Jason Olim: take 2, with sleep this time (maybe)

Jason Olim currently runs Wee Web, a new online community for families and children, and Freshman Fund, the college savings registry site. Jason is known for founding CDNOW, the online retailer that grew to over $130 million in annual revenues before being acquired by Bertelsmann, then Amazon.com. More than 15 years later, Jason is back in the startup world. He talked with us about getting the itch to start another company after his success with CDNOW:
At CDNOW I had the chance to create something. Afterwards, I was consulting for startups, helping them solve their most important management problems, but I quickly got the urge to build something again.
I wanted to build a company that was highly relevant to my personal experience. I saw the opportunity to combine my background in technology and music with my more recent experience as a father, to launch a company in the parenting space.
The most successful entrepreneurs are unbelievably motivated, hands-on, and optimistic. There’s a hunger – a natural energy of youth – that drove me to work like crazy at CDNOW. My life was admittedly unbalanced; I worked constantly. The second time around, I still had that hunger, but there are different priorities at another stage of life. With Freshman Fund and now Wee Web, I needed to use my time wisely and leverage other people’s energy.
The trick is getting people on your team who are as hungry as you. You can’t just hire someone to be an entrepreneur; they won’t have the same drive. As an entrepreneur I always did everything I couldn’t get someone else to do – which is a lot. I’m lucky to be part of a fantastic team of three. Together we probably make up that one incredibly driven, somewhat unbalanced young person!
With this team I run Wee Web, a place for families to share in their children’s adventures online. We’re in the business of creating connections among family members and enabling dialogue within the family.