PRAKASH NARAYAN

Apr. 23, 2024

What to expect at MentorConnect: Do’s and Don’ts for Mentees

This year, at TiEcon 2024, we have brought together a fantastic group of luminaries who are willing to Mentor you in a near one-on-one setting. All of our Mentors are rock stars. We certainly hope that you derive the most out of this program. This blog post is intended to provide you the resources to navigate your time with the Mentor of your choice.

Mentors can provide their wisdom on management leadership skills, career success factors, industry insights, communication skills, best practices, and more. This is not an opportunity to “sell” your product / services to them.

You can find the details on all the Mentors (including their LinkedIn profiles) in the MentorConnect page. Here is a blog post that provides more information about Entrepreneur programs at TiEcon24.

MentorConnect takes place during lunch from 12:30 to 1:30 pm on Thursday, May 2nd and Friday, May 3rd at Hall A-1 (inside the Expo Hall). Volunteers of the MentorConnect Steering Committee will guide you to your table when you arrive at the location.

We have tried our best to allot a mentor of your choice to you. The slots are allocated on a first-come-first-serve basis. Please do not switch from the mentor allotted to you.

Suggested Questions

Some of you have requested that we post “suggested questions” – to help you get started in your Mentoring Session. While these questions may help “break the ice”, please prepare for your Mentoring Session by writing down your questions in advance. Also, pace your questions. Please be respectful of the other people in the session. We have restricted the number of people per session to allow for deep and meaningful conversations. Please also be aware that not all questions are relevant / meaningful to all the Mentors. Each Mentor has a certain skill set and value. Clearly, you selected them as your choice based on the values that are meaningful to you.

1. What do you do to challenge your underlying beliefs, paradigms and assumptions?
2. How do you handle obstacles and roadblocks?
3. What would be your advice to those who start late in their career as an entrepreneur?
4. What do you wish you had known before taking your first management role?
5. Can you tell me about a time when you had a difficult boss? How did you handle the situation?
6. What’s the most important leadership lesson you’ve learned and how has it proven invaluable?
7. How do I prepare to be an entrepreneur (which invariably means trade-offs and sacrifices at many levels) against the comforts of a relatively steady job and also the demands of a certain quality of life? (mortgage, private schools, vacations, etc.)
8. How important are networking and building relationships in the entrepreneurial journey, and what strategies do you recommend for effective networking?
9. How do you go about validating your ideas?
10. How do you stay resilient in the face of setbacks or failures, and what lessons have you learned from overcoming challenges in your entrepreneurial journey?
11. How much capital does an entrepreneur need to raise in order to get started with operations?
12. What are some of the successful marketing strategies that you have seen companies use in the early days to target consumers?
13. What are your suggestions to early-stage start-ups as to the thresholds and criteria they must demonstrate before being considered for investment?
14. How is valuation determined for seed startups?
15. How and where do you find inspiration?
16. How do you keep your feelings separate from your decision-making?
17. How do you balance your work and home life?
18. What skills have been most beneficial to you?
19. Do you have a mentor? How have they influenced you?
20. How do you encourage innovative ideas?

Lastly, please be respectful of the Mentors. They have been kind enough to offer their time from their busy schedules to participate in this program.

While "walk-ins" are allowed (as long you have a receipt for "proof of payment" for the MentorConnect AddOn), you will have limited ability to get a Mentor of your choice. We recommend that you register in advance  - so that we can communicate with you to have the opportunity to select a Mentor for each day of the Conference.

We certainly hope that you have an enjoyable experience at TiEcon 2024.

Tackle the monkey first

I am a regular weekend biker. I have no intention to participate in any race / do competitive biking. Nevertheless, I had set myself a few targets when I started doing this a couple of years  ago:

1. Bike for 62 miles (100 km) in a single riding session
2. Reach a total elevation of 2500 ft during a single session
3. Hit 30 mph (48 Kmph) during a single session

While I was not "tracking" these goals, I would examine the analysis after each ride (on the Strava app). A few weeks back, I noticed that I came very close to meeting the third goal (on speed) - my Max speed was 29.7 mph

I was at the Spring Mixer event conducted by ATEA (at FalconX, Milpitas) yesterday. The event included a panel on "Entrepreneurship Success" moderated by serial entrepreneur, Subbu Meiyappan. One of the panelists, Kirthika Padmanabhan works for X, the Moonshot factory (a division of Alphabet). She talked about the secrets of taking moonshots. The first one is to "Tackle the Monkey first". That is, for a task of placing a monkey, that can recite Shakespeare, on a pedestal; one should tackle the monkey first. Don't spend your efforts to build the pedestal.

Now, this was not the first time I had heard this. We have all seen the famous Steven Covey "Big Rock" video. Somehow, the image of the monkey was stuck in my head when I set out for my bike ride earlier this morning. I looked at the analysis of the earlier ride again. I noticed that I hit the speed of 29.7 mph towards the end of my ride - when I was more fatigued. So, I decided to "tackle the monkey first" and do that section of the ride first - when my legs were more fresh.

I hit my target of 30 mph this time. Not only that, I was energized to tackle more slopes. As a result, I had many more 20+ mph segments.

I hope all of you are able to tackle the monkey first in your respective projects / missions / goals / efforts.

Open letter to Trump supporters

Just before the RNC, I posted an open letter to the GOP - asking them not to nominate Donald Trump for the second term. Obviously, it fell on deaf ears. I am hoping that this letter (to Trump's supporters) has better results.

Recently, I posted this picture (which is basically a tweet from Max Von Essen back in Feb, 2020) to a few groups (that includes folks that are both left-leaning and right-leaning)

Now, you will all agree there is no mention of Donald Trump anywhere in this tweet. Yet, the right-leaning folks came out in full force saying, "Trump is running against Biden, not Pelosi". So, the fundamental premise that they are aligned with is that everything in this message applies to Trump.

Let us just stop here for a second. Everything in that message above applies to Trump. If that is the case, why do you still support Trump. Why do want this egotistical, misogynistic, ignorant, racist, megalomaniac become our President for the second term? He ran his campaign on the slogan, "Make America Great Again". All he has done (in his first term) is "Make America Hate Again". The Hate and contempt that existed during the World War 1 era (which resulted in the passing of the Sedition Act of 1918) is being rekindled by Donald Trump's rhetoric. We should be ashamed that we have let ourselves get to this point. Enough is enough. Let us stop this nonsense now.

On top of all of this, there is the recent news (just this week) of his abject ineptitude / incompetence:

• His referring to Americans who died in war as losers and suckers (FYI - the original article was validated by Fox News)
• His knowledge (in February) about the dangers of the Coronavirus
• His anti-protest vitriol inspiring 17-year old Kyle Rittenhouse to shoot and kill innocent protesters

All this points to one thing and one thing only. Trump only cares about himself and getting reelected. He does not care for his supporters. He will fleece you for everything that you are worth and abandon you when he sees no value in you. This is evidenced even at the level of Republican Governors of Red States. If he attacks Republican Governors for not toeing his line, he is, most certainly, apathetic to the plight of his followers.

The call to action to all of you is to abandon this despot as soon as possible. Let us work towards rebuilding this country again. Here is just a subset of the damage done to the country since Trump took office:

• Environment - this is but one example whereTrump proposed major changes to the Environmental Protection Act.
• Collusions with Russia - within 48 hours of the (Republican majority) Senate acquitting the President, Trump fired EU Ambassador Gordon Sindland and Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman - since they had testified in the president's impeachment trial.
• White Supremacy, Racism, Homophobia, Xenophobia. In a tweet, Trump called two Supreme Court ruling - once protecting young immigrants from deportation, the other depending gay and transgender workers - "shotgun blasts into the face of people that are proud to call themselves Republicans or Conservatives."
• Policy. Trump diverted $3.6 billion from Defense spending to the construction of his border wall. He declared a national emergency in Feb 2019 so that they money could be reallocated.
• Harassment and bullying. To those that planned to protest at his rally in Tulsa (in June 2020), he tweeted "Any protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle, or Minneapolis. It will be a much different scene!"

This list is only a small subset of the atrocities committed by Donald Trump in the last four years. Four more years of this will result in the US getting relegated in the world's eyes.

Do not let that happen. This is not about politics. This about morality and core values and standing up for what is right. A decent person stands up to bullies and commits to what is right, moral, ethical and decent. 

Abandon this ship now. 

Open Letter to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris

In the recently concluded RNC - the refrain was that Biden's America would result in a break down of Law and Order. The lack of stance (beyond condemning the "needless violence") on the recent unrests in Kenosha, Wisconsin has seemingly left the Biden Campaign flat footed. The public needs to see an appropriate response from the Biden Campaign NOW. Voters (especially in the swing states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan) need assurances.

Several actions come to mind.

1.  Visit with the family of the victims (yes, black and white) in Kenosha. There has to be a categorical statement made that doesn’t leave any doubt as to which side of Law and Order this campaign stands on.

2.  Send as many campaign staff as possible into Kenosha (amongst other cities including Seattle and Portland where violence still rages from riots).  Help (physically) clean up the damage.  Call for volunteers in these cities to help in the clean up effort.

3.  Stand with the store fronts that are being looted.  State firmly to rioters that destruction of property is not the right way.

4. Praise the NBA and WNBA players for their protests.  Trump came out decrying their protest.  This is perfect.  Praise these players. Echo President Obama's sentiment that they should form a social justice committee to ensure that the players' and league's actions this week lead to sustained, meaningful engagement on criminal justice and social reform.

5.  Send out a strong message that shows that Trump's America is a dangerous and violent America - which promotes extremism and tolerates bigotry. Show that with Trump violence increases.  Blast Ads showing this message - to counter the lies that are being propagated right now by the RNC.

This is my plea to the Biden-Harris campaign.  I feel there is a grave danger if these riots are not addressed immediately.

Open Letter to the GOP

To: Chairperson of the RNC

Four years ago, I posted a blog requesting the GOP not to nominate Donald Trump. My cry in anguish fell on deaf ears. I really wish you had listened at that time and saved us the embarrassment of the last four years. Now, on the eve of the RNC, I am making a plea once again.

Here is a collage of reasons to be embarrassed of Donald Trump

A few weeks back, I started a collection of "Did he really say that?". This has grown week after week. The latest edition of this collection can be seen here.

Gerald Seib has eloquently written in the WSJ, how Trump has changed the Republicans. To quote Mr. Seib, "He turned Republicans away from four decades of Reagan-style, national greatness conservatism to a new gospel of populism and nationalism". As former President Barack Obama said in his speech at the DNC (from Philadelphia) on Aug 19th, Donald Trump has treated the White House like one more reality show.

I am not a "liberal lifer". If I voted in the Reagan-Mondale elections (in 1984), I would have voted for Reagan. Even in the Bush-Dukakis elections (in 1988), I would have voted for Bush. 

Allow me to spell out the specifics of why Trump should not be re-nominated:

• Russian collusion: Trump is caught up in the uncertainty of the Mueller investigation. The long-awaited report from the Senate Intelligence Committee contains dozens of new findings that appear to show more direct links between Trump associates and Russian intelligence
• Immigration:  Trump's stance on the border wall, child separation policies, and the Muslim ban –have drawn criticism and in some cases, been questioned by the courts
• Foreign Policy: Trump has cozied up to dictators in Russia and North Korea, he has pulled out of international agreements and dismissed our European allies
• Despicable record of arrests: In all, 14 Trump aides, donors and advisers have been indicted or imprisoned since the days when the first-time candidate promised that he would only hire "the best people." Senior members of Trump's campaign staff, Paul Manafort and Rick Gates; first national security adviser, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn; Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y and Former Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif; the list goes on and on ...

If you love our country, please do not nominate Donald Trump as the GOP candidate for the 2020 elections. Sen. Mitt Romney or Gov. John Kasich are far more worthy candidates. Trump is clearly the wrong choice for the American right.

Top 10 people of the People (Influencers) of the Decade

This is a continuation of the "Top 10" lists of the decade. The earlier posts are:

• Top Technology Disruptions
• Top Business News
• Top US News
• Top World News
• Top Medicine / Healthcare News

Here are the top 10 People of the last decade. Note: If the personality is already included in another list, they are not repeated here. For example, Barack Obama, Narendra Modi or Pope Francis would not be on this list. While the list has a predominant focus on Technology and Silicon Valley, it is not influenced by my bias. I truly believe these people were the top influencers of the last decade.

1. Steve Jobs. He died in October 2011. He is the pioneer of the personal computer. He is considered a visionary and genius. He oversaw the launch of revolutionary products like the iPod and iPhone. He literally brought the company from the brink of extinction to its current position of among the Most valuable companies int the world.

2. Satya Nadella. He was appointed Microsoft CEO when the company was teetering and the technology was shifting towards purchasing "best of breed" and cloud services. Nadella masterfully maneuvered the Microsoft ship in the direction of cooperation with the intent of solving customer pain points. Today, Microsoft is among the Top 5 most valuable companies in the world.

3. Sundar Pichai. He became CEO of Google (one of the world's top 5 brands and among the most admired companies in the world) in 2015. He navigated the company through turbulent times: fines for anti-trust violations in the EU; congressional hearings; workers protesting over a US military project; developing a censored version of its search engine for China. In 2019, he was named the CEO of the parent company, Alphabet.

4. Jeff Bezos. Amazon was founded and was thriving before this decade. However, it was in this decade that it grew to be among the Top 5 most valuable companies in the world. Here is one of the quotes attributed to him, "I didn't think I'd regret trying and failing. I suspected I would always be haunted to a decision not to try at all." 

5. Elon Musk. Any entrepreneur's dream is to have their startup become a "unicorn" (has a valuation of over a billion dollars). Elon Musk is a rare breed to have multiple unicorns: PayPal (which he sold to eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002); SpaceX (with a valuation of $33b) and Tesla (with a valuation of $77b). He is constantly proposing big, bold dreams: ideas to change the world. These include Hyperloop (that could blast passenger-packed pods through long tubes at 760 mph, using energy derived from the Sun); colonizing Mars (that could, one day, support 80,000+ people); renewable energy.

6. Rose McGowan. Even though the #MeToo movement was mentioned in the Top US News of the decade post, it was Rose's public accusation of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault that spawned the "MeToo" movement. Her voice led to what is now a historic reckoning that is sweeping not just the film industry, but other industries too.

7. Jack Ma. As the Chairman of Alibaba Group, he has grown it to become Asia's most valuable listed company - employing over 100,000 people. The Jack Ma foundation is among the Top 10 philanthropic organizations in the world.

8. Malala Yousafzai. She is a Pakistani education advocate, who at the age of 17 (in 2014) became the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize. She survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban. Nine months after being shot by the Taliban, she gave a speech at the United Nations where she highlighted her focus on education and women's rights and urged the world leaders to change their policies.

9. Edward Snowden. A former National Security Agency subcontractor who leaked top-secret information about NSA surveillance activities. In the eyes of the US Government, he is a convicted felon. He makes this list because he sparked an overdue debate on national security and individual privacy; the "Snowden Effect" has had an impact on the technology industry and consumer products (improved security); he has emboldened more whistleblowers to come forward - including the one that resulted in Trump getting impeached by the Congress.

10. Travis Kalanick. I wrestled with this the most. He is said to have allowed a culture of bullying and harassment toward women to fester. Then there was the intellectual property lawsuit with Alphabet over self-driving cars. Nevertheless, he was responsible for spawning the sharing economy - where technology is used to share excess capacity to just about anyone, anytime, anywhere. 

Top 10 Medicine / HealthCare News of the last Decade

This is a continuation of the "Top 10" lists of the decade. The earlier posts are:

• Top Technology Disruptions
• Top Business News
• Top US News
• Top World News

Here are the top Medicine / HealthCare News of the last Decade:

1. Affordable Care Act. Access to healthcare is as important to advancement in healthcare. The largest legacy left by President Obama was the passing of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare). It was signed into law in March 2010. It mandates that everyone gets health insurance and provided consumers with subsidies ("premium tax credits")

2. HealthCare Technology. Faster handheld computing systems and Electronic Health Records (EHR) has revolutionized patient care and access to health information. There are several examples where technology assist physicians: Augmented Reality helps brain surgeons blend digital imagery with the physical world allowing them to see deeper and reduce errors; Computer monitoring in hospitals help identify and address preventable mistakes; AI Tools help the blind tackle every day tasks; etc.

3. Gene sequencing. While the first whole genome was sequenced in 2000, we are seeing a revolution in genome sequencing (revealing the order of bases present in the entire genome of an organism. Note: The human genome contains about 3 billion base pairs that spell the instructions for making and maintaining a human being) with dramatic increases in speed coupled with massive reductions in cost. It has proved its usefulness as a diagnostic and prognostic tool.

4. Gene editing. Genome editing is the deliberate alteration of a selected DNS sequence in a living cell. This is done by cutting a stand of DNA at a specific point and allowing naturally existing cellular repair mechanisms to fix the broken DNA strands. One key technology for gene editing (discovered in 2012) is a molecular tool known an CRISPR-Cas9 (Clustered Regularly Interspaces Short Palindromic Repeats). Researchers believe that CRISPR could revolutionize how they prevent and treat many diseases.

5. Stem Cell Research. Definition: Embryonic stem cells have the potential to develop into any part of the body. As an embryo grows, most cells become specialized. This means they change into a specific part of the body, such as heart muscle cells, red blood cells or liver cells. While the first human embryonic stem cells were grown in a laboratory dish (in vitro) as early as 1998, researchers are now able to scale up the generation of red blood cells from stem cells to make a limitless supply of clean blood for transfusion. Since stem cells can be guided into becoming specific cells, they can be used to regenerate and repair diseased or damaged tissue.

6. Robotic Surgery. This allows doctors to perform complex procedures with more precision, flexibility and control than possible using conventional techniques.  It is a "minimally invasive" surgery - meaning that instead of operating with large incisions, the miniaturized surgical instruments used fit through quarter-inch incisions. Again, while we have had robotic surgery for many years, advances in robotic surgery range from the development of more accurate planning tools and software, to increased automation of tasks during surgery.

7. 3D Printing. Human organs have been artificially built using 3D printing procedures for planned organ substitution. While the first human blood vessels were 3D bio-printed in 2009, in the last decade we have seen advancement in 3D printing technology that enable production of bones, ears, exoskeletons, windpipes, blood vessels, vascular networks, tissues and simple organs. We are not quite at the point where the human heart can be 3D printed. This day is not too far away.