1) You read about an entrepreneur: I read, Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, Ashlee Vance
- What surprised you the most?
I was most surprised that Elon almost went broke a couple times in his pursuit to make Tesla and SpaceX work.
- What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?
I admired that Elon did whatever it took to get funding for his companies, and that he did not care about what people thought of his ventures.
- What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?
I did not like that Elon was not cautious at all with his money. He almost went broke multiple times, but luckily found a way to save himself.
- Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?
Yes, Elon faced adversity and failure many times. Elon almost went broke multiple times, and almost could not meet payroll for Tesla. He was running out of cash and needed a way to fund both of his ventures. He luckily got a governmental grant for SpaceX, and continued to fund his businesses.
2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?
Elon exhibited multiple entrepreneurial competencies. Elon took a lot of risks funding these companies. He had no idea if these companies were going to survive, or even make him money. He was so driven to push the envelope, and to expand our knowledge of the world and universe that he did not care if he lost all of his money. Also, Elon was a person who pushed the envelope, and was an innovator. Elon started to do things that nobody else had attempted. SpaceX and Tesla are two revolutionary businesses with extreme innovation in mind.
3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
I was confused when they talked about Paypal. I was not aware that Elon had equity in Paypal, so when the book talked about how he sold Paypal to fund Tesla and SpaceX I was confused.
4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?
1. Why are you so driven to get to Space, and create a multi-planet society?
2. At what time in your life did you realize that you wanted to be an entrepreneur?
5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?
I believe that Elon Musk's opinion of hard work was to enjoy and embrace it. I believe Elon
David,
ReplyDeleteI too read this biography and in general we had similar take-aways from it. I think Elon was quite an admirable guy and through all the things he did, and the things he failed, it is pretty awesome that he pulled through and made such a success out of his goals. I didnt know that he was an investor in PayPal either and I agree that it was pretty weird finding out all of this information from this book. Overall, I think your assumptions were very spot on and I agree with most everything.
Hey David,
ReplyDeleteI did not read this biography but it sounds like a good one. From reading what you write and what other people wrote about it I think Elon Musk is a pretty interesting and admirable guy. It is nice to know that many entrepreneurs faced adversary and failed many times. So I know that if something goes wrong in life i can always bounce back.