INTERVIEW WITH RON LIEBER, SENIOR WRITER AT FAST COMPANY AND AUTHOR OF UPSTART START-UPS!

Tell me a little about your background.

I graduated from Amherst, Class of '93, as an American Studies Major. I grew up in Chicago-and I'm one of those people who really grew up in Chicago, not in the suburban outskirts. I lived five blocks east of Wrigley Field, rooting in vain for the Cubs. I have two younger siblings, a brother and a sister, who are twins.

What enabled you to earn your first cover story in Fortune at age 24?

In many ways, it was a lucky break. Right after I arrived at Fortune, they fired their managing editor. The new managing editor encouraged the younger members of the staff to contribute. I had many opportunities to write right away. I was lucky to be in section that focused on coverage of management and career issues. I was in the right place at the right time and I worked my ass off once I got there.

In much of your writing, you place a special emphasis on youth, and particularly, their enthusiasm, energy, and idealism. What about the problems associated with youth leadership-a lack of management experience, early burn-out, etc.

I wrote these stories [about youth leadership] after I noticed a sense of frustration among my friends. So many of their first jobs sucked. The reason for this is that many people have a "dues-paying" mentality. One of the best things about the Internet-and technology in general-is that it is predominately a young person's game. This generation grew up on Atari. By the time the Internet had arrived, most people had been fooling around with computers for 15 years or more. We were much more familiar with computers than other generations.

~ That said, there are problems associated with being young in the Internet industry. You have to be keenly aware of your own limitations. The smartest young entrepreneurs go to their VCs and say, "find us a CEO with more experience." The founders are still going to stick around; they are simply looking for someone with more experience and expertise.

Michael Lewis ofLiars' Poker fame says one of the biggest problems about Silicon Valley is that there is no sense of tradition. In this era of "living for tomorrow," what are the social implications - the problems? Do you think technology is driving society toward greater greed?

The older you get, the smarter you become about matters of social responsibility. In the Internet industry, very few people should be giving much of their stock away. For example, it was good that Bill Gates didn't donate too much of his stock until now because he is now worth so much more than he used to be. Think about it-his foundation is now the biggest foundation in the world-and he's only just begun.

Michael Dell is also doing a good thing by continuing to wait to give most of his fortune away-he will have a disproportionately larger impact later on. I do think people in Silicon Valley need to give of their time. Once they strike it big [with stock options], they shouldn't be waiting around, doing nothing for ten or 15 years. There is more to life than your bank account. Until a year and a half ago, I didn't believe that the industry was as obsessed with money [as it was with innovation]. But now there are all these MBAs crawling around [and] the scene is different.

You wrote an article on the "reinvention of business school" and how new rules are replacing old. Some of today's most successful entrepreneurs have never attended college, let alone business school. Is the MBA dead?

The smartest people I know who are in business school are using the time as a break. Business school is not hard for people who have already put in years in a challenging work environment. Business school becomes the pause that refreshes. Another asset of business school: You end up spending time with an incredible group of people. It's a great networking tool, an instant platinum Rolodex. I also think business school is useful for career-changers.

~ What about the undergraduate education? You wrote an article on how Brown graduates have a special edge over other entrepreneurs because of the school's atmosphere, its stress on creativity, and one particular professor (Professor Hazeltine). Yet Brown, like many other liberal arts schools, emphasizes a diverse curriculum-not real world business sense. Do you think this is a problem?

No, not at all. I'm a huge proponent of a liberal arts education. You have the rest of your life to become an expert on something. But that doesn't mean undergraduates shouldn't be doing industry internships during the summer. The transition to the working world is so hard. You graduate and you think you're the shit, but invariably, the transition [into the working world] is a horrible reality check. Take advantage [of being an undergraduate]: You're never going to have another chance to try so many different things.

You have your hand on the pulse of the high tech industry. What awaits us?

I think it's impossible to overestimate the extent to which computer power will change our lives. But there is also a direct relationship between people and computers. The more time people on spend on computers, the more time people crave human interaction. I also think that now is absolutely the best time to start an Internet company. There is plenty of available capital out there.

You write about business; you edit business, you eat, sleep, and live business. Do you have plans to start your own enterprise?

Actually, I have every intention of staying a journalist. When I look at all the changes, I can't imagine a more exciting time to have a front row seat in the world of business.

Interviewer: Chandra Prasad, Editor, Vault.com