More than anyone else, Pete Musser is responsible for creating Philly's entrepreneurial and venture-capital communities. Musser is most comfortable in an argyle sweater, with his golden retriever Higgins at his side and some Ritz crackers and a jar of Skippy on the credenza. Yet he is extremely competitive, and consumed by his work. And he was the only employee who showed up at the office during the blizzard of 1996. It's pretty simple.
Technology is nothing without good people behind it.
Beyond his own success, a big part of the Musser legend is the role he has played in the success of others. It was Musser who sold Ralph Roberts the cable station in Tupelo, Mississippi, that gave Comcast its start. He convinced me that cable TV was really going to be great. It was Musser who encouraged Franklin Mint founder Joe Segel to start qvc, gave the company its seed capital, and ultimately brokered its purchase by Comcast. Real estate mogul Ira Lubert, the former vice president of acquisitions at Safeguard, has estimated that Musser turned more than a hundred people into millionaires.