Stanford Entrepreneurship Videos

Bobby Lee, co-founder and CEO of the long-running Bitcoin global exchange BTCC, explains how the digital currency carries real buying power at the speed of the Internet. Calling it "the precursor to teleportation," Lee describes how a car could essentially be transmitted across the globe via a Bitcoin payment equal to its purchase price and all associated costs.

Bobby Lee, co-founder and CEO of leading Bitcoin financial platform BTCC, discusses how the digital currency is the first to have a set value and be transferable, like physical money. He also goes over Bitcoin's decentralized nature, how its value is derived from its finite nature, and how it will enable a global network for payments once it's widely adopted.

BTCC Co-Founder and CEO Bobby Lee recounts the origins of Bitcoin and how its inventor decided it should be issued. Lee explains the "lottery" for acquiring the digital currency, which anyone can enter through a practice known as "Bitcoin mining." He also talks about the mathematically-derived amount of 21 million Bitcoins to be released over a pre-determined timespan.

Entrepreneur Bobby Lee discusses the irony of Bitcoin: The cryptocurrency's promise of immediate transfer of value is slowed by the cumbersome nature of how funds are transferred now. Lee, co-founder and CEO of leading Bitcoin financial platform BTCC, says the digital currency's ultimate success depends on complete adoption.

Because Bitcoin is a decentralized currency and has only recently emerged, presently, no regulatory agency has the authority or expertise to enforce laws, according to Bobby Lee, co-founder and CEO of BTCC, the longest-running global exchange for Bitcoin. He says policies will be put in place soon, though, because the digital currency is an actual financial asset.

Al Ramadan, co-founding partner at Play Bigger Advisors, talks about how categories are conceptual containers that help the human brain organize all the information we are deluged with daily. Categories reduce cognitive load in decision-making and foster a common understanding, according to Ramadan. He also discusses the dynamics of group think and brand loyalty.

Dave Peterson of Play Bigger Advisors talks about how new consumer-product categories don't just emerge overnight, but result from years of difficult and intentional effort. Peterson draws on his experience as a former chief marketing officer, strategy consultant and entrepreneur, citing Airbnb's leadership in forging the "private hospitality" category.

Play Bigger Advisors Co-Founder Dave Peterson emphasizes that entrepreneurs must be able to articulate the problem they seek to solve if others are to understand their vision. Successful marketing also persuades people to care about a problem they weren't aware of before, and your solution for it. "Understanding the problem is the first step," Peterson says.

Dave Peterson, co-founding partner at Play Bigger Advisors, explains how a point of view establishes what you stand for and against, while attracting just the right customers. He also describes agenda setting and the importance of strategically framing a problem, outlining consequences for not solving it, sharing a vision for the future and identifying a call to action.

Al Ramadan and Dave Peterson, co-founding partners of the category-design firm Play Bigger Advisors, share the science behind the strategies that innovators use to create and dominate product markets. They also discuss the marketing concepts for building a brand and identity, and for inspiring customers to see the world as you’ve framed it.

Al Ramadan of Play Bigger Advisors discusses how Clarence Birdseye of frozen-foods fame perfectly embodies the "three pillars of enduring companies" – product design, company design and category design. Inspired by fishing Eskimos, Birdseye realized vegetables could be kept fresh by the same process. He then developed messaging and the necessary business relationships to ensure his company's success.

Al Ramadan, co-founding partner at Play Bigger Advisors, shares statistics compiled by his firm that show when category and company?value is formed. The category-design firm conducted qualitative and quantitative research to gain insights into valuation and market-capitalization growth, building a database of every venture-backed?technology company founded since 2000.

Play Bigger Advisors Co-Founder Al Ramadan describes the evolution of the category for software that manages business customer relations, and how Salesforce founder Marc Benioff came to dominate it by inventing a category for incumbents that made their software seem antiquated compared to the cloud service he was offering.

DJ Kleinbaum, co-founder of Emerald Therapeutics, shares how his company balances growth to drive biotechnology breakthroughs, while supporting a culture that honors fresh-eyes thinking and the sharing of contrarian truths. Kleinbaum also discusses defining what makes your company different, and why "Eroom’s Law" looms large for the future of drug development.

Emerald Therapeutics Co-Founder and Co-CEO DJ Kleinbaum describes how valuable having a co-founder is when an early-stage startup faces challenging moments. Entrepreneurs will eventually have to make difficult decisions, and at times, feel like crisis is upon them. In both cases, Kleinbaum says a co-founder can commiserate and help put things in perspective.