My
older son has 712 friends…according to Facebook. He spends time with three of them. He Skypes with a few that live further away,
and prefers to text rather than talk on the phone. I don’t think he’s shaken hands with 712
people in his life, but he does count them as friends, and, remarkably, they
are from all over the world. It seems
easier than ever for people to make “friends,” yet developing real
relationships can still be challenging.
When
Catherine was fourteen and her brother, Dave, was fifteen, their family
relocated to New Jersey. They didn’t
know anyone and wanted to make friends, but it was difficult, because many of
the students at their new high school had known each other since kindergarten. While flipping through a school yearbook, they
realized it wasn’t a very useful tool for getting to know their new classmates,
but it gave them the idea for an online yearbook that could show more of
people’s personalities.
During
lunches, Catherine and Dave drew up plans for how the online yearbook would
work, look, and what types of games and activities it should include. Once they had a basic idea, they approached
their older brother, Geoff, for input.
Geoff was already a successful entrepreneur. In college he started and sold two online
businesses that edited résumés and college essays. He liked the idea that his siblings had come
up with, so in addition to providing advice, he made an investment to help launch
the business.
The
young entrepreneurs found a group of developers in Mumbai to help build their
online yearbook. Barely sleeping many
nights, Catherine and Dave would go to school at 7:30 AM, get home in the
afternoon, and then stay up till 3:00 AM or later chatting with the programmers
in India. They burned the candle at both ends, somehow managing to keep up with
schoolwork while coordinating the development of their new website.
After
a month, the first version of myYearbook was launched. More than 400 people joined in the first
week. Catherine and Dave spread
awareness by wearing t-shirts with catchy slogans and putting out fake press
releases such as, “myYearbook gets 1,000,000 members and takes over the
world!” They also listened to their
users, who would submit suggestions like using gold stars instead of
"likes." Catherine personally
sent a friend request to each new user, which is how she eventually met her
real-life best friend.
Just
a few months after their initial launch, they opened myYearbook up to members
of all schools nationwide. Before they
knew it, they really did have 1,000,000 members, and their plan had
worked: they had tons of friends.
Catherine
became the company’s spokesperson, and at 17 she spoke at a technology
conference with a number of influential business and tech people, including
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. Catherine pitched their company to a notable
investor and had to follow MC Hammer, who was presenting his own company,
DanceJam. The investor picked
myYearbook.
Through
a series of investments and decisions to narrow their focus, the siblings were
able to make themselves different from other social networks. myYearbook became the place to meet new
friends, rather than talk to the friends you already have. The company was soon generating millions in
revenue and ranked third among all social networking sites in the United
States.
Making
new friends is so important that a Latin social networking company called
Quepasa bought myYearbook for 100 million dollars in cash and stock. Catherine, Dave, and Geoff became
multi-millionaires and remain with the company, which has since changed its
name from myYearbook to MeetMe.
Last
month, Catherine and Dave received a special award for young entrepreneurs. I
was there to meet and honor them. I
listened carefully to their story, and realized once again the importance of
relationships. In the time it has taken
to write this week’s story, my son has probably added half a dozen more
Facebook friends…and maybe that’s a good thing, since friendship is the foundation
of a happy life.
As
you continue your journey to pursue your dreams, remember this quote: “If you go looking for a friend, you’re going
to find they’re scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you’ll find them
everywhere.” And rest assured that you will
always have a friend in me.
Until next week...
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