Eduardo Saverin's life is pretty damn sweet. He's only 26 and worth somewhere between $1.1 and $1.3 billion, all because he had an early part in the development of Facebook. He was born in Brazil, but grew up in Miami before heading to Harvard where he became Mark Zuckerberg's BFF and helped to start what would become the gargantuan website. In a new piece for CNBC he explains to us all what we need to be billionaire. No, surprisingly, not a privileged upbringing, and a friendship with a socially inept tech prodigy.
Actually, the thing starts off as a sort of review of Ti>The Social Network:
What I gleaned from viewing "The Social Network" was bigger and more important than whether the scenes and details included in the script were accurate. After all, the movie was clearly intended to be entertainment and not a fact-based documentary. What struck me most was not what happened - and what did not - and who said what to whom and why. The true takeaway for me was that entrepreneurship and creativity, however complicated, difficult or tortured to execute, are perhaps the most important drivers of business today and the growth of our economy.So, he likes it. Why wouldn't he though? The script is based on a book on which he was a consultant, so the tale that makes it to the screen is indirectly form his version of things. Plus, he gets to be played by Andrew "Next Spiderman" Garfield, which is a lot better on the ego than being portrayed by Jesse "Squid and Whale" Eisenberg.
But what about those keys to success?
- Value "technological innovation," "entrepreneurship and creativity."
- But how do you measure "the value of entrepreneurship?" Well, just "look at the impact of venture-backed companies in the context of the over-all public stock market."
- Well, gee Apple, Microsoft and Google all have high stock prices. So with the proper values just start a company like Apple, Microsoft or Google, and you're on your way.
- But doesn't that cost money? No, "the dependency on a large checkbook to start a business is diminishing. Instead, what has become increasingly more important is the help from others -- the intellectual capital and know-how to succeed."
So, basically what it boils down to is "help from others," meaning just find that loner geek at your ivy league campus and cut him a check for $15,000 to help start his company (how, as a college student do you get a check for $15,000? Rich parents are the easiest way probably), and sit back and watch it turn into $1.3 billion. Easy!
[CNBC: Facebook Co-Founder Speaks Publicly: What I Learned From Watching "The Social Network"]
