Many of us can point to the moment when we finally realized we had missed out on the easy money of the great Internet gold rush. My moment came last week. That's when one of my friends from way back in my old neighborhood informed me that his Internet company is out raising zillions of dollars with the help of one of Wall Street's blue-chip investment banks. It's difficult to convey how much of a shock this was. I'm not talking about an old friend who graduated from MIT or spent his childhood locked in a room rebuilding computers. I didn't exactly have friends like that. Mine, you're more likely to find today making guest appearances on The Sopranos than out raising venture capital with the help of Wall Street's finest investment bankers. Nevertheless, my old pal is now in line for his share of Internet riches. I won't tell you the name of his company, because my journalism ethics prevent me from giving free publicity to old friends. And he doesn't need any PR now that he's going to be a billionaire with two homes in the Hamptons and one in Vail. Anyway, it's not a local company. And what can I say about his investment bankers, except that one of Wall Street's true legends would probably be flipping over in his grave if he knew that his august firm is now doing business with someone from my former neck of the woods. In many ways, I guess my friend qualifies as an Internet tycoon as much as anyone else these days. He's a serial entrepreneur who has started about a dozen businesses in his short life. Somewhere along the way, he found a road into the Internet game, although I thought this was a mere sideshow for him. Now, suddenly, he has a real business on-line-or as real as just about anything else on the Net-and blue-chip investment bankers want his business, and soon investors will be tearing down the doors to get a piece of the action. Is this a great country, or what? Of course, there are still some gaps to fill between the New Economy and my old neighborhood.
Last week, for instance, I received a cryptic e-mail from my friend, who asked me if I knew anything about one of the great figures in modern finance. I wasn't surprised that my friend hadn't heard of this titan, because back in the old neighborhood, we didn't read the Journal every day. But then my friend told me that this legend is now on his board of directors and his bankers are ecstatic. I almost fell off my chair on hearing the news. My friend merely wanted to know what all the fuss is about. Now that someone from the old neighborhood is cashing in on the Net revolution, I'm sure others will quickly jump on board, since that was always the way things worked back home. Soon, in fact, everyone will be swimming in Internet riches. This is quite a contrast from the old days, when the easy money on my block was made by selling merchandise that fell off the back of trucks. I guess this is what they call progress. @@Volume: 16 @@Publication number: 13 @@Word Count: 539 words
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