Planet Elahian
On the presentation by a hitech guru
By Nersi Ranazan-Nia
April 8, 1998
The Iranian
Notes on "Recipes for Successful Entrepreneurship," a presentation by Kamran Elahian at the monthly meeting of the Society of Iranian Professionals (SIP) in Sunnyvale, California, on April 4th, 1998.
Faz restaurant's Silicon Valley Ballroom was packed and overflowing with an eager audience of mostly young, intensely curious technology devotees. The combination and sheer magnitude of alertness, intellegence and ambition at this gathering was impressive.
If it were possible to measure the determined energy of the room, the instrument dial would undoubtedly go past the maximum calibration. Panning the crowd one could not help but think: "there is nothing this group cannot do."
It is in such gatherings that Kamran Elahian (CEO, chairman, co-founder of PlanetWeb) truly shines. Entreprennuer par excellence, Mr. Elahian walked his rapt audience through the spectacualr peaks of his career humorously, and without his smile departing even for a second.
Delivering his presentation with the aid of a four-pound laptop loaded with multimedia graphics skillfully and effortlessly, Mr. Elahian's pedagogic analysis of critical elements of his successes and rare failures were very useful indeed.
He reminded all of the need to remain spirited, focused, honest and both headstrong and self-evaluative for the successfull pursuit of any goal. Consistent with his faith, he also pridefully revealed his involvement in Project Neat, a non-profit organization he has founded with the benevolent aim of bringing the internet into all schools.
Later on drawing from a range of experiences, Mr. Elahian wove a rather simplistic worldview to house the multitude of his keen talents and energetic good intentions. He discloseded that after a one-year hiatus having undergone a period of soul searching he had come to the conclusion that "historically, mankind either resorted to war or trade for an outlet of its energies."
Even though it may be difficult to argue with success, Mr. Elahian's varied and broad observations were both inspirational and at times arguable.
Standing in the middle of a group located in the geographical center of this profound information revolution one wonders about the significance of the moment. At what point in the information revolution are we? All present realized the uniqueness of the present and the promise of the future. After the meeting with a guru of our time, Mr. Elahian, like sparks from a meteor, most of the night's audience melted into the darkness with dreams of adulation, riches and, yes, understanding and world peace.
Related links
* Also by Nersi Ramazan-Nia
- The
treasures of Lake Hamun
- The
Bridge Generation
- Christmas: So
what gives?
* Iranian
Businessman of the Year
* THE IRANIAN Features
section
* Bookstore
* Cover stories
* Who's
who
Copyright © 1997 Abadan Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved. May not be duplicated or distributed in any form.
