Stanford Entrepreneurship Videos

Rebecca Lynn of Canvas Ventures shares a lesson learned earlier in her career while working at a startup flush with venture-capital funding. In one day, the company lost 98 percent of its value because it failed to adjust to its improved financial standing. "When you can take some money off the table, you should do it," Lynn says.

Rebecca Lynn, partner at Canvas Ventures, explains how the power of a positive attitude can turn what may seem like a catastrophe into a catalyst for action. Ranked No. 23 on the 2015 Forbes "Midas List" of 100 top tech investors, Lynn quotes a colleague's advice about fundraising: "When you want advice, ask for money; and when you want money, ask for advice."

Canvas Ventures Partner Rebecca Lynn discusses the pros and cons of entrepreneurs who raise their own funds for a startup, versus seeking venture capital. She explains how only some startups can meet the scaling expectations that come with venture-capital investment, which also impose an “exit event” that founders will have to eventually face.

Rebecca Lynn of Canvas Ventures talks about how moments of cognitive dissonance can signal when to pay close attention to an idea. Considering the many pitches she has heard over the years, Lynn says those that have challenged or changed how she thought about something were the ones that interested her most.

Rebecca Lynn, partner and founder at Canvas Ventures, shares her unlikely journey from the humble farming town of her childhood to the hotbed of technology innovation, fueled by engineering talent, entrepreneurial drive and solid guidance from mentors. Lynn describes her strategy for investing and observations about the world of venture capital.

Intuit Co-Founder Scott Cook shares the story of stepping down as CEO of the company after 11 years. He describes how leaders who subject themselves to the same performance reviews as their subordinates may well discover shortcomings that stand in the way of personal and organizational growth. Cook underscores how essential coaching is to addressing weaknesses.

Intuit Co-Founder Scott Cook describes how the financial software company went from struggling startup to runaway market leader by staying focused on the customer and iterating and embracing surprises along the way. In a free-form talk guided by audience questions, Cook shares advice on leadership, perseverance and professional growth.

Intuit Co-Founder Scott Cook describes how he surveyed the market for personal-finance software before entering in the early 1980s, testing the bestselling product at the time and gathering input from people on their interest and actual use. “They liked the proposition. They hated the product,” Scott recalls.

Scott Cook, co-founder of Intuit, explains how user testing has always been at the core of the business from the outset. As competitors differentiated themselves by offering more features, Scott says Intuit stayed focused on what customers cared about most: ease of use.

Intuit's Scott Cook illustrates the importance of welcoming unexpected results by describing how the company’s foray into small-business bookkeeping was delayed by years because the company failed to ask why customers repeatedly responded in surveys that they used its personal-finance software at work.

Scott Cook, co-founder of Intuit and chair of its executive committee, talks about how a company that encourages experimentation will be guided by the best outcomes, as opposed to the whims of those with the most power and seniority. A leader's role, Cook says, is to define the vision, set up a system of experimentation and savor the surprises.

Lyndon Rive, Co-Founder and CEO of SolarCity, and Tim Draper, founding parter of the venture capital firm DFJ, discuss the clean-energy company's mission to save the planet while exploring the many aspects of its business, from the science of solar power to the need for better government incentives and policies.

In conversation with DFJ Founding Partner Tim Draper, SolarCity Co-Founder and CEO Lyndon Rive describes how the drive to help humanity and Earth connects him with his fellow South African and cousin, Elon Musk. "At the end of the day, if the only outcome is financial, that gets old," Rive says. "You want something that can get you more motivated."

SolarCity Co-Founder and CEO Lyndon Rive explains how incentives put in place by the U.S. government helped establish the clean-energy market. In conversation with DFJ Founding Partner Tim Draper, Rive also discusses the importance of taxpayer subsidies on residential and business customers, and of the need for more comprehensive laws penalizing polluters.

Lyndon Rive, co-founder and CEO of SolarCity, talks about how international expansion is often challenged by nations that subsidize the fossil fuel industry, especially in the developing world, as a way to prop up weak economies. Tim Draper, founding partner of the venture capital firm DFJ, comments on how commonly entrepreneurs clash with incumbents when entering new markets.