Take advice from people who've been there
When you take advice from people, ask if 1) they have ever actually been in the same situation before or 2) whether they've been in a situation where the stakes were this high.
EP 77: Ryan Smith (Utah Jazz Owner, Qualtrics Co-Founder): HS Dropout Turned Tech Founder Bought His Hometown NBA Team
September 21, 2023
Clip Transcript [10:25]
I was the one who had to write a check for a couple of hundred million dollars every year as a distribution to the founders. I have handled that kind of money, been in that position. I understood what happened when you sold, and what happened to the company as a result. I also knew what happened when you didn't sell. So, the issue is that you asked the wrong people. You consulted a group of people whom you thought were successful, but you didn't ask anyone who had been in that position before. I see this happening often, that advice is sought, and people say, "Hey, I've talked to all these people, this is what it is." It's like when a company is preparing to go public and everyone's panicking, but they aren't actually consulting with people who have ever been through an IPO.
This experience taught me a great lesson: when you take advice from people, first ask if they have ever actually been in the same situation before. Or one where the stakes were this high. In that situation, the stakes were high. The money was one factor, but also what happened to the company if things didn't go right, marked the end of the ride. I believe there were a lot of people involved with WordPerfect back in the day, and the sale to Novell, who were not pleased with how that journey ended.
At that point, I assume there's no calculation you can really make. There's no way to predict, "if I go for it, then this is the outcome versus that." It comes down to a very personal decision, where either outcome could work out fine.
Listen to the Full Episode
Speakers
- Ryan Smith
- Logan Bartlett