Vegas Double Life Balance

Scott shares a story about a difficult period in his life when he was caring for his dying mother while processing professional setbacks.

"It was a really weird time in my life. I had just been kicked off the board of Red Envelope, and my mom was dying. I moved in with her in Vegas. During the day, I would take manage her healthcare. At night, she was living in Vegas, I'd go downtown and get shitty drunk with strippers and friends. Then I'd go back and manage my mom's healthcare and watch Everyone Loves Raymond and Jeopardy with my mom.

I was also very angry because I'd just been kicked off the board. I took half a million dollars of my money and filed a proxy to replace the entire board. I learned everything about activist investing and shareholder governance. I tried to kick everyone off the board - I owned 10% of the company and I think I got 12% of the vote. My proxy solicitor said that 2% was probably a mistake, so basically no one voted for my slate.

That was kind of a low moment for me. But then 6 months later, I got a call from a hedge fund that said 'You're crazy, but you are kind of crazy we like. We have some stakes in companies and we need someone to rattle the cage.' It just struck me that at your lowest moment, you really don't know where that might lead."