The Business Insider CEO and Editor-in-Chief Henry Blodget sits down with WebMediaBrands CEO Alan Meckler for this video interview in which Meckler traces the evolution of his entrepreneurial career and some lessons he learned along the way. (Note: Mediabistro is a division of WebMediaBrands.)

Meckler went from pursuing a Ph.D. in American history in the '70s to starting a microfiche media company targeting university libraries. He discovered the Internet in 1990 (when it still was text-based) and eventually founded Mecklermedia Corp., which he sold to Penton Media in 1998.

Two key observations from Meckler in the interview: 1) Entrepreneurs must be "willing to fail" and 2) "Focus" is critical to business success.

Coming segments (according to Blodget) will cover Meckler's thoughts on the media industry and where it's headed.