Entrepreneurs

"Medicine is definitely a huge one. It’s important to remember that there is a global shortage of doctors that is quite large in some countries."

"This eye-opening experience led me to realize the impact computer vision would have on the field of computer graphics. It soon became clear that these AI techniques would transform industries far beyond design."

"For instance, in Nigeria, it would take 300 years to train enough doctors to fill the shortage with their existing pipeline. I know a pediatric radiologist from South Africa who said there are only 14 pediatric radiologists for the entire African continent. My hope is that deep learning will help doctors and community health workers be more effective."

"UW is an exceptional place to do AI research. Particularly now that AI progress requires a lot of engineering and computational power."

"I was completely amazed. Witnessing the impressive results, it felt like I was experiencing pure magic."

"Bitcoin is a kind of token — a demand- backed asset like a commodity or a unit of exchange. Ether is an example of a token you can use to purchase certain services. Smart contracts run on Ether so you could also use these tokens to keep track of and use your frequent flyer miles. To extend this further, a token can be like a virtual good: companies like (the Chinese conglomerate) TenCent create their own digital currencies which are used in the game world to buy virtual goods. This has proven to be extremely successful with lots of people buying or exchanging tokens. Imagine applying this to the business model of Facebook or Google. They have very iffy data that can’t be properly verified. There could be a lot of value if the person who owns the data would agree to trade that knowing that he can benefit from that financially. The notion of self-sovereign ID and data is now accepted, and companies that don’t comply will be vulnerable to heavy penalty. Tokens can be used to create a common protocol on how to handle permissions to use data so companies don’t run afoul of liability laws."

"The concept of a digital token is not obvious. It is a unit for exchange of value between two or more parties, but it is more than a transaction. It is a unit of value that binds a relationship. Digital tokens can take the form of smart contracts and be quite complex. They can take different forms under different conditions. They can be a commodity, a currency, a security, or all of those things. That is why there is some confusion and issues about how to regulate them. Tokens can also be an expression of trust. A token could be a credential that I use to assert something about myself. It can be used for digital identity. It can be certification of certain attributes such as age or place of residence or a credential proving that you earned a diploma. Tokens can get you access to different kind of services. They assert different forms of trust and value and can be dynamically updated."

"When the SEC issued an opinion on the DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) blow-up they correctly censored them because really they were selling securities. However if one is careful it can be treated as an asset token. If it is a rewards program with no passive income derived or voting shares then it is really not a security. When you increase the supply of a currency you have to offset that by creating debt because you can’t print money. With digital currencies it is not necessarily the case. If you issue tokens with specific value propositions around different sectors you don’t have to offset that with debt. There are examples of this in the sharing economy. If you look at next-generation mobility services and autonomous vehicles, it is very unlikely the vehicles will be privately owned. There will be a huge congestion problem but if you can have access and that can be guaranteed then that is better than owning your own car. There is a token called Lambo coin which allows people to buy part of a Lamborghini and have access privileges at all times. This is indicative of where things are going. It’s a membership model like timeshare but much lighter and easier to do."

"Increasingly interconnected, volatile, and complex, today's organizations cannot be controlled by any conventional approach to management. Indeed, an entirely new definition of what it means to manage is called for. In The Biology of Business, John Clippinger and nine outstanding contributors introduce managers to the Complex Adaptive System (CAS) of management, a system that takes into account all of the variables that impact modern enterprises and allows managers to take control from the bottom up. Here, the authors show how McKinsey & Co., Capital One, and Optimark have employed CAS to achieve specific business goals and improve overall corporate fitness. And they bridge theory and practice to provide managers with proven tools and techniques they can use to transform their enterprises into self-renewing, self-organizing systems that are maximally responsive to changing market conditions and opportunities"

"Great leaps forward in scientific understanding have, throughout history, engendered similar leaps forward in how we understand ourselves. Now, the new hybrid disciplines of evolutionary biology and social physics are making the next leap possible—and fundamentally altering our notions of individual identity. If identity is a fact not derived from within the individual, but conferred on an individual by a group, or network, a host of assumptions about how governments work, how conflicts arise and are resolved, and how societies can be coaxed toward good are overturned. John Clippinger brilliantly illuminates how the Enlightenment itself—the high point of individual assertiveness—was a product not just of a few moments of individual inspiration and creativity, but rather of a societal shift that allowed innovation and creativity to flourish. Michelangelo owes quite as much to the circumstances of the Renaissance as the Renaissance does to the work of Michelangelo. Now, the digitalization of society, which affects all of us already, allows new insight into these What does it require for societies, organizations and individuals, to thrive? Who decides who you are? How can happiness be shared and spread? Who can you trust?"

"In 1842 after (US president) Andrew Jackson shut down the banks, people produced their own copper coins, called hard-times tokens. It was a bottom-up protest. There is a similar logic with bitcoin. During the 2008 banking crisis people could not trust fiat and the authorities that have oversight. There is a real distrust in the conventional mechanism so that is why token sales, to a certain segment, are seen as a safe haven."

"ICOs are token generation events. There is sloppiness in how people talk about utilization tokens versus speculation tokens. An example of a utilization token is when you join a community and create a kilowatt of sustainable energy and it generates a token."

"Physically-based modeling adds new levels of representation to graphics objects. In addition to geometry — forces, torques, velocities, accelerations, kinetic and potential energies, heat, and other physical quantities are used to control the creation and evolution of models. Simulated physical laws govern model behavior, and animators can guide their models using physically-based control systems. Physically-based models are responsive to one another and to the simulated physical worlds that they inhabit."

"Physically-based techniques facilitate the creation of models capable of automatically synthesizing complex shapes and realistic motions that were, until recently, attainable only by skilled animators, if at all."

"I would like to talk about deformable models, which are physically-based models of nonrigid objects. I have worked on deformable models for graphics applications primarily with Kurt Fleischer and also with John Platt and Andy Witkin. Deformable models are based on the continuum mechanics of flexible materials. Using deformable models, we can model the shapes of flexible objects like cloth, plasticine, and skin, as well as their motions through space under the action of forces and subject to constraints."

"Learning to embrace being The Fool is not all-or-nothing. You can ramp into it, starting with smaller bites if that helps you get started."

"Your annoying classmate who asked a lot of “stupid” questions—they might just have been strengthening their understanding of the fundamentals and not worried about how it sounded when they ask. Being The Fool in a smaller way at first."

"Here is a simulated physical world — a very simple world consisting of a room with walls and a floor. A spherical obstacle rests in the middle of the floor. You’re seeing the collision of an elastically deformable solid with the sphere. Of course, we’re also simulating gravity."

"We have a monetary system and fiat system that is quite ancient and not digital and does not reap the benefits of what digital tech and cryptography can do. The rate of innovation and change is only accelerating so it is just a matter of time before we shift to a highly decentralized and digital system with cryptographic proofs and other kinds of mechanisms to verify transactions and services. You are seeing that already in the rapid uptake of crypto currencies in different jurisdictions around the world: Singapore, Switzerland, Luxembourg, UK, Russia. There is lots of activity in China but the government there is a wildcard in this. We are seeing the beginnings of a new international financial system. Right now there are lots of issues around the technology and it is in an early phase but in my experience I have never seen such rapid speed of innovation. Every week something changes. Decentralization is starting to take place. If you can avoid and control the inflation and bubble manipulation then you are creating a much more accurate, more transparent system than you have currently because you can have analytics and artificial intelligence looking at every pattern in hyper real-time speed."

"You made it, graduates! You finished the tutorial level! You know how to work the controls. The game of life doesn’t come with a clear mission so you’re in explore mode now. Or survival mode depending on how you’re feeling."

"I certainly fit all the characteristics of one. I’m happy to take high levels of risk, I understand impact and scale. I can see the direction trends are moving and that’s crucial, because if you get in front of the curve, you’ll benefit. My motivation has never been about financial success. It’s always been about making an impact that changes whole industries."

"I get that the world may not feel like your oyster. And I’m not going to tell you that everything is going to be okay. But I am going to get specific about the benefits of approaching life with optimism, excitement, humility, and curiosity."

"If you’re the main income earner or you’ve got children and dependencies, the chance you’ll take a risk is probably quite low. But as the kids get older or you get more equity behind you, your risk profile changes. What we do know is that entrepreneurs are most successful when they start a business in their 40s. Perhaps it’s their life stage and experience that means they can more easily understand what it takes to be an entrepreneur."

"100% you can learn the behaviours of an entrepreneur. The one thing that’s hard for people is to develop an appetite for risk. All the other elements of evaluating businesses, seeing opportunities, understanding how to scale, reading business cases and spotting possibilities for expansion – you can learn all those things, they’re fairly formulaic. Once you’ve got those skills sorted, you need to know the sector – to understand the market space and competitor environment. The risk taking however is a very personal aspect and in part, circumstantial."

"Not because things can’t go wrong but because the rest of your life - this thing you’re about to go make - is the ultimate act of creation. And the mindset you bring to that creation process will determine the journey you create and how you experience that journey. Getting your mindset right is the hardest and most rewarding thing you will ever do, and it takes a lifetime to get right."

"I’m always thinking, what are we trying to do? What would it take to make it happen? What are the things we can or cannot manage, and how do we manage the rest to make sure we get there?”"

"I’ve always been someone to make things happen. I get up every day and look at what we’re trying to do and what we want to achieve,”"

"Don’t incur debt. Don’t give up equity and make customers token holders. There will be a lot of new options for public financing. Underwriting will be dramatically different."

"The Fool is setting out on an adventure, looking up as he steps off of a literal cliff into the figurative unknown. With almost no belongings, no protection, no idea where the journey will take him. Seeing the unknowns not as something to be avoided or controlled but as itself the source of the magic to be found. The essence of The Fool is potential. Just like each of you in this moment."

"Tokens are a very powerful way of distributing control. How many companies will make the shift to a token-based economy? Big companies coming from China like Tencent and Alibaba understand it. The old industrial companies will fight it. They may win some battles but they won’t be able to compete because of the way they are organized. The net of this is not an easy message. Corporations like to think about change being incremental and they don’t like it when I tell them that in this case it won’t be."

"Work on something you care deeply about. The bumps are easier if succeeding will benefit others. An extraordinary entrepreneur friend of mine, Priv Bradoo, shared some great advice she got from a male mentor. He said that to succeed, you need a big ego. If you don’t have a big ego, you need a strong sense of purpose to compensate."

"Depersonalise it. We all feel hesitant. If you’re unconvinced, read the studies on ‘imposter syndrome’ amongst senior executives. Get in the ring. It’s the only way to find out what your abilities really are – and to start improving them."

"It is a huge honour but you don’t do this work to receive an award but when you do it makes you reflect"

"The number and the enormity of important problems that exist to be solved – and the brief time and chance each have to help solve them."

"I hate generalisations around particular traits or characteristics – even if there is some truth in them. Diversity per se, is generally a good thing – reducing the risk of ‘group think’, for one and bringing more women into business is a powerful way to increase diversity."

"If you don’t understand what is happening on the farm, it is very hard. You have to get the whole value chain working.”"

"Alongside breaking-down the barriers to investing, Sharesies is focused on creating an inclusive work culture with a workforce that is representative of all Aotearoa."

"The opportunities need to be shared a lot more. That’s why we created Sharesies - to make it really easy for people to get into investing, and to help them feel confident and motivated as investors."

"With the technology available today, there’s no reason why access to wealth development should be so unequal."

"Would you be content using only 50% of your brain, if you could instead use 100%? Similarly, any rational society surely profits from deploying in its economy 50% more of its human capacity and potential."

"I am inspired by nature and appreciate the peace I experience when spending time outdoors, whether hiking in the mountains or walking alongside a river or the ocean. When we stop and pay attention, we notice that nature moves at its own pace, and there is no rushing. Nature teaches us resilience, patience, and the beauty of timing."

"The Minister put me in as the meat industry person because I think he wanted a different view other than the traditional leaders of the big commodity businesses, which were huge,”"

"Back in the late ‘90s, we were quite instrumental in the wool handling game, always striving to be better, and you start to realise how much the sporting environment can impact on your life. The physical and mental sharpness, taking care of the engine room – they’re very transferrable skills that I definitely took into my business career."

"Absolutely. When you enjoy that competitive spirit, you end up taking it with you wherever you go. In my school days I loved basketball, but when I had kids I couldn’t go to practice, but I started to get that hunger for adrenalin again."

"Just be yourself, and trust yourself. I have often said, ‘Think with your head, feel with your heart and trust your puku, your gut’. You see bright young things out of university who have the theory and a plan all set, but it can be difficult if you don’t have empathy, and you can’t feel with your heart. I also tell her ‘make sure you know where your weaknesses are, and make sure you have a plan around them’."

"We placed a huge focus on ecommerce and digital marketing, both financially and strategically. This is our fastest growing revenue stream for the business and we are able to see a justified return on marketing spend and activity making it a really interesting and important part of our future growth."

"Bravery, ambition, empowerment, nurturing, passion, drive, optimism, joy, collaboration, vision, celebration, encouragement, pioneering, and kindness."

"Finding calm amidst the hustle and bustle of city life can be a challenge, especially if you work in a busy environment and endure a daily commute. After teaching yoga and meditation for a few years, personal circumstances forced me back into an office role, and I found myself suffering from anxiety. Sleep became a challenge, leaving me unrested. I felt misunderstood, started losing confidence, and doubted my ability to perform my job even though I had previously held more senior roles."

"Creating a platform that will make women’s lives easier. My mum faced so many barriers juggling her work and family life. I look at all she’s managed to build, and I wonder how much easier things could have been if she didn’t have to deal with severe period pain or hormonal acne every month.”"

"Meanwhile, men live in a world where periods are still a taboo topic. Because of this, in most workplaces, periods are invisible. The flow-on effect? The conversation about reproductive wellness is quiet and slow. Women often feel afraid to share that they’re pregnant with their employer. These barriers need to change.”"