I'm a hard-nosed businessman, that if a company is paying its way, increasing profits for thirty-odd consecutive years, you don't put it into receivership.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
You can't get into the trap of paying for customer acquisition.
Successful enterprises are built from the ground up. You can't assemble them with a bunch of acquisitions.
Buying only what you know can end in disaster. Just think about Enron's employees and business partners, the 'locals' who bought lots of its stock because they thought they were in the know.
It's not just buying the company. Sure, we picked the right companies, and we picked the right management and, most importantly, we've given them the right incentive to perform.
Whatever you're selling, storage or networking or security, you're going head to head with the incumbent players.
It's much more difficult running a business than buying one.
My philosophy is that you sell things for more than you bought them.
I love using a targeted acquisition approach in conjunction with a business that has a clear strategy and strong organic growth.
But once you have some success in one style, the business wants to lock you in that vein forever.
If somebody's offering you a $400 million company at the age of 29, I've got the ego to say, 'I'd like a shot at that.'