At the first presentation in entrepreneurship class eight months ago, Scott Lenet, the founder and managing director DFJ Frontier, gave an interesting speech about entrepreneurship. At the time, I was just barely adjusting to think, be, and live as an aspiring entrepreneur. Being fresh in the web and entrepreneurial game, I am the type that needs to research the competition/market and the necessary surroundings — I hate being in the dark. I knew I had to; it’s almost ritualistic to do when exploring a different field. For my research that I did on entrepreneurship, the generic readings and answers I would most commonly read or hear about were:
- Be your own boss and making your own schedule.
- Being creative and learning about all business aspects.
- Make lots of money for a breakthrough product.
All probably very true, but extremely vague and probably sugarcoat the effort that is needed to succeed. So what was Mr. Lenet’s powerpoint presentation about? He said entrepreneurs are heroes and he backed that up by having a 30 minute presentation showcasing some of the most beloved superheroes that we all know and love from our youth and how they represent the typical aspiring entrepreneur. But, why? He mentioned that it is because the risks involved starting from scratch, the sleepless nights, the discipline with no set structure, the headaches and fear of the unknown, and the ability to rise above all that create something that would make the world a better place. Yeah, he basically listed all the reasons on why not to start a start-up. Of course, he followed up by giving his points on why to start a start-up. Here were some points I remembered:
- Solve a problem; make this world a better place. (And if you don’t start with that, you won’t get anywhere.)
- Know your product. Understand the value proposition.
- Long hours of
workworking on your project. Love what you do and it won’t be work.
- The passion, pride, and love in creating.
- The opportunities/jobs that you would create for others.
- And above all, empowering society and challenging the status quo.
It’s been almost nine months since Mr. Lenet gave that speech, but his speech keeps me pushing forward. I’m a firm believer to wanting to create and empower society through my work and actions on my way to finding success. There’s a lot of inefficiencies in this world that allow for great ideas to mature and small groups to rise from the pack. People like Mr. Lenet (or Guy Kawasaki among others) has climbed above the ranks wear titles like “managing director”, “board member”, and “venture capitalist”. While others may think of these people with lots of brain and money and are there to make more money, I am appreciating the knowledge and contribution they make to society.
Sure, one can proclaim there’s a selfish motive behind their talks, blogs, books, and self promotion, but really, who isn’t? We are, naturally at heart, egoistic bastards that want to be successful, have fun, and live life to its fullest and whenever it fits in our schedule, we’ll throw a few dollars and a few hours towards some community service or some non-profit. I admire them greatly not for their success or their wealth, but their knowledge and using that to empower our society to grow. They continuously reach out. In the world that we live in where building bridges are far more worthwhile than walls and where open source is the de facto standard and proprietary software isn’t so much so, the power of knowledge, guidance, and personal touch is empowering to those that are trying to make it — and this is what those leaders have taught me.
When you get a chance, take a glance at my links to the side; there are some great folks that spread their knowledge to empower people like to me. And what would I do? That’s to be determined. I know that when that time comes, I want to give back just the same. But even now, I’ll start with small steps. One example would be this, micro lending and another would be doing what I have already been doing for quite a while — helping the students members in my organization with their development, advice, interview and resume prep, and ultimately, empowering them. I have a long way to go before reaching some of my goals, but if I could give some “small gifts” along my journey, I don’t mind. Not one bit. That’s the least I can do for all the information and learning that I’ve picked up — empower society.
