Lean Startup, to Lean Company, to Rich Exit

The turning $1,000 into $1.54 billion story…

In 1982, MIT professor Kenan Sahin took $1,000 from his savings and used it to undertake the most extraordinary entrepreneurial journey, culminating with a $1.54 billion rich exit just 17 years later. This is the story of Kenan's turning his academic theories into axiomatic principles for building a Lean Startup into a Lean Company followed by a Rich Exit.

Among those principles are...

• Suffusing the organization with a "teach and learn, learn and teach" mindset
• Recruiting and retaining the nation's finest talent by hiring based on aptitude > attitude > willingness > experience (in order of importance)
• Finding a way to reject outside funding and retain full ownership

And every step and misstep along Kean's road to success is brought into the present day-for Kenan remains the professor at heart and is deeply committed to helping fellow entrepreneurs forge models for outsized excellence in their own way forward.