What happens to nerds that strike it big early in their careers?

May 14, 2008 7:53 PM

What happens to rank-and-file tech guys after they strike it rich in a tech boom? Do they keep working? How do they spend their money? Do they waste their lives away?

Im not talking about the big shot entrepreneurs. I am talking about the typical developer who gets rich from options or from his share in the company. Anyone have any anecdotes, first hand experience or biographies? I've always wondered what happens to people after they don't have to work anymore.

posted by vizsla to Work & Money (15 answers total)

This isn't firsthand, and technically it doesn't specify that the guy wasn't a founding entrepreneur, but otherwise it seems to fit your criteria. It's not a very heartening story.
posted by decagon at 8:13 PM on May 14, 2008

In the experience of my friends and acquaintances, but not me personally (since I don't fit the description), here are some typical responses:

- Go back to grad school, either for something useless but which you really love, or for something arguably career-advancing;

- Buy a couple nice cars, a big house in Marin or on the peninsula, realize that your options jackpot wasn't really all that big, and go back to the grind to send your kids to a nice private school;

- Buy a little condo in the city, mostly with cash, and continue to work with a much lower stress level now that you are immune from rent increases.

These are all "high tech," i.e. computer science, folks. I think a lot of computer nerds get into it for love of the game and the money's just a nice plus. Or, they take the opportunity to rethink priorities and really try to accomplish some goals; I don't know anyone who's just wasted away the days after getting a chunk of IPO change.
posted by rkent at 8:41 PM on May 14, 2008

It's a personal thing. Nerds, it turns out, are pretty much ordinary people and like regular people will react differently when they come into money. JWZ, mentioned above, is one example: he quit the business to do something he loved. However, lots just keep on plugging away because of habit or because they like the work. It's pretty common to just buy a nice home or car and keep going.

Unlike lotto winners though, I don't know any who managed to screw themselves up because they couldn't handle the money.
posted by chairface at 8:58 PM on May 14, 2008

One pair I know bought about a square mile in a Western state where they do their survivalist thing and drive self-built dragsters. Another guy cashed out into a B&B on the Gold Coast of Oregon and spends his tranquil days with his family and his Newfies. Several have become rock-climbing junkies who are off climbing at La Clape, or Vietnam, or South Africa for weeks or months.

These people wound up with millions to tens of millions of dollars, and none shall have to work again. They're not buying Ferraris (except one guy) or McMansions: they mainly became vagabonds with black American Express cards and modest houses where they like to be.
posted by jet_silver at 8:59 PM on May 14, 2008 [1 favorite]

Well, one friend of mine who cashed out of Yahoo in '99 started a company which foundered during the '00 tech crash, then took a few years off, started a family, bought and started restoring a big house, raced his yacht - and then got bored, so we're starting another company. I think that's what a lot of them do if they get seriously rich - start companies, either on their own or by becoming angel investors or venture capitalists.
posted by nicwolff at 9:07 PM on May 14, 2008

I bought a car, paid off my house, invested in some land and an apartment complex and a shit load of goog, traveled, filed a couple of patents and am developing a new web site wrapped around one of the patents. Most importantly I spend a lot more time with my daughter.
posted by Mr_Zero at 9:18 PM on May 14, 2008

Walking around SF, I saw a Ferrari with a license plate that said something like "GOOG 34". I think that covers some folks.
posted by bargex at 11:35 PM on May 14, 2008 [1 favorite]

I think it's also worth pointing out that the story decagon links to is on Jamie Zawinski's site. He's also someone who fits your criteria, and what he did to stay busy was bought a bar and turned it into the DNA Lounge. Note that some images on that site are NSFW. Digging through his site may also give you some additional information on how he went about handling his Netscape windfall.
posted by barc0001 at 12:11 AM on May 15, 2008

The book Richistan has extensive interviews with dot.com millionaires. It highlights a lot of the differences between millionaires that in the past tended to be right-wing/conservative and the new left-wing/liberal dot commers. It also delved pretty deeply into how the money affected people that were raised middle class and never really thought they would be rich. It is a quick read and I really enjoyed it.
posted by saucysault at 12:15 AM on May 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

It's all over the map. Some guys keep their day jobs; many don't. Starting a new company is really common. One guy I know buys fancy cars, houses, and antiques and became a VC. Another lives in the same duplex he bought out of college and divides his time between travel, volunteering, and helping out in a family business. Yet another explores hobbies and interests (e.g. graduate-level math classes) in depth, and chases girls. One guy decided his true calling was to build custom homes, so he does that now. Another started a consulting company, more or less so that other software types he knows who don't want a W2 job have an easy way to get health insurance. I guess the most interesting one is a guy who got a sex change with some of his money. She also bought some kind of ranch/farm to retire to.

I don't know anyone who's wasting his life or crashed and burned spectacularly or blew all his money on hare-brained schemes. I also can't think of any women who made it big.
posted by magicbus at 3:26 AM on May 15, 2008

The NYT has had several articles on this subject. I just looked them up, and they're all written by the same reporter, Gary Rivlin (who must have the Silicon Valley beat):

If You Can Make It in Silicon Valley, You Can Make It . . . in Silicon Valley Again

After Succeeding, Young Tycoons Try, Try Again

In Silicon Valley, Millionaires Who Don’t Feel Rich
posted by alb at 6:53 AM on May 15, 2008

I work in the non-profit arena as a prospect researcher. I run across these people a lot. Well, at least the philanthropic ones. I know one guy, around 32, who was programmer at Google when it went public. He quit soon after, has an incredible house in the valley, and nice cars. He and his wife had their first child, they travel all over the world, spend time with family, and he is involved in a weird sport which he travels for.

Another guy I've researched started a small consulting company, although I don't know how much consulting he really does. He's very involved in his foundation, and with the organizations that he supports. He also created an online application that he is trying to sell. He's very involved with his 4 teenage kids (who hang out at his office quite a bit).
posted by kimdog at 7:12 AM on May 15, 2008

Phil Gordan whom you might know better as a professional poker player was actually a developer who struck it rich before quiting to play poker. I've heard him interviewed as saying that he really doesn't gamble in the truest sense of the word because he is set for life with his computer money. The poker is a fun (and obviously successful) sideline for him.
posted by mmascolino at 7:16 AM on May 15, 2008

microsoft turned a lot of not particularly entrepeneurial people into multi-millionaires in the early 90s. I've met a few of them.

There are quite a few who kept working for MS long after they could have retired. A lot of them stayed because the work was challenging, and the had found a place for themselves. Still others grew to enjoy a standardof living that couldn't be sustained without continuing to work there. Some of them are still there, but I think more and more left as the company prospers, grew, reorganized and generally ceased to be a place they recognized.

Of the people I know or know I who left, one retired to work on a particular programming passion full time. They live fairly modestly. His wife works some to get out of the house, to have a little extra buffer, and most of all, to get subsidized medical insurance for their large family. To be honest, I think retirement hasn't been great for him as he's really become rather isolated without the structure if having to interract with people.

Another friend quit, taught programming at DigiPen for a while, then got more and more into volunteering and now has a lead role in a project to restore native plants to a greenbelt near his home.

Another bought a plot of land with his exMSFT wife and crated a very large and varied garden. They've since sold that and bought an evenarger piece of land that they are stewarding.

A tech writer of my aquaintance bought a chunk of semirural land to keep horses on, and then retired a few years later.

Another couple retired. They have a nice house on the lake, dote on their only chic, pay for his expensive private school, encourage his musical talent, travel a lot, and volunteer. The husband is very into robotics and organizes mindstorms robotics training and competition for local kids.

Those are just the examples that come to mind. There are lots more, some good, some not so good.
posted by Good Brain at 9:49 AM on May 15, 2008

keithandthegirl.com is a podcast; the girl, Chemda, has two brothers that were pioneers in the field of unwanted advertising. they moved to cali. one of them does whatever catches his eye. the other one plays professional poker.
posted by phritosan at 3:44 PM on May 15, 2008