Entrepreneur Jay Snider got his start at Spring Fling in the late 1970s, selling daiquiris made in borrowed blenders.
Since then, he has founded several multimillion-dollar companies, served as president of the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team and created one of the most successful all-talk sports radio stations in the country.
Snider, a 1979 Penn graduate, spoke to a group of about 15 students about his entrepreneurial experiences and insights last night.
He stressed that entrepreneurship is not about career planning.
"You need to be opportunity-driven," he said. "Entrepreneurs are risk takers. ... They are very comfortable with the unknown."
Snider founded his first company, SpectaGuard, which provided event security, only several months after graduating from college.
He strove to differentiate SpectaGuard from competitors by providing the best service possible and having "a tremendous amount of integrity." He said he always paid employees more than minimum wage and even gave out turkeys at Thanksgiving.
Snider took over the Flyers when he was still in his 20s. During his tenure, he formed a subscription-based magazine and brought the All-Star Game to the city in honor of the team's 25th anniversary.
Not all of Snider's ventures were successful, however. One of his companies failed because "we created a solution and went looking for a problem."
Snider warned audience members against forming businesses for which there is "no demand."
"The most important thing is to do what makes you happy," he said. "You have to have a passion and can't be driven by financial goals."
After his speech, Snider answered questions from the audience. Topics ranged from his emphasis on providing good customer service to the profitability of the National Hockey League.
When asked which business skills he thought were most important, Snider replied, "Accounting is number one. Don't rely on someone else to tell you the score."
Wharton junior Julie Pearne enjoyed Snider's speech.
"Hearing from an entrepreneur who's gone through it, you get real insight, which is valuable and not something taught in class," she said.
Engineering junior James Shkolnik appreciated that Snider's advice was not based on goals and plans.
"It's a nice contrast that you just wait for the opportunity and seize it when it appears," he said.
Snider's speech was organized by the Undergraduate Entrepreneurial Group.
