Joseph Abrams, BA ’72
Launched MySpace

Intensely entrepreneurial

When Joseph Abrams, BA ’72, scratches an itch, companies seem to spring up. Maybe that's because Abrams' itch is intensely entrepreneurial. And the most satisfying itches he's scratched have turned into exceedingly successful endeavors, among them social networking site MySpace.

The urge to strike out on his own was always in the back of Abrams' mind, even as he charted what looked initially like an ordinary career path. Opportunity knocked in the early '80s in the form of his electrical engineer cousin “who's off the chart brilliant” says Abrams. His cousin wrote software for a Heathkit computer in his spare time and mentioned his hobby to Abrams.

“I didn't know about much about computers,” Abrams remembers, “but I understood the economics of buying a blank floppy for $1 and selling it with software for $50.” His interest more than piqued, Abrams told his cousin he saw the makings of a business. Thus, on the cusp of the personal computer revolution, the fun started. The two began writing and publishing software literally in the proverbial Southern California garage. From 1983 to 1988, their company, The Software Toolworks, produced best-selling titles like the educational “Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing” and the game “The Chessmaster.”

The Software Toolworks eventually became a public company; which Abrams and his cousin sold in 1994 for $460 million. At that point, the firm had grown to employ some 600 people and had $150 million in sales.

MySpace: by accident

Next, after several years mentoring, helping, and investing in small technology companies, Abrams co-founded Internet-marketing company eUniverse, which became Intermix Media. “We used the same business philosophy that we had at Toolworks,” he explains. “We went public, raised money and acquired different properties and sites.” In 2003, Intermix “by accident” stumbled across a chance to get into social media. It launched the social networking site MySpace, which exploded in popularity and ultimately was bought by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp for $580 million.

Another Abrams success occurred in 2001, when a friend started a business installing solar panels. “I was his first investor,” Abrams says with some pride. “Today he's a public company, the largest installer of residential solar panels in the country.”

Not every adventure has turned to gold, but Abrams has, arguably, been present at the birth of three industries. “That's what excited me – to get into something very early, ahead of everyone else,” says Abrams. “None of these have been companies that tried to tackle the big boys. They were smaller, entrepreneurial and ahead of the curve.”

Today, Abrams is working on his third iteration of a digital photography venture after tries in 2000 and 2004. “Part of the story is that we didn't get it right, and part was that we were too early,” he says. “Nobody's perfect. One of the things you need as an entrepreneur is no short-term memory – to be able to forget your failures,” he says, laughing.

Intellectually curious

Abrams' que sera sera attitude toward his professional life mirrors his outlook toward education: “A college education for me was not vocational training. I went because I was intellectually curious.” At UB, that curiosity led him to courses in everything from philosophy and math to music appreciation and film studies. At the same time, however, he is unequivocal in his views about making the right college choice.

Says Abrams, “You should find a school that fits your personality and know your objective. If you want to be a heart surgeon, go to the school that will let you do that. If you don't know what you want to be you can, like me, go to a school like UB, get your education and make anything of your life you want.”

His own career trajectory bears evidence to the truth of his opinion. “Don't feel pressured to figure out what you're going to be,” he adds. “I didn't even start Toolworks until I'd been out of grad school for nine years. An education from UB can allow you to be a success in something you'd never thought of.“

--Grace Lazzara
September 2009

Do you have an interesting story to tell? Do you know an alumnus who we should profile?
If so, please contact us at ub-alumni@buffalo.edu.

Read about other interesting UB alumni.