Those Yearning to IPO

By Romesh Ratnesar

The three friends have been in the same city for only 12 hours. Thomas moved here from Germany. Luis quit his job in Colombia. Amar arrived this morning from Tokyo via Vancouver. Now they are sitting at Elroys, a restaurant on a deserted block in San Francisco, talking about the business they are starting together. "We're so happy right now," Thomas says. "This is an adventure. We're jumping into the cold water, and it feels great." It's surprising that he doesn't go for a Gold Rush analogy, as people here tend to do once per conversation. Surprising too because of the label attached to people like Thomas, Luis and Amar--folks who leave stable jobs, pack up and head west to pan for Internet riches. They're called e-49ers.

These 49ers are from the Class of '98 at Harvard Business School, where they met. Luis took a six-figure job with the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. in his native Colombia. Amar, who grew up in New Delhi, went to work for a Dallas software company. Austrian-born Thomas worked in Stuttgart, Germany, as assistant to the CEO of Porsche. Every six months he was loaned a new sports car.

The three kept in touch through e-mails and conference calls, and casually bandied around ideas for an Internet business. Then, after spending New Year's together in Japan, they decided to make their move. In mid-August, Thomas drove his Porsche to his office and handed over the keys. Two hours later, he was on a plane bound for San Francisco. Luis left behind most of his family and a new fiance. "The only thing that bothered me was that my grandparents are old," he says. "I wondered whether that might be my last goodbye."

One week after arriving in the U.S., they have met with lawyers and potential investors. After spending the day tooling through San Francisco on a rented scooter, they arrive at Elroys elated, having found an apartment and office space. They are so fresh to the Valley that Luis and Thomas still don't have visas to work in the U.S., which is why they ask that their last names not be published. Their sense of possibility is so corny it's infectious. By the end of dinner, they are even using the right metaphors. "Everybody wants the gold," Thomas says. "The difference between this country and the next one is that here there's no penalty for failing. The thrill of taking part is far more important than whether you win or not. This happens once in a lifetime. Even if we don't make any money, at least we can say we were there."

--R.R.