Five successful entrepreneurs speak out

There are a couple really inspiring stories in this “Startup Success” video posted by venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki. Five entrepreneurs were asked questions by Guy and the audience, and the first thing that stood out to me is that these guys are trying to figure everything out just like everyone else is. It reminded me how important it is for startup CEOs to be involved and passionate, and to learn everything they can about what’s happening on the web today and business in general. I particularly enjoyed Joe Kraus’ advice on openness and persistence.

Joe relates this incredible story of how his first company (Excite) got funded in the 90s, and how it all started with a book about accidental success that his girlfriend gave him. The book inspired him to just cold call business people in the startup industry and tell them about his startup. Long story short he got rejected and referred multiple times until finally he met the VC that funded his startup even though they had no business plan.

Later, Excite nailed a crucial partnership only because they were persistent. They had already lost a bid to land this partnership, but they kept hanging around the partner’s buildings, kept talking to the CEO and others. Finally, when the winning bidder encountered their own problems and had to drop out, Excite won the bid. Joe points to that partnership as the reason why Excite became successful. So his point is, don’t give up. If you are trying to hire a crucial but unavailable programmer, try flying out and meeting with them in person. Don’t take “no” for an answer.

One last great piece of advice comes from Reid Hoffman, co-founder and CEO of LinkedIn. He recommends sharing your new idea with 6 other smart people. Don’t try to keep what you’re doing a secret. Share it with other people you respect and see what they say. He says that this almost always leads to the idea evolving into something better. Of course, smart people don’t always have all the answers, which Guy pointed out by reminding everyone that he turned down $2 billion dollars by underestimating Yahoo. As Reid says, share your idea and at least take people’s opinions into consideration.