Content area
Full text
The description doesn't sound at first like a venture capitalist's dream entrepreneur: college dropout, tough Bronx background, biker, some skills as an airframe mechanic. But his string of business successes topples any worries about his credentials. Meet Mark Douglas, chief executive officer of MarketMakers. The Burlingamebased startup provides business-to-business services for the marketing profession.
Today Mr. Douglas's wild side fits the Silicon Valley mold. At the beginning, however, he was just another young man with a headstrong personality and a desire to stay on the move.
Shortly after high school with an airframe mechanic's license, Mr. Douglas approached an Air Force recruiter. The recruiter naturally took charge of the interview, but Mr. Douglas soon turned the tables.
"Mark asked the recruiter how many possible jobs the Air Force had and asked for a printout of the list. The printout took two hours and Mark told the recruiter which one he liked," said his friend, Erik Frieberg. Mr. Douglas decided not to sign up.
Instead he went to the University of Wisconsin in 1983. But he found his classes expensive and boring, so he returned home to the Bronx after one year. He got a job at a computer store in 1985 mainly so he could buy gas for his motorcycle.
But the job provided two key opportunities. The hardware and software companies sent enormous piles of reading material that the store owners tossed in a back room. Mr. Douglas took them home, read them and taught himself C and C++ programming, as well as how to configure local area networks.
"I was probably...