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We all know about Entrecard, the ultra-successful startup company geared towards empowering bloggers and web entrepreneurs. It is now 6,505-strong and growing stronger each day. Mixed Market Arts recently conducted an interview with Entrecard’s Founder, 22-year-old Graham Langdon, and we discovered that the company received a $112,000-investment from PowWeb’s Andrew Te; and that Mr. Langdon is off to Silicon Valley ” to look for a larger investment from venture capitalists”.

Evil Woobie also conducted an interview with Graham, but my questions are slightly of a different nature. Here are Graham Langdon’s answers to Evil Woobie’s personals-type questions on where he went to school, his social/love life, Entrecard, and his message to anyone who wants to be a successful web entrepreneur.

Education
Where did you go to school?

• I went to public school all my life, except for my freshman year of high school at an all boys catholic school. I graduated, took a year off before college when my parents forgot to send in the enrollment deposit, and then went to uconn for three years before dropping out in the wake of some successful internet ventures.

How would you describe yourself as a student?

• I was always a really good student. Straight A’s. I had a a really rigid upbringing where anything less was unacceptable. My parents would actually pay me to get A’s. What subjects did I excel in? I never really excelled in any subjects per se. Very much a “jack of all trades, master of none” type of deal. Motivation was what I excelled in though. Everyone always talked about doing this or doing that, I was always the person that actually did it.

What clubs did you join?

• I was not your typical student. I didn’t join any clubs really, and looking back this is something I regret. I wish I had gotten more involved in student government, because I’m finding that company boards are run in very much the same way and I could have gotten really good experience. I was always really active starting businesses in high school. I had an ebay business, a landscaping business, and I was the kid who would skip class to trade stocks from the library computer. I had an Etrade account during the dot com crash, and lost every penny to my name that I had made with my businesses.

• In college I started an underground newspaper called “The Muck” that was a hit, but due to the highly controversial nature of it we couldn’t find advertisers, and thus couldn’t pay to print up new issues. This prettymuch gives you an idea of how I spent my time as a student :)

Social Life

Did you go out a lot when you were a student?

• For as long back as I can remember, I’ve had a steady girlfriend who I spent most of my time with. In high school I had two separate relationships for 2 years each, and then another 2 year relationship after high school. Looking back I really wish I was more casual in my dating and spent a lot more time building stronger friendships with people instead of strong relationships that just end in a breakup.

What activities did you like to do in your spare time?

• Start businesses :D I also like to consume lots of information. Magazines, newspapers, blogs. Anything related to business ideas was always fascinating, as well as stories of people who started from nothing and became very successful.

Entrecard
What was in your mind when Entrecard was conceptualized? Can you remember what you were doing or thinking of exactly?

It was shortly after Blogrush launched. I watched in awe as the Alexa ranking for blogrush on launch day hit something like 400. Everyone was talking about it. Everyone was using it. And then I watched as everyone removed it, and it failed as quickly as it had launched. Then I analyzed how it succeeded. It gave bloggers free traffic, and all the biggest bloggers were touting it. Then I looked at why it failed: it didn’t send any traffic. I put the pieces together and came up with Entrecard!

How to be Successful?
What is your message to would-be web entrepreneurs who look up to you and parents of budding minds who want their kids to grow up and be successful too?

To web entrepreneurs:

Don’t go searching for an idea. Let it come to you. Analyze whats already out there. Consume tons of information. Look at sites that have worked and that have taken off, and pinpoint why. Look at sites that aren’t going anywhere and pinpoint why. Start getting friendly (but not annoying!) with people in higher places. Learn new skills. Make connections. Do mini projects just for fun to develop your skills. Then when the time is right, BAM the idea will hit you.

To parents:
Never feed your kid fast food. Feed him as much fruits and vegetables as you can, and make sure he gets a decent amount of exercise, a decent amount of reading, and a motivation to achieve success. For me, the motivation was growing up in a family that had little money. It made me want to be successful more than anything. Do not accept anything less than the best from your child. Pretend to get very mad at him if he gets a B in anything, and if he gets a C, cancel the internet. Your kid will learn quick that they need to get A’s in everything. And this discipline will carry on throughout life.

And there you have it, dear readers! Let’s be united in wishing Graham Langdon well in Silicon Valley, and hope that he brings in millions for Entrecard.

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