Requiem for an Entrepreneur

I found out a good friend passed away a few days ago.  He was young; his death sudden.  I was sad to hear the news.

According to email from his family, Jad Duwaik died in Shenyang, China of an aneurysm on Jan 14, 2006 at 9:20pm.  His family will hold a funeral soon in Denver once he is home. 

For those who wish to find out more, his family can be reached @ ForJad_TJ_Duwaik@Yahoo.com, or at:

  The Duwaik/Hartley Family
  12476 E. Cedar Circle
  Aurora, CA  80012

update: Jad will be honored on Friday, January 27th at 9am
    Horan & McConaty
    3201 South Parker Road
    Aurora, CO  80014
    (303) 745-4418

update2: obituary for Jad Duwaik, SF Chronicle 02/19/06 (a guestbook is available for comments)

---

I met Jad in San Francisco back in 2000, just as the first Internet dot-com era was coming to a close.  At that time, Jad was organizing an entrepreneurial networking group called GreenHouseForStartups.  He had moved out to San Francisco in 1999, after the Denver ISP he had founded was acquired.  With his first win under his belt, Jad thought Silicon Valley would be the natural place for him to go next.  While many other entrepreneurs (like me) in the bay area shared Jad's sentiments & optimism, unfortunately for him (and us) the plug was just about to get pulled on round 1 of the Internet boom.  Still, we became fast friends and enjoyed sharing thoughts & conversations about the Next Big Idea and how we might get a new startup off the ground.

Jad spent a few years enduring the post-boom dot-com crash, and most of the money he'd earned from his first acquisition was put into 2-3 other ventures he hoped would turn into further successes.  Alas, it was not to be.  Times were tough in the valley, and Jad had no way of knowing the next boom was at least another 3-5 years off.  Jad did make a name for himself rather famously by authoring a piece called 'Diary of a Failure' that ran in the San Francisco Chronicle in late 2001.  With that he became a bit of a poster child for internet entrepreneurship, but i think he enjoyed the PR regardless.  Although the article was pretty depressing -- believe me, it was a depressing time for ALL of us who stayed here through it -- still, Jad struck me as optimistic by nature and i was sure he'd bounce back in the future.

In 2001, Jad decided to switch gears and go back east, to try and make it as a writer in New York (or teacher? apologies if i'm getting any of the facts wrong here... i'm sprinkling some links to his writing during the time that may have more accurate details).  He was in NYC when 9/11 occurred, and he wrote about that experience.  For a short time he also thought about going to the Middle East to learn more about the challenges taking place there, but after thinking about it for awhile decided to stay in NY and became a math teacher. 

Then in 2003, Jad got the itch to travel and see more of the world.  Ever the entrepreneur, he decided China was the next big wave of opportunity, and so he moved to Liaoning to teach English.  He also started writing a regular newsletter on his experiences in China which i found fascinating.  it was interesting to hear about his interaction with a new culture, and his efforts to learn Chinese (language, culture, people). i occasionally would IM jad late at night and catchup with him.  one time i helped another friend of his in China do some AdWords buys, to help drive traffic to a tourism site for the city he was staying in.  he wrote some great stories and poems about the Chinese, and about color and women.  i think he was really starting to get into the flow of China.  i hope so, i really would like to think he was full of optimism again before he passed on.

I don't know if this short story captures the flavor of Jad, but i thought it important to write down what i remember.  He was a good friend and a thoughtful person.  He had wonderful ideas -- though some a bit far-fetched, but that's an entrepreneur for you.  His creativity and writing were a joy, and they made me laugh, made me think.  It's sad he passed on so young, because he had so much still to offer the world.  But i hope he enjoyed as much of it as he could, and i know we all enjoyed Jad and our time with him.

So here's to Jad, aka TJ, aka TokyoJad -- my friend, fellow entrepreneur, cherished traveling companion on the road ahead. 

Peace be with you my friend.

- Dave McClure
  Redwood City, California
  January 20, 2006

Comments

[Jane]

I live in Washington, DC and became friends with Jad back in the early '90's. When he would come into town we would have the most marvelous dinners, walks and conversations about so many things but most of all he would go on so excitedly about what was about to happen with the internet. He logged me on to the internet for the first time, back when it took about 10 minutes to dial up and I was baffled by it all. Truly, I only could follow about 2/3 of what he told me was going to happen when the internet took off... and he was so right about all of it! Eventually we lost touch. Today I was watching a documentary on the birth of the internet and I thought of my old friend Jad, so I looked him up and found out that he died in 2006. I can't tell you how sorry I am and what a loss his passing is... even for someone like me who hadn't spoken to him in almost a decade. I will never forget him. He was so full of life, humor and passion. His active mind and endless enthusiasm was so completely inspiring. As an old random friend of Jad's (and I know he had so many) I just wanted to post this to say that he is missed.

[Jason]

I grew up two houses down from Jad in Colorado. Even as a bright eyed kid he was a entrepreneur at heart. He recruited myself and another neighborhood kid - Scotty. We were to sell housecleaning to the neighbors at a reduced price. I couldn't keep my own room clean! He was a gifted individual who made you feel you could do anything. I lost touch with him in later years, and was pleased to find he became successful with his first startup. I always knew there was something about him!

I found his writings on the internet sometime in 2001 after googling his sister (whom I had a crush on so many years ago).

I am saddened by his passing even now. The world lost a special person.

[Robert Read]

I was first introduced to Jad through his Lies Damned Lies emails in 2001. He was writing then about abandoning the DotCom life and moving away to NY to become a writer. I think that year we both lost a family member at nearly the same time, and we exchanged a few emails about that. I enjoyed reading his posts (especially about being a writer busker), but eventually lost touch with his various projects over the years and didn't even know he'd moved to China. So I've only now learned he's gone. I've just gone back and read all of his writing from China, and it's wonderful/sad to see how a great a writer he had become. I would have loved to read more.

Sad.

[Takako Nagumo]

I knew Jad through the UCLA Shakespeare Reading and Performance Group. I belatedly learned of his passing today. I am still in a bit of a shock. We exchanged emails a couple years ago, when I spotted his name somewhere and remembered him. I didn't know him very well, but he was friendly and creative. It is very sad that his life was so brief.

[Dawn]

Thank you Dave for what you have done for Jad.
I am Jad's good friend in Shenyang. For some reason,likes Yangshu said we lost connecting. But I never forgot him wathching for his blog updated and had been waitting for his reply as he promised me on March.8th 2006. I am terribly sad such an information about him that I had searched on google.But I even missed the chance to see him at the last sight.
Jad is a wonderful guy like we all know. I must say thanks God for making me meet him ever in my life who brought me courgement and many fresh ideas and share the time happy and relaxed and exchange our thought.
After 13 months of my dear dad's passing, Jad, my dear friend passed away. Both left me so sudden, with almost the same reason and still alive in my mind.
Jad had been loved his family and friends and now I supposed he was smiling us all in the heaven.

[yangshu]

i just heard the bad news yesterday. i can not believe it 'cause jad is a poet with a lot of creative idea, maybe it is his trick. i hope it is a trick.

i m jad's friend in shenyang, china. we got along by music. at that time, he played drum and i played flute. we tried to play togather in subway near marriot in shenyang. we dream of being buskers in the future. that is a short time with most joy.

suddenly, one day, jad told me on msn that he do not want to meet me untill he can speak chinese well. then we lost connection a long time, till now......

[Dina Di Maio]

I am so saddened to hear this news. I met TJ in NYC in 2002. What an intelligent, interesting person he was. I published his article on the first edition of my webzine a few years ago. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.

[Fen Labalme]

I just heard about this - I'm very sorry to hear of Jad's passing.

I may be partly responsible for dragging Jad out to San Francisco in 1999, as I needed his help in a company I had co-founded. Jad helped me write a seminal paper on "infomediaries," putting eloquent words to ideas that I had been unable to express for many years. For that, I will always be grateful.

I must admit, though, that what surprises me is the cause of his death, as he lived so close to the edge that it seemed he might fall off at any time. For that, he will always have my respect.

May you find all that you were searching for, now that the edge has been crossed. You touched my life profoundly, and for that, I thank you.

[Bassil Duwaik]

Thank you for writing about my brother. I didn't know he had so many friends till I just typed in his name on google to see what I could find/reminisce about him. Jad is/was my older brother and mentor. I'm at a loss for words when I think of what had happened to him. Thanks again

[Kevin Burton]

Hey Dave.

Thanks for the writeup.

I knew Jad when we worked together at a not-to-be named startup around 2000. I was a lot younger and too optimistic and Jad saved me a lot of time by being a straight shooter .

Jad was always amazingly optimistic. When he wrote up his piece about 911 and his planned trip to the middle east I was amazed by his courage.

One of the things that struck me about Jad was his sense of ethics. In the valley there are plenty of people willing to do whatever it takes for a quick buck but Brad always seemed to think of the most ethical way.

You'll be missed Jad.

RIP.

[Suzanne]

Thank you for your tribute to Jad.
Although I wasn't fortunate to know him as well as the others here, I was one of the people who saw him before he died, yet one of the last to know of his death.
I hope that someone will compile all his stories and blogs to publish, especially his deep perspective of his experiences in China.
His coworkers respected him and his students will always remember him.

[Auren Hoffman]

this is really upsetting. Jad was a terrific guy and someone who i immensely enjoyed. he had real, thoughtful reflections and he was a pleasure to talk to. i fondly remember all my interactions with Jad.

when someone you know passes away, it is always saddening. but when it is someone as young and vibrant as Jad, it really makes you think.

[carmenleilani]

Oh Dave, I hadn't heard about this until I saw Jad's familiar pic on your flickr page - last I heard from him was last year, when he was in China. To hear of this sudden departure of such a beautiful and creative soul from this world is just. . stunning. I will light a candle and say a little prayer for him tonight. Thank you for sharing this.

[Bob Wilson]

Beautiful tribute Dave!