You Sold Your Company, What Did You Buy First? Here's What I Did.

Having some money all of a sudden is a weird thing. I've always wondered what entrepreneurs do when they hit it. What do they buy, If at all? How do they react to new found ducats?

Does life become a 90s rap video? Cham' bustin' 24-7?

I basically had no money in my twenties.

I was luckier than most, my parents helped with the rent and I had spending cash via the web design firm I started in 1995, Mischief New Media. My clients were "major" record labels and I designed websites for their aritsts. I wasn't that great and soon as the web started taking off they brought those things in-house. But I had a knack for product development and saw an opening for better uber-music destinations in a landscape that had few good ones.  So on the side, I started building music sites I would use. RockOnTV, MusicNewsWire, MusicStation just to name a few. 

I got lucky and 5 years later sold my company to MTV Networks. All those sites were rolled into SonicNet.com, the biggest music site around at the time. Now all defunct!

All of the sudden I had some money.

What did I do first?

While in my lawyer's office I made a copy of the check. Then found what I thought to be the mailing address of the principal that kicked me out of school before my senior year. I wrote "F*CK YOU" on the check and mailed it. I don't know if she ever got it. But 11 years after high school graduation, I had some closure. Yes, I held a grudge but now I was over it. It's a longer story of trust, betrayal, power gone mad, evils of authority and not for this post. :-) She represented all the people that didn't believe in me. Deep breath and now back to the story...

And the money... what did I do with the money?

2 things I remember vividly.

First, I called my mom up and said something like this...

Me: It's done. I just sold the company to MTV.

Mom: Oh, my god! Oh, my god! I'm so proud of you!

Me: Bring every bill, everything you owe over to my place tonight. We're gonna write some checks.

Mom: Are you serious? (SCREAMING)

Me: Yes, see you later.

So, Mom did just that. And for about an hour that night we wrote checks for credit card bills, rent, school, personal loans... you name it.

Buying things is certainly a lot of fun. Travel, cars, all that big pimpin' stuff. But at the end of the day, if you can help or give back to those that did the same for you... well, that rocks. It's a great feeling. More importantly, my mom was directly responsible for my product chops. When I was about 3 years old, She bought me a huge box of building blocks. Simple, made of wood, lots of shapes. There is no doubt in my mind that playing with those blocks shaped my creativity. They made me think about structure, balance, systems and more. She always made sure we had what we needed, she went without and worked hard to provide for us.

To this day, it's the proudest moment of my life.

The second thing? Well, let me step back here...

When you're an entrepreneur putting it all on the line, as least with me, I worked constantly. For 5 years. 18 Hour days. Getting out very little. Always thinking about work. Work, work, work. When you have one of these events, like selling, you can go a little crazy for a second. It's not over, there is more to do to realize the dream. But it's a moment where you get dizzy for a second. And I sort of reverted back to childhood for a few weeks. How so? I went on EBay and bought what I remember to be thousands of Matchbox cars. Why? Who the f*ck knows. I liked them when I was 5 years old. My mom used to buy me one a week. It was a good memory from simpler times. Now? I was a man-child with cash and clearly no idea what to do with it.

So, I'm sitting in my apartment and these boxes start coming in. I mean tons of them. Unopened collections of f*cking Matchbox cars. I opened one, took a deep breath and just started laughing. What the hell was I thinking? There was no way I was able to return these. My small apartment was filled with toy cars. What now?

I went out to get something to eat a few days later and I noticed the lobby of my building had these huge bins for a children's toy drive. I turned around, got the wheely pushcart in the lobby and went back to my apartment. I loaded the boxes of cars up and within a few trips had given all of them away. Mostly unopened. In these digital times, needy kids probably thought... what moron is giving me a miniature car? I want Nintendo DS! 

And so goes my few weeks of reverting to childhood nuttiness.

Yes, I ended up getting the car and the home. I've bought hundreds of pairs of sneakers that put Quincy Smith's collection to shame. I've traveled to all sorts of great places. I love buying stuff for my nieces and nephew. I've pretended to be an angel investor... And yes, of course, I've donated to causes (I'm not totally selfish)... mostly having to do with education (see www.cfy.org). But these are the 2 things I remember most.

So what did you do? Tell your stories...

-JH

Comments

[Danmunro]

Great story - and real classy writing those checks ;-)

... but this is the teaser version - go write the long one - we'll buy book!

[Robin Jakobsson]

Inspiring story!
Very inspired by the act of taking care of your mother. What happened to the Matchbox cars :) ?
I haven't made the product to give me a similiar situation yet, but in the future, Inshallah!

[Waikit Lau]

Love the part with the check, I have to admit. :)

[Alex Iskold]

Hey Jason,

What a fantastic story, so so fun!

I sold my first company to IBM back in 2003, and while it was not a huge exit it was incredibly meaningful for me and my family.

My "splurge" purchase was one of the first iMacs. It is still sitting here in my basement, looking good. It was like a 3K purchase that I would have never made had I not sold the company.

More importantly, we bought an awesome house in Livingston NJ and started a family. This house is our pride and joy, we would not trade it for any other place. Kids love it and love growing up in it.

To me this wraps back all the way to my childhood memories, when I was growing up as a kid back in Ukraine. My family lived in 2 rooms - my parents and my sister. A tiny apartment on the 5th floor, where hot water was a rarity. This house we live in now is like from a different Universe. It really is.

I often stop and think about my great grand parents and wished they would be able see us know. How far we've come, and this house we have how much different it is from the place I grew up in.

I realize just how profound of a meaning money has on our lives. It is not about having a lot of money, although it helps of course, it is about the magic of enjoying the money you have and turning it into meaning.

[Susan Hirschhorn]

It is truly an honor to be Jason's Mother. I am more than proud of all his accomplishments, but most of all I am extremely proud of Jason, the man.
He continues to be the most generous person I know.

[Navigatepartner]

Great topic -- I look forward to reading others' accounts of what they did when the money finally came in. It's everyone's fantasy, right?

[Hup]

Awesome story, but I'm curious to ask if you think that in hindsight you getting kicked out of high school is still such a bad thing? Meaning, I know that situations like that can sometimes motivate us even more and perhaps without them happening we would never have ended up where we are today.

I know that you said that it's a whole other story altogether, but it would be interesting to hear what you think.

I just think that some of the most trying times in our lives are what end up making us the people we are today, even if they were painful.

[Woolymanphx]

Great article. Makes me think that all of my hard work might one day pay off. Thanks for sharing.

[Rebelbanker]

I didn't sell out for a bazillion dollars but my exit from my first business sent me off with the knowledge that I could earn an income from things other than a job and gave me enough financial security to take the first steps toward my dream goal - the 2012 Olympic Games.

[Ben Georgia]

=) Wow!! Keep opening up sir. You're a good guy with great ideas...and I'm sure just warming up. I certainly learned a lot working with you. Thank you again for the set of match box cars for my son Benny. They were a hit for sure.. played with for years. He used to lay out lines of traffic and we would run tracks that went down the full length of the stairs. Of course at the bottom there was a big jump, which launched the car right into the front door. A smashing good time. I think we still some of them - the rest passed on to other children. cheers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAoTH5L_mFw

[John_Meaney]

Great post! I have also compiled a list of: ALL THE THINGS I EVER WANTED.

You may ask yourself, Why would I want this now?"

I have found the satisfaction that comes from achieving something you dreamt of doing or having is rewarding in some deeper way.

Once you acquire and item does not mean you have to even keep it. It is the act alone that fulfils.

My Last acquisition: A tactical vest for a Zombie Apocalypse. Make sense? No. Awesome fun? Yes!

I always wanted ........ is a great start to my adventures.

Thanks again for sharing these insights

[GeneBolan]

Jason,

You bought me my first iPod! And even loaded some songs onto it for me, what to me was "newer" music, but most people refer to it as the 1980's:).

I still have that iPod on my desk at home, not for use, but as a reminder of your kindness!

Gene

[Graham Goch]

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[Account Deleted]

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[Account Deleted]

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[TheGhostOfGriffinMill]

I sold my first script to a studio at the end of the Go-Go 90's market for specs. While some of my writer-friends bought Porsches and over-priced condos, I bought a supermarket. Oh, and a 36" ProScan CRT television.

All these years later -- in addition to my filmmaking career -- I have four supermarkets and a few shopping plazas. Those friends (coincidentally?) are long out of the business.

Sometimes it pays to be paranoid, I guess...

(That ProScan is long gone -- I actually kind of miss it now that I write about it -- but a dedicated home theater replaced it, so it's all good...)

[Brokemogul]

im still broke...