Lessard points out there are several crucial differences between now and the tech wreck on the late ‘90s.
The most important is the frequency with which companies file for an IPO.
“Back in the Web 1.0 Boom, you had dozens of companies going public every week. Every company seemed dumber than the last, but that didn’t stop them from going to market and jumping to 90 bucks a share on their first day of trading.
“These days, there are offerings, but there are fewer and the companies have stronger fundamentals. Also, another difference is that acquisition is an accepted exit strategy. In the ’90s, it was IPO or bust.
“If nothing else, it seems like companies are more careful today because they have to be. There’s money out there, but not a plethora of dumb money willing to throw cash at anything with a “dotcom” in its name.”
Since the tech boom of the late ‘90s, Lessard has returned to the public relations industry, with his company counting startups amongst its clients.
“I did PR before I got into tech, right after I got out of grad school… I run my own shop, so I get to pick and choose the projects I work on.
“I have a great job because I get to advocate for things I believe in. I don’t represent crooks and hucksters. I represent people who are trying to make a difference in their own little way. I have worked with videogame charities who distribute used games to kids in hospitals and cancer wards.
“I have gotten a street named after a favourite jazz artist. I have partnered with major sports franchises and food startups to get fresh food to people in underserved communities. I choose people as much as they choose me. It’s not going to make me rich, but that’s okay. My wealth is the satisfaction of being able to live the way I was intended to live.”
According to Lessard, there are four key lessons from the tech wreck that startup entrepreneurs should apply to their businesses:
1) Create a company that will make the world a better place. There are already enough apps for simulating fart noises.
2) Failure will teach you the lessons that you need to know the most.
3) Take better care of yourself. Cut out all the pizzas and the all-night coding marathons. That bro stuff is nonsense, and it will kill you.
4) Figure out what kind of person you are: Are you an overdog who needs to run stuff? Are you an underdog who just wants a check and weekends off? Are you a lone wolf who neither wants to run things nor be told what to do? These are important questions. The world is the way it is because it is full of people who are trying to fit themselves into slots they don’t belong in.
Andrew Sadauskas is a former journalist at SmartCompany and a former editor of TechCompany.
