randy haykin

chief gardener / chief operating officer

In the beginning...

In the beginning, I was a carefree, young lad who grew up in Parsippany & Leonia, New Jersey, and attended university at Brown University. I lived in Japan and Europe as an exchange student, and put together my first puppet show during high school. I love puppetry...it's a great combo of staging, theatrics, voice, scripts, directing, music, and movement. I knew I'd return to puppetry as an adult, but was never sure how...

Then the business side of me took over - I attended Harvard Business School, worked with Apple Computer for 5 years in various field and corporate marketing/sales management roles. At Apple I found "multimedia," or it found me, and co-authored Demystifying Multimedia in 1990. Multimedia took me to Paramount Media Kitchen, where I launched new businesses and learned about interactive. In 1995, I left Paramount to form Interactive Minds. The company is a new media "incubation" service, that works hands-on with start-up companies (and start-up divisions of larger companies) to help launch new products and businesses. As part of my work, I became founding VP Sales & Marketing at Yahoo in spring 1995, where I created Yahoo's brand image, strategic alliances, sales & marketing team, and PR...

Then suddenly...

Then suddenly, in November of 1995, there was Howard Rheingold! He had a vision for virtual communities on the 'net, but wasn't sure how to turn the business into a reality. We teamed up - calling each other "Right Brain" and "Left Brain". After nearly 12 months of work, we've managed to bring an incredible team together to launch Electric Minds on the Internet, Electric Minds on TV, and Electric Minds in print.

And finally...

The future of the 'Net and beyond is branding, direct marketing, customized information, and pure creativity. The sky is the limit in this industry. I hope Electric Minds and other companies that I help to start will create a mark on the world - not just a financial mark - but a mark that impacts thousands of people's lives in a positive and meaningful way.

In the future I want people to think of me as a puppeteer and/or a gardener - one who creates enjoyable entertainment for others and nurtures small seeds into large trees.