From Startup to Billion Dollar Company LIVE! w/ Cree Founders

What does it take to go from startup to billion dollar company?

Do you want to know what it was like in the early days of Cree? When it was far from certain, the company would become a global technology leader.

In this episode, I talk with four of the Cree founders - Neal Hunter, John Edmond, John Palmour, and Calvin Carter. They had the vision and courage to make possible what others said couldn't be done.

They talk about some of the critical make-or-break moments: like mortgaging your house and pyramiding credit cards to raise the capital to start the business, overcoming fundamental technology limitations, and what do you do when your competitor releases a product 40 times better than yours. 

As John Palmour said: "You cannot be afraid to fail. You just have to go in the face of certain doom and feel good about it."

You'll get a sense of what I saw first-hand and some of the lessons I learned over the 25 years we worked together.

Please check out the episode in the above link (which was recorded live at Lonerider Brewery). If you have an opinion on these topics, please feel free to email us through the contact page. The best ideas often stem from the intersection of different points of view. The episode is also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you listen to podcasts. Enjoy!