一位朋友曾形容我是这样的人：如果有谁告诉我某件事情不可能，那么我一周的工作时间会增加20小时，智商会提高20点。换句话说，我喜欢挑战。
企业家现在生活在一个充满挑战的年代。经济衰退产生了很多受害者，但这并不代表这个时候不适合创办公司，或创办公司注定会失败。
经济的确影响了每个人，但是如果想法真的不错，并且拥有坚定的信念，那么任何时候都是创办公司的好时机。然而，需要注意的是，当你准备成立一家公司时，尤其是科技公司，你必须接受可能要等几年产品才能真正进入市场的事实。因此，一旦宏观环境发生变化，过于考虑当前的经济背景意义就不大了。
忽略经济环境因素，有一段时间许多人认为我根本就不应该创办我的两家公司。当我的第一家公司Amati Communications成立时，当时的主流说法是手机线不可能传送视频信息。尽管被大多数人认为是疯了，我仍坚持认为通过铜质电话线可以实现高速、高容量信息的传输。这一点后来也被证实是对的。
最后，基于铜的DSL技术由想法变为现实，我的Amati公司最终以4亿4000万美元的价格卖给了德州仪器公司（Texas Instruments）。
我现在的公司ASSIA又面临着相似的情境，有些人并不清楚事情的本质，却质疑我的判断，说我疯了。反对ASSIA的典型观点认为，我们花费在DSL上的精力是在浪费时间，因为现在DSL已经被光纤所取代。
我的回答是：光纤要接入家庭这种话题已经被讨论了30年，但到目前为止还没有实现的迹象。相比之下，DSL拥有价值1200亿美元的全球市场，占全世界宽带市场份额的70%——比电缆和光纤加起来还要多。而ASSIA的软件可以帮助DSL的供应商更有效地利用他们的DSL网络。
作为一个成功的企业家，我常常被人问道如何判断哪些是好想法以及这些想法是否能够开一家可以盈利的公司？我的观点是很多好想法最终都没有成功，因为它们缺少所需的财政支持。我的意思是，如果你还不清楚你销售的产品是否有人真的需要，或者是否有人愿意掏钱买时，那就不要成立这家公司，不管市场有多火，也不管你的想法有多好。
另一个重要的考虑因素是时间。时间是非常重要的因素，但却常常被企业家所忽视。想法虽然不错，但是时机对吗？把想法变为产品需要哪些技术，这些技术现在还适用吗？想法在实现之前需要多长的准备时间？
甚至连最好的技术专家和最聪明的企业家都会低估从想法到公司盈利这中间需要等候的时间。正如他们所说，先数数先驱们身上的伤口，再去告诉他们你的想法吧。
作为企业家，我学到的最重要的经验之一是从来就没有什么固定的准则。能让你实现开公司梦想的商业或技术学历根本不存在。但这并不表示我反对通过正规教育成为企业家这一模式。
我曾在斯坦福大学教了好几年的电子工程，教学期间我告诉自己的学生，作为一个企业家，我在学校学到的每样东西都运用到实践中去了。其实我希望自己当时多学一些东西，这样我能运用到实践中的也多了。一个真正优秀的工程师和企业家会把所学悉数运用到实际中去，因为他们懂得如何利用在学校学到的知识。
企业家要学会的另一件事情是相信自己的决定。不要让任何人告诉你你错了，尤其是当你也怀疑自己的时候。一旦你相信自己的工作无论从技术还是商业上讲都是非常有意义的，就不要停止追求的步伐。不要仅仅因为经济环境不好或别人说你做错了就对自己产生怀疑。以我的经验，人们往往过于遵从传统的评判标准，而实际上那些标准通常是不正确的。唯一可以让你停下脚步的时候，是当你，且只有你，确信你的想法不会成功的时候。
我与工程师一起相处的时间很多——既有当我在自己的公司时，也有当我是IEEE的积极分子时。工程师一般对可能性和可操作性的判断很擅长，但是，作为一个团队，一些企业家需要具备的东西我们可能并不擅长。例如，工程师通常负责控制异常状况，他们非常精确，喜欢以固定的方式处理事情。这可能是为什么工程师数学都很好的原因。但是，需要时时控制的特点如果应用到企业家身上，可能就不那么合适了。
最好的企业家能够放开管理、信任他人。他们知道自己不可能把所有的事情都做了，所以他们只需制定明确的目标，然后自己退居二线，让员工去执行。工程师能够把自己掌握的技术以及高度的创新性和开放性带到公司，因此他们是我认为世界上最优秀的一部分企业家。戴维•帕卡德（David Packard），比尔•盖茨（Bill Gates）和史蒂夫•乔布斯（Steve Jobs）就是最好的例子，他们创办了世界上最好的几家公司。
还有一个问题是我不常碰到的：我的企业家的经验是否让我成为更优秀的工程师？是的，企业家的经验促使我提前思考如何更有效地利用时间，专注于那些最有可能给社会带来贡献的问题。没有任何事情比这些更重要了。
Here’s how a friend once described me: If you tell me something is impossible, my work week increases by 20 hours and my IQ elevates 20 points. In other words, I like a good challenge.
We currently live in challenging times for entrepreneurs. The economic downturn has claimed many victims. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t bother launching a new business, or that you are automatically doomed to failure.
The economy affects us all, but if you have a really good idea and believe in it, anytime is the right time to start a company. Keep in mind that when you launch a company, especially a technology company, it may be a few years before you actually bring products to market. So concern about the present economic climate may not be relevant once things start to happen for your business.
Regardless of the economic environment, many people thought I should never have started my two companies, period. When I launched my first company, Amati Communications, the prevailing wisdom was that phone lines could never carry video. Even though most people thought I was crazy, I correctly believed that high-speed, high-volume transmissions were feasible via copper telephone lines.
In the end, copper-based DSL technology did become a reality, and Amati was eventually sold for $440 million to Texas Instruments.
With my current company, ASSIA, once again people are telling me that I’m crazy, even though some of those folks should know better than to doubt me. The typical knock against ASSIA is that we are wasting our time on DSL now that fiber is taking over.
My response: People have been talking about fiber to the home for 30 years and it’s still not close to happening. By contrast, DSL is a $120 billion global market and it accounts for 70 percent of the world’s broadband — beating cable and fiber combined. And ASSIA’s software helps DSL providers make more productive use of their DSL networks.
As a successful entrepreneur, I’m often asked how I knew my ideas were good ones. How did I know they were strong enough to support a profitable company? My belief is that many good ideas never make it because they don’t have the proper financial impetus. By that I mean, it’s not clear that someone would actually need what you are selling or would be willing to pay for it. If that’s the case, don’t start the company, no matter how hot the market or how cool you think the idea is.
Another important consideration is time frame. Timing is so important, but it is often ignored by entrepreneurs. Is your idea the right one at the wrong time? What kinds of skill are needed to turn you idea into a product, and are those skills even available? And how long a runway do you need to get your idea off the ground?
Even the best technologist and smartest entrepreneurs tend to underestimate the time that it will take to turn their vision into a profitable enterprise. As they say, you can tell the pioneers by the number of arrows in their backs.
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned as an entrepreneur is that there is no set formula. There are no business or technical degrees you can earn to be a company leader. But that doesn’t mean I’m opposed to a formal education for entrepreneurs. Quite the contrary.
I taught electrical engineering at Stanford for many years. I tell my students that, as an entrepreneur, I use everything I learned in school. In fact, I wish I had learned more so I could use that too. A really good engineer, a really good entrepreneur uses everything because they figured out how to apply what they learned in school.
Another thing entrepreneurs need to learn is to trust their gut. Never let someone else tell you that you are wrong, especially if you don’t believe it yourself. If you trust that what you’re working on makes both technical and business sense, don’t stop pursuing it. Don’t doubt yourself just because the economy is bad or because people are saying you’re on the wrong path. In my experience, people listen too much to conventional wisdom, and often that wisdom is incorrect. The only time to stop is when you, and only you, are convinced your idea won’t work.
I spend a lot of time with engineers – both within my company and as an active IEEE member. Engineers in particular are good at knowing what is possible and what isn’t – what will work and what won’t. But, as a group, we’re not so good at some of the other things that make exceptional entrepreneurs. For instance, engineers are often control freaks. They like exactitude. They like things to be done in a certain way. That’s probably why engineers are so good at math. But that need to always be in control doesn’t translate well to entrepreneurship.
The best entrepreneurs are able to let go and trust others. They know they can’t do it all themselves. They are able to articulate the goals, and then stand back as the people they’ve hired go out and execute. Engineers, who can bring their technical skills to the table, as well as a high degree of creativity and openness, are in my mind some of the best entrepreneurs in the world. Look no further than David Packard, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. They created some of the greatest companies in the world.
Here’s a question I don’t often get: has my experience as an entrepreneur made me a better engineer? Yes, it has forced me to think in advance about how to best use my time and to focus on problems that have the greatest possible chance of contributing to society. And nothing is more important than that.
