James G. Ellis, Dean of Business School, University of Southern California:
The next guest doesn't need too much introduction, so I'll just say a few words. He grew up in South Africa, got a bachelor's degree in economics from Wharton Business School and a bachelor's degree in physics from the University of Pennsylvania, and then went to California to start a business and founded PayPal, a third-party payment company. After that, his career flourished and he became the CEO of Tesla, an electric car manufacturer. I know he has many good ideas to share with you. Welcome to Elon? Musk?
Elon? Musk:
Thank you, I only have a few minutes, and I will try my best to make good use of this time. Here I want to share four important things with you. Some of them sound like famous aphorisms, but experience tells me that they are really practical.
The first point is very important for young people who want to start a business. You need to work very hard. What does hard work mean? When my brother and I started Zip2 together, we didn't buy any real estate as a workplace. Instead, I started my business in a small and ordinary office and spent most of my time on that small sofa. We discuss ideas with each other. At that time, we only had one computer, and we needed to use it to operate web pages during the day. Coding can only be done at night. We work almost 24 hours a day, seven days a week. At that time, I had a girlfriend who had to sleep on the sofa in the office to be with me. It is necessary to work hard if you want to set up your own company quickly. Do a simple math calculation by yourself. Others work 50 hours, but you work 100 hours, and you get twice as much work as others.
In addition, I want to say that if you set up your own company or are managing a company, it is also very important to attract excellent people to work with you. A person can either join a company where elites gather and respect talents, or work with a mob. In most cases, the success of an enterprise is that a group of excellent people get together to make a great product. No matter how talented these people are, they must work together in Qi Xin and focus on a correct product direction in order to achieve great success. Therefore, entrepreneurs need to use all means to attract outstanding talents.
Then, I want to turn the topic to how to judge whether the enterprise is on the right path. Many people are confused. The money they spent didn't make their products better. For example, in Tesla, we never spend money on advertising. We put all our money into product research and development and better product design. We try our best to make our car as good as possible. I think this is the best way out. Therefore, if you want to set up a company, you should constantly think about whether these efforts you have made make your products or services better. If not, don't do these things again.
In addition, I also want to say, don't simply follow the so-called megatrend. From the perspective of the first principle of physics, it is not demonstrated by analogy, but by all the elements you think are the most essential. In this way, you can tell what you should do and what you are just doing in the footsteps of others. Of course, you can't cover everything. You must work hard. However, if you want to try something new, this is the best way. Think like a physicist studying quantum mechanics. This is a very powerful method.
Finally, I want to say that it's time to take risks. You don't have children now, or you may not have children. As you get older, so do your responsibilities. Once you have a family, you are not only risking yourself, but your family. It will become more and more difficult to try things that may fail. So, take the risk now. Before you undertake these obligations, I strongly advise you to take risks.