5 1/2 Questions from The Metapreneurs
Who are The Metapreneurs?
- developed and refined the business models that customers now embrace without resistance or question,
- built companies or products that are now the platforms on which modern entrepreneurs now build their products and businesses,
- created best practices and methods, so new founders can start high growth companies with a greater chance of success,
- some pioneered new business models, new markets and new technologies,
- some were leaders who became the gold standard for managing and mobilizing great people, and
- others have opened doors that seemed to be bolted shut; they opened doors the hard way – so they are now open forever.
5 1/2 Questions for Derek Sivers
Derek Sivers — A unique and unusual Entrepreneur, Writer, Philosopher and Creator — very insightful, self aware and profound,
He knows how to express his thoughts and views in a clear and compelling manner. He known for his surprising quotable insights and pithy succinct writing style. Formerly a musician, programmer, TED speaker, and circus clown, he sold his first company for $22 million and gave all the money to charity.
Derek Sivers is known as the founder of CD Baby. A professional musician since 1987, he started CD Baby by accident in 1998 when he was selling his own CD on his website, and friends asked if he could sell theirs, too. CD Baby was the largest seller of independent music on the web, with over $100M in sales for over 150,000 musician clients. But perhaps Derek is best known for his viral, impactful and inspiring TED Talk: How to start a movement .
5 1/2 Questions for Craig Newmark
Craig Newmark — Founder of Craigslist, Philanthropist
Craig Newmark is the founder of Craigslist, the web-based platform that has fundamentally changed classified advertising. Since its founding in 1995, craigslist has become one of the world’s 10 most-visited English language web platforms. Today there are craigslist websites virtually everywhere and serving every continent on earth (except Antarctica).
5 1/2 Questions for Heidi Jannenga
Heidi Jannenga is the co-founder of Phoenix-based WebPT, the leading software provider for electronic medical records and practice management for rehabilitation therapists.
Dr. Jannenga served as chief operating officer until 2015, and then as the firm’s president until 2019, when it was acquired by Warburg Pincus. Dr. Jannenga also serves as secretary of the board of directors of the Arizona Community Foundation, as a trustee of the Arizona Science Center, as a board member of the Arizona chapter of Conscious Capitalism, and as a board member of the Arizona School for the Arts.
5 1/2 Questions for Michael Crow
Michael Crow
President, Arizona State University
Dr. Michael M. Crow is an educator, knowledge enterprise architect, science and technology policy scholar and higher education leader. He became the sixteenth president of Arizona State University in July 2002 and has spearheaded ASU’s rapid and groundbreaking transformative evolution into one of the world’s best public metropolitan research universities. As a model “New American University,” ASU simultaneously demonstrates comprehensive excellence, inclusivity representative of the ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of the United States, and consequential societal impact.
5 1/2 Questions for Scott McNealy
Scott McNealy
Co-Founder, Former Chairman of the Board, and CEO, Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Co-Founder, and Board Member, Curriki — Our Children’s Future, Our Future
Scott McNealy is an outspoken advocate for personal liberty, small government, and free-market competition. In 1982, he co-Founded Sun Microsystems and served as CEO and Chairman of the Board for 22 years. He piloted the company from startup to legendary Silicon Valley giant in computing infrastructure, network computing, and open source software.
5 1/2 Questions for Geoff Ralston
Entrepreneur, Investor, and President at Y Combinator.
Geoff has been president of Y Combinator since early 2019. He has been with YC for over ten years, joining Paul Graham as one of the first non-founder partners in 2011. Geoff has worked with hundreds of YC companies like Stripe, Gingko, Clever, Helion and Boom and has personally angel invested in over 100 companies.