Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders

Gil Penchina, CEO of Wikia, and an 8-year veteran of eBay, contrasts his experiences and lessons of working in a big company with heading a small start-up.

Ryan Phelan, founder and CEO of DNA Direct, shares her thoughts on entrepreneurship, both for-profit and not-for-profit, based on her experience launching groundbreaking healthcare initiatives that provide public access to comprehensive medical information and genetic testing.

Marissa Mayer, Vice President of Search Products and User Experience at Google, shares nine lessons learned about fostering creative ideas and innovation based on her experience developing highly successful Web applications at Google.

Pam Marrone, founder of AgraQuest, relates the challenges and rewards she experienced in building a successful biotechnology company that specializes in ecologically friendly agricultural products.

Joel Peterson, founder of Peterson Partners, discusses the secret to successful negotiations. He reminds us that negotiation is how one navigates their way through life, and in order to have successful negotiations, people must be empowered, have high character, and confidence. Peterson draws from his experience as CEO of one of the world's largest real estate development firms and most recently founded Peterson Partners- an equity fund in search of talented and visionary CEOs.

Stephanie Keller-Bottom, Director of Nokia Innovent, shares experiences and lessons learned in founding Innovent, Nokia's entrepreneurial innovation unit that explores emerging markets and the opportunities they create.

Katie Rodan, co-founder of Proactiv Solution talks about her personal journey from a resident in the medical school program to an entrepreneur. She shares the trials and tribulations of her experience in the creation of Proactiv, a globally recognized skin care product.

Tina Seelig, Executive Director for the Stanford Technology Ventures Program, provides insights on life, leadership, and the little things that make a big difference in an entrepreneurial setting.

John Roos, CEO of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati, has represented many major Silicon Valley companies during mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, strategic alliances, and joint ventures. In this lecture, he describes many of the lessons he's learned since joining the firm in 1988, including building a brand, taking risks, and the importance of integrity.

Carol Bartz, Executive Chairman of the Board and CEO of Autodesk for the past 14 years, reflects on her experience of running one of the largest PC software companies in the world while finding a balance between her career and personal life. She also stresses the importance of continued learning and addresses the challenges of succeeding in a global market.

Michael Goldberg, General Partner at Mohr Davidow Ventures and Founder of Axion Inc., shares lessons learned through his 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur and investor in the life sciences industry.

Chong-Moon Lee, chairman and CEO of Ambex Venture Group, and founder of Diamond Multimedia Systems, describes his path to becoming one of the most distinguished entrepreneurs and philanthropists in Silicon Valley.

Kim Popovits, President and COO of Genomic Health, Inc., discusses the organizational and technological strategies that have contributed to her success in the biopharmaceutical industry.

Janice Fraser, CEO and a founding partner of Adaptive Path, discusses the entrepreneurial leadership qualities that have contributed to the success of her user experience consulting company.

Jeff and Bobby Beaver, Co-founders of Zazzle and graduates of Stanford University, describe their story and entrepreneurial experiences in building an internet start-up. They discuss the passion, dedication and the power of small teams in achieving a vision.

Stanford University professor, Tom Byers, discusses ten enduring success factors of high-technology entrepreneurship, including planning, teamwork, venture financing, leadership, cash flow, market positioning, partnerships, and identifying business opportunities.

Frank Ricks, Founder of LRK Architecture, discusses design and creating value for clients while using creative leadership to increase the firm from seven to a hundred and sixty employees.

Kim Polese, CEO of SpikeSource, describes her twenty years of experience in developing software in Silicon Valley including Java development with Sun Microsystems. She also discusses SpikeSource's relationship with the open source community.

Lonnie Smith, President and CEO of Intuitive Surgical, discusses Intuitive's path from start-up to market dominance in the field of surgical robotics.

Mark Zuckerberg, founder of TheFacebook, is interviewed by VC, Jim Breyer, Managing Partner of Accel. Mark describes what it was like to leave Harvard to venture into a business to build a social utility tool for college students around the world.