Very entertaining and informative interview at Forbes with ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen. No matter your personal views on what ESPN has done to sports, Rasmussen's story is edifying:
I still needed to raise some money, so I got a $9,000 advance on my credit card, Scott put in some money, my family put in some money, and we started looking for investors. I remember going in to visit Taft Broadcasting, and the head of Taft figuratively patting me on the back and saying not only would our idea not work, but cable was going to be gone in a few years as well. We had met with seven different potential investors and been turned away before Getty Oil said ‘yes’ to the idea in February 1979.
At the same time I was visiting investors, I was trying to persuade the NCAA, the NFL, and others to get involved as partners. Most of the sports and television executives I met with thought I didn’t have any idea what I was talking about. We were bombarded with people who told us that to be on 24 hours a day, a single-niche network of sports couldn’t sustain itself. It simply wouldn’t happen.
Amidst all the clamoring for secrets to entrepreneurial success, Rasmussen's lessons are delightfully brass-tacks. Work hard: this will increase your "luck surface area." Be passionate, not a know-it-all, and ask for help. And think big.
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