#13 Tattoo your startup logo! Hardware eats software; GenAI startup scene early and shaping up; Customers center of business models; Alignment it is!

History repeats itself, it is a cycle!

Yesterday it was the story of Macintosh and today it is the story of OpenAI. Trying to accelerate the bicycle of the mind with tools and make such tools whether be it a computer or a ChatGPT accessible.

The Story of Machintosh from 1984- an interview excerpt. ????

BYTE Magazine: How did the Macintosh project begin?

Steve Jobs: What turns on Andy and Burrell and Chris and Bill and Larry and everyone else here is building something really inexpensive so that everyone can afford it. It's not very many years ago that most of us in this room couldn't have afforded a $5000 computer. We realized that we could build a supercheap computer that would run Bill Atkinson's amazing Quickdraw and have a mouse on it— in essence, build a really cheap implementation of Lisa's technology that would use some of that software technology. That's when the Macintosh as we know it was started.

That being said as and how I speak more with GenAI startup founders and investors, I hear that the landscape for GenAI is still evolving. The valuations are high, but only founders who are building useful products that are well thought through and serving a burning need, will survive the GenAI bubble. I will be sharing a podcast with Peeyush Rai on this shortly. Meanwhile here is a sneak peek on an event where I attended a panel on GenAI. I also caught up with a pioneer in cloud computing on another unicorn startup in another upcoming podcast...hush hush until then! Meanwhile enjoy this...????

Hardware eats software

A super interesting trend that I noticed was that in the 90s and 2000s the buzzword was was software is eating hardware. But a player like NVIDIA who can build a full stack and own the market, is making the hardware that will be eating the software created to enable AI. Certainly hardware is the shovel in the gold rush of GenAI. And players like NVIDIA are owning it all.

After 30+ years of being founder-CEO, he deserves it. Can't blame Jensen Huang for flaunting his cool tattoo!

In a gold rush invest in shovels!

And that's what NVIDIA did by building full stack! All people building serious software should make their own hardware..was it Musk who made this statement? Certainly rings true.. As GenAI continues to revolutionize industries, the hardware supporting AI i.e., LLM and other computational models will thrive as an industry. An interesting post by Dr. Deepak Sekar on how NVIDIA could be equally or more, if not less valuable than Meta, Tesla or TSMC.

Another trend to watch out for as we continue to reel in the after effects of GenAI: Watching B2B turn customer-centric

In a super-exciting conversation with Surbhi Kaul VP, Global Customer Experience 瞻博网络 , Surbhi explores the stage process adopted by Juniper to ensure customer success. It was interesting to hear from her how even B2B products require careful engineering of a great customer experience from the word get-go, as soon as the customer starts even engaging with researching about your product. Check out her amazing insights on succeeding as a woman leader and C-level roles ????

That being said I have off late started working on dropping things that I like to do but focusing more on things that matter and I love to do.

On alignment and focus

There is magic in alignment with goals not just at an individual level but for the team as a whole, the outcomes and KPIs are quite distinct. I will be sharing more about OKRs in my upcoming podcast with Gaurav Sabharwal of GetJop as well.

....along these lines here is a note from none other than Jyoti Bansal on alignment in successful organizations. ["The #1 thing that destroys a company's innovative spirit: Lack of alignment. As a CEO, it's your job to make sure that everyone in a company is working on the same mission.To do this you have to be loud and clear about the company's roadmap for growth and innovation. What do you want to do in the next 3, 5, 10 years? Check out the full note! "]

Wrap up..

As I struggle to find meaning and purpose daily in my life, and look up to role models, I discover that they also struggle with meaning and purpose on a daily basis...

"On the 27th straight day of filming “Forrest Gump,” Tom Hanks was tired & worried. During a scene on the famous park bench, Hanks stopped & said to director Bob Zemeckis, “Hey, Bob…is anybody going to care about this movie? I don’t think anybody’s going to care."

Bob replied,

“It’s a minefield, Tom. You never know what’s good…It’s a minefield! It’s a goddam minefield! We may be sowing the seeds of our own destruction.” Source : Billy Oppenheimer

That being said, I would like to bring in a talk on longevity I listened to recently, about making life itself meaningful and aligned, by working it backwards from the end. A few things we fail to think about when we are alive..

"How to Plan for the End of Life

Planning for the end of life can be overwhelming, but it's important to have a plan in place. Here are some steps you can take:

1. Have a conversation with your family

It's important to have an open and honest conversation with your family about your wishes for end-of-life care. This can help ensure that your wishes are respected and followed.

2. Create an advance directive

An advance directive is a legal document that outlines your wishes for medical care if you become unable to make decisions for yourself. This can include things like whether or not you want to be kept on life support.

3. Consider longevity insurance

Longevity insurance is a type of insurance that pays out a lump sum of money if you live past a certain age (usually 85). This can help ensure that you have enough money to cover medical expenses and other costs in your later years.

4. Strength training for aging groups

Strength training can be an important part of healthy aging. It can help you maintain muscle mass, bone density, and balance, which can help prevent falls and other injuries. "

On that note, I would like to wrap up today's newsletter allowing you to think about how selfish and selfless we are with our natural resources -

"'Remember that the way we use our space is our decision' ?Tim Asperges?r"

Signing off..

??? ??????? ?????? ? ????? ???????????

??? ????????? ???? ???? ? ???????????

Just like a chariot cannot move with one wheel, we cannot attain our destiny without hardwork or effort.

Here's wishing all of you the path from insight-to-impact,

Onwards-and-upwards,

The very best of everything!

-Vida Patil