Vinod Khosla, MBA '80: Failure does not matter. Success matters. | Summary and Q&A

Transcript

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Summary

In this video, Vino Killyam starts by sharing his philosophy of making things happen and not always following what others say. He talks about his perseverance and conviction in a story about refusing to leave a customer's lobby until he met with the team. He emphasizes the importance of having a belief system and not just doing what others expect. Vino also shares stories about his failures and the lessons he learned from them. He discusses the importance of being brutally honest rather than being hypocritically polite. Vino also talks about his investment strategy and why he focuses on technologies that have a high chance of failure but could have a significant impact if successful. He emphasizes the importance of taking risks and working on interesting things that can make a positive change.

Questions & Answers

Q: Where does Vino's perseverance and conviction come from?

Vino believes in making things happen and not always following what others say. He believes that if he believes in something, he should try his best to make it happen.

Q: Can customers always be considered right?

Vino believes that customers are not always right and that sometimes they make mistakes. He advises not to always listen to customers, especially when it comes to creating great products.

Q: Can you give an example of Vino's perseverance and conviction?

Vino shares a story about an incident where he stayed in a customer's lobby all day and refused to leave until he met with the CEO and convinced him to sign a contract with his company.

Q: What is Vino's belief about failure and success?

Vino believes that failure does not matter, but it is success that matters. He emphasizes that nobody remembers what you failed at and that it is important to persist and try your best.

Q: What is Vino's approach to failure and how does it give him the ability to succeed?

Vino believes that his willingness to fail is what gives him the ability to succeed. He says that most people are afraid of failing and do not try to do important things because of that fear, but he is not afraid to fail.

Q: What was Vino's first company before Sun Microsystems?

Vino's first company before Sun Microsystems was called Data Dump. It was founded and funded three months before Sun, but it did not work out.

Q: What is Vino's view on venture capital and the role of venture capitalists?

Vino believes that venture capital has become more popular and accepted now compared to the past. He also thinks that most venture capitalists do not add value and some even reduce the potential of a company.

Q: How does Vino's investment strategy differ from traditional venture capital?

Vino's investment strategy focuses on technologies that have a high chance of failure but could have a significant impact if successful. He believes in taking risks and having a higher upside potential.

Q: How does Vino get others to buy into his convictions?

Vino believes that some people buy into his convictions after the fact, while others are confused. He also mentions that some people do not know any better and trust his experience.

Q: Are we currently in a tech bubble and when do you think it will burst?

Vino says that he does not know if we are in a tech bubble and he believes that anyone claiming to know is probably just stupid. He advises against trying to predict the future in such matters.

Q: Can Vino share a story about a time when he got crushed by someone's brutal honesty?

Vino admits that he has made many mistakes and gotten crushed by brutal honesty. One example he shares is when he missed the opportunity of Cisco being born as an application on Sun Microsystems.

Takeaways

Vino Killyam's philosophy is to make things happen and not just follow what others say. He believes in perseverance and conviction, and that failure does not matter as much as success. He advises not always listening to customers and emphasizes the importance of having a belief system and being brutally honest. Vino's investment strategy focuses on technologies with a high chance of failure but potentially high impact. He encourages taking risks and working on interesting things that can make a positive change. Vino believes in learning from failures and not being afraid to try and fail.