With the news of the hyperloop being in the horizon of the next 2 years, Elon Musk's new muse has suddenly become reality. When I first heard about the hyperloop idea a few years back, I thought this was a joke from someone who has gotten too rich and was investing in something that was way too far into the future. Yet, with the latest news of the hyperloop filing for a building permit in California, Elon Musk and his team proved me wrong. This is just one of the many reasons that I loop up to Elon Musk as another role model for entrepreneurs. Here are some of his characteristics that I believe brought him thus far (but not sure how much further, considering his investment in literally out-of-the-world technologies)
- Diversify your investments. Contrary to Buffett's school of thought (of being focused, and going all the way for a single bet), diversification still works best for most people. It minimizes risk. Musk once said that he saw the future in 3 areas - internet, environment, space. Despite the 3 areas being barely similar in any aspect, he dedicated his time, money and life into all 3 areas - PayPal, Tesla and SpaceX.
- Think BIG! What more to say, with Elon Musk's big scale ideas that made Hyperloop, SpaceX and SolarCity. Dare to be different, Dare to disrupt, Dare to change the world.
- Be technically strong. Elon Musk taught himself computer programming, received a Bachelor's in Physics (and attempted a PhD in Applied Physics). His technical background made him not afraid of developing new technology, and placed him CTO of his own company. The future evolves all around technology. The wildest and most successfully disruptive companies involved a new technology. Think computers, cell phones, light bulbs. Don't be afraid of technology. Instead, embrace it more dearly than your life.
- Don't stop trying. Musk is well known for his wildly successful PayPal and Tesla stories. But less known is that he started entrepreneurship at a very young age. Musk created a video game at age 12 and sold it for approximately $500.
- Move to the ideal location. Despite the internet and virtual workplaces becoming all part and parcel of our lives, there are still "ideal" places for starting companies. Elon was born in South Africa, but spent a large part of his entrepreneurial life in the United States of America - mainly California. Not saying that anything non-American place is not good for starting companies, but there are certain regions that are better suited for certain types of startups. For Musk, the entrepreneurial and tech-savvy Californians definitely played a major role in kick-starting his technology-based companies.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete