Dado Banatao at the APEC SME Summit
Summary
TLDRMr. D, a Filipino entrepreneur and venture capitalist, shares his journey and insights from Silicon Valley in a motivational speech. He emphasizes the importance of formal education and continuous learning as the foundation for success in the competitive tech industry. Mr. D recounts his experiences, from his initial challenges at Stanford to his innovative work in microprocessors at National Semiconductor. He highlights the significance of taking on tough projects to build confidence and push personal boundaries. As an entrepreneur, he discusses the development of the first PC chipset and the introduction of graphics acceleration, which revolutionized the industry. Mr. D stresses that success is not about a single 'Eureka' moment, but rather a series of training and self-challenges that lead to overcoming seemingly impossible tasks. His story serves as an inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs and underscores the value of perseverance and lifelong learning.
Takeaways
- π **Formal Education**: The importance of proper training and education as a foundation for an entrepreneur's journey, with a strong emphasis on math and science.
- π§ **Passion for Learning**: Having a passion for technical subjects like math and science from a young age can be a significant advantage in the tech industry.
- π **Education as an Equalizer**: The belief that education is a great equalizer and a first challenge in life that can set the stage for future success.
- π§ **Performance as Evidence**: The idea that academic performance, such as GPA, can be an indicator of a person's ability to learn and their knowledge base.
- π€ **Challenges in School**: The notion that challenging educational experiences, like attending a competitive school like Stanford, can bring out one's true capabilities.
- π **Building on Knowledge**: The accumulation of knowledge and skills from schooling that can be applied in the professional world, especially in high-stakes environments like Silicon Valley.
- π οΈ **Continuous Training**: The necessity of continuous learning and training to stay competitive and innovative in the field of technology.
- πΌ **Entrepreneurial Spirit**: The transition from being an individual contributor to an entrepreneur, emphasizing the importance of taking on bigger challenges and gaining confidence.
- π **Challenging Oneself**: The belief that continuous self-challenge is key to personal growth and professional success, even after achieving a certain level of expertise.
- πΌ **Venture Capital Insights**: The shift from entrepreneurship to venture capitalism as a way to engage with multiple companies and continue learning about investing in technology.
- π **Success through Training**: The message that success in a competitive field like technology is not just about eureka moments, but a series of training and building confidence in one's abilities.
Q & A
What does Mr. D emphasize as the first step for an entrepreneur to succeed in Silicon Valley?
-Mr. D emphasizes proper training or education, including formal education in fields like engineering and a passion for math and science, as the first step for an entrepreneur to succeed.
Why does Mr. D consider education as the greatest equalizer?
-Mr. D views education as the greatest equalizer because it provides everyone with the same opportunities to learn and be tested fairly, without bias, laying a foundation for future challenges in life and entrepreneurship.
How does Mr. D connect his academic performance to his entrepreneurial success?
-Mr. D connects his academic performance to his entrepreneurial success by highlighting that his GPA and the challenges he faced in school were indicators of his ability to learn and apply knowledge, which later helped him in his career.
What was Mr. D's approach when he first joined National Semiconductor?
-When Mr. D first joined National Semiconductor, he sought out the toughest design project in the company to challenge himself and utilize his knowledge in computer architecture and chip design.
How did Mr. D's experience at Stanford influence his career?
-Mr. D's experience at Stanford, where he was challenged among the best students globally, helped him realize his potential as a natural engineer and instilled in him the confidence to tackle complex projects in his career.
What role did continuous training and challenging oneself play in Mr. D's career?
-Continuous training and challenging oneself played a crucial role in Mr. D's career, as it allowed him to build upon his knowledge, gain confidence, and take on increasingly difficult projects, which ultimately led to innovation and success.
Why did Mr. D decide to become a venture capitalist after being a successful entrepreneur?
-Mr. D decided to become a venture capitalist to engage with multiple companies and continue learning about investing in technology companies, after feeling that he had proven all he could as an entrepreneur.
What was the significance of the local bus concept introduced by Mr. D?
-The local bus concept introduced by Mr. D was significant because it sped up graphics acceleration in PCs, leading to an architecture that is still present in the industry today.
How does Mr. D view the process of becoming successful in the technology sector?
-Mr. D views the process of becoming successful in the technology sector as a series of training and developing confidence in one's abilities, rather than a single 'eureka' moment.
What was Mr. D's first major project at his first company?
-Mr. D's first major project at his first company involved writing all the software and algorithms for a new microprocessor design, which significantly reduced the project's completion time.
How did Mr. D's background in computer architecture and solid-state physics contribute to his entrepreneurial ventures?
-Mr. D's background in computer architecture and solid-state physics contributed to his entrepreneurial ventures by providing him with the knowledge to innovate in chip design and lead projects in the semiconductor industry.
What does Mr. D believe is the key to competing in a challenging environment like Silicon Valley?
-Mr. D believes that the key to competing in a challenging environment like Silicon Valley is a combination of proper education, continuous training, self-challenge, and leveraging one's instincts and knowledge gained through formal education.
Outlines
π The Importance of Education for Entrepreneurship
The speaker, Mr. D, emphasizes the significance of proper training and education for an entrepreneur. He shares his personal journey, highlighting his passion for Math and Science from a young age, and how this led him to pursue engineering. Mr. D underscores the value of formal education as an equalizer and a foundational challenge that tests an individual's capabilities. He also discusses his experiences at Stanford, one of the most competitive academic environments, and how the rigorous academic training equipped him with the skills and instincts necessary for his entrepreneurial endeavors. His first phase as an entrepreneur was heavily influenced by the knowledge and practices he acquired through his educational journey.
π Continuous Learning and Challenging Oneself
The speaker continues by illustrating the importance of continuous learning and challenging oneself throughout one's career. He recounts his experience at National Semiconductor, where he sought the most difficult design projects to push his limits and apply his knowledge in computer architecture and chip design. Mr. D's proactive approach led to innovative solutions, such as automating design processes with software to expedite project completion. He also speaks about his transition to entrepreneurship, where he faced new challenges and opportunities, particularly in the field of PC chipsets and graphics acceleration. His ventures resulted in significant successes, such as the introduction of the local bus concept, which is still relevant today. The speaker concludes by stressing that success is not about sudden epiphanies but rather a series of training and building confidence in one's abilities to tackle difficult tasks, even in competitive sectors like technology.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Entrepreneur
π‘Formal Education
π‘Innovation
π‘Challenges
π‘Confidence
π‘Risk Taking
π‘Silicon Valley
π‘Venture Capitalist
π‘Microprocessors
π‘Graphic Acceleration
π‘Continuous Training
Highlights
The speaker emphasizes the importance of proper training and education for an entrepreneur, starting from a young age with a passion for math and science.
Formal education, including university, is viewed as the greatest equalizer and provides foundational knowledge for an entrepreneur's career.
The speaker shares his belief that school is the first challenge in life, and performance in school is an indicator of one's capabilities and knowledge.
The speaker's first quarter at Stanford was extremely challenging, but it revealed his natural talent as an engineer.
Continuous training and challenging oneself is crucial for growth, both in school and throughout one's career.
The speaker's first company, National Semiconductor, allowed him to apply what he learned in school to real-world projects and gain confidence.
Taking on the toughest design project at National Semiconductor and successfully completing it showcased the speaker's ability to innovate and perform.
The speaker's next phase as an entrepreneur involved creating the first PC chipset in Silicon Valley, which led to the formation of Chips and Technologies.
Chips and Technologies achieved significant revenue growth, reaching a $650 million run rate before the speaker left to start a new venture.
The speaker emphasizes the importance of continuously challenging oneself and learning from each new experience as an entrepreneur.
The speaker's venture into graphics acceleration introduced the local bus concept, which is still used in modern architectures today.
After proving himself as an entrepreneur, the speaker transitioned to venture capitalism to work with multiple companies and continue learning.
The speaker's venture capital investments, including being the first investor in Marvell, have been very successful.
The speaker emphasizes that success is not about a single eureka moment, but rather a series of training and developing confidence in one's abilities.
The speaker's journey from engineer to entrepreneur to venture capitalist demonstrates the value of continuous learning and challenging oneself.
The speaker's experiences in Silicon Valley show that even in a highly competitive industry, success is achievable through proper training, continuous learning, and self-challenge.
Transcripts
ladies and Gentlemen please welcome Mr D
[Music]
banat hello I don't have slides so you
just have to look at
me but I I am with you I am Filipino but
it's nice to be here more times now than
uh the last 15 years or 40 years that
I've been in in
California instead of talking about my
experiences because a lot of you guys
have uh heard some of that already I I
would like to talk
about the basic things that maybe in
general gets one to do the things that
I've done in Silicon Valley especially
arguably one of the most
competitive uh Technology Innovation in
the world but with some basic things I
think one can
compete there are roughly in my uh point
of view there are four
faces um for an entrepreneur to do to be
able to do some of the things that I've
done first is proper training or
education meaning formal education so we
go to the normal
um universities I guess in uh involved
in engineering uh but even before that
uh as a young kid I I observed that I
had the passion for Math and
Science um and a few other technical
things and as you go into High School
you see it more because you get more
challenges and so on and I believe that
education in fact is the greatest
equalizer for everyone in some cases in
fact when I interview CEOs for one of my
companies that need one there was it's
not often that I asked this question
question but I felt compelled to ask
about two um on two occasions what was
your
GPA and simply because of my belief that
school is is the first challenge in
anyone's life everyone is treated well
you go to school and learn the lesson
and then you're given a test and
assuming that one does not cheat it's
it's an Evidence of what one can do what
one can learn and your knowledge
basically how you really are so I
believe that as one leads through life
and being an entrepreneur and so on you
really uh rely on those instincts on
that knowledge that you've learned
through school and then you go into the
university system you are even more
challenged and then graduate school even
worse I have to tell you that my first
quarter at Stanford I actually thought
what did I do to myself in a school that
accepts only 1% of all applicants you're
competing with the best Engineers or
students coming from all over the world
uh and in the
US but thank God there was this thing
called Thanksgiving
weekend 4 days I was able to recover for
finals but I mention this only simply
because uh school one more time assuming
that it is challenging enough where you
are you are truly tested the natural
part of you comes out and I found that
at that point in time after I have gone
through that first quarter and and was
able to compete uh I am a natural
engineer and I still say that today I
would have to say that that formal
training enabled me to get to my next
phase um and so the first phase of my
career as an entrepreneur and now a
venture capitalist is defined
by implementing or practicing the things
that I've learned in school even from
first grade because it's a complete
buildup of what you know how to do at
any point in time so you rely on your
instincts of course there some level of
risk taking in the next phase next phase
I
mean but you you have that uh further
training you know you practice what you
learned in school you can do designs you
lead projects you try to
innovate as chair said it's it's a lot
of innovation if you want to
compete but as an individual contributor
you have to
perform then you gain confidence that
you can actually outdo the next engineer
sitting beside you or across the room
and then you you do bigger projects in
my first company at National
semiconductor I there was a time after
about a year in um as an individual
contributor I I went to the director and
said I want the toughest design in the
company of course he looked at me and
are you crazy or
something knowing that there are a lot
of senior Engineers there but truly I
meant that because uh at that time we
were into this um sector of
semiconductor that we now call
microprocessors it was a very
new um combination of understanding
computer architecture and know how to
design a chip
and what I what I studied at Stanford
was a combination of B solid state and
computer architecture and so on so all I
wanted to do was put that whole computer
on a chip and since it was new in the
company and I I did a lot of software in
my first project with them uh I did work
with the more traditional chip designers
and when I looked at what they were
doing it's all done by hand and I said
all right let's put some software in
here otherwise it'll take us 5 years to
finish this project my first year in the
project project I wrote all the software
did all the algorithms and so on and it
worked but so that's when I went to the
director
so there is built up knowledge in
training continuous training
continuously challenging yourself
similar to when you go to a an excellent
very challenging school like Stanford
you you really are challenged even in
your career you have to challenge
yourself and then the next phase which
is even harder my next phase in my
career is being an entrepreneur
uh Cher and I share a lot of experiences
here where you know we did the first uh
PC chipset in Silicon Valley and I did
work with ity they wanted to work with
me so that I can license to them the
very first chipset for the
PC and I said fine so they were supposed
to give me some money but some engineer
at it said oh no we can do this so
anyway we scraped the bottom of the
barrels they say and we finally did our
chipset and the rest is history when I
left chips and Technologies to sts3
which is the first graphic acceleration
in the PC industry chips was already at
about 650 million run rate in
revenues but see this is the kind of
thing that is a good point here
meaning I never felt as an entrepreneur
that I should stay at one company even
if it is if I was a a Founder there
because there are so many challenges
again there was a point that chair
mentioned about challenges adversity
creates opport unities so because I was
very familiar with the architecture of
the PC the graphics at that point in
time was so poor that I
quit uh my company and started this this
Graphics acceleration in introduced this
local bus concept for speeding up
everything and we enjoy that today that
architecture is still there today I'm
sure it's moved on to other platforms
but I'm mentioning this only because you
continuously challenge yourself but in
challenging yourself you learn more and
so there was a point in time that I felt
as an entrepreneur there is nothing more
I can prove that I cannot do as an
entrepreneur that's really bragging
frankly but it's really what I thought I
became a venture capitalist because then
I can deal with multiple companies and
I'm glad to say that you know the first
few funds and it was very successful for
those in I'm sure Sharon know some of
these companies marll I was the first
investor there work with the team Surf
and a whole bunch of others um but
that's more training I am still learning
how to invest in technology
companies so for those of you guys who
think that you know being successful is
about discovering or thinking something
in the shower or whatever no it is a
series of
training uh developing confidence that
that you can do it will lead you
eventually to doing a lot of those
things that seemingly are so difficult
and impossible to do it can be done even
in a a sector of the industry that is so
tough which is
technology so those are the things that
I had taken away from all of these um
modest successes uh in my career in
Silicon Valley thank
you
[Music]
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