Being a Technopreneur

Techno Assignment 1: The Questions are:
1. What are the factors that contributed to the success and failure of Steve Jobs as a technopreneur?
2. How do you see yourself as a technopreneur?
3. Would you take the same career path that Steve Jobs took? Why or why not?


1. What are the factors that contributed to the success and failure of Steve Jobs as a technopreneur?

“You just don’t live in life, you change it, shape I, you make your mark on It”, "Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower." and “Good artist copies, great artist steals”. These are some of the quotes Steve Jobs had spoken. Very inspirational quotes coming from a one inspirational man, who had a journey, competed and had dominated the world of Technopreneurship.

In the world of business we could say that a little mistake could ruin everything you had, for there are lots of competitors waiting for an opening and a chance to eliminate you. Thus, we could say that it is more like “survival of the fittest” which states that “the strong shall live and the weak shall die”. Better company with in demand products to offer basically reigns and dominates.

This is a reflection of Steve Jobs career based on the movie “The Pirates of the Silicon Valley”. But, before having my reflection, I just want to introduce to the readers who Steve Jobs really are. Well, Steven Paul "Steve" Jobs (born February 24, 1955) is an American business magnate and inventor. He is well known for being the co-founder and chief executive officer of Apple. Jobs also previously served as chief executive of Pixar Animation Studios; he became a member of the board of The Walt Disney Company in 2006, following the acquisition of Pixar by Disney. And before having those titles, he was just only a student, curious inventor who really wants to deal with computers. Took some wild experiments and that how it all began.

The task is to site the factors that contributed to the success and failures of Steve Jobs as a technopreneur; pertaining to the task, I would start talking about the factors that had contributed to his awesome success. Steve Jobs, based on what I had witness on the said movie is a creative, hardworking, crazy but positive tinker, risk taker, a good adviser and technopreneur, and an inspirational and good leader with a great ability, who has the guts to keep on standing and striving even if there’s only a bit of chance remaining.

But Steve Jobs could not specifically do all of those things without the help and supports from his friends and employees. Especially with the help of his friend “Steve”, who has been on his side ever since the start of his crazy dream, which had been his shoulder to all his works and experiments.

So now, lets stress out the meanings of these factors one by one. Creative – he is a creative technopreneur, each design he made were based on his experiences. Hardworking – for he is committed to his job which made him to make it to the top of the hierarchy in terms of being technopreneur. Crazy but a positive tinker – for he makes decision in a unique way that even his friend “Steve” couldn’t understand, but when things fall apart still he has the strength to keep on going and believe what he believe is right. Risk taker – he takes all the risk and had treated it as a challenge, as if there’s nothing to be worried of and everything going to be alright. A good adviser – because Steve Jobs just don’t spoke out words with no valuable meanings, it should be a phrase of a sentence that someone can pick a lesson from. A good technopreneur – because he can endure all the sufferings and focus on his own job, he is not threatened on his big competitors which makes him a competitive technopreneur. An inspirational and a good leader – as what I had said lately, he is an inspirational leader for he is a good adviser and a true leader who leads and commands his employees. Taking his employees to the right path and making their company grow and mature more and more. Along with his own ability he had raised his company leaving his competitors behind and making them at a blank business.

Just to share something, Steve Jobs crazy dreams include wiping the IBM out of the rolls. This is a dream, which came to a reality, he dominated the world of technopreneur, beating up the IBM and putting them to a big misery. Making them as if out of date, in lay mans term making them looking old fashioned, for the Apple had leap a bunch of years on their technologies.

Now going back to the task, we will now be tackling about Steve Jobs failures, which had made a competitor of him pass through his company’s technology. Steve Jobs once said that “everyday they are opening doors, picking the wrong one might end it all”, is it a quote he had said to a friend. Because of having the fame and fortune, he began to become a sort of boastful and a short-tempered guy, who had forgotten to look back on where he and It all starts, who forgot his friends, the ones whom helped his to reach or achieve his goals in life. Sometimes he act to be so tactless and there are times he himself abuse his powers and superiority unto his employees.

Here plays the role of another technopreneur named as Bill Gates, an intelligent man, with a clever mind and awesome convincing powers or rather good at having sales talks, who has been the former owner of Microsoft. Steve Jobs had left the door open, making or giving the Microsoft the chance and opportunity to steal and claim the technology, which were supposed to be for the Apple.

These factors had affected his career and his company, that the Microsoft took advantage with.
There are two things Steve Jobs and Bill Gates where directly opposite, Jobs was as excited about innovation as Bill Gates was interested in making money. Steve Jobs is really a leader in innovation.

Before ending this article, I just want to share a trivia, According to one belief Apple originates from a pleasant summer Steve Jobs had spent as an orchard worker in Oregon. Where in he named the company Apple (http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/4-26-2005-69111.asp).



2. How do you see yourself as a technopreneur?

Before going to the main question, let me first define the meaning of technopreneurship to make it all clear. As what I had understood, the term technopreneurship coming from the word itself “techno” which basically means technology, and “entrepreneurship – preneurship “ which surely means business. In other words, or to shorten it all up, technopreneurship is a business which involves and deals with the use of technology as its media. Putting and individual/being involved or running a business needs a lot of decision-makings for it is risky and complicated as it already is. An entrepreneur or technopreneur must be aware on all things specially about on what he must do to package his products to the customers, must be wise and intelligent enough to handle different sets of situations in order to survive the long run of business.

The question is, how do I see myself as a technopreneur, honestly and frankly speaking, I am in a big doubt on my skills of being a technopreneur. Describing my characteristics would absolutely conclude a big percentage or chance of failure. Though I could give it a try anyway, I am a man who faces challenges in a way I want it to be, quitting is not my habit but I merely do know when to end it all when it is badly needed.
So now, going back to the question of being a technopreneur, being a good technopreneur needs to be a good leader. Let us focus on the side of the characteristic leadership, for leadership deals a big factor specially when an individual is said to be or to become an entrepreneur or technopreneur, and for the reason that good leaders always excel or surpass anytime and anywhere despite of any reasons that might stop him from doing what he believe is right. As I had mentioned earlier, I am a good follower but to think that I may be a good leader is a big doubt and maybe there’s a big “no” on it. Let me prove it and let us have a good example: let’s base this one in school activities or class activities, most of the times when the school or rather the teacher for example has given a activity to be worked on as a group, I always pick and play the role of being a follower or a member. I always avoid the position of being a leader, because being a leader means having the whole responsibility and for sometimes being a leader takes a lot of confidence and managerial skills and abilities, and these are too bustle on my part as a part of the group. Hence I would rather be a good and obeying member that organize and handle things myself. But sometimes, when no one would take the place of being a leader because if some certain reasons and knowing that I am one of the few who is not so loaded with all the things, I myself would start acting like one just for the sake of having an organizer and to build everything up.

Here I a brief conclusion: I am not qualified of being a good leader and most of all being a good technopreneur because of my lazy habits who always messes things that are should be done. Because a good technopreneur or an entrepreneur is a good leader, and a good leader is hardworking. By the way, I am not putting my self down, having these imperfections serves as a challenge to deal with. A challenge that would help me grows and matures more and finds the real meaning of life.

On the other hand, let us be neutral. I do also have some good qualities of being a good technopreneur, but most of it could be achieved or would show up in critical ways. Let me site some of the qualities and characteristics; it includes: being a risk-taker – because I am one of those people who possesses that characteristic specially when the percentage or rate of success is higher than the failing rate. Hardworking (if it is badly needed and when time pushes me in a critical condition and leaving me no other choice). A positive tinker but still I am in a doubt regarding of being a good leader. So now, am I qualified of being a technopreneur? I would surely say yes! Indeed I am qualified of being one, just a little work on my attitude and it would be all fixed up.

And also with the help of good followers or members, I think I could handle things. And coming up with a good idea or concept to package our products, I think I could also be a good technopreneur. Maybe I am not as good as Steve Jobs were, but who knows? I myself might see myself at the top and done greater things than he does and had achieved.

But still, putting my self in the field of technopreneurship and being a technopreneur, stills has a chance of coming up with a good result and a great success. (And this is a part that shows I am a risk-taker). Although I am not as business minded as some geeks were, I will still strive and make my way out to achieve success. For as long as there is a crisis, there are still ways to negotiate with the people, make a business and earn money, you just need to be creative and see things in a different way.

And by the way, being a good technopreneur involves being an optimistic, as what I had mentioned “seeing things in a different way”, must see things in a different way to see the brighter side of it. Seeing happiness despite of loneliness is just like seeing a business in the middle of a big crisis. And also, being optimistic would surely be a good help especially when having too many challenges to over come. This would help a technopreneur have a good midset for a better out come.





3. Would you take the same career path that Steve Jobs took? Why or why not?

Steve Jobs was really an amazing person. He had succeeded through his own ability, passion and courage. With a good career together with lots of titles, we could clearly say that he had the true abilities of being what he was right now. To abide Steve Jobs career path is a great pleasure, but that pleasure comes up with waves of challenges to overcome and endure. Following his footsteps is too difficult to make, for there are lots of things and characteristics to be considered such as; an individual must possess some of Steve Jobs characteristics and abilities in order for him or her to achieve his or her goals. Or if not, he or she must whole-heartedly offer his or her own time and passion to the business to have a proper control on it.
Steve Jobs had started his journey as just an inventor who is so in love with computers, and little by little he had raised himself up through the offers of some business mans. And still had continued on growing because of his good performance.

So mind me, let me introduce to you some the path and decisions he had chosen, which made him on the top of the hierarchy. “In the late 1970s, Jobs, with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Mike Markkulaand others, designed, developed, and marketed one of the first commercially successful lines of personal computers, the Apple II series.

In 1976, Jobs, then 21, and Wozniak, 26, founded Apple Computer Co. in the Jobs family garage. In the early 1980s, Jobs was among the first to see the commercial potential of the mouse-driven graphical user interface, which led to the creation of the Macintosh. In 1986, he acquired the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm Ltd which was spun off as Pixar Animation Studios. (Powered and imparted by google.com)”
Now I had clearly stated his career path, and hopefully anyone would understand. The question is, would I take the same career path Steve Jobs had taken? Probably yes, for basing as what he had achieved, anyone would dream of being like him and what it do feels to be like him. I would rather take that path, be competitive and raise my self level by level until I reach the top. I would be following the path he had made but not having some of his passion and ways. If I were to choose, I would only pick the points where he had been successful and discard the happenings of failure though he had survived and still made it. Knowing that possibilities of failure, I could surely avoid it for it would bring chaos on my part as a technopreneur.
Steve Jobs determination on changing things and coming up with a brilliant idea is unreachable. His is a true artist with a very creative mind, which he interprets in a way he knows. Despite of having his mood swings or what we call as being short-tempered, still he has the ability to lead a group of people and create an overwhelming gadgets and technology. And guess what, his creations are mostly admired by his competitors. Having so many challenges, he had faced it without any doubts and fears, believing on his aims and on what he think was right. And the product of his determination? A great success and achievement that anyone would be dreaming of.

How about this one, making my own path, following what my heart dictates me. It is much more better than following Steve Jobs career path. For it is a lot more of finding myself and knowing where do I really belong. Because being yourself gives you a big opportunity to rise what you got for some reasons that can be answered by most of the readers.

Having my own unique way is also a good idea, instead of following Steve Jobs steps; I would rather make it a reference and a stepping-stone for my own journey to make. Having what and individual really loves make him or her comfortable on every little thing he or she makes.

Now would somebody tell me, isn’t it far way better? You can ensure of a big success because having your own path means having your passion and interest of things. Having this kind of point of view as a technopreneur, you would surely enjoy and love the things that you do.

But now going back to my first choice, it is also nice to follow Steve Jobs career path, for he will serve as somebody’s inspiration and he’s chosen path will serve as a guide to some ventures out there.

Steve Jobs has really no room for committing any mistakes, and if he does, he definitely knows how to stood using his own abilities and strength. Being an optimistic is one of his admiring characteristics, which had helped him to become what he was right now. A characteristic that everybody should admire and adopt to become successful in live.

I do wonder if I will be given an opportunity to become or follow Steve Jobs career path, would I take the risk? Could I handle the pressure? Could I handle the challenges? These are some of the question, which are needed to be answered, not by other people, but instead I must answer it myself. I who definitely know myself, my capabilities and limitations as a human being. And hopefully when that time comes, I could already come up with a good positive answer and be prepared to take over the big challenges life would slap on me. To win and take over those challenges and pressures, and be a part of something new and interesting world of technopreneurship.

Indeed being a technopreneur is a tough thing to be, for it just not only requires being intelligent, still there are so many aspects and involves a lot of things to consider before reaching the top. But possessing a good mindset will give you a great achievement. And as a fruit of being hardworking, being a technopreneur opens an individual lot of choices to make. Though must be wiser to pick the right one in order to have a good outcome.