John S. Hendricks - A Curious Discovery

A Curious Discovery

An Entrepreneurs Story

John Hendricks

Founder and Chairman of Discovery Communications

To Maureen, Elizabeth, and Andrew

Contents

M y life changed forever on a Sunday morning in February 1982.

There comes a time when every prospective entrepreneur must first share his or her big idea with another person. It is a perilous, even terrifying moment. What has been boiling in your brain for months, the obsession that has consumed your every waking moment and wrecked your sleep, suddenly demands to get out of your head, to be told to another human beingif only as a reality check to make sure that you arent crazy.

And in those last seconds before you finally speak, you realize that all of the certainty youve felt for so long can now evaporate with a single laugh or stunned look. How many promising new business ideas are nipped in the bud simply because the first listener made the wrong response? I had built this immense logical fortress in my mindand yet a single amused look from my wife could have brought down the entire structure into a pile of rubble.

We were in the kitchen of our crowded little town house in Greenbelt, Maryland, having a late breakfast. I tried to be as casual as possible, as if the notion had just come to me on a whim: Hey, I said, what would you think about a new cable channel that just showed great documentary series like Cosmos , The Ascent of Man , and Walter Cronkites Universe series? You know, informative but entertaining shows about science, nature, history, and medicine?

So there it was; it was out. The fate of endless hours of plotting and scheming had now been tossed into the hands of someone with no experience in the field, who had no idea of the magnitude of what I was suggesting, who had just seconds to correctly respond to the most simplified presentation possible, and who would be biased by the deepest conflict of interest imaginable. It was both unfair and unjustand yet, looking back, it was the perfect practice for every elevator pitch I made to investors in the months that followed.

Why did this notion of a new enterprise matter so much to me, and why did it seem like such an opportunity? Im not sure that any entrepreneur can give you a precise answer. Only now, looking back, do I realize that all of the great turning points in my career have been less the product of some stunning insight or epiphany than they have been the convergence of numerous threads in my life, some going back to my earliest childhood. At that nexus, which can occur at the most unexpected times, often when you have other plans, everything comes together into an idea so stunning that it captures your imagination and wont let go until you do something about it. In so many ways, since I was a child I had been on a journey that had brought me to this moment in 1982.

On this morning, that irresistible notion of a new cable television channel devoted to documentariesthe product of my first experiences of television as a child in West Virginia, of witnessing rocketry and scientific research as a boy in Alabama, of watching cable TV as a young man in Greenbelt, and examining media at the beginning of my professional careerwas now about to make its public debut.

Maureen listened to my words, looked at me for a moment that seemed an eternity, then announced with surprising vehemence: That would be awesome!

Redemption. I wasnt crazy after all.

But then, after another moment of reflection, Maureen asked: But if this is such a good idea, why didnt Ted Turner do it?

It was a very good question. A question that I hadnt dared to ask myself. In those days, cable programming may have still been in its infancy, but future giants like CNN and ESPN and HBO were already up and running. So, if my idea for a nonfiction documentary channel was such a winner, then why werent the established playerswith all of their smart, veteran content peoplealready working on their own versions of that same idea?

Almost instantly, my excitement at having my idea validated as brilliant faded into self-doubt. After all, I was just twenty-nine years old and I had no background in television. Maureen and I had little money and, at that point, no wealthy investors to whom to turn. How could I be so delusional as to think I could take on not only the well-funded new cable channels, but also those three giants of network television: NBC, ABC, and CBS?

But its my vision, I told myself. Ive checked it and rechecked it. Ive challenged every part of it and not found a single fatal flaw. Ive read everything I can get my hands on about cable television, satellite communications, content sourcing, sponsorship prospects, and business plan development. I know Im rightand if the Big Boys havent seen it, then it is their mistake, not mine.

Looking back over three decades, Im astounded at both my presumptuousness and my confidence. But I also now recognize that it is just this kind of bravado, mixed with a healthy dose of passion, that every entrepreneur needs in order to tackle the nearly impossible task of getting a new enterprise off the ground. And to keep it flyingto weather the hardships and challenges of the months and years aheadthat confidence and passion has to evolve into something very close to obsession. Entrepreneurs have always known this. I was about to learn it.

The Soul of an Entrepreneur

The idea I first shared with Maureen that morning for a cable channel devoted to nonfiction programming has, over the last thirty years, been transformed into the global media empire known as Discovery Communicationsan enterprise that now reaches more households on the planet with more television programming than any other company or government.

That is the magic of entrepreneurshipa miracle I dont think we celebrate often enough. In my case, what began as a mere germ of an idea now encompasses fourteen networks in the United Statesincluding Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, TLC, and the Science Channel. As of this writing, we also now deliver more than 150 television networks to more than 1.8 billion cumulative subscribers in more than 215 countries and territories. And those numbers continue to grow as subscription TV services take hold in emerging markets around the world. We transmit our networks in more than 45 languages and use 30 transponders on 18 different satellites. Discovery is now a major public company with more than 4,000 employees working in 50 global offices, one that brings in more than $4.2 billion in revenue each year. And with its public market value exceeding $23 billion, Discovery Communications is, as I write this in October 2012, worth more than any of the big four U.S. broadcasting networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox).

Did I know that morning in 1982 that Discovery Communications would become all of this? Yes and no. Like every entrepreneur, my passion for my new idea had no bounds. I was absolutely convinced that I had the recipe for a world-class company. But at that moment, did I have a road map for getting there? Not a chance. I didnt even have a plan for what I was going to do the next day.

It is precisely that vast chasm between vision and reality, between the big picture and the secret, private dream that makes entrepreneurship one of the most exciting, and important, of all life endeavorsand in my mind puts great entrepreneurs on the same plane as those scientists, artists, and political leaders we celebrate on Discovery television. And yet, just like the stories of musical geniuses and mathematical prodigies, the inner workings of great entrepreneurs are almost opaque to us.