The Dot-Com Dreamers: Students leave Harvard for new technology firms

When David B. Alpert '00 was in elementary school, his parents bought an Apple IIe, which immediately caught his interest.

The IIe, with its miniscule monitor and limited memory, could do little more than run programs like "Oregon Trail" and "LOGO." But even a child could learn to use it--and Alpert did.

Back in the early 1980s, computers were a hobby for Alpert. Today, they're his livelihood.

Alpert is one of a growing number of Harvard students who are flocking to start-up Internet companies.

Their experiences range widely, from the students who sold their program for big bucks to those who are still struggling to turn a consistent profit.

But despite the potential hardship, the lure of the high-tech world is easy to understand: no homework, potentially hefty paychecks and the chance to set your own rules free from proctors and teaching fellows.

Although working at a start-up means taking time off from school for a possibly uncertain future, Alpert and others say they're not looking back.

"Working on it was so much more fun than doing papers for Cores and going to class," says Alex W. Lloyd, a member of the Class of 2002. "Working is definitely a lot easier than school."

One Good Idea

Every start-up company begins with a good idea. Carl P. Sjogreen, class of 2000, had one over the summer, but he didn't realize it would turn into a career.

Sjogreen spent a summer designing applications in XML, a programming language that is a more developed and more powerful cousin to the familiar HTML of Web sites.

While working on a prototype Web site for an online financial services company, Sjogreen realized that there were hardly any tools available to would-be XML programmers.

Computer stores are lined with programs like FrontPage to streamline HTML writing. But there was nothing comparable for XML.

Designing an XML editor seemed like a logical project. So he enlisted his friends to help.

"Carl came to me and said, 'Hey, I've got this idea,'" Lloyd says.

Sjogreen, Lloyd and Omri Traub, a first-year graduate student in computer science, set to work building an editor for XML. But they didn't realize their work would have a commercial application.

"All of our free time went into this thing," Lloyd says. "It was completely different from being a freshman who had a million hours on his hands. Every hour that I had that I might have otherwise been playing Zelda 64, it was some other feature I was finishing."

The program turned out to be much more successful than they had imagined, and they expanded their efforts.

They adopted the name Transformis LLC to build legitimacy for their product, which they named Stylus. The "company's" headquarters was the students' dorm rooms; its employees consisted of the three of them and a few summer interns.

But they were still shocked when an existing company, eXcelon, offered to buy Stylus and hire them full time.

"[They] called us up and said, 'Hey, we saw your Web site," Lloyd recalls. "The CEO said, 'So, have you considered acquisition? We tried to keep as much of a poker face as possible."

As soon as the three friends sold Transformis, they went to work for eXcelon full-time, taking extended leave from the world of Harvard.

"We have golden handcuffs to work there," Lloyd says.

While they were reluctant to give up the independence that went along with owning their own company, they realized that by selling Stylus, they would avoid the challenges of hiring more programmers and developing an XML server.

"It saves you a lot of time to have the general Dilbert office setup, as opposed to our living room and a bunch of fold-up tables and borrowed computers, but it also means that sometimes there is something we want to do but we can't," Lloyd says.

Working full time at eXcelon meant Sjogreen, Lloyd and Traub had to put their Harvard careers on hold. But they're not complaining.

Lloyd refused to say how much they sold Transformis for or what their salaries are, but it was enough to buy a cell phone, rent an apartment in pricey Cambridge and drive the blue Audi he had dreamed about--at least until it got totaled.

And working at the eXcelon office in the Boston suburbs is more fun than studying for Moral Reasoning.

"My boss is a loud, funny Italian, and so are a bunch of my coworkers. It's fun," Lloyd says. "We laugh and drink our espresso and program and design stuff, and they wander around singing Italian at the top of their lungs."

He won't be gone forever. Lloyd says getting a Harvard degree is definitely a priority for the near future.

"I can do computer jobs whenever I want," Lloyd says, "But I can't finish my Harvard degree when I'm 30."

Heading West

Unlike Lloyd and his friends, Alpert didn't found his own company. But as a former president of the Harvard Computer Society, he decided to accelerate his graduation to take advantage of a job offer in Silicon Valley.

Alpert chose to exercise his advanced standing option and graduate a semester early so he could join Tellme Networks, Inc., a new firm which plans to bring the Internet to tens of millions of consumers nationwide who might not have access to computers.

He started work on Monday.

Alpert volunteered few details about the company.

"Tellme is still mostly secret, but they are developing a service to bring the power of the Web to the telephone," he says.

His company is a newcomer to the field--it was founded in February of last year but already boasts employees who were former Netscape and Microsoft rivals.

Tellme may not work out, of course. Alpert notes that while no Internet start-up is without risk, he feels Tellme has a strong advantage with its talent and also with backing from major venture capital companies.

But even if the company folds, the experience will have been worthwhile.

"It's really an opportunity to do something exciting on the cutting edge, something that really has the potential to make a bunch of people's lives better, which is really compelling for me," Alpert says.

His interest in the Internet is an extension of those first games on the Apple IIe, he says.

"As soon as I heard about the Internet, which was when I was in junior high school," Alpert says, "I really thought this was the thing that was going to help computers accomplish that potential, and so far it has."

Working Hard At Having Fun

When Sam A. Yagan '99 and his friends founded a for-profit Web site last year, the hardest part wasn't writing code or attracting advertisers but simply balancing the work with school responsibilities.

Yagan, Chris R. Coyne '99, Max N. Krohn '99 and Eli W. Bolotin '99 launched TheSpark.com early last year with the Pimpin' Cupid, a feature to help singles meet.

"Not only is it a cool idea for a dating program, but it also is a fantastic marketing program," Yagan says. "Because of the way it works, it spreads in a viral fashion."

Since then, the four founders have devoted their time to improving their site and adding new content.

Yagan and his friends knew that they wanted to devote all their time toward making the company successful, but they also had to deal with the pressures of school.

"We wanted to pass our classes and graduate, and we wanted to enjoy the senior activities," Yagan says.

Graduation relieved some of the pressure. TheSpark.com was able to raise enough money to move into its own offices.

The site doesn't actually sell anything yet. But Yagan says his company has several revenue streams.

"Advertising and sponsorship are two key components of the revenue streams, although we have explored many options that are beyond the typical banner you see on the Web site," he says.

TheSpark.com's offerings now include an "un-telligence test," tongue-in-cheek news articles such as "Russia and Chechnya to resolve conflict on MTV's Global Groove" and SparkNotes, a free, online series of summaries of books read in high school English classes.

Yagan says the students plan to add a store in coming months.

"It's going to be done in the same irreverent fashion the rest of our site is," he says. "If you ever need edible body paints, you'd come to TheSpark."

Not surprisingly, the atmosphere at TheSpark's Boston-area office is just as offbeat as the site itself.

Jeans and t-shirts are the rule.

"I think if anyone wore a shirt and tie we'd ask them to leave," Yagan says.

But the lively atmosphere is deceptive--the work can be quite substantial, especially because the company only employs nine people. Yagan's day starts around 6 a.m., and he's usually at the office until 9 or 10 p.m.

At times, he's worked until 4 a.m. and then crashed on the couch in the office.

Even during those few hours when Yagan isn't at work, he is always on call, carrying his cell phone. And Yagan frequently finds himself working on weekends.

"Everyone is overwhelmed with the amount of work he or she has to do," he says.

Life at an Internet start-up can be stressful and there is often a lack of stability. Site traffic--which directly correlates to advertising revenues and overall success--varies from day to day.

"There were days this summer when no paycheck was written, when it was especially stressful because money was tight at the corporate level," Yagan says.

His friends didn't always see his start-up as a viable business.

"A lot of people thought it was a cute thing to do, on the side," he says.

Despite their skepticism, the company has been managed to grow quickly since its inception, receiving a half-million hits in its first month.

And for Yagan, the tremendous amount of work doesn't seem painful at all.

"We have a little putting green in the office, we have a Nerf basketball hoop, we have a lot of beer," he says.

Most rewarding, he says, is that visitors to TheSpark.com have taken a keen interest in the site.

"We've gotten marriage proposals," Yagan says.

Clearly, someone cares. Although the rest of Yagan's office might not care what he is wearing, he adds that visitors pay close attention to the Web cams offered on the site.

"They'll say things like, 'Oh, Sam, you need to shave,' or 'You wore that shirt last Tuesday,'" he says.

Where Is Everybody?

Working for an Internet start-up sounds like it should be a win-win situation. Succeed, and rake in cash at a steady job; fail, and at least gain experience while having fun. So why don't more Harvard students take the plunge?

The uncertainty is a major factor. The majority of new high-tech companies haven't ever seen a profit. If Amazon.com hasn't done it, imagine the risk in a dorm-room venture. By contrast, an investment bank or a consulting firm can offer a steady cash flow to virtually any Harvard graduate.

Winning the start-up game requires a spark of creativity, skill with computers, long hours and dedication. It's hard to be a student and a mogul at the same time.

But for some, the sacrifices are more than outweighed by the chance to make a living doing what they love most.

Besides, they can even play at being students after hours. As Lloyd says, "I live next to the Quad, and I can still pretend to be a Harvard student."