All In Startup: Launching a New Idea When Everything Is on the Line

Chapter 22Luck Can Be Engineered if You Take Emotion Out of the Equation

“So you fill it out. Put down your age, hometown. What you do. Any interesting facts about yourself like you got 10 kids or you collect snakes. You know, something that makes you stand out. Last year one guy put that all he ever wore was plaid. For good luck, ya know? Seems stupid, but he made the final 20 and guess what?—got a sponsorship from a plaid-shirt company. Ya never know.”

Owen looked around. There were about 30 or so competitors around him. All looking intently at the sheet of paper in their hand or the man speaking. He was a producer from ESPN, and while he didn’t say it outright, they knew what he meant. The tournament had finally narrowed down to enough players that the cameras would start focusing on individuals rather than random exciting hands throughout the tournament. There were now few enough players that ESPN could start developing TV personalities for individual players, build them a fan base, and generally increase ESPN’s viewing audience.

“You wanna know how you make it on the tube?” The man continued, “I tell people the same thing every year. Be loud enough and last long enough. You got 10 minutes to fill it out. Even if you don’t want to be on TV, we still need your name and hometown. Any questions?”

There were a couple of people who raised their hands. Owen immediately zoned them out and focused on the sheet. He wasn’t sure whether he wanted to be on television. He laughed to ...