GSD Venture Studios Hosted Guy Kawasaki and Discuss What it was Like Working for Steve Jobs

PALO ALTO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / September 29, 2020 / On September 22, 2020, Gary Fowler, serial entrepreneur, co-founder, and CEO of GSD Venture Studios, hosted renowned tech evangelist and venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki on his talk show; Silicon Valley Tech & AI. Fowler and Kawasaki had an engaging conversation about Guy's experience at Apple, humility, and some anecdotes from his non-linear and winding career path in the world of technology and entrepreneurship.

Guy dove into his experience with Apple, how he left the company twice — and turned it down once — to pursue independent entrepreneurship and his interactions with Steve Jobs. Kawasaki quit Apple in 1987 to start a software company and once again in 1997 to start an investment bank. In 2000, Steve Jobs offered Kawasaki a new position, which he turned down, thinking that the company "was doomed," in Guy's own words.

Thinking back to his decisions to pivot, Kawasaki spoke about the complex nature of such drastic decisions. "It's very tricky to time your exits perfectly," he said. Guy noted that, although entrepreneurship sounds exciting and he is a single "data point" that represents a success story, in reality, a majority of startups result in failure nevertheless. In his opinion, there is always the chance life would have taken him in a different direction if he hadn't taken the steps to found his own ventures at the time. "If I had stayed at Apple the first time, stayed at Apple the second time, or accepted Steve Jobs's offer the third time, I wouldn't be on this call right now."

"Guy Kawasaki is a Silicon Valley legend it was an amazing to reflect on how he has life wisdom to ensure business success, explains Gary.

Kawasaki also touched upon his relationship and interactions with Steve Jobs during his time as an Apple evangelist and fellow. During his second term with the company, he took part in a meeting with Chiat/Day prior to the launch of Apple's "Think Different" campaign that solidified Apple's unique positioning in the tech industry. According to Kawasaki, after watching the series of campaign videos, Steve Jobs was reluctant to give Kawasaki a copy of the video. "Steve was like ‘Don't give one (copy of the video) to Guy,'" he recalled. "Steve, is it because you don't trust me?" Guy asked. When Jobs responded, "Yes, I don't trust you," Kawasaki's response was, "That's okay, I don't trust you either."

To Guy, however, working with Steve Jobs — no matter how tough it was at times — presented massive opportunities to learn and grow. "Knowing Steve Jobs, that made me go higher in his books," he laughed.

Kawasaki also touched upon the virtue of humility and the importance of being humble despite any monetary and material benefits. He told the story of his encounter with Sir Richard Branson, the English business magnate, investor, author, and former philanthropist, during a tech conference. Branson was curious whether Kawasaki was a Virgin Airlines customer, to which he responded, saying that he chose to fly United Global Service. To Guy's surprise and with no warning, Branson went down on his knees in front of him and began polishing his shoes. "And that's the moment I started flying Virgin America," said Kawasaki.

Watch the full live stream of the show here. The show appears live every other Tuesday on GSD Venture Studios Facebook and YouTube Pages at 9 am Pacific Time.

About GSD Venture Studios:
We travel the world investing in resilient teams bold enough to #GoGlobal.
For too long, self-motivated entrepreneurs have navigated the minefield of challenges to launching a global company with very little support. The last thing you should bet on in this situation is an unproven team that you don't trust. GSD Venture Studios travels to every corner of the globe inviting resilient teams to establish partnerships that ensure organizations grow the right way, without games or gimmicks. Unlike traditional investors, we take senior operational (often co-founder) roles in these companies, capitalizing on our trusted reputation, experiences, and network to drive explosive growth.

About Gary Fowler:
Gary has 30 years of operational, marketing, sales, and executive leadership experience, including a $1.35 billion dollar exit and a successful Nasdaq IPO. He has founded 15 companies: DY Investments, Yva.a, GVA LaunchGurus Venture Fund, GSD Venture Studios, Broadiant, etc. Under his leadership, Yva.ai was named one of the Top 10 AI HR Tech companies globally. Gary was recently named one of the top 10 Most Influential AI Executives to Watch in 2020. He is a writer at Forbes Magazine and published over 70 articles on AI, Technology, and Entrepreneurship over the last year.

About Guy Kawasaki:
Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist of Canva and the creator of Guy Kawasaki's Remarkable People podcast. He is an executive fellow of the Haas School of Business (UC Berkeley) and an adjunct professor of the University of New South Wales. He was the chief evangelist of Apple and a trustee of the Wikimedia Foundation. He has written Wise Guy, The Art of the Start 2.0, The Art of Social Media, Enchantment, and eleven other books. Guy has 10 million social media followers. Kawasaki has a BA from Stanford University, an MBA from UCLA, and an honorary doctorate from Babson College.

SOURCE:
Derek Distenfield
646.823.4209
derek@gsdvs.com

CONTACT: GSD Venture Studios LLC

ReleaseID: 608295