It’s described as more art than science; less logical and more intuitive; and it often relies on following one’s instincts rather than a structured plan. The entrepreneurship is one of the most celebrated concepts in American culture. But no matter how an individual or group decides to approach an entrepreneurship, the end goal is the same: bringing an idea or innovation to life with hard work and determination.
Whether you’re a seasoned startup veteran or simply trying to get your first venture off the ground, the following videos can provide doses of inspiration from entrepreneurs who have seen their ideas sprout, grow, and flourish.
And without further ado, watch the top 10 videos on entrepreneurship from FORA.tv.
#10: Google’s Sergey Brin on the Future of Google
Google has come a long way from its entrepreneurial origins at Stanford University. The tech giant has since grown at a seemingly exponential rate and now offers a range of products that many of us couldn’t do without in our daily lives. In our first video of this top 10, Brin discusses Google’s current projects like Android and Chrome, as well as the competition they face from sites like Facebook and Bing.
#9: CrowdOptic CEO Jon Fisher: Entrepreneurship Doesn’t Mean a Lifetime of Sacrifice
In the first of his two appearances in our top 10, Jon Fisher counters the argument that entrepreneurs must “build to last” in Silicon Valley. Fisher declares that entrepreneurs should not be forced to bear the burden of high expectations and a “lifetime of pain and sacrifice.”
#8: Is There Such Thing as a Free Lunch in Business?
Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails capitalized on offering their music for free, and Google lets us search, e-mail and use all kinds of free applications. Low-cost digital publishing could even save newspapers. WIRED’s Chris Anderson explains the recent phenomenon of making lots of money by charging nothing. Is everything moving toward “free now, pay later”? What are the consequences?
#7: Entrepreneurship Can Change the World for the Better
Eli Broad is a classic example of an American entrepreneur, having built two Fortune 500 companies from the ground-up. Now, he has turned his attention to philanthropy that uses entrepreneurship to improve the public good in education, science and the arts. Broad explains how he has used “venture philanthropy” to benefit museums and help drive scientific advances.
#6: Gary Vaynerchuk: Emotionless Technology Has Crushed Old Media
Self-trained wine expert Gary Vaynerchuk has revolutionized the industry through the use of his unconventional and often irreverent commentary. Combined with his entrepreneurial spirit and foresight, he also uses social media tools like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to reach an untapped audience. However, Vaynerchuk does lament the loss of old media. “Follow the money,” he says, “entrepreneurs in new media are winning out.”
#5: Guy Kawasaki’s “No Bull Shiitake” Approach to Entrepreneurship
Apple evangelist and venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki has earned a notable reputation in Silicon Valley for sharing his provocative insights and commonsense practices for succeeding in today’s business world. He even offers a reality check for entrepreneurs seeking advice in everything from customer service and competition to marketing and social media– including Twitter, which Kawasaki says he has done wonders in “broadening his mind.”
#4: Here’s Why The World Needs Conscious Capitalism
Why are there 50 varieties of toothpaste on grocery store aisles? How does this fit into the world’s heightened awareness of the need for sustainable business practices? While entrepreneurship does means transforming ideas into an economic benefits, considering responsible growth is a growing concern in the minds of businesses and consumers alike– Conscious Capitalism seeks to engage us in that conversation (subscription required.)
#3: Jon Fisher: Know When to Seize a Window of Opportunity
The CrowdOptic CEO appears once again in our top 10 list, this time from an appearance at the Commonwealth Club. Fisher warned that missed opportunities by Web 2.0 companies such as Facebook and Twitter would make it harder for other businesses to access the liquidity they would need to get started, particularly in clean tech.
#2: Elon Musk: Who Says the Electric Car is Dead?
The “Big Three” automakers may have tried to kill the electric car, but the Tesla Motors chairman brought the concept roaring back to life with the Tesla Roadster: the first fully electric sports car. By founding SpaceX in 2002, Musk has set the entrepreneurial bar to even greater heights.
Had the humanist inventor and co-founder of Apple Computers not partnered with Steve Jobs to put the personal computer into every home in the United States, what would the technology landscape look like today? “Woz” tells his unique story in our #1 video on entrepreneurship from FORA.tv.
Steve Wozniak: How I Invented the Personal Computer from Book Passage on FORA.tv
Our ability to visualize these changes are thanks to Landsat– a project launched in 1972 with the mission of acquiring imagery of the Earth’s surface. A recent collaboration between Google Maps and TIME magazine was able to create a “timelapse” of Landsat satellite images between 1984 and 2012 that offers a stunning view of the good, the bad, and the ugly side of the human footprint on earth.