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The Resource Center has all the info you'll need From content to user feedback, the resource center has the information you need for every level of the entrepreneurial process.
Armen Berjikly, the Founder and CEO of The Experience Project, and Julio Vasconcellos, VP of Business Development discuss their experience of building a technology start-up that unites people who can improve each other's lives. Berjikly discusses how he built his new venture from fund raising to establishing the company infrastructure. He talks about the importance of hiring the right people to work in a start-up and illustrates the key role of a "Mentor Capitalist" in the journey of an entrepreneur. Berjikly also describes the financial and psychological challenges an entrepreneur faces while building a company.
Larry Bawden is a co-founder of Jadoo Power, an innovative supplier of fuel cells, and Q1 Nanosytems, a next-generation photo-voltaics provider. Bawden addresses the new landscape in technology and energy and notes the pivotal role of newer technologies in the global economy. He talks about the four fundamental planetary crises - Global Warming, Peak Oil, Population Peak and Resource Depletion that are driving changes in world. Bawden also acknowledges the rise of third generation technology and the fundamental shifts in business that it has created. He believes that these changes have created a favorable environment to launch new ventures.
Stan Christensen is a partner at Arbor Advisors, an investment banking firm where he negotiates on behalf of mid-market technology companies. In this lecture, Christensen builds a framework and illuminates a few of the classical mistakes in negotiation. He defines negotiation as an attempt to persuade or influence a situation. He emphasizes relationship management and problem solving as being fundamental to negotiation. He also alludes to the conceptual framework by illustrating examples from his vast global experience.
Martin Eberhard is the Co-Founder, President of Technology and former CEO of Tesla Motors, a company that produces the Tesla Roadster, a battery-powered electric sports car. Eberhard discusses his inspiring journey of diverse experiences in building Tesla Motors. He describes the lessons he learned: from the realization of doing something meaningful to thinking an idea through and aggressively following all leads. Tesla Motors which started with two employees is now more than 250 employees strong.
Donna Novitsky, CEO of Big Tent Design and a former venture capitalist at Mohr Davidow Ventures contrasts her experiences as an executive in a start-up, a venture capitalist and as an entrepreneur. Novitsky addresses the role of risk mitigation in investing in new ventures and the importance of having a singular focus, aligning company goals with funding requirements and team work in an entrepreneurial environment. Her motto, "Go big or don't go!" has driven her endeavors from her first job to her new venture.
Carl Schramm, President of the Kauffman Foundation, examines the vital role of entrepreneurship in the changing economy. He emphasizes how entrepreneurs have a positive influence on the American economy by creating ways to reinvent and innovate the rules of life. For example, half of the jobs created in 2007 are from firms less than five years old. Entrepreneurs teach us about human needs we did not know existed, create jobs that provide security for people, and generate social welfare, he says.
Steve Young, former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, describes the lessons he's learned in negotiating with teammates, agents, and in his personal life. Interviewed as a guest in Stan Christensen's Negotiations course, Young provides insight through humorous anecdotes across a broad range of experience. In particular, he describes different negotiation tactics that were useful throughout his career as a quarterback, lawyer, and entrepreneur. While earning his spot as the fiery leader of the 49ers, balancing life with children, and undergoing multiple business ventures, Young highlights the use of accountability, soft skills to deal with personal feelings, and working hard with no excuses, to achieve success.
Warren Packard, Managing Director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and Andrew Frame, CEO of Ooma, present 10 lessons for building a successful start-up. They highlight the importance of dislocating large markets, active recruiting, organizational design, board construction, alignment of vision, managing mis-hires, building for scalability, product development, intellectual capital, and mentorship in establishing a lasting enterprise that adds value in the marketplace.
Former California State Senator Jackie Speier and best-selling author Deborah Collins Stephens share engaging stories about taking risks, learning from failure, overcoming adversity, and challenging the status quo based on their extensive leadership experience.
Carly Fiorina, CEO of Hewlett Packard (1999-2005), discusses her leadership experience in her journey from the job of a secretary to the leader of one of the biggest technology companies in the world. Fiorina describes ways in which leadership in business and entrepreneurship entails developing an appetite for risk and overcoming the fear of change. Fiorina concludes with a message that leadership is about building capability, collaboration and character.
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