No Red Lights summary

Every investor, large or small, has that story –⁠ the one in which they decided to forego an investment or opportunity that could have netted them a huge profit.

Alan dipped his toes into the world of business when he was young –⁠ very young, in fact. At just six years old, his father encouraged him to begin selling magazines outside of a New York City subway station. Then, during World War II, he switched to selling war bonds and collecting tin cans and newspapers from the residents at his apartment building.

If you’re currently a business student, consider this question. Are you planning on starting a business immediately after you finish school?

Today, Jaron Lanier is considered the father of virtual reality technology. But the products for which he’s now famous weren’t exactly instant successes.

When he first met her, Patricia Cloherty –⁠ Pat, for short –⁠ was a smart Columbia University graduate with serious intellectual prowess. She had no experience in the investment industry, but Alan had a hunch that she would learn fast. So he brought her in on the very first day his business, Alan Patricof Associates, opened its doors on January 1, 1970.

New York magazine launched in April 1968 and became an instant sensation. The writing that appeared in its pages was of the highest caliber, regularly including talents like Gloria Steinem, Jimmy Breslin, and Tom Wolfe.

One day, Alan was walking down Madison Avenue when he ran into David Carey, the former president of a large media publisher called Hearst Publications. David had his headphones on, and his eyes were far away, as if he were peering into a different galaxy. Alan wondered what in the world could be so engrossing.

One day in the late 1990s, Alan got a phone call from someone at Goldman Sachs. They were asking about a potential investment in a company called Kozmo.com, which was something like a ’90s version of Uber Eats plus Netflix. Customers would call in an order for a movie they’d like to watch – on VHS, in those days – and food from a local establishment.

It’s safe to say that for Alan’s father, Martin, work equaled survival. So, when his son began working at Naess & Thomas, Martin saw it as an opportunity for Alan to help him out. He asked Alan to direct orders from his firm to him so he could earn commissions. But Alan didn’t want to start off his career by favoring family members so he declined.

Alan was six months into his army service when he decided to go toe to toe with Benjamin Ricketts. 

In 1961, the first stretches of the Berlin Wall were laid down to separate the two halves of the city, East and West. Not long after, US President Kennedy responded by activating 156,000 army reserves. One of the units called up was the one Alan belonged to –⁠ the 411 Quartermaster Corps.