At a crossroads, Case puts aside Creem for Advertising Age, convinced that in his lifetime entertainment will be delivered by cable. The bright-eyed graduate pins his hopes on the business world — but the Washington Post notes that when he graduated from Williams College, "Case applied to a host of MBA programs and was turned down by them all."

Even mercenary glamour eludes the young dreamer, and Case settles for a position as "manager of new pizzas" for Pizza Hut and a stint testing towlettes for Procter & Gamble. Countless business journals later report that in his senior year Case was, ironically, rejected for a job at Time Inc's cable operation. Unbowed, he accepts a humble summer job going door-to-door selling cable TV subscriptions.