By Larry Chiang<\/p>\n
I live amongst undergrads.<\/p>\n
Listening like a Shih Tzu allows me to regurgitate, recite and replicate. Here are things that I hear and observe that are common FAQ that lead into cliche mistakes<\/p>\n
-1- Messaging asymmetry<\/p>\n
It is a mistake to expect quid pro quo. By quid pro quo, I mean you send a message, you get a message. This is how kid messages get traded. By kid, I mean anyone under 19.<\/p>\n
Asymmetric messaging with seasoned execs where you email and re-email old people is par-for-the-course. For example, look at your in-and-out text messaging. It alternates white text (inbound), green text (outbound).<\/p>\n
If you’re doing entrepreneurship, get ready for a lot of green text and unrequited outbound messages.<\/p>\n
This answers the common FAQ: How many times should I email a mentor or advisor?!<\/p>\n
Answer: a lot. Email and re-contact as if every try was a first attempt. For example, one time I text messaged a VC 30x. In entrepreneurship they call it persistent. And the norm In undergrad life, they call it what??<\/p>\n
Another big, big change in going from undergrad engineering entrepreneur to pattern replicating “successful seasoned exec entrepreneur” is to…<\/p>\n
-2- Sell your friends<\/p>\n
The reason for this is that it’s critical to pitch a person in under 20 words.<\/p>\n
It’s a mistake to joke and kid when you’re making introductions that are negative. Practice pitching a co-founder or any person in under 20 words.<\/p>\n
-3- The “Big Idea Myth”<\/p>\n
FAQ I hear: I’ve a big idea and wanna license it \/ sue others for using it. Can I patent it (so I’ll never have to execute it)?!<\/p>\n
College and school and academics teach you that ideas are lovely. Ideas for business are pretty. But useless.<\/p>\n
Just execute.<\/p>\n
Execution is incredibly monotonous. It takes attention to detail. Don’t make the undergrad mistake of thinking a big idea helps.<\/p>\n
On the flip side…<\/p>\n
-4- Execute a crap idea<\/p>\n
I coach the method that my mentor taught me called EUBM. Engineer up a business model was taught to me by Mark McCormack.<\/p>\n
I’d google that.<\/p>\n
FAQ: I read your GaGaGuaranteed Exits 2013 business ideas and in my infinite wisdom as a sophomore in CS \/ inbound Stanford freshman… Don’t think they’ll work.<\/p>\n
Larry Chiang answer: you fail to realize just how dumb rich old people in business truly are (compared to a junior in engineering at UI. Listen to what my mentor taught me (teaching you) or wait 10-12 years to say: Goodness, Mark McCormack was right.<\/p>\n
-5- Momentary singular focus<\/p>\n
ADD is the new norm.<\/p>\n
You don’t need ridalin. You need momentary singular focus. And a entrepreneur notebook. https:\/\/m.voices.yahoo.com\/10-entrepreneurial-years-resolutions-ex-pro-11911304.html<\/a><\/p>\n FAQ: Larry Chiang, we wanna diversify Answer: focus. Don’t Di-worse-ify.<\/p>\n Momentary singular focus for you and your team gets you to the right side of the bell curve.<\/p>\n -6- What is the Bell Curve?!<\/p>\n Answer: ENGR145’s Anchor Concepts: Lemonade and Gua Gua Guacamole<\/p>\n It moves you to the right on the entrepreneur bell curve <\/p>\n -7- Criticizing \/ Armchair QB-ing<\/p>\n Just don’t.<\/p>\n I don’t care about Color. I don’t care about Blippy. I don’t care to discuss or criticize<\/p>\n Just focus and execute on external deliverables<\/p>\n -8- Re-Dumb-dancy<\/p>\n My sweet spot is redundancy. It helps you execute. As a Shih Tzu, I observe that the smarter the undergrad entrepreneur, the less likely they are to execute and be detailed in execution.<\/p>\n Dumb yourself down, sandbag your success in academics, execute re-dumb-dantly and redundantly.<\/p>\n -9- Let’s go viral<\/p>\n Strategy of going viral isn’t a method. Learn leadGen<\/p>\n Google Larry Chiang leadGen<\/p>\n It stands for lead generation.<\/p>\n -10- LCMCC, MVBP and MVP and LCRRM seem like a bunch of acryonyms I don’t know.<\/p>\n FAQ: Can you explain them??!<\/p>\n Answer: they’re entrepreneurial gold. And you need to pay Stanford $15k for them<\/p>\n Sign up here<\/p>\n Jk, I won’t have you learn from an ENGR 145 alum. They’re yours for the googling<\/p>\n FAQ: Larry, will you spoon feed this to me?! Me: Hahaa, just read my blog posts on each and every one of these topics<\/p>\n Larry Chiang FAQ: Will you come to my school and speak?! Answer: you should speak after you execute 2-14 of my blog posts or invite a ENGR 145 alum who executed to R2D2 regurgitate it<\/p>\n Remember, I yield the balance of my 1 hour keynote to undergrads. Me talking to you impresses you. I want you to be impressed at you so I get you to speak. I move kids from the back of the room to the front of the classroom faster than anyone else I’ve ever met.<\/p>\n When you speak, invite me.<\/p>\n I’m your motivational listener.<\/p>\n I listen so well that they let me blog as a woman https:\/\/www.women2.com\/tag\/larry-chiang\/<\/a><\/p>\n And get women to mentor each other <\/p>\n CEO of Duck9 Founding Stanford University EIR (Entrepreneur in Residence) Emeritus<\/p>\n Duck9 = “Deep Underground Credit Knowledge” 9 125 University Avenue\/ 100 Palo Alto CA 94301 https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/ass<\/a> 650-566-9600 650-566-9696 (direct) 650-283-8008 (cell)<\/p>\n **************** Editor of the BusinessWeek Channel “What They Don’t Teach at Business School” https:\/\/whattheydontteachyouatstanfordbusinessschool.com\/blog<\/a> CNN Video Channel: https:\/\/ireport.cnn.com\/people\/larrychiang<\/a><\/p>\n Read my last 10 tweets at https:\/\/www.Twitter.com\/LarryChiang<\/a><\/p>\n Author, NY Times Bestseller https:\/\/whattheydontteachyouatstanfordbusinessschool.com\/blog\/?s=Ny+times+bestseller<\/a><\/p>\n “What They Will NEVER Teach You at Stanford Business School” comes out 11-11-14<\/p>\n