Stanford University

Sean George, president and chief operating officer of genetics-information company Invitae, explains how the rewards of entrepreneurship come from facing the major challenges along the way. In this insightful talk, the serial entrepreneur also underscores the necessity of a team’s focus on mission to see a venture through adversity.

Laurene Powell Jobs, in conversation with Stanford Engineering Professor Tom Byers, shares her path to entrepreneurship and her strong commitment to addressing massive challenges in education and immigration reform through College Track and Emerson Collective, organizations she founded to spark systemic change and improve lives at the individual level.

Kathryn Gould, one of the first women venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, shares what she’s learned after many years of picking successful startups and forging her own career path. In conversation with tech-industry author and journalist Mike Malone, the co-founder of Foundation Capital tells entrepreneurs to identify a true target customer and market opportunity, and be prepared to give 100 percent.

Alon Cohen, co-founder and president of Houzz, a leading platform for home remodeling and design, shares insights on being an immigrant entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, and how the drive to work hard and persevere are more essential than mere talent. Cohen explains that success rests on building products that are both useful and simplify complicated tasks.

National Geographic Explorer Shah Selbe describes how much Earth needs technologists with an entrepreneurial spirit to address global challenges and conserve the planet’s resources. A spacecraft-propulsion engineer by training, Selbe shares profound experiences from expeditions in the wild and calls on the next wave of innovators to find their passion and realize that opportunities exist everywhere.

Jennifer Pahlka, founder and executive director of Code for America, explains how governments, from the federal level to the local, need individuals with the skills to harness technology and design principles to make the everyday user’s experience simpler and more elegant. Formerly the U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer at the White House, Pahlka also discusses the hunger within government for “creative hacks” that improve their platforms.

Entrepreneur and venture capitalist Ben Horowitz shares which entrepreneurial skills truly matter, and why learning to manage well may be the most critical skill of all. Horowitz, a founding partner of Andreessen Horowitz, discusses the value of learning inside a large company, some of the exciting technology frontiers ahead, and the purpose and philosophy of his firm, in conversation with Stanford Engineering Professor Tom Byers.