Vivek Wadhwa
Vivek Wadhwa
Vivek Wadhwa is an American technology entrepreneur and academic. He is a fellow at the Rock Center for Corporate Governance; the Director of Research at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Research Commercialization at the Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University; and the author of the 2014 book Innovating Women: The Changing Face of Technology...
NationalityIndian
ProfessionBusinessman
CountryIndia
best build chances company increase next plan success
My advice to fledgling entrepreneurs is always the same: build a company that you plan to be with for the next 10 years - that is the best way to increase your chances of success.
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The fastest way to get kicked out of a venture capitalist's office is to say that you want to build a business that grows steadily, focuses on employees, and creates wealth over the long term. Entrepreneurs with such ambitions are considered pariahs.
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I used to have an obsession with building businesses and forgot about building health. I was focused on the destination instead of the journey. I caution you to not do the same.
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If anyone tells you that you're too old to be an entrepreneur or that you have the wrong background, don't listen to them. Go with your gut instincts and pursue your passions.
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Once we increase the proportion of women in technical roles, the challenge is to retain them and ease the transition to senior positions.
academic became experience knowledge share
I became an academic so that I could share my knowledge and experience with students.
decided job
Writing a book is usually a full-time job that takes years. I didn't have years. So I decided to crowdsource content for the book.
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The best way of dealing with the press, customers, and critics is to come clean when things go wrong and admit when you make a mistake. We are humans, and no one expects us to be perfect.
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Student loan debt is the reason I don't advise students who want to become entrepreneurs to apply to elite, expensive colleges. They can be as successful if they go to a relatively inexpensive public college.
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In my first company, Seer Technologies, where I was chief technology officer, we shied away from the media. We watched every word and were guarded in front of journalists.
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You will find that every successful entrepreneur has suffered many setbacks. These entrepreneurs just forget to mention these when they are doing interviews with the 'Wall Street Journal' or Bloomberg TV.
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Whenever I write about immigration, I hear heart-wrenching stories of computer workers who are unemployed and facing severe hardship.
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Big companies such as Google and Facebook buy startups at ridiculously high prices - not for their products, but for their people.
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The stereotypical successful entrepreneur is Mark Zuckerberg - the young college dropout who dreamed up a crazy idea while in his dorm room.