Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders

Imagine trying to bring entrepreneurship education to one of the most challenging environments in the world: San Quentin State Prison in California. In this powerful talk and interview, The Last Mile Co-Founders Chris Redlitz and Beverly Parenti, along with program graduate Heracio Harts, discuss the benefits of commitment and entrepreneurial thinking in supporting individuals to make the successful transition from prison to living productive lives in society.

Asana Co-Founder Justin Rosenstein shares the philosophy and experiences that drive him to create positive impact on the world. Rosenstein also unpacks the values Asana focuses on in creating a thriving culture and offers ways for leaders and individuals to effectively manage their personal psychology.

Kate Mitchell, managing director of Scale Venture Partners, demonstrates why an optimistic, but realistic mindset is a central key for successful entrepreneurs. Mitchell also challenges entrepreneurs to play an active role in civic life by actively telling their stories to affect policy at the national and international level.

Pulse Co-Founders Akshay Kothari and Ankit Gupta were curious Stanford graduate students always interested in taking on side projects to learn something new. In this light-hearted and insightful lecture, Kothari and Gupta discuss their experiences integrating what they learned into developing an elegant product, which eventually led to their startup's acquisition by LinkedIn.

MobiSocial Founder and Stanford Computer Science Professor Monica Lam offers a compelling case for why mobile can disrupt the social space to create genuine and frictionless experiences. Lam discusses the importance of cross-platform capability and the high potential for open, non-proprietary systems for communication.

Based on his continuing exploration of the decision making process under opaque circumstances, Nassim Taleb, author of The Black Swan and Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder, shares how the benefits of random conditions can be successfully harvested to help navigate a world we do not fully understand.

Sharing inspirations from both innovative companies and works of art, entrepreneur and technology sage Tim O'Reilly weaves together a series of thoughtful lessons for startups. From rethinking workflows and experiences to the valuable role of idealism in business, O'Reilly makes the case for entrepreneurs to work on the hard problems that matter.

The co-founders of Skybox Imaging, Dan Berkenstock, Julian Mann, John Fenwick and Ching-Yu Hu, realized early on they had one thing in common: they don't take no for an answer. Here the team of Stanford alumni explain their passion to disrupt the satellite imaging industry and share engaging tales of launching their unique venture.

Stephen Cohen reflects on his journey from Stanford computer science student to co-founding and building Palantir Technologies. Cohen extolls the joys of hacking projects in school, shares thoughts on the future relationship between man and machine, and shares stories from the colorful early history of Palantir.

Illuminate Ventures Founder Cindy Padnos talks candidly with Stanford Consulting Professor Tom Kosnik about the value of leveraging advisor relationships, the sometimes surprising responsibilities of a CEO, and the fundamental differences between the roles of entrepreneur and venture capitalist.

In this lively presentation, Tim Draper, managing director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, shares his global experiences funding entrepreneurial heroes who "break down walls." Draper shares attributes that support viable entrepreneurial environments, and encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to attack established monopolies and to never fear making mistakes.

Entrepreneur and investor John Lilly makes a sound pitch for why this moment in time is full of promise for passionate entrepreneurs willing to charge into the current white space of opportunity. Lilly also explains the idiosyncratic nature of investors and the goal of creating large, durable companies with the capacity to change the world.

Steven McCormick, president of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, discusses the value and continued need of an entrepreneurial approach in the philanthropic sector. McCormick also shares lessons learned on staying obsessively focused on outcomes, the critical need to measure success, and how to create change by being a 'positive deviant' inside organizations.

Surgeon, inventor and entrepreneur Dr. Hank Wuh shares examples of how his firm, Skai Ventures, based in Hawaii, takes a hands-on approach to launching high-growth businesses. Wuh explores the challenges of identifying disruptive innovations that are commercially viable and building profitable companies that aim to do good in the world.

Sue Siegel, CEO of GE's healthymagination unit, offers sound advice from her experiences commercializing new technologies and innovations in the fields of biomedicine and healthcare. Siegel also explains how innovation is created in organizations of all sizes, how values impact the quality of team performance, and ways for evaluating career decisions.