At Due we love to quote famous people. This combined with the obsessed with Minions the movie caused me to put together this post. Here in the Valley, we have our own set of Minions that have done extraordinary things over the course of the last decade. Though not all of them are from the Valley but all over, we still admire them. These top bananas prove that you can be disruptive, passionate, driven and very unique in how a Super Hero Entrepreneur develops and executes on ideas and business models.
Super Hero Minions of Silicon Valley
We celebrate their…
Passion: In a similar way to the Minions’ love of bananas, the super heroes of Silicon Valley, such as Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg believe it takes an extraordinary level of enthusiasm about what you are doing and working on to become successful. Cook says to “give it everything you got” while Sandberg believes that every ounce of passion is worth it and creates that “clear path to happiness.“
Drive and Purpose: Silicon Valley heroes like Pete Cashmore, CEO of Mashable, and Safra Catz, Executive of Oracle, have a similar drive to the Minions and recommend that entrepreneurs compete against themselves and blaze their own trails. Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo, explained, you may have to work really hard for a long period of time, but it is because you want to do it. That drive is what created some of the most incredible companies, but it took many of these Silicon Valley super heroes many years, barriers, and challenges to get there in the end. The point is they never gave up.
Relationship-Building: The Minions, despite liking to do practical jokes on each other, are really all about working as a team and building each other up while also finding that perfect despicable master to go the distance with. When creating a product or service solution, Padamsree Warrior, Chief Technology & Strategy Officer for Cisco Systems, says that it always come down to making something that can build “human connections.” After all, a super hero is always there to look out for those that they are intent on helping.
Disruptive Nature: While the Minions often seem as though they are operating in the midst of sheer chaos with numerous accidents and damage along the way, this disruptive nature can accomplish many good things and is often necessary to bring about real change. While Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, admonishes entrepreneurs to break things and take risks, Jack Dorsey, Co-Founder of Twitter, suggests being the “unexpected.” Both of these superheroes have disrupted how we live and work as well as forever changed how the world connects and communicates.
Resourcefulness: Super heroes often have to use what is around them to save the day just as the Minions did during their mission that took them to unknown regions and saw them face all types of situations. It’s about being resourceful and doing more with less that is the sign of a true hero. Jeremy Stoppelman, CEO of Yelp, concluded, “Your success is going to be very dependent on how you adapt.”
Individuality: Like Bob, Dave, Stuart and Kevin, each of these super heroes has unique traits, skills, knowledge and personalities that add to the overall aura that is our super hero headquarters here in Silicon Valley. For that, we thank them for proving that all kinds of people can wear the cape of success and turn an idea into a golden banana.
At Due.com, we toast these super heroes of Silicon Valley and look to them as role models for what we aim to accomplish with our own solution, which is to help companies and small business owners fulfill their own purpose and passion.
