Wired Business caught up with Shaquille O'Neal at SXSW to talk business, his investment in video-sharing startup Tout, and his tech obsessions. And if you think Jack Dorsey draws a crowd at a tech event, watching O'Neal wade through hundreds of fans brought into focus how broad the big man's appeal is.
1. “As a basketball player I always learned that simplicity wins. As an investor I am also looking for simplicity, and something that will help people with their enjoyment of things and their enjoyment of life.”
2. “We as techies and geeks, we are so powerful now. I am from Texas, and I see how much this event has grown. Now it’s all about us geeks. We are definitely taking over the world.”
3. “I have always lived by the philosophy that you can’t do it all yourself. I am a big believer in partnering. I can come in and help people with their vision, and on organizational leadership but when it comes to the techie stuff I bring in the experts.”
4. “In our earliest days as technologists we would write on walls with stones, a.k.a. Twitter, then technology advanced to pictures and now video. It’s about the show-all, rather than the tell-all. That’s what [video-sharing service] Tout brings.”
- “Here’s my formula for life and everything. It’s 60 percent make you laugh, 30 percent inspire with a quote and 10 percent sell something. You still gotta sell.”
