Venture Voice

To an entrepreneur, a corrupt industry with a lot of inefficiencies means one thing: There’s a huge opportunity to innovate. When he founded The Vanguard Group in 1975, John Clifton “Jack” Bogle created the first index mutual fund, an idea that was innovative in its simplicity. By keeping management costs low, he was able to pass the savings on to investors. It sounds like common sense, but it goes against the grain of how most mutual fund managers think and operate. In fact, at the time, his idea was ridiculed as “un-American” and “a sure path to mediocrity.” But Jack was undeterred. If anything, he was even more motivated by the naysayers.This interview was recorded in 2006 when Jack was 75, and what stands out is that his idealism and interest in “having the good fight” hadn’t wavered in the slightest. He’d just released his fifth book, “The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism,” and was still relentlessly focused on taking on corruption and abuse in the industry. He wasn’t in it for the fancy perks or the mo