Business Lessons from sucessful entrepreneurs and business leaders: LunchLearning.com

Reading time: 2 - 4 minutes

Video Time: 34 minutes 54 seconds

Effectively communicating something, anything, requires authenticity. A message without authenticity may be received, but it may not be a good message that gets across. A poorly crafted message can often backfire, bringing a sense of resentment or that the company has some dishonesty it wishes to hide. Matthew Haughey (@mathowie on Twitter), the founder of MetaFilter, one of TIME magazine’s 50 Best Websites, presents on the ability to communicate with customers in an authentic fashion.

The bandwagon of online communication is something that a plethora of companies have jumped on. However, not all companies have managed this well. A stellar example of this failure is the infamous “All I want for Christmas is a PSP” viral campaign that was immediately regarded as an insulting, stereotyping campaign that thoroughly alienated its market and was counter-productive. On the other hand, the Will it Blend? campaign, a clear marketing ploy, enjoys considerable success.

Authenticity, as Haughey puts it, is something that is remarkably simple, yet so often left by the wayside. It consists of the traditional values that people live by, such as honesty and ethical behavior. However, many of these elements seem to be forgotten or blown to the wayside in favor of strategies that offer a quick gain in return for long-term sustainability. The simple element of remembering that you are still working with other people and that the change of medium, from magazines, radio or television to Internet makes no difference to the fundamentals will resolve many of the conflicts that may arise.

Whether the platform consists of blogs, Facebook fan pages, newsletters or an attempt at a viral campaign, all companies want the same things: increased visibility, demonstrated benefits and, ultimately, increased sales. The secret is in engaging them in a fashion that is genuine. The short cuts, or get-rich-quick schemes may offer a good start, but that’s it. There is no longevity or any secret formula to achieving success. In the end, communicating online is the same as communicating anywhere else.

Reading time: 2 - 3 minutes

Video Time: 41 minutes 49 seconds

Today’s video features Drew Curtis, founder of the hilarious website fark.com, which is a popular site made up of links to humorous and sometimes strange news articles. In this video, Curtis explains how he built up fark.com to what it is today. Through trial and error, efficiency, and experience, Curtis made fark.com into a million dollar business.

Curtis explains that you don’t need venture capital to be a successful internet entrepreneur. He compares the failure of his well funded ISP in the late 90’s to the success of fark.com, which he started with no investors. To keep overhead low, fark.com has only three employees, no office, and only five servers that handle an enormous amount of traffic. Fark.com gets over 2,000 link submissions a day, and more than 60 million page-views a month. Drew also shares his insight on social networking and internet advertising.

For more on Drew Curtis, check out his book, It’s Not News, It’s Fark: How Mass Media Tries to Pass off Crap as News.

Happy Learning!

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Reading time: 2 - 4 minutes

Video Time: 21 minutes 50 seconds

Many people view innovation as a cumulative process, more evolutionary than anything. Tim Wu, a professor at Columbia Law School and known for coining the term “net neutrality”, speaks at The Institute of International and European Affairs and explores a radically different perspective. Rather than viewing innovation and develop as the process where things continually grow and change gradually over time, Wu proposes that innovation occurs on a cyclical system that is dependent upon revolutionary developments.

The vast majority of innovation consists of incremental improvements on a given platform. However, these changes are minor and are merely refinements or additions upon the existing structure. As a platform matures, innovation slows down as the market is saturated and the low hanging fruit has all been claimed. A revolution reveals entirely new avenues of potential and, as a result, spurs innovation and new developments rapidly. This cycle is present everywhere, ranging from product development and personal growth to infrastructure and business.

It is absolutely vital to manage both the evolution within each cycle as well as the revolutions. Ignoring one results in stagnancy. While development isn’t absolutely necessary, it does limit the viable lifespan of anything that is restricted. The cycle of each revolution has its ups and downs as well, something that Wu is careful to note. Just as the Internet is currently growing, it is absolute folly to think that the Internet, as its perceived today, is the final, penultimate standard. It, like television and radio, CDs and cassettes, will undergo an eventual decline.

As you watch this video, consider the influence of cycles in your life, both personal and professional, and how things are transformed as a result. They are not inherently good or bad, but merely different and a prepared individual can anticipate and prepare for the changes they bring.

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Reading time: 2 - 4 minutes

Video Time: 15 minutes 51 seconds

Craig Venter, successful entrepreneur and biologist, founder of three important scientific institutions (The Institute for Genomic Research, Celera Genomics, and the J. Craig Venter Institute) is probably best known for his work at Celera, where he successfully mapped the human genome. No doubt an extremely impressive resume, but lately Venter has been taking his biological research into even bolder areas.

Venter is currently putting his efforts into the J. Craig Venter Institute, where he works to solve environmental issues through the creation of synthetic organisms. Venter has continued to push the limits of science and business through groundbreaking work, co-founding Synthetic Genomics in 2005, a company which aims to create microorganisms that will actually produce environmentally-friendly biofuels.

In this video, Venter addresses the possibility of synthesizing new life through our digital world, and how new developments in this area could help solve global issues. I’m no scientist, so I’ll let the video speak for itself, but don’t worry, you don’t need to be a biologist to understand the important implications these discoveries will have on our world!

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Reading time: 3 - 4 minutes

Video Time: 24 minutes 55 seconds

Hello, my name is Alan Chang and if you’ve followed us before, you’ll know that we here at LunchLearning explore a different theme every week and if you haven’t—we do. This week, we’ll be looking at paradigm shifts that have transformed entire industries as well as newborn technologies and platforms that have the potential to bring about change yet haven’t quite matured and reached their full potential yet.

Nikesh Arora (@nikesharora on Twitter), one of the presidents of Google and responsible for strengthening their core business, discusses the gap in technology usage between generations. In addition to giving Google the focus they had lost when they grew, he was a critical piece of the puzzle for a number of other businesses, such as T-Mobile, whose industries had changed dramatically through the years.

Changes in the market are obvious in hindsight, but the secret to their importance, and success in their utilization, is to understand what is a revolutionary product and what isn’t. Mobile phones were once considered an elite product, with only the richest and most important people owning them. Similarly, until recently, as Brandon Shook explored last week, games were considered best for targeting children. Things have changed.

Social networks are rapidly increasing in prominence, visibility as well as importance. However, knowing that something is going to become the standard is not enough. Being able to determine exactly who the winner will be even a few years in advance can make a tremendous difference. Just as the landscape of the internet was different ten years ago, it will be something entirely different in ten more years. Taking steps to capitalize on these changes will strengthen your position.

Within this video, Nikesh Arora briefly considers a variety of areas ranging from viral marketing and interacting with customers to company reach and market research. All of these things, and more, have changed throughout the years and will continue to. Equally important, each of these can be directly attributed to the success of failure of a company. Somebody has to succeed, so why not you?

Think of the past, envision the future!

Reading time: 3 - 4 minutes

Video Time: 26 minutes 36 seconds

Let’s start off a week of science and technology-related videos with Neil Gershenfeld, who is head of the Center for Bits and Atoms at MIT. In this short but information-packed video, Gershenfeld discusses the Digital Revolution that has brought about the existence of “Fab Labs.” What exactly is a “Fab Lab?” Well, the term is short for fabrication laboratory, which, according to Gershenfeld, is a place where you can make pretty much whatever you want. In this video, you’ll learn how these new labs are putting the process of invention at the fingertips of ordinary people.

Gershenfeld discusses how, several years ago, he taught a digital fabrication class at MIT which he called, “How to Make (Almost) Anything.” Gershenfeld marveled at how excited the students were to create things that fulfilled their own personal interests or desires. The examples that he gives of his student’s inventions, which include a web browser for parrots, and an alarm clock that needs to be wrestled before it shuts off, are hilarious but incredibly unique. These inventions illustrate the infinite possibilities of Fab Labs –which make it possible for anyone, anywhere to become an inventor.

Gershenfeld also describes how Fab Lab’s have been helping communities solve problems locally. Fab Lab’s are popping up all over the globe in places like India, Africa, and Norway. Be sure not to miss the end of the video where Gershenfeld gives examples of how people in other countries are using Fab Labs to solve local problems. One example he gives is how a community in India is making analytical instruments in their Fab Lab, so they can test their milk to make sure it is safe for consumption. These instruments, if purchased, would be extremely costly, but thanks to the Fab Lab, the people are able to make them for a very small amount of money. Gershenfeld also shows how Fab Labs bring technology to rural areas, when at one point in the video he points to a tiny computer that was made with only $10 worth of materials and can be hooked up to a regular TV.

In this video, you’ll learn that not only are the possibilities of invention endless, but they are also within your reach. No doubt, this Digital Revolution in personal fabrication will continue to change the world. For more information on Fab Labs, check out Neil Gershenfeld’s book, Fab: The Coming Revolution on Your Desktop– from Personal Computers to Personal Fabrication.

Reading time: 2 - 2 minutes

Video Time: 32 minutes 26 seconds

In this talk, eBay President & CEO (and gubernatorial candidate for the state of California), Meg Whitman speaks about small business innovation and entrepreneurship at the NFIB National Small Business Summit.

There is a slight policy angle at the beginning of the talk. . .Meg Whitman’s keynote speech starts at 7 minutes 35 seconds.

Reading time: 2 - 2 minutes

Video Time: 30 minutes 04 seconds

Richard Branson hardly needs an introduction. He’s an entrepreneur’s entrepreneur, and, at least in my opinion, the embodiment of Nike’s “Just Do It” slogan. Seemingly unaware of risk, he pursues his goals with the passion of a child, despite numerous failures along his road to success.

In this rather relaxed TED talk with Chris Anderson, Branson shares some amusing anecdotes that occurred during some of his adventures, the challenges of life as a dyslexic, near death experiences and life on top of the world.

An insightful, enjoyable and inspiring conversation with Richard covering some of the important world challenges and how philanthropy can be among the most inspiring achievements in life.