Dr. Michael Goldsby,
Directory of Entrepreneurship
Miller College of Business
Ball State University
on "Creativity, Innovation , and Entrepreneurship: It All Starts with a Mouse"
1. Defines creativity--doing something different that is accepted
2. Innovation--bringing ideas into reality that change a domain
2.1 first enterprise to make a given technical change is an innovator; following ones are imitators
3. Entrepreneurship--finding and developing new sources of income or revenue
3.1 new new = new products and services
3.2 new old = new markets for existing products and services
3.3 management/optimization versus entrepreneurship
4. Entrepreneurs find, develop, and exploit opportunities to bring in new sources of revenue
5. Entrepreneurship education:
5.1 preparation
5.2 knowing what to do when opportunity arises
6. Opportunity + preparation + luck
Pasteur: "Chance favors those with a prepared mind."
6.1 see Malcolm Gladwell book, "Outliers"
7. See "Talent is Overrated" by Jeff Colbin, book
7.1 Business opportunity comes from having a background in an area that lines up with the right timing and social contacts.
8. BOTH luck and social contacts are critical, especially in mentors, allies, supporters
9. "Big success is greatly affected by what seem like luck and chance events.
9.1 "huge home run really is hard work and luck"
10. Walt Disney "greatest entrepreneur in the 20th century"
10.1 Disney not the best animator, yet had talent for building the business, and finding animators; grew company during Great Depression, after beginning in 1926
10.2 Walt + Roy Disney married two animators, and made the business as a family business
10.3 put all on business on "Snow White" a full-length animation
10.4 went into television--"Mickey Mouse Club"
10.5 for Disneyland, hired former Navy admiral Howe, used to shipbuilding projects
10.6 Your projects don't have to be perfect--see YouTube on opening day of Disneyland; four times as many people showed up as expected; Ronald Reagan was host, with Art Linkletter
10.7 first thing they built was the castle--a symbol, when the place was just being built; Disney didn't really become wealthy till after Disneyland was built
10.8 then went to Florida, bought more land surrounding than in Disneyland; Orlando Florida, 29,500 acres (only half are developed at present); bought from name, "Walter Disney" spelled backwards
10.9 EPCOT -- Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow; Disney didn't have a chance to see it come to fruition, but Roy Disney did.
10.10 Disney: "I hope we don't lose sight of one thing--it was all started by a mouse."
11.0 Next entrepreneur story = Steve Jobs
11.1 Steve Jobs, orphan; adopted, but lived near Bill Packard of H-P, who gave old computers to play with
11.2 Jobs and Wozniak built Apple starting 01 April 1976; not a great time in economy
11.3 "Calvin and Jobs" based on Jobs
11.4 Apple fired Jobs in 1980s; he buys graphics group from George Luckas; John Lassiter animator draws desk lamp as movie "Luxo, Jr." and begins as symbol for Pixar Animation Studios; see YouTube chess game animation; got Academy Award; then "Toy Story" was their big hit (distributed by Disney); then "Bugs Life" and "Finding Nemo" (made $800Million)
11.5 finally Disney corp had to buy Pixar--Jobs is the biggest Pixar shareholder
12.0 Tips for beginning technology entrepreneurs
12.1 start with what you're really interest in
12.2 what public domain holds this interest?
12.3 who is the typical customer in this domain? (see Proctor & Gamble for work on understanding customer)--must start with customer, not with technology
12.4 what problems do they really have?
12.5 what solution can you offer them?
12.6 don't get caught up only in uniqueness or complexity
12.7 create and execute (get creators and executors to actually work and work together)
13.0 Lessons for experienced entrepreneurs--
13.1 Never forget your mouse.
13.2 Business is a human enterprise. People want to be around people who are passionate
13.3 "Dream and do!"