Ted Leonsis re-Cap at Nathan’s Lunch

Before I present the re-cap of Ted Leonsis at Nathan’s Q&A Cafe with Carol Joynt, please remember to sign up for the upcoming Q&A Cafe Luncheon with Dr. Andy Baldwin on October 22nd if you want to hear what the Navy doctor/former “Bachelor”/former Marla Maples “conoodler”/current Matthew Mcconaughey triathlon challenger has to say.  Call Jon Moss at 202. 338.2000 for reservations.

Ok, now to the good stuff.  And please note the quotes are actually paraphrases. 

I think it’s safe to say that Ted Leonsis personifies the American dream.  As a first generation American born to Greek immigrants, he was the first to attend college.  Why did he choose Georgetown to attend?  He was mowing the lawn of a gentleman who came out in a Georgetown sweatshirt and he decided he wanted to apply.  Laughing, he said, “I wouldn’t be able to get in today, however.”  Even though he is not Catholic, the Jesuit interdisciplinary focus of studies helped to form his future. 

“It was about connecting the dots.  You take a little from here, a little from there, and you make something of it.  Today that’s called mashups.”  He then went on to tell the story of AOL and how he was asked by Steve Case to merge his company Red Gate Communications, a new media company before there was real new media (which was named after his college roommate’s farm “Red Gate”).  By the way, he sold his first company at the age of 24 for $60 million.  Ted ran AOL domestically while Jack Davies (who was at the lunch next to me) ran AOL internationally.

Speaking of merging… what does Ted think about the massive merger between AOL and Time Warner?  “The sexy thing to say now is that it was not a good idea.  It was actually a spectacular idea.”  He went on to talk about how this merger shows us that while strategy is important, it’s execution that is most key.

Let’s talk hockey.  Well, let’s talk about why he even bought the team.  On the #1 Sports Team Owner in DC’s List of 101 things he must do (that famous list seen on his blog Ted’s Take) he has “Win a world championship.”  When approached to buy the team, he said no, originally.  Then his wife Lynn said to him, “What if you get 100 things checked off your list and the last one left is “Win a world championship”?  He went to bed that night and thought it over.  He HAD to buy that team. And he did.  And look what he’s done with it. Sure, he upset the apple cart in the beginning, did trades that upset fans, got the Post to basically ridicule his decisions, but you know what? Let’s look at last year.  Let’s look at this year. Let’s look at the huge number of fans (the number of empty seats from when he first took over to now has virtually diminished), the vibe down at the Verizon Center, the number of “Red Out’s”, and ummmm … hellooooo – the Caps have the Best Hockey Player in the World, Alex Ovechkin, signed to a 13 year contract.  That’s all.

Great quote of the day from Ted (and there were many): “Teams never make money.  You know how you make a small fortune when owning a sports team and in you’re in film making? You start out with a big fortune.”  … when asked by Carol if the team was making money.

He’s invested in 16 businesses now (diversified portfolio, but have one thing in common: they all need more money) and you can see them on his blog.

Ted, who focuses his life on a “higher calling” (just look at his Facebook page) knows how to live his life with true happiness.  Take the Happiness Survey to find out how happy you are: http://www.tedstake.com/?cat=227  When he is finished the book he is writing, you will get a copy for taking the survey.

He created a new term called “Filmanthropy”.  He also figured out that it was time for a new “currency”.  People can pay you in money and in time, but how about now in PIXELS?  That’s right. It’s about sharing and paying it forward through his newest passion, SnagFilms.  Here, you can watch free documentaries on the Internet, which shine a light on a tough subject (latest one is “HAZE”, which is about what happens on college campuses during hazing, created by the parents of a young man who actually died during hazing) then you “snag it” and put the link on your website/Facebook page/MySpace/blog, etc.

Should everyone have a blog?  “Yes, everyone should have a blog. It’s a place where you can share what you have to say and how you feel and what your views are.” 

In essence, Ted Leonsis is an inspiration to many of us.  He is who you can be if you are smart, dedicated, focused, humble, surrounded by those whom you help and they help you, are spiritual and have faith, love life and are happy.  From mowing lawns to graduating from Georgetown, to selling a company at 24 and making millions, to acting as Mayor for a small town in FL, to running the largest online company in the world domestically, to having a family he loves and cares for, to owning a sports team, to producing films, to giving back to so many causes… yes. In my humble opinion, he absolutely personifies the American Dream.

You can watch the interview on YouTube which will be up soon, learn more on Carol’s own blog “Swimming in Quicksand”, and even watch on NewsChannel 8 on Sunday night’s at 11pm.  Definitely look at Ted’s own blog (the epitome of a blog) at www.tedstake.com.