1 00:00:03,140 --> 00:00:05,016 You need to tell a story. 2 00:00:06,095 --> 00:00:08,890 Most people particularly into technology 3 00:00:09,016 --> 00:00:10,886 are horrible at telling stories 4 00:00:11,064 --> 00:00:12,596 You need to tell a story. 5 00:00:13,101 --> 00:00:14,971 Why did you start eBay? 6 00:00:15,299 --> 00:00:16,667 Why did you start Google? 7 00:00:16,933 --> 00:00:17,968 Why did you start Apple? 8 00:00:18,206 --> 00:00:21,346 You can even make up the story, after the fact 9 00:00:22,556 --> 00:00:24,917 One of the great legends of Silicon valley 10 00:00:25,199 --> 00:00:27,629 is that eBay was because of 11 00:00:27,868 --> 00:00:30,378 Pierre Omidyars' girlfriend wanted to sell 12 00:00:30,416 --> 00:00:31,445 pez dispensers. 13 00:00:31,969 --> 00:00:34,520 Okay. The truth is that he really wanted to 14 00:00:34,660 --> 00:00:38,010 create a perfect market where demand and 15 00:00:38,100 --> 00:00:40,629 supply cross each other. The perfect market 16 00:00:40,806 --> 00:00:43,199 And to have a perfect market, you need to 17 00:00:43,250 --> 00:00:44,600 eliminate geography. 18 00:00:45,037 --> 00:00:46,802 The story of the pez dispenser 19 00:00:46,863 --> 00:00:48,393 is after the fact. 20 00:00:48,472 --> 00:00:50,582 Now, I'm not encouraging you to lie 21 00:00:51,230 --> 00:00:53,124 but I am telling you a story is 22 00:00:53,303 --> 00:00:56,223 -much more powerful when you launch. 23 00:00:56,501 --> 00:00:58,863 Why you two in a garage knew there was a 24 00:00:58,893 --> 00:01:00,413 -better way to search. 25 00:01:00,642 --> 00:01:02,864 Or you wanted to bring personal computers 26 00:01:02,939 --> 00:01:04,079 -to more people. 27 00:01:04,154 --> 00:01:06,544 Or you wanted a place where people could 28 00:01:06,554 --> 00:01:08,982 upload videos of people dropping menthos 29 00:01:08,995 --> 00:01:10,159 into Diet Coke. 30 00:01:10,222 --> 00:01:11,257 (laughter) 31 00:01:11,305 --> 00:01:13,890 Whatever it is, tell a story 32 00:01:14,881 --> 00:01:16,214 The next thing is 33 00:01:16,311 --> 00:01:18,022 you need to plant many seeds 34 00:01:18,559 --> 00:01:20,194 This is completely contrary 35 00:01:20,254 --> 00:01:21,334 to classic marketing. 36 00:01:21,388 --> 00:01:23,598 Classic marketing is you plant a few seeds, 37 00:01:24,593 --> 00:01:27,067 because you know exactly who is going to 38 00:01:27,128 --> 00:01:27,957 embrace your product 39 00:01:28,288 --> 00:01:30,632 and you water and fertilize just those seeds. 40 00:01:30,717 --> 00:01:31,484 You focus. 41 00:01:32,218 --> 00:01:34,568 I think that's just completely wrong 42 00:01:34,568 --> 00:01:37,479 In the old days, you would focus on 43 00:01:37,504 --> 00:01:39,716 the A-Listers and the top tier journalists. 44 00:01:40,324 --> 00:01:42,009 I.E, Wall Street Journal 45 00:01:42,681 --> 00:01:43,761 New York Times 46 00:01:43,867 --> 00:01:44,427 Business Week 47 00:01:44,503 --> 00:01:45,763 Fortune and Forbes. 48 00:01:45,912 --> 00:01:48,022 What you did is, you sucked up to them 49 00:01:48,114 --> 00:01:49,638 because you hoped in these 50 00:01:49,674 --> 00:01:51,385 great oracles of wisdom and knowledge 51 00:01:51,446 --> 00:01:52,625 would embrace your product 52 00:01:52,818 --> 00:01:54,028 and tell the hoi polloi 53 00:01:54,197 --> 00:01:56,637 and the great unwashed masses to embrace 54 00:01:56,637 --> 00:01:57,608 your product. 55 00:01:57,699 --> 00:01:59,217 Okay, so you sucked up to them. 56 00:01:59,306 --> 00:02:01,473 If you didn't have time to suck up to them, 57 00:02:01,593 --> 00:02:03,423 you hired a PR firm and paid them 58 00:02:03,432 --> 00:02:05,085 ten thousand bucks to suck up for you. 59 00:02:05,309 --> 00:02:07,506 Then, the PR firm would hire an 60 00:02:07,506 --> 00:02:09,463 oriental art history from Wellesley to do the 61 00:02:09,463 --> 00:02:11,488 sucking up for you. 62 00:02:12,201 --> 00:02:13,853 Okay, this doesn't work anymore 63 00:02:13,909 --> 00:02:15,579 because the world has been inverted. 64 00:02:15,782 --> 00:02:17,044 The world has been inverted. 65 00:02:17,363 --> 00:02:19,830 And now, for you to reach critical mass 66 00:02:19,888 --> 00:02:22,138 with a product, it's not because the 67 00:02:22,187 --> 00:02:24,007 Wall Street Journal or the New York Times 68 00:02:24,024 --> 00:02:25,884 blessed your product. It's because 69 00:02:25,972 --> 00:02:29,726 lonelyboy15 embraced your product. 70 00:02:30,804 --> 00:02:33,937 and lonelyboy15 told his twenty friends, 71 00:02:34,434 --> 00:02:35,872 who told their twenty friends, 72 00:02:36,184 --> 00:02:39,130 who eventually told Tiffany517 73 00:02:39,667 --> 00:02:42,505 and lonelygirl to also embrace your product. 74 00:02:43,082 --> 00:02:45,652 And what happens- this is how Twitter 75 00:02:45,749 --> 00:02:46,957 and how Facebook happens. 76 00:02:47,114 --> 00:02:48,290 It's not because the New York Times 77 00:02:48,327 --> 00:02:49,907 saw Facebook, or Twitter 78 00:02:49,985 --> 00:02:51,865 on the first day they launched and said 79 00:02:52,004 --> 00:02:53,364 "Ha ha, we have seen the future 80 00:02:53,636 --> 00:02:55,171 -we know with total certainty some day 81 00:02:55,367 --> 00:02:57,474 Facebook will have more members 82 00:02:57,963 --> 00:02:59,611 than every other country except 83 00:02:59,611 --> 00:03:01,168 China and India. 84 00:03:02,045 --> 00:03:03,985 Show me a New York Times, Business Week, 85 00:03:03,985 --> 00:03:05,217 Fortune, or Forbes article that 86 00:03:05,217 --> 00:03:08,377 predicted the success of Twitter or Facebook. 87 00:03:08,577 --> 00:03:10,795 or Apple! or Yahoo! 88 00:03:11,059 --> 00:03:13,289 Pick any of the success stories, none of them. 89 00:03:13,661 --> 00:03:15,028 So what you need to do 90 00:03:15,028 --> 00:03:16,369 is plant many seeds.