The Independent
1 November 2000
Fiona Lafferty
Co-founder and
chief marketing officer of First Tuesday: 'Nobody accomplishes anything in
life without pain, struggle, energy and drive'
Julie Meyer, 34, joined New Media Investors, after studying for an MBA, in
1998. She co-founded First Tuesday, a Net matchmaking organisation a year
later. The company merged with technology group Yazam in a $50m deal in
July
1) Of the four original founders, you're the only one left.
Why did you fall out?
The original four, Nick Denton, Adam Gold, Mark Davies and myself would
have been a dream team to run a company because we had complimentary
skills, but we all had different levels of commitment and different levels
of involvement. It was like getting married to somebody and them
immediately saying: "I'm going to live in Prague." It doesn't
work that way. I don't really have much time for the other founders.
2) What's the first lesson you learned in business?
Buy low sell high and if you don't ask nobody is going to give it to
you.
3) Why is it that very few MBA graduates actually start
their own businesses?
The majority of my classmates had done everything right before starting
their MBA's. They'd been to Harvard, then Goldmans, then McKinseys, whereas
I'd gone off to Paris at 21 with $700 in my pocket and found a job in
marketing. I was definitely in the minority in wanting to do something
different.
Everybody took consulting jobs or went into standard investment banking
where they could get patted on the back. Very few people are willing to
jump off into the chaos and say: "I structured the chaos." They
are usually extremely bright and hard working, but the majority are
petrified to fail.
4) Are entrepreneurs born or made?
I used to say I was a born entrepreneur but I actually think they're made.
Everybody has a person that kicks them out of the door and tells them they
have everything they need to succeed. For me that person was Christopher
Spray, the managing director of Atlas Ventures. He listened to my idea for
First Tuesday and said: "Julie you're bankable, I want to give you
money." He saw the potential in me before I saw it in myself.
5) What single event or person gave you the impetus to
succeed?
Reading Ayn Rand's book Atlas Shrugged in Barcelona in 1997. I couldn't
put it down and ended up missing a very expensive one on one course in
Spanish, which I needed for my MBA. It was incredibly thought provoking and
made me realise that nobody accomplishes anything in life without great
pain and struggle and energy and drive. There are those that do and those
that talk about doing and I wanted to be somebody who did.
6) Do you believe 90 per cent of internet companies will
fail?
Ninety per cent are now trading below their original market value,which
could mean 90 per cent are going to fail or a fraction of the companies
will end up with most of the market. Whichever way you look at it, the
numbers aren't good.
There needs to be significant consolidation because a lot won't make it on
their own. I think everybody deserves an opportunity to reinvent
themselves, which is why it's good that Boo is relaunching. What is going
to happen to all these entrepreneurs that launched businesses last
September and didn't make it? I think they have learned something that
needs to be brought into the next phase of the internet economy.
7) How has your view of the internet changed over the last
three years?
I don't think anyone realised it would be so much about clicks and
bricks. When I was helping raise money for Lastminute, in January 1999,
there were no existing travel companies doing online business. Brent and
Martha were extraordinarily lucky because they were early to the market and
very quick and nimble. They were also likeable and media-genic. At every
round of financing everyone wanted to invest. Since then all the off-line
travel companies are trying to get into the game.
8) If you didn't run First Tuesday which company would you
most like to run?
I wouldn't mind taking a stab at the NHS. My father is a doctor and we
talk about the healthcare industry a lot. I'm always wary of anything
that's given away for free because people perceive it as not having value
and that's where abuse and corruption and lack of quality begin and end. If
you've got two axis: one is the overall excellence of healthcare and the
other is healthcare for all, are we going to achieve excellent healthcare
if our only concern is that everybody is covered? The NHS needs to make a
trade off and create a hybrid system.
9) What's the best investment you made and the worst?
The best was the first deal I did at New Media Investors when I helped
Jez Sand write his business plan for Arc Cores and then raised money for
them. I only have a small amount of options but it's going to do extremely
well.
My worst was buying a brand new Renault Cinq while I was at Insead. It
broke down every time I had an exam even though I was only driving 20kms a
day. Six days before I graduated I had an accident and the car got towed
away for good.
I've had no desire to own a car since then.
10) Do you have a business philosophy?
To give as much responsibility as possible to other people. If anything
I err on the side of giving too much. I'm very ambitious and I'm always
reaching up to increase my sphere of influence so I need people reaching up
behind me.
When I first came to London everybody said: "You're giving away all
your valuable contacts." I saw it as helping people because the more
contacts I gave the more I got and that's how you end up in the centre of
the storm.
11) Why are there still so few female entrepreneurs?
I don't want to do a disservice to women but I don't think they have the
level of commitment it takes. When you start a company it burns through
your personal life, which is why I didn't have a boyfriend for a whole
year. No man wants to put up with a woman who has 17 seconds to spare on a
Saturday evening. It completely takes over your life and most women want a
balanced life. If you're constantly having to make a choice between family
and business then your business won't grow.
12) Which single task do you hate doing the most?
I take taxis everywhere and I hate having to call them the night before a
breakfast meeting. I shouldn't schedule anything before 9am because I'm
never on time.
13) What was the happiest day of your working life and the
worst?
The day I joined NMI was the happiest because I was getting in on the
ground floor of something that was going to be huge. Everybody else in my
class at Insead said: "Poor girl she's been out of work for three
months and turned down offers from QXL and now she's joined three men and a
phone in Barclay square." Nobody could understand why I was so happy
until we started doing some hot deals like Lastminute. The most miserable
day was 20 July 2000 when my partners outvoted me and we merged with Yazam.
I'm naturally confident and optimistic and didn't realise the extent to
which I didn't control the company.
14) What's the best piece of advice anyone ever gave you?
Mum and Dad told me I could be anything I wanted to be, even the
President of the USA.
15) Are you easy to work for and what makes you lose your
temper?
People say they enjoy working with me because they're able to take on a
lot of responsibility. I lose my temper when people are mean to others.
I've seen some pretty nasty episodes recently where VCs have told
entrepreneurs that they didn't want to invest anymore. I wanted to strangle
them because they could have told these people three months earlier instead
of letting them run out of cash.
16) Who do you most admire in the industry?
Frank Gelardin who is a private investor based in New York. He works
extremely hard, he's got a great sense of humour and he's 100 per cent
ethical. He's like my mentor and has always been there for me.
17) In terms of personal wealth how much is enough?
I worked 100 hours a week for no salary and think that once you've
reached that point of commitment money is not important. I was willing to
forgo making money at the time we sold to Yazam because I wanted to
continue building the business independently. For me it wasn't about
getting out at the first opportunity to make some cash.
18) Where do you want to be five years from now?
Working a bit less than I do at the moment, but still in London. I'd
also like to have my next venture up and running and a flat in Paris.
19) Do you ever think about retiring?
Every time I take a holiday I end up spending the entire time
connected. I went to Malta after the merger and ended up the whole time on
line, the same thing happened when I went to India. I have the protestant
work ethic and will probably be working until I'm 95.
20) What's your greatest personal indulgence?
Joseph because I like their clothes. I have a rounded figure and they
make clothes for the boxy figure and it kinda balances me out. They never
send me out in things that do horrible things to my hips.
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