I attended the the Orange Coast Venture Group breakfast meeting last Tuesday at the Westin South Coast Plaza. Tony Perkins was the guest speaker. Tony is the founder of the AlwaysOn network. He is most known for cofounding Red Herring magazine and Silicon Valley's Churchill Club. Tony also serves on President George W. Bush's Information Technology Advisory Council.
Some key points from his talk:
--The biggest internet companies are being created now; from 2005-2007.
-- The current generation is the "always on" generation with instant messaging, internet networking, blogs, and wireless gadgets.
-- One of the biggest trends is consumer-generated media. The old guard such as the NY Times and network news will never have the power they once had.
-- Patience is important when building a business. Apple had been in business for almost 10 years when Steve Jobs made the cover of Time magazine as an "overnight sensation".
-- The AlwaysOn network is like a MySpace for adults.
Event Review: Guy Kawasaki at FastPitch
I attended the Fast Pitch Competition last night at the UCLA Anderson School. Guy Kawasaki was the keynote speaker. Guy is the founder of Garage Technology Ventures and may be best known as Apple Computer's evangelist in the '90s. His most recent book is The Art of the Start.
Some key points from his insightful and humorous presentation:
-- When starting a company, make meaning. Ultimate motivation should not be to make money, but to change the world in some respect.
-- Regarding innovation and product development: jump to the next curve or create the next curve
--Ship, then test. Don't wait until every feature is perfect (biosciences excepted).
-- Polarize people: Some will love your product, some will hate it.
--Develop a mantra, not a mission statement. Answer "why do you exist" in 3 words.
--Follow the 10/20/30 rule: 10 slides, 20 minutes, 30 point font.
Guy has started writing a new blog. I highly recommend it.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006 in Commentary by Greg Sweeney, Events | Permalink