Why Money Should Never Be the Reason to Start a Business

Transcript :

Jensen Huang : You know friends who have a lot of ideas, but they also have a lot of money, and so they don't really feel that motivated to do something with those ideas?

First of all, I hope that if I leave you with anything, money is the only singular reason not to start the company. Starting companies is a very, very unlikely probability for success. So, if you're looking for that as your reason for doing it, you will likely regret the experience.

You should start the company and build the company because you just believe in your idea so strongly. You're so passionate about it, and you want to build something great. The only reason you want to do it is because you care about it. Money comes along.

I have plenty of money, but it doesn’t motivate me, nor does it demotivate me because it wasn’t the reason I started.

I would urge you to ask yourself—and for your friends to ask themselves—what is the purpose they want to start a company for?

Ideas are a dime a dozen. There are so many ideas. If you want ideas, you're going to get a lot of ideas in this room. So, ideas don’t really matter. You have to have a perspective that's unique, that you feel really strongly about, and that you're willing to persevere through almost any challenge to make it happen. That’s the reason.