006: Mark Goodstein On Creating The Modern Day Internet

On today’s episode, we get to listen in on a conversation between my business partner Brandon Averill and serial entrepreneur, Mark Goodstein.

Mark has been starting companies and other ventures for 15 years and is the founder of intrantets.com, goto.com, X1 Technologies, and the progressive automotive XPrize.

Mark also has long-standing ties to Caltech and Ideal Lab – the longest running technology incubator which has created over 150 companies with more than 45 IPO’s and acquisitions.

Mark has been personally involved with launching 4 of those companies, most notably goto.com, which became Overture Services and is now Yahoo’s search-marketing company.

He helped launch this disruptive search engine company in 1996, creating 250 billion dollars in market capitalization today.

Mark has since moved on to X1 Technologies in 2002 to help spark the desktop search revolution.

He also started the Progressive Automotive X Prize which was a set of competitions and events from the X Prize Foundation to inspire a new generation of super-efficient vehicles that help break America’s addiction to oil and curve the effects of climate change.

Mark has helped start two non-profit educational organizations in Pasadena, CA – the Pasadena Educational Network and Fair Oaks Preschool.

Today Mark is a partner at Mount Wilson Ventures which specializes in building early-stage startups, especially those based in the hard sciences, advising industrial partners, and developing innovation communities.

You’ll hear about his current and most exciting project Mark is working on, which he says is “the biggest idea I’ve ever been involved in.”

Here are a few more things to listen for in today’s interview with Mark:

How Mark came across Fred Claire (from Episode 4) and how their relationship turned into launching businesses together What Mark looks for when he’s going to start or invest in a business What it was like to buy the world’s first search engine and next-generation internet technologies (plus the resistance and reticule hey faced by the industry initially) The serendipitous Disney lawsuit that forever changed Mark’s life (and altered the history of the internet) How Mark and his wife created a school from scratch Meeting Peter Diamandis Why the “offer-a-big-bag-of-cash” method for inspiring action in people works Mark’s morning routine Are entrepreneurs born, or made? Mark’s take Advice for the athlete looking to become an angel investor Quotes “The more mobile you are, the more prosperous you are.” – Mark Goodstein “White space is defined as an area that has both customers and needs money.” – Mark Goodstein “Different types of people are required in each phase of a company” – Mark Goodstein “When you upgrade your financing sometimes you upgrade your management, too.” – Mark Goodstein “The goal at each stage of a startup is to build credibility.” – Mark Goodstein “It’s a process. It’s all a process.” – Mark Goodstein Resources Mentioned: Fred Claire Scoutables Xprize Automotive Peter Diamandis Blastoff! Corporation Anousheh Ansari Myers Briggs Books Mark Mentioned (Amazon links): Lean Startup Innovator’s Toolkit Crossing the Chasm Good To Great