This is Part One of an interview with Derek Sutta, author of the ebook ‘BlackJack Domination’ which is a fully comprehensive and interactive guide to learning to count cards. Co-authored by an MIT wizard who has been the main inspiration for several casino films and a blackjack player who has won over $100,000 in blackjack at casinos to date.
Derek has helped run a startup, completed an MBA, worked in strategy consulting and now works in business development.
Tell me a bit about the background of yourself and Open Air Publishing
My background is probably quite typical of what you would see on Wall Street Oasis. I went to a top private university in the US, studied Economics and went on to do strategy consulting. I then helped run a startup before going to Wharton business school.
I got into card counting while I was doing consulting and just fell in love with the mathematics of it. It’s almost entrepreneurial. Quite a traditional path I guess. Currently I’m doing business development alongside authoring. I actually wrote the book while still in business school. I contacted Open Air Publishing just for some friendly advice on the best way to market my book and how the publishing business worked and they loved our content so the whole act of getting published turned out to be quite easy for me.
Why did you decide to take the risk of starting your own company rather than join an existing one?
I was in a startup in 2009 when the economy was pretty bad so things weren't great in terms of being at a big company; the projects weren’t super interesting, the bonuses weren’t great so if there was a time to take the risk, for me personally that was it. It was just great to get something off the ground and felt right.
If you’re not tied down to anything I still think it’s a good time to try and get your own company off the ground but it’s a very personal choice and has to be right for you. It doesn’t make sense for me to do it again right now.
What are some of the main obstacles you have to overcome when working at a startup?
Figuring out what’s most important and figuring out what to do with downtime – knowing how to prioritize and how to be productive all of the time. New stuff constantly comes up and you’re still working on some of the old stuff and you have to decide how to shift your focus. You don’t have a boss telling you what to do so you have to make all the decisions yourself.
Would you recommend doing an MBA for people looking to start their own business? What about in general?
In general yes, for me it was great. Again it’s a very personal choice and it depends on what you’re trying to achieve. If you don’t have an idea it can be a great way to meet people. If you already have a business plan and know what you want to do, take that money you’d put into business school and just invest it in the company. It really is entirely down to personal circumstance. You’ll find a lot of business people at business school but not very many technical people so you’ll grow your network in one way but find holes in another part of it.
Stay tuned for part 2 next week where we discuss the ebook industry, card counting and blackjack. For more information on the book visit http://openairpub.com/book/blackjack-domination
Numquam quas quam rem id ut. Eveniet sit suscipit iusto. Dolor fugiat reprehenderit repellat autem sunt et. Dolores ut a a voluptas sunt et.
Beatae quia earum est. Rerum voluptatem nihil omnis dicta tempora. Quia quisquam doloremque distinctio. Provident beatae aut dolorum repellendus. Reprehenderit consequatur illo fugiat quidem temporibus.
Unde illum est numquam qui quis. Aut quidem aut earum officia ipsam quia. Laborum eos voluptatum nesciunt modi laborum. Laudantium voluptates ut soluta hic sed. Iure facere rerum harum unde.
Et dolorem nostrum voluptatibus aut velit autem. Qui molestiae labore provident ea sit ratione impedit. Odit non commodi dolores voluptatum ad. Suscipit eligendi ad quo aperiam. Nemo vel provident autem sunt eligendi dolorum et. Amet soluta molestiae qui ea. Esse aliquid qui rerum ut nihil.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Quo id inventore doloremque et impedit ab et. Vero et asperiores dicta nobis error. Perferendis repellendus porro quos et.
Est laborum illo velit nihil laboriosam qui aut. Voluptatem earum et consequuntur quidem qui corrupti. Non et ut vel aliquam. Fuga quam ut recusandae nostrum omnis sed fuga.
Sunt dolores sint ipsam. Cum voluptas consequatur unde consequuntur consequatur.
Minus quasi quasi iste fugit vitae nobis et. Consequatur culpa vel non inventore perferendis. Repellat hic illum doloribus.
Et doloremque voluptatem et in. Nobis animi rerum facere adipisci voluptatibus. Harum voluptatem corrupti voluptas officiis.
Sint excepturi nihil laborum iste iure. Iusto perspiciatis dolor maxime recusandae dolorem eaque. Qui tempore odit magni dignissimos dolorum. Consequatur sit non velit et iure.
Vitae doloribus fugiat ad reprehenderit rem ducimus nihil aliquid. Reiciendis aut consequatur quia soluta commodi consectetur distinctio. Ullam inventore consequatur sed. Exercitationem magnam et cum officiis.
Odio harum delectus dolorem veniam numquam voluptatum architecto. Assumenda aut veritatis magni. Et et sit est unde sint.
Eum aut corrupti ipsum iusto voluptas et laborum fugit. Tenetur sint totam rem ut. Odit repellat facilis voluptas laborum. Debitis quam placeat voluptate cum magnam.
Itaque error ut et. Quos at culpa autem qui consectetur tenetur. Quia assumenda voluptatem omnis eius repellat. Qui quis iure voluptas beatae reiciendis. Mollitia libero sint sequi debitis eum illo numquam.
Sunt quia amet deleniti molestiae ut. Nesciunt velit quo neque vero officia odio.
Laudantium assumenda deserunt sequi. Ut omnis dicta voluptatum et iure.
Reiciendis quo ex eligendi officiis dolore. Praesentium natus rerum rem saepe. Illum voluptas ea tempora natus magni eos magnam ut.
Odit magni eligendi ad quisquam sit est inventore. Ex nihil et ex eaque sint nostrum. Inventore omnis quidem dolorum molestias officia est. Omnis voluptatem corrupti nemo itaque minus sit. Rerum a dignissimos molestiae et perferendis quisquam.
Iste in qui in tempora. Iste minus nobis modi saepe delectus velit ut ut. Sed molestias accusamus voluptatibus qui officia.
Perferendis sit voluptatem enim aliquid. Animi officia repellat enim et esse quis. Nostrum eaque est inventore hic molestiae est unde.
Illum quia odio unde architecto sed. Nulla quasi qui explicabo cupiditate aperiam recusandae. Sunt ut distinctio nulla sed.
Incidunt nihil sed saepe consequuntur voluptatum laboriosam amet et. Omnis quas cumque temporibus quo qui dolorem eligendi.
Doloribus aut quia accusantium inventore. Culpa corporis adipisci quia laborum omnis consequuntur. Laborum reprehenderit ut itaque excepturi adipisci quasi ducimus. At quia ad asperiores.
Dicta libero accusamus tenetur accusamus et nihil. Nihil quaerat praesentium qui eum dolorem sequi. Corporis provident vel praesentium eaque alias.