Jeff Hawkins
Founder of Palm and HandSpring
Stanford Technology Ventures Program
Hawkins does a great job of cutting through the clutter and looking at things very pragmatically, though at the same time very intelligently. He had two key points in his presentation, one being that entrepreneurism is not a life or a job, it’s merely a tool. That is, entrepreneurism is a temporary ‘thing’ to start something; it’s a last resort; and, it’s for progressing a passion. And that’s the second point he made, you need a passion in your life.
A few of his comments were unsurprising, while a few were actually counter-intuitive. With that as a base, he posited these rules for successful entrepreneurialism:
1. Find a passion and follow it.
2. Use the fastest and surest way to succeed. Everything else will fall in place if you have a passionate goal and a plan.
3. Use entrepreneurism as a last resort; it’s a desperation move.
4. Work smartly, not necessarily harder. You have to have a life.
5. Try to have fun, and do so by following the goal.
A final comment was that a start-up really does require a lot of process—an employee manual, a hiring plan, etc. It’s very important in a start-up to have process.
