[2-minute meeting]
by Beth Ewen
?You can?t predict,?
YouTube co-founder
tells St. Thomas crowd
Jawed Karim was a hot commodity when he spoke at a University of St. Thomas panel discussion this spring.
A graduate of St. Paul Central High School and now at Stanford University, he co-founded in 2005 YouTube, the service that allows people to broadcast and share their videos via the Web. Google Inc. announced its acquisition of YouTube in October 2006 for $1.65 billion.
Karim said he and his partners started YouTube with a much different idea. ?One lesson: It?s only in rare cases that a business or product ends up how it was envisioned,? he said. ?You can?t predict how people will react to it.?
He cited his earlier venture, PayPal, as an example. ?We got a close look at an evolutionary product at PayPal. It started as a way to beam money between PalmPilots. Only 5,000 people did that.
?The management team took another look at the product and we in 1999 developed a Web interface. It was still a payment exchange service. PayPal immediately exploded on eBay, and this was a total surprise to PayPal.
?YouTube was launched April 23, 2005, as a dating Web site based on video. The Web site would pick a random video for you to watch. You couldn?t choose. We did this because we looked at hotornot.com.
?People uploaded video but all sorts of videos, like their dogs or their cars ? not good for dating. In June '05 we stepped back and took a new look at the product and we looked at how people were using it.?
In response, they opened up the interface to allow people to broadcast themselves, and they added a window called ?related videos,? that users could click to watch other clips of interest.
?And there went the productivity of the American workforce,? quipped a fellow panelist, Robert Stephens of The Geek Squad.
Karim?s main lessons:
?One, you have to adjust the product as you go along. Put it out there and adjust. You can?t force it on people.?
Two, many innovative products are a combination of components.
Three, timing is important. ?Whether your idea will succeed is largely a matter of external forces,? he said. ?For example, why did people create so many videos in 2004? Because it became cheap enough to incorporate video into digital cameras.?
Try to make it to: Cate Dobyns, Kohnstamm Communications Inc., which organized the event, can list many faculty and other resources for business owners at the University of St. Thomas College of Business: 651.228.9141; cate@kohnstamm.com; www.kohnstamm.com
?Ugly? businesses are best,
says Geek Squad?s founder
at U of St. Thomas panel
?There are two businesses in the world: glamorous and unglamorous,? said Robert Stephens, founder of The Geek Squad, the computer repair company, which he puts squarely in the latter category.
?My business was be nice, shower once a week, and oh yeah, fix computers,? he said, as a panelist on a University of St. Thomas discussion this spring. ?I?m here to tell you: Go for the ugly businesses. There?s nobody creative so you can do a lot.?
Stephens started The Geek Squad in 1994 as a college student, and sold it to Best Buy in 2002. He remains with the world?s largest electronics retailer. He advises that people wait to take the money, however.
In the early days of his company, he would bike around town to fix computers for people in their homes. ?I had a wealthy client, and he said, how much money do you want? I said $5 million ? I rounded it up,? Stephens said.
?He said, 'I?ll write you a check right now if you can break it down,' and I couldn?t even get past like $65,000,? Stephens said, to loud laughter from the audience. ?Don?t take the money. Try and go as long as you can so you can experiment and move.?
Stephens said he believes Best Buy and The Geek Squad have a long way to go to improve customer service. ?I?m on like Chapter 3 of this story. We?re still making it up as we go along.?
Try to make it to: Panel sponsor was the University of St. Thomas College of Business, at Schulze Hall, which hosts many programs for entrepreneurs: 651.962.4600; www.stthomas.edu/mgmtctr
?Take care of customers?
is business plan for
NAWBO owner of year
?It comes natural for us to be caretakers,? said Mary Sue Leathers, referring to women in a crowd of mostly women at the National Association of Women Business Owners Annual Awards Gala in the spring.
?My first business plan was to do that: Take care of my customers. And that?s still the business plan.?
Leathers is president and CEO of Advantage Performance Network, which handles travel management and performance improvement for clients.
Leathers recalls a time when company expense accounts were loose and business travel was heavy; when you could breeze through security; when people could meet you at the gate.
?Those days are gone,? she said. When asked why she's still in the travel business, ?My response is I have the best employees you could ask for and I love what I do.?
Leathers was named NAWBO Woman Business Owner of the Year.
Thanks to: Dee Thibodeau, co-CEO of Charter Solutions, hosted the Informer and many business notables at several tables.
Try to make it to: NAWBO Connection, a networking event, is Oct. 10, 4:30-7:30 p.m., at the Metropolitan Ballroom in Golden Valley: info@nawbo-mn.org; www.nawbo-mn.org
National policies matter
to Minnesota?s rank in
?new economy? index
Minnesota ranks 11th in the 2007 State New Economy Index. That?s a ranking of all states in their ability to adapt to the new economy, presented by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), Washington, D.C., and the Kauffman Foundation, Kansas City.
A panel of experts gathered at the Kelly Inn in St. Paul this spring to discuss Minnesota?s ranking and ways to improve it.
“The right policy choices in the state, along with the presence of leading educational institutions, a high percentage of citizens using the Internet, and the presence of tech firms have helped Minnesota adapt well to the new economy,” said Robert Atkinson, president of ITIF.
?However, there is always room for improvement,? he said. National policies, especially, ?cannot be ignored as they are critical to making sure the right environment exists for entrepreneurs here and in other regions to excel.?
Try to make it to: The Tekne Awards are Nov. 1, presented by the Minnesota High Tech Association and Minnesota Technology Inc., two of the organizations that also hosted this panel discussion: 952.230.4554; info@tekneawards.org; www.mhta.org
