Last month, Ram Shriram (One of the early investors in Google) was in India and I had a chance to watch his interview in CNBC. It is probably one of the best TV interviews (in the similar lines of Dalai Lama, Azim Premji) I have ever seen. I was completely hooked up with each and every word Ram was speaking in rhythmic, soothing voice with clear thoughts. The text version of the interview is available here in the CNBC website.
Here is my favorite portion (especially the highlighted one) from the interview. Very simple statements but very realistic.
Q: How important is it for you to have an Aha moment every time you put your money into something?
A: It is important to realize not every investment will be a Google.
Q: It would be great if it turned out to be that way.
A: Yes. So, every ten years or so, you will see a Google size company emerge. But in general, it takes committed entrepreneurs, great teams that they build around themselves and then great execution with good monetization or business model around it. But the business model can come last. So, the first part of building that virtuous cycle is having happy users. From happy users come happy advertisers and from happy advertisers come revenue streams. Then, if you have good execution, there comes profit.
Q: And a happy investor?
A: Yes, that is Nirvana.
Rem Acu Tetigisti.
Its all about the users. Why dont companies ever learn that ?
/karram