Two Encounters with Dr Eric Brewer
Opportunity usually knocks only once. But for the students of ASB it happened to knock twice. The fist time was when we had the opportunity of hearing Mr. Eric Brewer, cofounder of Inktomi and Professor of Computer Science at UC Berkeley, speak from Kochi over video conferencing. It was an experience worth remembering. The successful entrepreneur set the stage by introducing himself, his company and his interests.
The question and answer session that followed gave us a chance to see the multi- faceted person he was. Whatever the topic under discussion, be it the multimice computers he is working on or the telemedicine research, what vibrated through the hall beyond the screens was Mr. Brewer’s conviction and energy. When asked how he was able to invest his time and money in avenues like rural education he said as survival is no more a question for him he just wants to help make others life better. He is a business man with a difference because contentment and clarity like this is very rarely seen.
Opportunity knocked a second time when we got a chance to hear him speak in person. We were exposed to what the satellite screens could not capture- his poise and down- to- earth humility. It is common to hear people speak about what they did well and how they did it. But it was uncommon to hear a successful entrepreneur speak not about the roles he played in the success of his venture but also the role he thought he was not capable enough to play. He explained why a young entrepreneur like him should not be a CEO by talking about the importance of the management of day –to day issues and the Herculean task of growing company from “tens to hundreds to thousands” which could be done only by a CEO who has already gone through the experience before. He further went on to detail the nitty gritty involved in financing a venture, managing to get a good venture capitalist, and at the same time “giving little control and getting maximum of benefit”.
When asked about his decision to sell of Inktomi, which was his brainchild, when they were actually sourcing the top giants in the web like Yahoo and AOL, prompt came the honest reply that at the time survival was a question and his lack of networking with the ad media was a handicap that prevented him from making huge revenues. Currently he is involved in various research activities, alone and in collaboration with Microsoft in India.
He says that India is a great opportunity for technological venture due to its diversity, huge market and educated talent pool.
In conclusion, when asked about what makes a good entrepreneur he said it is one’s ability to attract people who share the same passion and energy levels to give in their best even at times of adversity. We realized that we were hearing it from a person who did it, did it well and at the same had the courage to sit back and think where he had gone wrong.
Abinayi Pavithra
2nd MBA
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