Elon Musk is one of the top leading young tech tycoons of this century.
Not only has Tesla grown to exceed the ranks of Ford and General Motors, but Space X’s Hyperloop transportation of the future is almost here.
Listen to the story of how this young 18-year-old student named Thomas Brag got into the entrepreneurial pilot program at Draper University and met one of the greatest entrepreneurs of all time.
Tim Draper, the founder of the school, is one of the top venture capitalists in the world.
Not only did he start the entrepreneurial program, but he was also an early investor in Tesla and Space X. Given his educational opportunities and business aspirations Thomas seemed to be set for his path into capitalism.
“I was blown away, it seemed like a place that could change the world,” said Bragg of Draper University’s Entrepreneurial Pilot Program.
At the beginning of the Boot Camp one student from the crowd was afforded the opportunity to ask Elon Musk himself “as an established entrepreneur what advice would you have for the young people here trying to start off?”
Musk immediately replied to the audience “I think it’s very difficult to start a business and very painful, it’s like eating glass and staring at the abyss. If you need inspiring words then don’t do it.”
With lots of hard work and seemingly luck being a factor in any startup’s success, the path to the top is daunting.
Not only does it serve as a warning to uneasy beginners, but as this young business person realized several years later, Elon’s quote can serve as a reminder on the path to success in business as well.