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PROFESSOR: So now
let's talk about how

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we go from I have a passion
to a technology or an idea.

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What are the factors, even
within a technology or an idea,

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that you would decide
with your team?

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Now we talked about
joining with the team.

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What are those things that you
would make factors to decide?

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First of all, you would
start with knowledge.

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You want to be working
in an area or technology

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or marketplace that
you understand,

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that you have a knowledge about.

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But that's necessary
but not sufficient.

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The next thing is
that you have to have

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a capability there, something
that's special to you.

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You might be good
material science,

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and that would allow you
to do energy storage.

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You might not have
that expertise,

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but you might have
an understanding

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after having worked at
Raytheon for 10 years of what

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the aerospace industry is about
and the issues that they face.

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So that's a special capability
that you could build up.

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The third thing is,
would be, connections.

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Connections, you say, well
that's something that's easy.

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No, that actually is an
asset that you and your team

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would have.

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Do you know the proper
people in this industry?

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Do you know the people who
really understand energy

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storage or whatever
the other technology is

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that you might be working on?

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Having the right connections
is a valuable asset

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that should not be overlooked.

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The next one, number four,
would be financial assets.

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You might have very
few financial assets.

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Or you might have a lot
of financial assets.

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Understanding the level of
financial assets you have,

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be it very small,
medium, or large,

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will dictate what
markets are good for you.

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If you don't have
a lot of assets,

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it's very hard to
play in industries

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such as clean energy, where the
price of poker is very high,

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where the price of
entry is very high.

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So the next one is
name recognition.

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So when you look
at these markets,

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you might know the market.

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You might have capability
in that market.

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You might know the right people.

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You might have the
financial advisors.

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But do the people in that market
know someone on your team?

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Will they return the call
when you contact them?

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Inherent in this is credibility
that you would have as well,

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and that credibility would
come from past work experience.

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Now past work experience
could contribute as well

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to capability and
knowledge and connections.

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But I bring that
out because there's

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other things that would come
from past work experience

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that I might not have
included in here.

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Number seven would be a passion.

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What you're going to be
doing, when you choose it,

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you'd better love.

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Because, if you
can't see yourself

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doing this for the
next six years,

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you're very likely not going to
be a successful entrepreneur.

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You have got to have a lot of
passion for what you're doing.

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So I said there were eight
items that we would consider,

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knowledge, capability,
connections, financial assets,

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name recognition,
past work experience,

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which might contribute to
other ones, and passion.

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The last thing is, even if
you have all those things,

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the last one you
need is commitment.

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When we look at who will succeed
and who will not succeed,

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who we take in
our founder skills

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accelerator, who we take
into our more select classes,

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one of the number one things
we look at is commitment.

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Because a person who
is committed to this,

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they're burning the boats, this
is what they're going to do,

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is going to be more successful.

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Other people might start
off with better technology.

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But in the end, the person
who has the commitment

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is going to pass them all.

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So those are the
things that we look

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at as you go from a passion
to a technology or an idea.

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And then, within the
technology or idea,

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which one are you
going to choose?

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These are some of
the important factors

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that you must think about.