Own a Small Piece of a Winner You Can't Run

“We would ultimately merge QVC with HSN more than twenty years later. And even with the rise of Amazon and online shopping, TV shopping remains a valuable business, with QVC, HSN, and online retailer Zulily delivering nearly $11 billion through the QVC Group. Yielding to a better, smaller competitor taught me that when you lack a special expertise, it is better to own a small piece of a thriving enterprise rather than to own 100 percent of a struggling one you don’t know how to run.”

“QVC under Joe Segel, a seasoned merchant, with backing from Comcast, had outperformed CVN on margins, operational efficiency, and product quality. So, in July 1989, after conversations with Comcast chairman Ralph Roberts, his son Brian, and vice chairman Julian Brodsky, we struck a deal to sell our Cable Value Network to QVC, even though CVN was the much bigger network. Roberts really wanted to retain effective control, and it was clear Joe Segel was his person. I knew we’d make more money as an investor, not an operator. Sometimes it helps to know what you’re good at and what you’re not.”