Cal Tech Talk | E135

In this episode, Jason Calacanis shares his entrepreneurial journey, emphasizing the importance of ideas, action, and iteration. He discusses the value of hard work, the significance of product space, and the role of consensus in business. Jason talks about investor trends, the relevance of a good domain name, and his previous and current companies. He answers audience questions on failure, mentorship, the Gen Y mentality, and team building.

Speakers

AI Chat

Unidentified

Jason Calacanis

Host • 99%

Chapters

0:00	Opening
1:00	How many people in the crowd want to be entrepreneurs when you grow up?
2:00	Jason gives a brief history of his career as an entrepreneur.
3:30	The importance of ideas, action and iteration.
5:30	Why pivoting is underrated and hard work is paramount.
6:30	How many entrepreneurs here agree that it's hard, lonely work?
8:30	Why Twitter is a great example of successful product iteration.
10:30	It's not about the idea, it's about the space.
12:30	How Jason learned the hard way that you can't fundamentally change people and what to look for in startup employees.
15:00	Why consensus can hurt a business.
15:45	The trend of investors looking for people who actually build the product (developers and designers).
19:30	Money is free--if you have a good idea.
22:15	Don't underestimate the importance of a good domain name.
25:00	Jason's past companies, Silicon Alley Reporter and Weblogs, Inc., and his current company, Mahalo.
28:00	Discovering that video was the differentiator in how well pages on Mahalo did.
30:30	Question from the audience: How do you make a company ok with failure?
35:30	Question from the audience: How do young people find mentors?
38:00	The difference in the Gen Y mentality about winning and success.
40:00	Question from the audience: What's the difference between an inventor and an entrepreneur?
42:00	Question from the audience: How do you build a team?
46:45	Question from the audience: What would you do differently next time?
50:30	Why entrepreneurship isn't for everyone and why you should just go for it.

Transcript

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