Remarks to Software Forum Dinner Meeting (1997)

  • I'm genuinely surprised at when this was written. Without the year in the title, I would have easy guessed 2010 or later:

    > 1.2X improvement doesn't even get your customer to raise his head from what he's doing. A 2-3X improvement may get them to look you in the eye. 10X improvements cause people to reach for their wallet.

    > What can a startup do better than a larger organization? Create and build products. A startup can do this with more elegance and originality and with greater speed. The act of creation is what generates value.

    These seem to be the advice-du-jour in the valley today, but seeing them given 20 years ago lends it a lot more credence.

  • > If you aren't the world expert, you're just kidding yourself about your chances for success.

    Do you all agree with this one?

  • The modesty in here is refreshing.