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Stung by Wisdom


SMACK! Who would have thought that an internet vertebrate would be one of the next new things on the web? I sure didn't, but it proves to be true. This past month, Mark McGuire (no, not the baseball player...), founder of Jellyfish.com, came to Marquette to talk about his journey as an entrepreneur. For those of you who don't know what Jellyfish.com is, (go check it out!), it's a shop search engine that shares back with its customers. It was founded by Mark and his business partner, because they felt there was a need for a search engine that not only searched, but enabled the customer to buy as well. Their business plan proved to be successful because they just sold it off to Microsoft (yup, it's that big of a deal).

Not only did I get the privilege to hear Mark speak, but I actually was able to show him around the Marquette campus beforehand. It is one thing to hear an excellent speaker that connects with his audience, but it's a whole other story when you get to engage in one-on-one conversation with him. It was very comforting to see that such a successful man can be such a down-toearth guy. I was able pick up some great business tips, but more importantly was able to see the nonbusiness Mark as well. Mark's presentation was wonderful (in the rankings with Penelope Trunk!). It really gave the audience insight about his journey down the career path and showed how he was able to succeed. Having two start-up companies under his name is pretty impressive, and he says there will be more to come.

One question that I found intriguing was "what would you attempt to do if you knew you couldn't fail?" In the real world there are tons of risks people take day-in and day-out. However, Mark had his audience step back and ask themselves this question. In my book, it is ok to fail, you gain knowledge from those experiences that will take you places. Even though I do not have an answer to Mark's question today, I think one lesson to learn is: why not just try? You never know when your chance will come and you will get the next big break.

All-in-all, I thought that Mark McGuire's presentation was very insightful. All the experiences and moments that Mark has been through, has allowed him to share his wisdom with us. It was a great honor to hear Mark's story and provide tips to guide us in the future.

For those of you that have not attended the series of speakers that is part of the emerging technologies class, you're missing out. I really encourage you to hear their stories and the insight they provide. Who knows, perhaps they could spark an idea making you the next big thing- anything is possible if you look outside the box... Let your imagination swim! - Cassie Haupers, Class of 2009

Read more articles in ITSO..GOOD Vol. 1 No. 3

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