Thread by @rebootdude

1/ A thread on my first startup, venture number one. With pit stops in NYC, LA, DC, Dubai & Karachi.

Avicena. Mar '99. May '01. E-Education.

Analyst and Associate training programs for Wall Street. Continuing professional education (CPE) for actuaries and accountants.

2/ By the time I landed at @Columbia_Biz I had already been blessed by outstanding teachers. But nothing had prepared me for the hidden rock stars in the program.

My 3 electives that term were International Marketing, Emerging Financial Markets and Continuous Time Finance.

3/ I had exempted out of 3 course to take the 3 electives, was auditing accounting, had Micro and Marketing with my batch.

By March I had started thinking of ways that I could share what I was learning with friends and students back home. Level the playing field, somehow.

4/ My final submission for International marketing became version 1.0 of our business plan. An online education site focused on Applied Finance.

My classmates struggled with financial models. Research indicated that it was a common problem.

5/ I was at the fountainhead, drinking straight from the source. All I had to do was figure out a process for building online courses and sell them.

Business plan was followed by a prototype, focus group, MVP and product development plan. By August I was sure, this was the way.

6/ 3rd term I took more courses that helped move forward. By Dec '99 it was time to make a call.

The team I had worked with were all going back to work to pay off their loans. I could do this alone or put it on hold.

I had a six figure offer in NYC, another in Tampa, Florida

7/ I was leaning towards my six figure offers when I ran into a mentor in Karachi. When he heard, he said

"So you are going to let go of a shot a $100 million dollars for 68,000 after taxes. And you are studying finance at Columbia? You should ask for your money back."

8/ That was it. We were off to the races. We signed up a few weeks later with an incubator, hired a tech firm in Karachi to build version 1.0 of the product and the game was on.

Jan '00 to June '00 was a lot of fun. The incubator was in LA. I was in NYC. The team in Karachi.

9/ There were some big names with big money already active in this space. The internet was changing every thing. It would change education too.

I was a 29 year old founder in NYC with stars in my eyes. Nothing could dissuade me that this was destiny at work.

10/ We had raised a small F&F round. The incubator had pitched in with cash and services. I was day trading to pay bills. The tech boom hadn't ended so there was money to be made with tech stocks.

A rising tide lifts all boats. The tide had been rising for the 2 years.

11/ Aug and Sep '00 were a nightmare. Our @SOActuaries launch was set for Oct. Product was all over the place. The engine was buggy and falling apart, the content was just text.

I was screaming and shouting at every one in the team. And a few of them were shouting right back.

12/ We stitched it together with chewing gum and scotch tape and made it to launch. If you saw my recent presentation, you know what happened.

The launch went well. But there was no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. No customers. No moolah. No dollaroes.

13/ If this was a film I would have died of heart break at that point. But you don't do that in the real world. You pick up the pieces, pivot, start all over again.

I had made a bet and lost. Money was almost gone, but there was an option. I picked up a short term consulting gig

13/ The incubator was working on a big pitch to the 3rd largest bank on the planet. Related to our space. We joined hands. The fee was a thick chunk and would cover expenses for a few months.

The team had their work cut out in Karachi. They didn't need me in their face.

14/ After the big pitch in Tokyo in December, we headed back home to Karachi. Family wedding, catch up with team and a long over due break.

It was clear that all was not well in paradise. But we still had a few pokers in the fire. To cut down expenses, my family stayed back.

15/ This was our final shot at making things work. We had 3 pivots in 3 months and were living on borrowed money.

The market was dead. No one was writing checks. One after another, our funding leads dried up. And despite our pivots, we were still not ready for customers.

16/ In Feb '01, the reality dysfunction field finally fell apart. I had known the game was over in Dec but I couldn't accept it.

By Feb reality had broken down the door, rudely barged in, asking me to wake up and understand that this couldn't go on. It was over. Done. Finito.

17/ There is more to the story.

I wrote a book about it. Which is how I got the damage out of my system. If you need therapy, I would recommend that path.

It took 2 years to clean up the mess, another 10 to pay down my debts.

There is work to be done after the tide goes out.

18/ Here is the final twist.

In 2006, 2 am at night, I am working on the closing chapter and I ask myself.

"Looking back, given all that happened, given all the trauma, would I do it all over again?"

The answer surprised me. I didn't expect it to be a yes.

19/ That is all he wrote folks. If you are interested drop me a note or pose a question here.

The book I wrote? Reboot, 3rd Ed. Do a google search and it will pop up.