We are speaking today with Alan Yong, who is a strategist, entrepreneur, and technology and computing pioneer. He created the world’s first personal tablet computer (the DTR) in the early 1990s, and was founder and CEO of Dauphin, which won a $400m contract with the Pentagon and $150m manufacturing agreement with IBM. Alan is the cofounder of DNotes Global — digital currency for everyday consumers — and one of the leaders of this technological revolution. His new book is Improve Your Odds: The Four Pillars of Business Success.
Entrepreneurial Role Models:
Someone from Alan’s youth at the YMCA
When business started difficulties overcame:
“What I did not realise was you can design the restaurant and serve the dishes that you think will be the best and if the customer are not ready for them, what would you do? So we started a beautiful restaurant, beautifully decorated, high end, everything, customer would come in and complain that the price was too high but then I argue that our food is better, high quality fresh meat everything, it didn’t matter, and I refused to serve some of the dishes. You serve the customer what they want rather than what you want”…[Listen for More]
Favourite Books:
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t Book by James C. CollinsFavourite Quote:
“Success in business is simple, do the right thing, at the right time, the right way because if you think about it, it makes a lot of sense, if you are doing the wrong thing, it will result in failure, if you do it at the wrong time, especially when adaption of a new technology is at stake, you can have the best idea, but if your timing is wrong and the consumers are not ready for your product or service, you will run out of money and go bankrupt”
Recommended Online Resources:
The search engines
Best Advice to Other Entrepreneurs:
“Always do your homework, it’s good to be trusted. Always trust and verify because this is a pretty rough world, I hate to put it this way, in the business world we swim with sharks everyday so don’t take it for granted that everything you hear about, every generous author. It’s a pretty ruthless business world”…[Listen for More]
More About Alan Yong:
Neil’s Quote at the Beginning:
“Capitalism is not so much an aberration as a step on an evolutionary path, and one that contains within it some of the answers to its own contradictions.” Geoff Mulgan
Other Quotes From the Chat with Alan Yong:
- “Never assume that you are the best, always assume that you can learn more”
- “To stay on the edge is all at your fingertips, it’s whether you are willing to make the commitment and humble enough to learn from other people who have been there, who’ve failed on your behalf you may say, but finally learn what it takes to be successful”
- “Be very sure that you hang out with the right people”
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