Elon Musk Fireside Chat "kept it simple, kept it honest & kept it real"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPV8Xp3pEpI&feature=emb_logo
Article by Genius Turner for Entrepreneurs HANDBOOK
During a Q&A session of the Satellite 2020 conference, Elon Musk — the college dropout who ditched Stanford to roll the dice on his first start-up — was asked to share a few thoughts on how to make college more affordable.
Though I expected an answer long and sour, Musk kept it short and sweet:
“You don’t need college to learn stuff!”
Musk then noted that given we live in the Information Age — knowledge is essentially free.
Unlike the Dark Ages when Encyclopedists had to all but smuggle information as if they were bootlegging for Al Capone, Millennials, and Gen Zers live in an age where info is but a click away.
In short, as Musk noted, we live in an age where the food for thought is served at an all-you-can-eat buffet.
As far as “stuffed” goes, Musk roasted colleges for being stuffed with “annoying homework assignments. […] I think colleges are basically for fun and to prove you can do your chores, but they’re not for learning.”
The crowd roared with applause... READ MORE
Airbnb lines up public IPO filing for 2020 debut
Airbnb plans to make a public IPO filing next week, putting it on course for a New York stock market debut in December, according to a Reuters report on Thursday citing two people familiar with the matter. The hospitality unicorn’s planned debut is set to be one of the largest U.S. stock market listings of 2020.
Airbnb reportedly plans to set an IPO price range and launch an investor roadshow in December, subject to market conditions. Previously, it’s been reported that the company is seeking to raise around $3 billion in its public offering, with a likely initial valuation of more than $30 billion.
The company has raised at least $6.4 billion from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital and General Atlantic. It was last valued at around $18 billion after a $1 billion private equity round in April. That’s down from the some $26 billion Airbnb was valued at in early March, according to Reuters, before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. The company has grown to include over 7 million listings across more than 220 countries and regions around the world.
How C-Suite compensation has been affected by COVID
How hard has Covid hit C-Suite pay? This week we have some answers. In our just-released 2020-21 CEO & Senior Executive Compensation Report for Private Companies—the largest annual survey of its kind in the U.S.—we dug into the immediate impacts of Covid on leadership pay.
Today we’ll focus on the hit to CEO comp, but our research division has plenty more data on virtually every other title as well, across every company size and industry. When it comes to CEO pay, we found:
- Some 37 percent of private companies in the U.S. reduced their CEO’s base salary in 2020 in response to the crisis—the majority of which report cuts of 10 percent to 30 percent.
- As a result of the crisis response, median CEO cash compensation for 2020 is expected to decrease by 15 percent: a 5 percent cut to base salary and 60 percent to bonus awards.
- Of those companies cutting their CEOs’ base salary in 2020, the majority were doing so for at least three months
- Some 45 percent say the reductions will either remain in place until the end of the year or until such time when the company is profitable again.
- Nearly 70 percent of companies in the restaurant industry slashed CEO pay. But media CEOs were hit even more often—and advertising/marketing and entertainment industry chiefs were cut almost as often.
- Financial services, biotech, pharma and construction leaders were the least impacted, our survey found.
To succeed in a post-Covid environment, companies will need to be proactive with their pay strategy, rather than reacting—often too late—after top talent walks out the door. Hopefully we can help. Read the Full Story >
8 Key CEO Attributes to Look for in 2020 and Beyond
Past performance is the greatest indicator of future performance
Look for a CEO who has previously led successful turnarounds. Within those turnarounds, closely evaluate the financial outcome of the business (s)he led to make sure the turnaround was due to more than just timing and broader market conditions.
Team builder
Given this person will often change the make-up of the executive team, (s)he will also have to make new executive hires and re-energize the existing team. Find out if this CEO has hired successfully in the past and look to see if his or her team has followed them from one company to the next. A turnaround CEO must be able to quickly get buy-in on the turnaround strategy from the executive team and the board.
While the CEO’s leadership abilities are obviously key, a successful turnaround can’t happen without strong leadership at all levels of an organization. Considering time is truly of the essence, leaders need to mobilize their organizations quickly. Empowering your team and being decisive is critical.
This brings us back to the concept of board focus and engagement in order to make a successful selection, i.e. deciding what matters most. For example, a board may be strongly aligned to the current strategy of the business and resolved that performance issues are driven by operational leadership weakness. Or it may be viewed that the business has reasonable financial leeway but that real future success will be in new growth strategies, including M&A. So the board’s collective view of the business opportunity and the accessible resources is obviously central, and may define different CEO skill focus.
As with most things leadership, what gets recognized and well communicated becomes a tool – and what isn’t recognized and communicated becomes the real threat.
A realist with open and transparent communication style
This person must have the ability to confront the uncomfortable. Once (s)he has distilled down the business challenges, (s)he needs to be able to communicate those problems to the team and create a realistic transformation story that everyone can understand.
During a CEO search for a troubled company, our private equity client was taken aback by the candidate’s directness voicing her concerns about the company’s strategic direction as well as its operational footprint. Ultimately, though, they realized this sort of candor was exactly what they were lacking.
Also, ask the candidate what mistakes (s)he has made in the past and in retrospect how they would do things differently. If the candidate is not self-aware enough to take ownership of past mistakes, (s)he will not have the transparency needed for a turnaround. Having the ability to acknowledge missteps and know how to correct them is key.
A highly strategic problem solver
Strong turnaround CEOs have the ability to quickly digest information and data and distill the underlying issues in the business. Once you’re far enough along in the interview process, let candidates review the financials and the board documents. Observe what questions they ask.
Look closely at their previous leadership roles and understand how they identified and prioritized problems and came up with a new strategic plan for the business. You don’t want a candidate who is only capable of solving operational issues, which is only one aspect of the turnaround. You also need someone with a demonstrated ability to create a new strategy for growth with a very specific timetable around tactics and execution.
On a recent CEO search for a distressed private equity-backed company, for example, our finalist stood out because he had previous successful turnaround experience. More importantly, though, he had demonstrated success shifting market focus from a troubled sector – in this case energy – into new higher growth markets.
Understands the importance of cash and cash management
Cash management is not just the responsibility of the CFO. Strong turnaround CEOs who have been through challenging times understand the importance of cash management and banking relationships. They should be focused on the numbers every day.
Operationally minded
This is turnaround 101, but these CEO candidates must be operationally minded. They will have to first find the low hanging fruit in immediate operational and financial improvement opportunities. And while they have to see the big picture, they must also be data-driven, with a focus on the details.
Strong sense of urgency
You want to look for a CEO who is decisive and moves quickly. Time is absolutely of the essence in turnaround situations so the ability to drive decisions at a rapid clip is critical.
A track record of making tough choices
This person will likely need to quickly make dramatic changes to the leadership team in order to ensure the turnaround plan can be successful. Moving away from legacy business models and/or processes may also be necessary.
Blockbuster Airbnb IPO stage is set for a Nasdaq listing
Airbnb has selected the Nasdaq exchange for the listing of its stock. The vacation rental company is seeking to raise around $3 billion at a valuation of more than $30 billion, Reuters reported earlier this month. This week, the company's board reportedly approved a two-for-one stock split that valued its shares at $34.88 as of Sept. 30.
Last year, Airbnb was believed to be leaning toward pursuing a direct listing, and Bill Ackman approached the business about a potential merger with his blank-check company before Airbnb confidentially filed for a public listing this past August, according to Bloomberg.
Home-rental startup Airbnb Inc plans to list its shares on the Nasdaq, setting the stage for one of 2020’s most high-profile stock market debuts.
Earlier this month, Reuters reported the company was aiming to raise $3 billion in its IPO, which could give it a valuation of more than $30 billion, and that it was targeting a listing before the end of the year.
The push to go public and the growth in its potential valuation underscores Airbnb’s dramatic recovery from earlier this year, when it secured emergency funding from investors and the outlook for the travel industry was uncertain.
San Francisco-based Airbnb, which has benefited as travelers shy away from larger hotels and instead prefer to drive to local vacation rentals, said in July that customers had booked more than 1 million nights in a single day for the first time since March 3.
Airbnb did not give a timeline for when it may complete its IPO. The company had filed confidentially for an IPO with U.S. regulators in August. (refini.tv/3mqUe97)
Reuters reported earlier this year that billionaire investor William Ackman had approached Airbnb about going public through a reverse merger with his blank-check company but that Airbnb was prioritizing going public through a traditional IPO.
Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc are acting as the lead underwriters for the IPO, Reuters reported last month, citing people familiar with the matter.
These bold New Year’s resolutions will inspire your 2020 goals
BY JARED LINDZON for Fast Company
Some people play it safe with their New Year’s resolutions; others take it to the extreme.
Last year the three most popular New Year’s resolutions all had to do with diet and exercise, followed by saving more, and then learning a new skill or hobby. Such vague and common goals, however, are easily forgotten; 80% of resolutions are abandoned by mid-February, and only 8% are ever accomplished.
Instead, consider taking your 2020 goal to another level, one that will really force you to break unhealthy habits, break new ground, or beat personal records. Setting such lofty goals won’t just help you expand the limits of your own abilities—it will help keep you accountable. After all, few will be bold enough to ask you about that 10 lbs. you said you’d lose this year, but who wouldn’t want to know more about your goal to swim with a shark, run a marathon in North Korea, or cut a word out of your vocabulary entirely?
Here are five wild, crazy, and bold New Year’s resolutions that will inspire you to take your 2020 goals to new heights.
FINDING A NEW SWIM PARTNER
Peter Bordes has always had an affinity for the sea. The great-grandson of a commercial fisherman and an advocate for oceanic health, Bordes has already accomplished his goals of swimming with a dolphin and a whale shark in the wild. This year, however, he’s looking to take things a step further. “I want to get into the water with a great white shark. Not in a cage,” he says.
Bordes, who serves as both the CEO of a digital advertising platform and the vice-chairman of Ocearch, an organization that helps protect the oceans through data collection, says it’s not just a matter of facing his fears.
“Sharks are a metaphor for the oceans, because they’re one of the most important apex predators in the oceans, and they’re the balance keepers,” he says. Bordes adds that thanks to popular culture sharks have long been misunderstood, feared, and hunted en masse in unsustainable ways. According to the Humane Society 72 million sharks are killed annually, and almost 60% are threatened by overexploitation.
Bordes hopes that swimming alongside a great white shark will raise awareness about the fragility of the species.
“Is it nerve-racking getting into the water with a great white? I’m kind of hoping it is, and I’m hoping it helps me overcome my boundaries of what I think is scary,” he says. “Take a little bit more risk, and you’ll find out more about yourself and what you’re capable of doing.”
10 ITEMS OR LESS
Ariane Klassen considers herself environmentally conscious, but her New Year’s resolution takes recycling, reducing, and reusing to a whole new level. In 2020 she plans to purchase only 10 items of clothing or less for the whole year (not including socks and underwear).
She says the challenge, which she has successfully accomplished once before, forces her to be more selective in her shopping, rediscover and repair items she already owns, and reduce her consumption overall.
It all started a few years ago when Klassen was going through her clothes from the year before. “I realized there were things I maybe had worn twice, and I felt really bad about that,” she says. “I think people, especially in North America, we buy and use more than we need, so it’s a way to kind of get back to a reasonable amount of purchasing.”
While it might sound like a good way to save money, Klassen says the goal has nothing to do with reducing her overall clothing budget. “The last time I did this I was more willing to spend a little more on clothing because I wasn’t buying as much, so I might spring for something I wouldn’t normally because I’m only buying 10 things.” >>> READ MORE
TripleLift makes the Forbes Next Billion-Dollar Startups 2018
As the number of venture-backed companies hitting $1 billion or more in valuation continues to swell, Forbes this week took a shot at predicting who the next unicorns will be.
The 25 companies Forbes named came from a field of about 100 it got when it asked 200 venture firms who they thought should be on the list. Twenty-four of them are either headquartered in the Bay Area or have lead investors from the region.
Forbes has teamed up with TrueBridge Capital Partners to search the country for the 25 fastest-growing venture-backed startups most likely to reach a $1 billion valuation. TrueBridge asked 200 venture capital firms to nominate the companies they thought were most likely to become unicorns, while Forbes reached out directly to more than 100 startups. Then came the deeper look, as we analyzed finances for roughly 140 of them and interviewed founders. This list represents the 25, in alphabetical order, that we think have the best shot of reaching the billion-dollar mark. SEE THE LIST
TripleLift
Founders: Eric Berry, Eric Berry, Shaun Zacharia, Ari Lewine
Equity Raised: $17 million
Estimated 2018 Revenue: $150 million
Lead Investors: True Ventures, Edison Partners and Entrepreneurs Roundtable Acceler
Internet ads aren’t works of art. TripleLift is trying to improve that a bit. Its online ad-exchange takes advertisements from say, Ford and puts on them across a number of sites from publishers such as News Corp. and Hearst—taking care to find less obtrusive and more natural places for the ads than traditional banner ads.