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Jensen Huang Could Not Write a Business Plan. He Got Funded Anyway.

By Jensen Huang · Investing · 1 min read

Jensen didn't know how to write a business plan. Turns out — making a financial forecast nobody knows is right or wrong is not actually important. His old boss called Don Valentine and said: invest in this kid.

Key Points

A financial forecast nobody knows is right or wrong turns out not to be important
What matters: what problem are you solving, and what is sufficiently hard that others won't swarm it
Wilf Corrigan from LSI Logic called Don Valentine and said — invest in this kid

The art of writing a business plan ought to be much shorter. What is the true problem you're trying to solve? What is sufficiently hard that when everyone finds out, they won't make you obsolete?

The Business Plan Doesn't Matter

Huang: I didn't know how to write a business plan. And it turns out — that's not actually important. Making a financial forecast that nobody knows is right or wrong turns out not to be that important.

The art of writing a business plan ought to be much shorter. It forces you to condense — what is the true problem you're trying to solve? What is the unmet need you believe will emerge? And what are you going to do that is sufficiently hard that when everybody else finds out it's a good idea, they're not going to swarm it and make you obsolete?

What is the true problem? What is sufficiently hard that when others find out, they won't swarm it?

Skills Can Be Learned. The Essence Can't.

Huang: Product, positioning, pricing, go-to-market — those are skills. You can learn those things easily. The stuff that is really, really hard is the essence — what I just described.

I did that okay. But I had no idea how to write the business plan.

Product, positioning, pricing — those are skills you can learn. The hard part is the essence.

Invest in This Kid

Huang: I was fortunate that Wilf Corrigan was so pleased with the work I did when I was at LSI Logic. He called up Don Valentine and told Don — invest in this kid. He's going to come your way.

So I was set up for success from that moment. And it got us on the ground.

Wilf Corrigan called Don Valentine and said — invest in this kid. That got us on the ground.