PERSONALITY
Esther Dyson
President,
EDventure Holdings
Esther Dyson is
known to almost
everyone who under
stands the business of
the Internet. She’s the President of
EDventures Holdings, an influential VC firm
with investments in Russia and Eastern
Europe. “In many ways Russia is another
world,” she says. “But experiences there
can tell us a lot about how the fundamen
tals of the old economics keep working
under different conditions—both in the
strange world of Russia and the supposedly
new-economics world of the Internet.”
Dyson is at the top of a profession
dominated by men, but feels that women
have unique advantages in the Internet
world. “The Net gives the underappreciat
ed, underheard, underwhatever more
access, so to that extent it helps women.”
Dyson also has a distinct opinion about
privacy on the Net. “Individuals will have to
learn how to manage their data for them
selves. But they will have to get used to the
fact that what they say to friends will prob
ably be archived somewhere. If you want to
keep something private, don’t tell anyone!”
Education: Harvard 1972, B.A. in econom
ics. “I didn’t study much in college, to be
honest, but the analytical thinking I learned
in economics has proved useful.”
Current projects: President of EDventure
Holdings; Interim Chairperson, Internet
Corporation of Assigned Names and
Numbers; Publisher of Release 1.0, Internet
newsletter
How she got there: reporter for Forbes
magazine, 1974-77; Securities analyst with
New Court Securities (1977-80) and
Oppenheimer (1980-82)
Recognition: Ranked 23rd in Russia’s
Who’s Who in the Computer Market; one
of Fortune magazine’s “most powerful
women in American business” (1998). •
For the complete interview with Esther
Dyson, log on to steamtunnels.net and
search for keyword “Esther Dyson.”
Gina Smith
CIO, NIC Corporation
When 36-year-old
reporter Gina
Smith was named CEO
of the New Internet
Computer Company
(thinknic.com) earlier this year, jaws
dropped and tongues wagged. NIC is
Oracle CEO Larry Ellison’s latest venture,
another step in his dream to bring Internet
access to the masses.
NIC is a cheap ($199), “thin-applica
tion” computer. It doesn’t store applica
tions on a hard drive, it makes them avail
able online. Thousands of NICs are being
given away to promote the new company. If
it works, the NIC will join a flood of devices
that people use to access the Internet—
cell phones, PDAs, pagers.
Smith may never have run a company
before, but she’s one of the country’s best
known tech journalists. In 1991 she began
a popular column in the San Francisco
Examiner and Chronicle called “Inside Silicon
Valley." Her syndicated tech advice column,
“Ask Gina,” reached 10 million readers.
She’s done various radio shows on the ABC
Radio network, and hosted the Discovery
Channel’s “Cyberlife.”
College: Florida State, majored in
Chemistry and English. “What was truly
relevant from college was my work at FSU’s
daily paper, the Florida Flambeau.”
About women in business: “Women are
excellent communicators who collaborate
well. That helps get things done more quickly.
Speed is everything in the Internet business.”
On being a writer turned CEO: “The
advantage is the huge Rolodex. I know all
the top dogs—and when I need to talk to
them, I’m not afraid to call.”
Internet future: “Anything requiring broad
band will flourish. Live video. Online first
person action games, video conferencing,
the beginnings of copying movies. What
will fail? The PC-only approach to the
Internet.” •
Jennifer
Floren
Founder/CEO,
experience Inc.
You may owe your
future job to Jennifer
Floren. Her company, experience Inc., is an
online and print resource aimed at graduat
ing college students entering the job mar
ket. The company is one of the leaders in
online student and alumni recruiting.
Floren is a role model for anyone want
ing to skip “working for the man" and start
up a business. Floren went straight from
Dartmouth to Bain and Company, a top
Boston consulting firm. She ditched the
corporate role quickly however, and soon
founded Ivy Productions, an online and
offline provider of job information for col
lege students. She then merged with
Crimson Partners to form a new company,
experience.com, in 1996. With over 140
college subscribers and deep-pockets ven
ture capital, experience.com plays a leading
role in getting graduating students in touch
with the best jobs.
College: Dartmouth College in 1993 with a
B.A. in psychology: “I studied
Organizational Behavior, and I use it every
day. Study what you love; there’s plenty of
time for training later on.”
The startup: Founder of Ivy Productions in
1996; launched experience network in
1996; currently CEO of merged experi
ence.com. “I realized the need for credible,
objective career advice.”
Finances: Received $20 million in second *
round VC financing from Polaris partners in
August 2000. “Women stand out in the
business world, and that’s an advantage. But'
the VC world is male dominated, and a
woman has to learn different rules.”
Hiring students: “I look at what they want
to do, not what they’ve done. I don’t
expect them to answer questions, but to
know what to ask.” •
For the complete interview with Jennifer
Floren, go to steamtunnels.net and
search for keywords "Jennifer Floren."