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A SERIES OF 

HAPPY ACCIDENTS*
* HOW WHITMAN PREPARED ME 

FOR THE STARTUP CAREER I 

DIDN’T EVEN KNOW I WANTED
DISCLAIMER
I MAY MAKE DATED REFERENCES TO A WHITMAN OF
YESTERYEAR; FLY OFF ON TANGENTS; USE INDUSTRY-
SPECIFIC LEXICON THAT IS, HONESTLY, AMORPHOUS, AT
BEST; AND BABBLE NEARLY INCOHERENTLY FOR WHAT
SEEMS LIKE AN ETERNITY. YOU CAN ALWAYS END YOUR
SUFFERING BY RAISING YOUR HAND AND ASKING ME
TO ELABORATE, CLEARING YOUR THROAT LOUDLY,
COUGHING WHILE BLURTING OUT EXPLETIVES, OR
SIMPLY BY GETTING UP AND WALKING AWAY. 

IT’S COOL. I GET IT.
SO WHO AM I? 

AND WHY DO YOU CARE?
ENGLISH MAJOR
ALMOST HISTORY & 

PHILOSOPHY MINOR
DUMB JOCKImage courtesy ٳٱ://ɷɷ.fli.dz/dzٴDz/ٳǴDZ25/7021437345/
WOULD-BE GEEKImage courtesy IBM
SO, IN SHORT, YOUR USUAL, 

WELL ROUNDED, 

LIBERAL ARTS GRADUATEImage courtesy https://www.flickr.com/photos/yqakent/8756660312
SO I LEFT WHITMAN 

AND WHAT WAS THE 

FIRST JOB I HAD?
WELL, 

I WAS A LACROSSE COACH
AND A NANNY. DUH.
SO WHAT WAS THE FIRST
CAREER OPPORTUNITY 

I HAD?
LITERARY AGENTImage courtesy ٳٱ://ɷɷ.fli.dz/dzٴDz/ܲٳٰDzٲDzԾ/6363562459
WHAT COULD GO
WRONG?
💩
Image courtesy https://www.flickr.com/photos/design-dog/10538897554
SO, 

NO GOLD WATCH. 

NOW WHAT?
WTF IS A
STARTUP?
WRITING 

AND EDITING
A DOZEN YEARS
OF STARTUPS
BUT STILL, 

SOMETHING WAS MISSING
OPEN SOURCE
A series of happy accidents
A series of happy accidents
A series of happy accidents
A series of happy accidents
COCA-COLA, DAIMLER, FACEBOOK,
KICKSTARTER, INSTAGRAM, INTEL,
GOOGLE, NIKE, TARGET, TWITTER,
VERIZON… 



AND MANY, MANY, MANY MORE
A series of happy accidents
A series of happy accidents
PIE ALUMS ARE CURRENTLY WORTH
MORE THAN HALF OF A BILLION
DOLLARS AND EMPLOY ALMOST A
THOUSAND PEOPLE
IN CASE YOU’VE FORGOTTEN, 

I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO RIGHT TO BE
DOING THIS. I’M JUST LUCKY. 

REALLY, REALLY, REALLY LUCKY.
A series of happy accidents
A series of happy accidents
BUT ENOUGH
ABOUT ME
WHAT DO I WISH I
HAD KNOWN HERE?
THERE IS NO
“CAREER ʴձ”
EMBRACE THE 

RANDOM VARIETY OF
LIBERAL ARTS LEARNING
FIND COMFORT 

IN BEING 

UNCOMFORTABLE
FOCUS ON THE
ASSIGNMENT
DON’T LET ACADEMICS
PRECLUDE LIFEImage courtesy https://www.flickr.com/photos/lyza/48034431/
ENJOY
YOUR MAJOR EXAMS
WHAT YOU KNOW IS FAR
MORE APPLICABLE THAN
YOU REALIZE
COMMON SENSE
IS NOT COMMON
ONE PARTING
THOUGHT…
A series of happy accidents
IF SOME DUMB JOCK FROM
20TH
CENTURY WHITMAN CAN
JUST BUMBLE INTO THIS,
IMAGINE WHAT YOU CAN DO
THANK YOU!
@TUROCZY
RICK@PIEPDX.COM

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