Each week, experienced entrepreneurs and innovators come to Stanford University to candidly share lessons they’ve learned while developing, launching and scaling disruptive ideas. The Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Series (ETL) is produced by the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP) and published on eCorner by STVP.
Bobby Lee, the co-founder and CEO of leading Bitcoin financial platform BTCC, answers some of the most common questions about the cryptocurrency, explains how its value is set and why it is the perfect monetary system for the digital age. Lee also shares familiar lessons for entrepreneurs that he learned launching his first startup in China.
Al Ramadan and Dave Peterson, co-founding partners of the category-design firm Play Bigger Advisors, share the science behind the strategies that innovators use to create and dominate product markets. They also discuss the marketing concepts for building a brand and identity, and for inspiring customers to see the world as you’ve framed it.
DJ Kleinbaum, co-founder of Emerald Therapeutics, shares how his company balances growth to drive biotechnology breakthroughs, while supporting a culture that honors fresh-eyes thinking and the sharing of contrarian truths. Kleinbaum also discusses defining what makes your company different, and why "Eroom’s Law" looms large for the future of drug development.
Astro Teller, director of Alphabet's moonshot factory, X, describes how smart bets on world-changing innovations are aided by a culture that celebrates only the most audacious projects and rewards teams for showing the courage to find the biggest flaws. He also discusses how innovation can be systematized regardless of business type, resources or role at your company.
Bernard Roth, co-founder and academic director of Stanford University's d.school, shares design-thinking tools for reframing life's stubborn problems and unlocking solutions. Professor Roth, author of the book "The Achievement Habit," also engages audience members in exercises meant to cut through the excuses we tell ourselves that hold us back from accomplishing our goals.
Derek Belch, co-founder and CEO of STRIVR Labs, a startup that uses virtual reality to train athletes, describes the passion necessary for entrepreneurship and the features that give his business a competitive edge in a rising-tide industry. The former Stanford football player is candid about the personal sacrifices entailed in putting your all into your venture.
Entrepreneur Minnie Ingersoll talks about how a computer-science degree, an MBA and 11 years at Google prepared her to co-found the online auto marketplace Shift. Calling her startup "a car company with Google DNA," Ingersoll offers insights on opportunity recognition, product management, career-life balance and the importance of traits like humility and patience.
Lands' End CEO Federica Marchionni shares lessons from her career as a leader at some of the most recognizable luxury-lifestyle brands in retail, including Dolce&Gabbana and Ferrari. She emphasizes the importance of excellence over perfection and adopting a "360 degree" mindset that will allow you to embrace change, be adaptable and identify opportunities for personal growth.
James Freeman, the soft-spoken founder and CEO of Blue Bottle Coffee, shares his entrepreneurial journey from the farmers' market where he learned commerce in its purest form, to opening cafes across the country. Freeman explains how customer experience is part of a product and shares the inspiration he draws from philosophy, literature and other cultures.
Dharmesh Shah, co-founder and CTO at the marketing and sales software firm HubSpot, distills his 128-slide presentation on company culture down to its essence, describing it as a business's "operating system" that lets people do their best work. Shah says entrepreneurs must create a company culture they love, because one will eventually emerge no matter what.
Stanford University President John Hennessy discusses some of the most powerful lessons he's learned as leader of one of the world's most complex and dynamic institutions of higher education. In conversation with Tina Seelig, director at the Stanford Technology Ventures Program, Hennessy also shares insights from his entrepreneurial career in the high-tech industry.
Mike Maples Jr., co-founder of the venture capital firm Floodgate, explains what entrepreneurs can learn from the very few technology startups that achieve hyper-exceptional success and market disruption. The Silicon Valley veteran urges tomorrow's innovators to "only do things that you think have a chance to be legendary" – because it takes just as much work to do something mediocre.
Sequoia Capital Chairman Michael Moritz and Lisa Sugar, founder and president of Popsugar, describe the investor-entrepreneur dynamic based on their personal experiences. In conversation with Stanford University lecturer Emily Ma, they discuss how success starts with staying to true to yourself, following your instincts and interests, and doing what makes you happy.
Civic leader Michael Tubbs shares his story of growing up in the California Central Valley, attending Stanford and going on to become one of the youngest elected officials in U.S. history. The Stockton City Councilman calls on entrepreneurs behind today's biggest tech innovations to also focus on solving society's biggest problems, like poverty, illiteracy and inequality.
Brit Morin, founder and CEO of Brit + Co, describes her path and motivation for launching a platform that aims to inspire women and girls to be creative through compelling content such as videos, online classes and do-it-yourself kits. Morin explains how creativity is sparked by rekindling that playful spirit from our youth and stems from the primal instinct to make things.
Rebecca Lynn, partner and founder at Canvas Ventures, shares her unlikely journey from the humble farming town of her childhood to the hotbed of technology innovation, fueled by engineering talent, entrepreneurial drive and solid guidance from mentors. Lynn describes her strategy for investing and observations about the world of venture capital.
Intuit Co-Founder Scott Cook describes how the financial software company went from struggling startup to runaway market leader by staying focused on the customer and iterating and embracing surprises along the way. In a free-form talk guided by audience questions, Cook shares advice on leadership, perseverance and professional growth.
Lyndon Rive, Co-Founder and CEO of SolarCity, and Tim Draper, founding parter of the venture capital firm DFJ, discuss the clean-energy company's mission to save the planet while exploring the many aspects of its business, from the science of solar power to the need for better government incentives and policies.
James Beshara, CEO and co-founder of mobile-crowdfunding platform Tilt, breathes new life into tired cliches, explaining the insights and inspiration they hold for entrepreneurs. Beshara, who has pushed the crowdfunding envelope since 2007, shares his belief in the power of the collective and seeing beyond individual data points to understand larger trends in behavior and business.
Jeff Seibert, senior director of consumer product at Twitter, describes what went well and what didn't during the acquisition of his earlier startups by big-name technology companies, stressing the importance of culture fit, maintaining your team's trust throughout, and continued investment in growth after being acquired. Seibert also explains how an acquisition isn't always the best exit strategy for a promising startup.
The iconic entrepreneur behind SpaceX, Tesla Motors and Paypal shares his predictions for artificial intelligence, renewable energy and space exploration, in conversation with DFJ General Partner Steve Jurvetson at Stanford on Oct. 7, 2015. University President John Hennessy introduces the future-focused discussion, which follows Musk's journey from his first Internet startup in the mid-nineties to his dream of a Mars colony in the next 20 years. -------------------- Stanford eCorner content is ...
A special panel of highly scientific minds discusses what the future holds for tech innovation, education and entrepreneurship. Panelists include Google's "captain of moonshots," Astro Teller, Stanford bioengineer Christina Smolke, an associate professor at the university's medical school, and DFJ General Partner Steve Jurvetson. Persis Drell, dean of the Stanford School of Engineering, moderates the discussion, with introductions by Stanford Professor Kathleen Eisenhardt.
Stewart Butterfield, co-founder of Slack and Flickr, shares lessons from his entrepreneurial journey from philosophy student to creator of hugely popular platforms for sharing and communicating, and how they began as minor features embedded in online games that were otherwise flops. Butterfield speaks with Andrew Braccia of the venture capital firm Accel Partners.
Susan Koger, co-founder and chief creative officer of the online retailer ModCloth, shares lessons that transcend the fashion industry. Reflecting on her startup's early years and challenges along the way, Koger explains how emotion not only connects customers to a brand, it connects a team to the work.
Founder and CEO William Marshall takes us inside how Planet Labs seeks to benefit humanity by leveraging continuous imaging to understand the challenges facing the planet. Marshall discusses founding ventures with purpose, the opportunities possible from open access to data, and the novel technologies that bring their "dove" satellites to life in space.
Serial entrepreneur and investor Chinedu Echeruo shares lessons from starting multiple companies, including HopStop, which was acquired by Apple in 2013. Echeruo discusses the beneficial attributes of founders, learning from his missteps, and why he sees creativity as a tool for unleashing value for the world.
Mike Rothenberg, founder and CEO of Rothenberg Ventures, describes the entrepreneurial approach he took in starting his firm and how failures along the way were actually opportunities to reset. He also explains the business concept of red versus blue ocean, where the latter represents an uncharted market that entrepreneurs should swim toward at all costs.
Kathleen Eisenhardt, a professor of management science and engineering at Stanford, explains the advantages of developing simple rules for business and life, sharing examples from industries ranging from startups to sports and entertainment. Eisenhardt, who teaches in Stanford's School of Engineering, co-wrote the 2015 book "Simple Rules: How to Thrive in a Complex World."
Kyle Forster, co-founder of Big Switch Networks, discusses pivotal moments from his career in Silicon Valley when expertise in early stage technologies propelled him into leadership roles. Forster also shares insights from several of his favorite books and the powerful lessons all aspiring entrepreneurs should heed.
Ron Gutman, founder and CEO of digital-health startup HealthTap, dares entrepreneurs to enjoy, not just endure, the journey by doing something that matters deeply to many people. A serial entrepreneur, inventor and big believer in the power of positivity, Gutman also describes how the heart of success is understanding human need at a granular level.
