Jen-Hsun Huang, President, CEO and Co-founder, Nvidia

The Sloan MediaTech Club sponsored a talk by the CEO of Nvidia on Monday. Jen-Hsun Huang was charming and disarming - he started the talk off by telling us he didn't go to business school. The contrast between him and more typical CEOs of large companies is obvious. Mr. Huang's talked about how he started Nvidia and some of the lessons he learned along the way. He had a hunch, ran with it, and created a semi-conductor giant. Out of all the talks by CEOs I've listened to, this was the first where the person actually talked a little about what it is like being a CEO.

Jen-Hsun Huang's Biography

Notes:

Doesn't have a business degree

The ability to ask good questions will determine your success

30 years old, married and 2 kids back in 1993 when he started Nvidia

His goal was simple: he wanted to make the computing experience more enjoyable

This generation has a unique perspective about computing that kids 20 years from now won't have

Went to Don Valentine to get funding – Don turns out to be one of the toughest VCs in the business

Don gave him 2 pieces of advice and $2 million

Advice: 1) "We look for a big market, killer product, and a few good men", 2) "Startups must have laser beam focus" (ie, choose 1 thing, do 1 thing and have laser focus

You are up against people with a lot more resources and just as smart, so you have to think about how you are going to do it differently

Don's advice wasn't very helpful because when you create a new market, it isn't very large to start with

What you need in the beginning is a hunch (biz talk = vision)

His hunch was: 3D graphics will make the biggest waves in the consumer market. Traditionally it had been used in the enterprise.

When he started the company it was the only one in this space

His company followed Christensen's disruptive technology model. His first product was "bad". His second was also not very good, but was starting to become "good enough"

Always thought his purpose was to make the world a better place (not to make money)

It is important to realize that your company isn't about just making money. You need a purpose in order to keep people working late hours and loyal.

1 market, 1 product, 1 singular focus, and w/ laser focus they became the fastest growing semi-conductor company ever

But he doesn't want to be a 1 trick pony so they looked to expand scope

Looked for adjacency, not diversification

The hardest thing to do is recruiting; to convince someone to give up their job and come work for you for next to no money. Some recruits took years to convince.

Moore's Law is either your friend or enemy

If technology doubles every other year then prices halve every other year too. This makes it hard to grow.

So how do you grow in this environment? Go into niches. Fight "good enough"; continually make the products better.

Learned along the way:

1) He told Sequoia they should invest because they have unique technology. But technology is disposable. Ultimately what matters are people. It isn't money – he can raise $1 billion in 2 hours. Ultimately, his fundamental asset is people and great ideas.

So every one of your assets is up for the highest bidder. Your culture is the only thing that binds you together.

2) There is a difference between management and leadership. Management is a skill you can learn. Without management you risk losing money. Without leadership you risk losing the enterprise. You either have it or you don't.

3) Innovation is not about continuous improvement. He has to risk his company every day or else a competitor will beat them. When you encourage innovation, people will make mistakes.

4) There is no such thing as balance. Being a CEO is a 24/7 job so unless your family is supportive, you won't be successful.

He has dinner 1 or 2 nights a week with his family. And he doesn't go to many baseball games.

Somebody is always hunting you down. Your competitor doesn't stop working at 5pm because you want to go to a baseball game.

5) Every company needs a purpose and it shouldn't be to take the company public

Building a company is really really hard

You are going to fail some everyday so you purpose better be good or you'll want to quit

The first year is about finding your way

Don't "hire", always "recruit". Some people take a long time cultivating the relationship

If he did it over again, he would have found the money to invest himself