I recently had a chance to catch up with my friend Michael Karnjanaprakorn. We’ve known each other for at least a decade or so now from the early days of the New York Tech ecosystem. This was a fun one.
Full video below and here.
And, some highlights that Mike pulled out from our conversation.
Dan Reich: “Business is a video game.”
I asked Dan Reich who has sold four companies to Salesforce, Buddy Media, and Procter & Gamble:
“Why are you still building companies instead of retiring and riding off into the sunset?”
He shared a conversation with a fellow serial entrepreneur:
CEO: “Do you still play video games?
Dan: “Yeah, I do still play video games.”
CEO: “So do I. But this business is a video game, and it’s a game that other people gave me money to play. If I win, not only will I make them money, I’ll make money too. And I love the video game.”
Dan reflects on this analogy:
Dan: “He was right. The journey is the prize. I tell everyone I have a career conversation with: People who optimize for money are not happy, and people who optimize for happiness end up finding money.”
In this episode, Dan dives into:
• His transition from 4x founder to building a venture studio.
• His playbook for building companies.
• His advice for navigating a post-exit journey.