Head of Health-Care Coverage - Asia, Jefferies Financial Grp
Search every verified Jun Wu interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. In a 2015 lecture at the A. Richard Newton Distinguished Innovator Lecture Series, Jun Wu, then a partner at Zpark Ventures and former scientist at Google, discussed factors behind Silicon Valley's success. Wu stated that the average lifetime of 400 to 500 companies is only 39 years, suggesting that even large firms may eventually lose relevance. He described early Google management practices, including weekly reviews of engineers' work by a small group that included founders, and said that employees worked 15 to 18 hours a day because they had "no hope if the company died." Wu attributed Silicon Valley's innovation to a "tolerance for betrayal," noting that employees leaving to start competing ventures is accepted and that non-compete agreements are hard to enforce. He also cited internationalization as a key factor, saying companies in the region reflect the world, unlike more local firms elsewhere. Wu contrasted Google's global product design with Tencent's China-focused approach, and predicted that the next generation of Chinese companies may become global. He advised that to be an entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, one must be "excellent and be in the top three in your area" due to high costs.
“For 400 to 500 companies, the average lifetime is only 39 years, about half of a person's life. That means even big companies will probably lose their relevance or disappear one day.”
“At early Google, management spent one day every week with a small group of about 10 people, including founders, to review engineers' work and ensure they were doing the right things, trusting their skills and judgment without micromanaging progress.”
“We worked like dogs, 15 to 18 hours a day, seven days a week, because we had no hope if the company died. Management didn't worry about how hard you worked, only that you picked the right things to do.”
“One of the secrets of Silicon Valley is tolerance for betrayal: employees leaving companies to start competing ventures is accepted and even encouraged, which fuels innovation and growth.”
Dr. Jun Wu, a partner with Zpark ventures, was most recently a scientist at Google, leading the effort of automatic ...
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