like software.

Husney told me something about one of the contest entries that grabbed my imagination. The bracket design came paired with an algorithm that generated random genetic mutations so the part could evolve in response to environmental pressures.

In Episode 2 of Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s spectacular new Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, genetic mutations and natural selection are explored in a way that brings the process to life. In addition to the random mutation that happens without our intervention, humans have long selected traits in order to guide transformation in animals and plants. The examples are many. We turned wolves into dogs, for example, and we’ve been genetically modifying agricultural products since the Sumerians and Babylonians. The creation of algorithms and machines capable of directing their own evolution is a radical new dimension unique to this period in human history. The earliest stage of genetic manufacturing, the creation of material that can assemble itself from a genetic blueprint, is underway.

“When things become digital, the pace of evolution rapidly increases,” Husney said. “Feedback loops become much tighter. As the pace increases, a much broader diversity of experimentation takes place.”

Additive manufacturing, he said, will rock your retail base.

The Arrival of a Mini-Me

Earlier this year, a box arrived at Science House with a very tiny version of me inside. Small enough to fit in the palm of my hand, the sandstone statue wore the lilac colored scarf, black boots and jeans I’d been wearing the day I was scanned byShapeways at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) to generate the 3D file that would be used to print a copy.

In the future, however, a replica won’t just be made of gypsum powder, dye and superglue, like the 5,000 tiny statues of people who attended the exhibit at MAD. We may get new organs printed, manufactured in a variety of ways, perhaps including dissolvable blood vessel networks printed in sugar to help those organs function.

Currently, 3D printers only create objects using a single material at a time. The world of 3D printing is going to change radically, Shapeways evangelist Duann Scott said, when machines can print using multiple materials simultaneously, enabling people to take ideas and turn them into products with time being the creators’ only investment. I use Shapeways to create my Treasure of the Sirens amphorae in precious metals including bronze, gold and platinum. The amphorae were pulled up from the sea. Ancient shipwrecks surround my ancestral island, where the mythological sirens once perched on black volcanic rocks to sing their songs about the future. Are the sirens real? Judge for yourself. I know for sure that the amphorae are, thanks to technology mixed with imagination.

Shapeways participated in the launch of Google’s #MadeWithCode project, during which girls heard from Mindy Kaling and Chelsea Clinton about coding and then created their own customized 3D printed bracelets. The company also just announced a partnership with Hasbro for printing copyrighted characters. Here’s hoping that this glimpse of the future will create an army of children who want to create the world they can imagine. Some of them are already well on their way.

How To Resign With Style

How not just to quit, but how to resign gracefully and with class? Indeed, being courteous and smart about your resignation and departure guarantees that you've given yourself the best possible shot at future success.

Fortunately, there exist some key principles you can follow. We´ll talk about them in this blog article.

The most important rule, however, immediately right now: Never quit and leave on bad terms! You owe it your employer, your colleagues, business partners, and – most importantly – yourself by being and coming across as a professional and mature person.

Evaluate Your Situation - Firstly, verify that resigning is the right decision. Don´t quit just to make a point. Understand what the pros and cons of your decision would be. Are there things you can do to improve aspects of the job that bug you? Could you get another job in the company? Have you e.g. talked with your boss and does she know that you consider resigning (at least, if you feel there are meaningful reasons for you to stay)? Has she had a chance to address your needs and wants?

Check The Legal Aspects - Carefully study any legal documents you signed when joining or working at your current job. Are there any non-compete agreements, does your contract require a certain period of employment from you, which is the leave notice your company requires, etc.? By the way, you should also be clear about the financial consequences a resignation might have on your life; especially when not having found another job yet.

Choose The Right Timing - In a perfect world try to leave when you´re on a high note and not when you are burnt out. In a non-perfect world, which is the case most of the times, don´t wait with your resignation too long. After you conducted a thorough situation analysis and came to the conclusion it´s best for you to leave, then just do it. You have only one life to live!

Do It Personally - Don´t chicken out. Request a meeting with your boss. Don´t send a resignation email or letter. You need to say it face-to-face. Very important: Tell your manager before anyone else. She deserves it.

Hand In A Resignation Letter - Written in a professional, i.e. non-emotional manner. It should be a short and polite letter stating your intention to leave and by when. Submit your resignation with sufficient lead time before your planned resignation date. Submit it to your direct supervisor (e.g. whilst you personally inform him about your resignation) and with a copy to your HR department.

Be Prepared To Answer About Your Reasons - Be as honest as you can be. Again in a tactful and respectful manner. It´s a good opportunity giving your boss (and others) constructive feedback. Be fair and mention all factors and try to weight them. Whatever reasons you provide, keep your story consistent. Be prepared and open to receive feedback from colleagues, peers, etc. If your company offers formal exit interviews trying to understand the "real“ reasons why you´re leaving take part at it. Again, be conscious not to burn any bridges by saying anything negative or insular.

Anticipate The Reaction Of Your Boss - If you have a good and professional boss, she will tell you how sorry she is to lose you. In case you have already a new job, she should congratulate you. Most importantly, she should respect your decision. If she reacts poorly, then it reflects badly on her, and not on you. Stay professional, explain your reasons and stress that you will support her and the team to make a smooth transition. Don´t allow neither your boss nor your team putting any guilt on you.

Anticipate The Reaction Of Your Company - How has your employer handled employees who resigned in the past? Is your management grateful to employees who provided long notice, or are people who resign usually shown the door immediately? Be prepared for this scenario by clearing personal files and removing personal information and belongings, and getting your workspace organized. Don´t take anything with you which belongs to the company. On the other side, if you are a valuable employee, be prepared that your employer might present you a counter-offer to make you stay. You should have considered in advance, if and under which conditions you might accept it. Personally I advise against accepting a counter-offer as experience shows that it still does not work out. Either way, be primed and clear in your answer.

Take With You What You´ve Earned - Ensure to get a fair settlement and compensation for any outstanding salary, commission payments, vacation days, and to get details on all employee benefits, rolling over your pension plan, etc.

Support A Smooth Transition - Do your best to complete all open assignments, have any remaining work well documented and organized in a file. And, if time and situation allow, assist in training your replacement. Some people even offer to be available for a couple of phone calls with their replacement after they leave. This generates considerable goodwill and is often highly appreciated by the replacement and the company. A great way for you being remembered as a committed and highly supportive team member.

Respect Confidentiality - Don´t talk about your resignation until it´s official. Once you've resigned, don't go spreading the word. Do not mention your departure to anyone before you have discussed these details with your boss. Agree with her when and how to communicate it.

Don't Be Negative - When you're talking about your resignation with co-workers, try to emphasize the positive and talk about how the company has benefited you, even though it's time to move on. Don´t brag about your possible new job. Be modest and appreciate what your company and your colleagues are doing. Also after you’ve left the company, don´t say anything negative about your former employer, manager, or colleagues.

Be Committed And Hard Working Until The Very Last Day - This point usually separates the wheat from the chaff. That´s when you can identify the true professionals. Be loyal as you´ve used to be. Avoid taking a short-timer's attitude and avoid aligning yourself with any discontented co-workers. Sadly, many who resign suddenly seem to have forgotten about all those years when they´ve worked hard to build their career in and with the company. In a few weeks or days they damage their former – and often also their future – reputation without realizing it. Don´t be stupid!

Inform Your Colleagues And Business Partners - After having spoken with your boss be sure to personally tell other managers or key employees with whom you have worked that you have resigned. Thank these persons for having successfully worked with you and having helped you building your careeer.

Say Goodbye - Before you leave express a heartfelt farewell. Offer your colleagues, boss, and business partners words of gratitude and appreciation. On your last day in the office organize a farewell drink with some food. Your coworkers will remember it. Try to stay with some of them in touch by exchanging contact information with key people. Send a farewell message by email to those whom you can´t personally bit farewell.

Ask for a Reference - Ask your boss, colleagues or business partners, if they were willing to give you a reference. Inquire, if they were available to give a recommendation via email, phone, or professional network sites like LinkedIn.

The way someone leaves a job tells a lot about a person´s character. Handle yourself well. In today´s highly connected world it´s pretty likely that someone knows someone with whome you´ve worked with. You may also cross paths again in the future. Or, and that also happens from time to time, you might want to be rehired by a former employer.

In a nutshell: Make sure you leave on the best possible terms and don´t burn bridges.

What do you think? Please join the discussion by leaving a comment below.

Best regards,

Andreas von der Heydt

*****
Andreas von der Heydt is the Head of Kindle Content at Amazon in Germany. Before that he hold various senior management positions at Amazon and L'Oréal. He's a leadership expert and management coach. He also founded Consumer Goods Club. Andreas worked and lived in Europe, Australia, the U.S. and Asia. Andreas enjoys blogging as a private person here on LinkedIn about various exciting topics. All statements made, opinions expressed, etc. in his articles reflect only his personal opinion.

Do NOT Teach a Starving Man to Fish

You've heard this old saying before: give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. You may even be nodding your head in agreement right now. Sorry— this saying is all wrong.

When a person is starving, that's not the time to fill their head with knowledge. The right thing to do is to first give the person a fish - banishing their hunger - and only then teach them to fish.

Far too often, people ignore this common sense first step. They see someone who is struggling, and they rush to offer wisdom. "Let me tell you what I'd do in your position," a well-meaning individual might offer.

But few of us understand the anxiety, confusion, and uncertainty that comes with overwhelming need. People in the midst of personal disasters are reeling. They can't think straight. Their nerves may be shot. Their confidence may be non-existent.

We all know affluent, outwardly successful professionals who lack confidence and - at least temporarily - the ability to think straight. Can you imagine how people must feel in the midst of outright failure?

Rushing to offer a struggling person long-term advice is a waste of time.

Instead, it makes far more sense to help them regain their equilibrium. Once this happens... once their ears, heart and mind open, then you have an opportunity to teach a new skill.

What does it take to decide whether a person needs a fish before a fishing lesson? Two things:

1.) The ability to pay attention: Is the other person open and receptive, or looking at the world through narrowed eyes that tip off just how terrified they feel inside? You can't just take their words at face value, because claiming to be alright is a basic survival skill. You have to look at how the person acts and what they don't say.

2.) Empathy: The more successful you are, the harder it is to imagine what it must be like to be the opposite.

By the way, don't trust everything you read on the Internet, where the "give a man a fish" saying is attributed to everyone except my Uncle Nathan.

He asked 1 Question – and it made him a Billionaire.

He asked just 1 Question -- and with that 1 Question, this Manager became a Billionaire.

Atlanta, 1981, The Tower, which came to be called The Bunker. Coca-Cola’s top managers were in summit.

Roberto Goizueta (“Goy-zwehta”) stood before his chiefs. He was a man of impeccable suits, an uncluttered desk, and a broad smile he used like a mask.

He’d worked his whole career for Coke. Born in Cuba four centuries after Cortes had gone west to conquer Mexico, Goizueta began work as a chemist at a local Coca-Cola plant. He moved north to the States, went into management, and rose to become Chairman of the Board of Directors of Coca-Cola.

Now he asked his general staff, “What is our market share?”

Marketing had the figure. “45 %.”

Then Goizueta asked, “How many ounces of liquid does a human being need to drink each day?”

A Senior VP answered, “64 ounces.”

“ ‘64 ounces.' Okay -- now of all our brands,” Goizueta asked, “of Coke, Tab, Mr. Pibb, Sprite, all the Fanta flavors, the fountain syrups, everything – on the average, how many ounces does a human being drink of Coca-Cola products each day?”

That stat was handy. “2 ounces.”

Now the CEO repeated his first question, “What is our current market share?”

At Coca-Cola, Roberto Goizueta’s strategic questions and global answers yielded unprecedented value for its shareholders. He was a shareholder himself. And it marked the first time in history that a manager who was not a company founder became a billionaire.

Conclusions:

Coca-Cola CEO Roberto Goizueta asks Marketing a question and it is the questionwhich holds the value, not its answer.

How much value? That year alone it put sixty-two million dollars in his wallet, and much more in the wallets of Coca-Cola shareholders. Just by knowing the right question to ask.

It is the question that drives the strategy.

The example of Roberto Goizueta illustrates what the competitive CEO does. As a strategist, he looks to improve his position, even the intangibles in his position.

As CEO, he revitalized the meaning of market share. He championed a new approach to positioning Coke. Coffee was the enemy, tea was the enemy, milk was the enemy, even water was the enemy.

From colas to juices to water, market by market, he strengthened his core product's position, and therefore he strengthened his company.

Goizueta positioned Coca-Cola’s flagship product at the core of corporate strategy. He positioned Coke to survive the cola wars and maintain its leadership position.

Coke -- the product -- became what I call a "strategic positioning unit" in the struggle of Coca-Cola – the company -- with its rivals.

Essential to marketing the product was availability of the syrup. So Goizueta established a network of anchor bottlers -- in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia, and Latin America – to serve entire regions of bottlers. That strategy captured one-half of the international soft drink market. It built the market capitalization of the firm to one hundred fifty billion dollars, reflecting the growing brand value of Coke the product.

And Then I Held A Glass Of Water To Her Lips While She Was Tied Up

I wanted to make money. When I moved to NYC to get a fulltime job I was rich. I was making $40,000 a year. This was a huge move up from my prior salary of $28,300 a year.

I thought I should be able to hire a butler on that kind of money.

I bought a suit. I started looking at nice apartments. I figure I could afford the massive budget of $800 a month, give or take a "few hundred".

One time there was an apartment available uptown. I met the real estate guy. While we were checking out the apartment he accidentally dropped his suitcase and about a dozen porn magazines fell out. He apologized while he picked them up and stuffed them back into this suitcase.

I couldn't afford his fee of 5% of the year's rent. I had no money other than what was coming up on my next paycheck.

So I lived with my parents which meant I had to get on a bus at 6am and I didn't get back from the city until about 10pm each day.

Finally, I was hanging around Washington Sq Park doing nothing and I met Elias and he needed a roommate. It was just $300 a month. I got the futon and he got the couch. It was one room. The broken shower was constantly running and the kitchen was so bad I didn't set foot in it once.

We kept different hours so I was usually asleep when he got home. With a girl.

He and the girl would go into the bathroom and start having sex with her perched on him while the wall pushed back and forth, as if it were ready to burst and they would fall right through. My bed was against the wall and I'd try to sleep but also I'd stay up and listen.

Elias was a strong chessplayer and made his money gambling chess in the park. His brother Jorge maybe is the most talented chessplayer in history but never really pursued the game after he was a teenager.

One time I was sick and in the middle of the night Elias woke me and told me we were getting kicked out of the apartment.

Then I decided I needed to make even more money.

Nobody had websites then. I thought this was a big problem that I wanted to solve. Everyone needed a website.

My brother-in-law and I did a website for a diamond wholesaler on 47th street. "If you tell anyone you are doing this website," he said, in his thick Russian-Jewish accent, "I'm going to have to kill you." People say that as a joke but he was serious.

And now he's dead. He was looking for diamonds in an obscure part of Russia and his plane crashed.

Nobody on the street (known as the Diamond District in NYC) was allowed to know that a wholesaler was selling direct through the Internet. We charged $35,000 for that.

My take was $17,500 which I used to pay for a year's rent at the Chelsea Hotel in NYC.

It was all cash. I gave it to the owner of the Chelsea in a paper bag and he said, "are you a drug dealer?" I don't think he was asking this to see if I should live in his building or not. I think he was just curious.

Then we did HBO's website for close to $100,000. I was working at HBO and outsourced the site to my brother in law. Then we did AmericanExpress.com and LoudRecords.com, BadBoy, NewLine, and Miramax.com and TimeWarner.com and websites for The Matrix, the Wu-Tang Clan, Con Edison, and many others. We were in business.

I worked all day at HBO and then all night at Reset, the name of the company. We got an office, then we got a bigger office. We had big parties.

Maybe five other companies knew how to do websites in NYC at the time and we were the smallest but I like to think we did the most creative sites.

We did a site called "Shoebox". I asked one of my neighbors at the Chelsea, who was a professional submissive, if she would let us photograph and interview her and her girlfriend, a professional dominatrix who was around 7 feet tall and had some sort of extra chromosome that enlarged everything about her and made her constantly lactate.

They came over to our office where we had a big photo studio and they had about 20 pairs of shoes and all of their lingerie. The highlight for me was holding a glass of water up to Maria's lips when she was completely tied up and thirsty in between takes.

The site was so popular that Con Edison came over and said, "that's what we want our website to look like."

Nobody knew what they were doing.

It's hard to be a first-time entrepreneur. I should've made our services into a product, for instance, raised money, and aimed for a big IPO.

Instead we sold for a multiple of our profits. Maybe the only Internet company back then that was profitable. Stupid.

I knew technology but I knew zero about business. I wish I had just even one mentor then who could've told me about the business side of things.

We also wanted to try out different ideas. While we were running a website business we also tried to be a rap label, a producer of TV shows, and even a tea company.

We found a rap group we liked and almost signed them but then lost interest.

About half the companies we worked with had employees who asked for bribes in order to throw business our way. "Bribe" is a strong word. Sometimes it was more subtle. "Favor". Nevertheless, we always paid the bribe.

Humiliation was common for me. I'd fly out to California to pitch Jim Carrey's agent about doing his website. "This is going to be HUGE!" his agent said. "you HAVE to go to a party with us later tonight." And an hour later I would call for directions to the party and the agent would say, "Wait, wait, wait a sec. Who is this?"

Another time I hired someone to be CEO while I was still working full-time. He's a good guy but I didn't understand how to make a deal. He wanted 10% of the company that would vest in six months. In six months and one day he took his 10% and quit and made a sitcom for MTV.

Water under the bridge. We're good friends today.

We felt like we were the wild west. Rappers with guns would stroll into our offices. Trent Reznor would hang out throwing around ideas for the Nine Inch Nails website.

Miramax executives would scream at me over the phone if one pixel was out of place on their logo. One day we spent the day tasting different teas. We wanted to pitch Honest Tea but it didn't work out.

Clients would get shot and killed at awards ceremonies in the music industry. HBO one time wanted to buy us but that's when I had to admit that I was at both places and had to quit working at HBO.

My first day on the job I cried because I had no idea what to do or who to do it to and people stopped returning my calls after I left HBO.

Then we started getting calls to get acquired. One guy said, "I don't know a hamburger from a website but I know that a stock with an Internet company is going to go up." He was from a company that manufactured burn gels and they wanted to buy us so they could put ".com" at the end of their name.

I went on a vacation to Paris. There's a restaurant at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower. The guy sitting next to us was celebrating. He had just sold a chain of Papa John's pizza stores. When I got back to New York he kept calling me and wanted to invest. Maybe he would've been my smart investor but we never took in any money.

Eventually we sold. Eventually people realized that it doesn't cost $75,000 to make a three page website about Dennis Miller. Eventually the entire web design business went bankrupt as an industry before it reinvented itself as "full services" in the Internet space.

I didn't know what to do after we sold the company. I felt totally lost.

I had money and it seemed lonely sitting in a bank account. So I bought a house. I rode helicopters every week to Atlantic City. I made a lot of new friends who all wanted something and none of them speak to me anymore.

I played poker every night for 365 straight days. "Ingrid says hi", Brian Koppelman, the writer of Rounders, wrote me the other day. Ingrid was usually in charge of the Mayfair Club, the best poker club in NY in 1999. Portrayed by Famke Jannsen in the movie.

Every day was a mask to fool someone into having a relationship with me. Into doing business with me. Into not firing me. Into buying my company.

When I actually had to "be myself" I went broke and lost all of my relationships almost instantly.

I no longer even speak to my partners in the business, all of whom are blood relatives. I was drinking, gambling, running businesses into the ground, spending, and betraying.

I could say, "I wish someone had given me advice" during this time but perhaps many people tried to.

I wish I could say, "I listened" but I honestly didn't have the ability to listen. I didn't even know what listening meant.

Listening is a more difficult skill than "Doing". Because you know the difference between "done" and "not done". But there's no line that tells you whether you listened or not.

This is the entire reason why the self-help business is a scam.

There's absolutely nothing that could've helped me. I would later lie down in the street and pray for a car to run over me while my baby girls were upstairs playing.

I wish I could re-live the entire experience. Like the blizzard of 1996 when we all went to work at midnight to finish a website and it felt so good to deliver. Or when I was scared I'd have to fire everyone because I lost a big client and didn't tell anyone. 

Now when people ask me what I would do differently I always say the same answer, "I wouldn't change a thing".