[Posted on March 24, 2008 - 6:07 PM]
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DiggIn this exclusive video interview, the often controversial and always outspoken entrepreneur Jason Calacanis defends his hardcore work ethic, which he recently summed up in a blog post that drew fire across the blogosphere for urging startups to "fire people who are not workaholics."
The ensuing brouhaha spurred Calacanis, founder of search engine Mahalo.com Inc., among other companies, to clarify his position to advise young companies to "fire people who don't love their work." Yet he stands by his belief that to build anything great requires great sacrifice, citing Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and even filmmaker Akira Kurosawa as inspiration.
Delusions of grandeur? Perhaps. But while Calacanis may not pass the Lucy Van Pelt test for fame (he never got his picture on bubblegum cards), he did land a part basically playing himself in the 2001 indie flick "The Center of the World." More importantly for Tech Confidential readers, he co-founded Weblogs Inc., which America Online acquired for $25 million in 2005.
Check back later in the week for parts two and three of our interview, when Calacanis talks about Mahalo and other startups he's excited about, such as Twitter and ThisNext Inc. (By the way, Calacanis and I appeared together often on MSNBC about a decade ago, back when I was the fledging cable network's Internet correspondent and he, a mere slip of a boy in his 20s, was the founding editor of "Silicon Alley Reporter," irreverent chronicler of New York's dot-com industry.) - Mary Kathleen Flynn
See March 7 post from Tech Confidential
See Jason Calacanis' post on tips for startups
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Building anything requires great sacrifice? For developers?? Even in a startup, they'll be lucky if they get 1/2 of one percent of equity. What and who are they supposed to be sacrificing for? Calacanis?