Jeff Hawkins: What is an entrepreneur?
Jeff Hawkins
Handspring, Inc
Jeff brings nearly 20 years of technical expertise to his role as palmOne’s chief technology officer. He co-founded Handspring with Donna Dubinsky in July of 1998 after five years together at Palm Computing. In 1994, Jeff invented the original PalmPilot products and founded Palm Computing. He is often credited as the designer who reinvented the handheld market.
Jeff currently holds nine patents for various handheld devices and features. His vision for handheld computing dates back to the 1980s, when as vice president of research at GRiD Systems Corporation he served as principal architect and designer for the GRiDPad and GRiD Convertible. Prior to that, he held key technical positions with Intel Corporation.
He also founded the non-profit Redwood Neuroscience Institute in 2002, a scientific research institute working on theories and mathematical models of brain function. In 2005 he formed Numenta, which will develop technology derived from his research in neuroscience and brain theory.
Jeff was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2003. He earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University.
Jeff Hawkins has never thought of himself as an entrepreneur. According to him, being an entrepreneur is not a career choice, but it is something you do at certain points in your life because you have to. Hawkins believes entrepreneurship is a means to an end, as opposed to an end in itself.
Please visit the Stanford Technology Venture Program’s Educator’s Corner for more clips.
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