From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
When you're identifying talent in music or other industries- one of the most important things to identify is which of those individuals is able to marry talent with extraordinary drive.
You can't say, 'I want to change things, I want to lead!' and then say, 'I never want to be wrong, and I never want to fail…' There's no easy answer other than the fact that you have to see the conflict in your own mind and make your own choice.
My mother's unbelievable parenting in deploying enormous self-esteem and confidence meant I believed in myself in a way that was blind. The best entrepreneurs are the most optimistic and completely out of tune with reality right? Why would you do it otherwise. My father made me a word-is-bond, word-is-everything, shake a hand and stick to it kinda' guy. That combined with blind faith and belief has become an amazing concoction and something I live-off even today.
Having a strong brand identity is essential. With the evolving retail landscape and the impact of technology, the customer is becoming more and more savvy. They want brands they can trust, brands with a sense of integrity and individuality that they associate with quality, craftsmanship and authenticity.
If this wasn't a huge opportunity, I wouldn't waste my time- most of our investors wouldn't. If we were producing luxury meat that is only aimed at Michelin Star restaurants. The number of people that can afford to eating Michelin star restaurants is relatively few, you're not going to make an impact on the climate, you're not going make an impact on the future of our kids.
You can look at building a startup much like a resource management game. In the world of startups, the things that really matter are talent and capital! If you have a large supply of talent, and a lot of capital, you'll win every time.
My favourite question when evaluating a startup idea is, 'Is this from the future?' I'm not interested in your ideas about the future; I want to understand why you are living in it today. Why are you living in a different future right now than other people are?
You have to take bullsh** and turn it into fertiliser.
Entrepreneurship is a way of life. For me, entrepreneurship has always been about being a builder. Whether it's about undiscovered artists or working with companies pre-launch, the build process is what attracts me.
27 years ago, when I started in UFC, I knew it was going to be one of the biggest things in sports- honestly. All the excitement we used to get from watching those movies we can now watch in reality. UFC really captures you… it captures hearts and minds.
The end of an X-Prize is the beginning of a new market, or a new market opportunity. We are nothing more than a distinct channel to that market.
I'd never even heard the word 'entrepreneur' growing up – I didn't know what that meant. If I go back to my grandfather – he was the real entrepreneur. He developed things… he made spiked running shoes when he was only 15 (in 1895!).