Guy Kawasaki
Encyclopedia
Guy Kawasaki is a Silicon Valley
venture capital
ist, bestselling author, and Apple Fellow. He was one of the Apple employees originally responsible for marketing the Macintosh
in 1984. He is currently a Managing Director of Garage Technology Ventures, and has been involved in the rumor reporting site Truemors and the RSS aggregation Alltop. He is also a well-known blogger.
, where he attended the Iolani School
. He cites his AP English teacher Harold Keables as a major influence, who taught him that “the key to writing is editing.” He graduated with B.A.
in psychology from Stanford University
in 1976. After attending Stanford, he went to law school at UC Davis, where he lasted one week before realizing that he hated law school. In 1977, he enrolled in the UCLA Anderson School of Management, from where he received his MBA. His first job was at a jewelery company, Nova Stylings; in regards to this, Kawasaki said “the jewelry business is a very, very tough business — tougher than the computer business... I learned a very valuable lesson: how to sell.”
through his Stanford roommate, Mike Boich. He was the chief evangelist
for four years, until he “started listening to [his] own hype, and wanted to start a software company and really make big bucks." In 1987, Kawasaki was hired to lead ACIUS, the US subsidiary of ACI, which published the popular Apple database software system called 4th Dimension
, that still remains popular today.
He left ACIUS in 1989 to further his writing and speaking career; during this time, he wrote columns that were featured in Forbes
and MacUser
. He also founded another company, Fog City Software
, which created Emailer, an email client that sold to Claris
.>
He returned to Apple as an Apple Fellow in 1995. He is a founder of Garage Technology Ventures, a venture capital firm that has made investments in The Motley Fool and D.light Design. In 2007, he founded Truemors, a free-flow rumor mill, that sold to NowPublic. He is also a founder at Alltop, an online magazine rack.
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
venture capital
Venture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
ist, bestselling author, and Apple Fellow. He was one of the Apple employees originally responsible for marketing the Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
in 1984. He is currently a Managing Director of Garage Technology Ventures, and has been involved in the rumor reporting site Truemors and the RSS aggregation Alltop. He is also a well-known blogger.
Early life
Guy Kawasaki was born in Honolulu, HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, where he attended the Iolani School
Iolani School
Iolani School, located at 563 Kamoku Street in Honolulu, Hawaii, is a private coeducational college preparatory school serving over 1,800 students. Founded in 1863 by Father William R. Scott, it was the principal school of the former Anglican Church of Hawaii. It was patronized by Kamehameha IV...
. He cites his AP English teacher Harold Keables as a major influence, who taught him that “the key to writing is editing.” He graduated with B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in psychology from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 1976. After attending Stanford, he went to law school at UC Davis, where he lasted one week before realizing that he hated law school. In 1977, he enrolled in the UCLA Anderson School of Management, from where he received his MBA. His first job was at a jewelery company, Nova Stylings; in regards to this, Kawasaki said “the jewelry business is a very, very tough business — tougher than the computer business... I learned a very valuable lesson: how to sell.”
Career
In 1983, Kawasaki got a job at AppleApple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
through his Stanford roommate, Mike Boich. He was the chief evangelist
Technology evangelist
A technical or technology evangelist is a person who attempts to build a critical mass of support for a given technology in order to establish it as a technical standard in a market that is subject to network effects...
for four years, until he “started listening to [his] own hype, and wanted to start a software company and really make big bucks." In 1987, Kawasaki was hired to lead ACIUS, the US subsidiary of ACI, which published the popular Apple database software system called 4th Dimension
4th Dimension (Software)
4th Dimension is a relational database management system and IDE developed by Laurent Ribardière. 4D was created in 1984....
, that still remains popular today.
He left ACIUS in 1989 to further his writing and speaking career; during this time, he wrote columns that were featured in Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
and MacUser
MacUser
MacUser is a biweekly computer magazine published by Dennis Publishing Ltd. and licensed by Felden in the UK.In 1985 Felix Dennis’ Dennis Publishing, the creators of MacUser in the UK, licensed the name and “mouse-rating” symbol for MacUser to Ziff-Davis Publishing for use in the rest of the world....
. He also founded another company, Fog City Software
Fog City Software
Fog City Software is a San Francisco Bay Area based software development company founded in 1994. It was started by Guy Kawasaki, Will Mayall, Kathryn Henkens and Jud Spencer. It is most known for developing the software title Claris Emailer for Apple Computer in the 1990s...
, which created Emailer, an email client that sold to Claris
Claris
Claris was a computer software developer formed as a spin-off from Apple Computer in 1987. It was given the source code and copyrights to several programs that were owned by Apple, notably MacWrite and MacPaint, in order to separate Apple's application software activities from its hardware and...
.>
He returned to Apple as an Apple Fellow in 1995. He is a founder of Garage Technology Ventures, a venture capital firm that has made investments in The Motley Fool and D.light Design. In 2007, he founded Truemors, a free-flow rumor mill, that sold to NowPublic. He is also a founder at Alltop, an online magazine rack.
External links
- GuyKawasaki.com
- Garage Technology Ventures, founding partner
- Alltop.com co-founder
- What I learned from Steve Jobs, Guy Kawasaki, CNET News, October 8, 2011
- Profile at Keynote Speakers