“NY Fashion Week looks great from the front row.” – Larry Chiang, CEO |
After teaching a class called Engineering 145, a student called me, “Paris Hilton of Silicon Valley“. I am writing a blog about this because there is genius and street smarts to be gleaned before and after you take Stanford Engineering, E145.
And like all comedy and criticism, there are slivers of truth!
The initial reason, I was called that was because I carry my dog in a bag. I love him. He loves parties. But lets us focus on the entrepreneurship lessons and bullet point some incredible startup insights. NOTE: I won’t refute or argue the label. Its pretty accurate.
-1- He took my class and received a non “A+”
The dreaded Stanford “A-“. I know because I couldn’t dole out an A+ when you do not launch. Engineering 145 is about distributing something that you engineer. It is not ‘nail the PowerPoint’ and t-a-l-k.
A sequel is part of the above video. The video and the concept of sequel helps you avoid failure. It helps you shift to the right side of the bell curve. If you think there are new ideas, you’re sorely mistaken. Someone before you has had your idea way before you did.
For example:
Apple. Mouse driven User Interface was at Xerox (haha, literally)
Facebook. Hot or Not; but for Harvard girls.
SnapChat. See Mission Impossible TV shows in the 1960s. “This massage will self-destruct”
err, message. Darn that autocorrect.
-4- He removed the sequel passage.
He said in the Quora thesis: “How is Larry Chiang like Paris Hilton”
“piggybacking off people and institutions of real success. One prime example: He once clearly recommended our class to build businesses off of existing businesses and replicate names similar to existing brands. I don’t remember what term he made up for that approach.”
Google “Stanford Law Review” – Its a sequel to Harvard Law Review because Peter Thiel was at the 94305 in law school. And not cambridge. If he were in HLS, he would have written, “What They Do Teach You At CS 183 Because He Taught That.”
Google “Federal Express” –Its a sequel business to the post office that is not very federal.
“Piggybacking off people and institutions of real success. One prime example: He once clearly recommended our class to build businesses off of existing businesses and replicate names similar to existing brands. I don’t remember what term he made up for that approach.”
In saying Cross the Chasm, this is entrepreneur speak for “Crossing the Innovation Chasm”. Doing a sequelized concept helps you mitigate risk by pattern iterating. Said in plain English, when you join a parade in-progress, you have a lot less risk. Plus, you practice selling and promoting something that exists. Selling as a sales virgin while simultaneously building a product is pretty near impossible to accomplish as an undergrad who is taking three other classes while also playing a varsity sport called “Football”.
So, effen do a sequel.
Yes, I just innovated a concept that is not mine. This leads perfectly into #ENGR145; Lec 3 “Brainstorming”.
(8) Half-BAKED:
To knowledge activate classroom concepts of brainstorming, we would play, “Three quarters baked“. This is based on the game that VC Dave McClure invented called Half-baked. Remember, in Engineering 145, you must come up with an idea and pitch it to get co-founders.
The way you play half baked is you stand in a circle of 4 -50 people and the goal is to practice pitching companies you just brainstormed. The way it works is one person says a word, the next person says another word. Then the next person in the circle must pitch the two words combined as a startup to the entire circle. The way you play Three quarters baked is that one of the words needs to be a major brand.
get it?! you’re a step closer to being fully baked if you’re three quarters baked!!
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