Reid Hoffman started his professional life with the intention of becoming an academic.
But then he realized: "in order to be a professional scholar, you have to dedicate a vast majority of your career to writing esoteric books that only 50 people will understand."
So instead, he got into the technology industry with a job at Apple, where he helped build eWorld, Apple's version of America Online.
Next, he started a company called SocialNet. It failed.
A friend of Hoffman's, Peter Thiel, recruited him to join a startup, PayPal. It sold to eBay in 2002.
Then Hoffman went on a long trip to Australia. There, he decided to create an Internet company.
It's still around.
It's LinkedIn.
Today, it's worth $19 billion – and Hoffman is its biggest shareholder.
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