Business & Innovation Q&A for Young Entrepreneurs & Others (February 17, 2021)

Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about business and innovation as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-business-qa

Questions include: Why did you choose to partner up with Ethereum and Cardano? What do you think of Cryptocurrencies in general? - Have you ever meet Stephen Wozniak? - How do Wolfram Research determine the prices of its products? Any tips for pricing products? - Cryptocurrency is living a top of the demand that ransomeware generates - What are the biggest obstacles to using smart contracts in day-to-day transactions? - Who taught you first about how to run a software company? Did your family taught you this, or some professor from your university? What they taught you? Who was the first person to buy your software? - Is it more difficult to start a new company and make it big or to enter a big company and climb the hierarchy? - If I may ask, how important do you think advanced education (i.e. a PhD) is in starting a company? Do you think it is necessary if you're interested in a high-tech industry (quantum computers, synthetic biology, etc.)? - Did you write your first piece of software in assembly language on a 386? - How do you organize your ideas, projects, notes, etc.? Pen & paper, or electronic-based? - When is it the right time to put the books down, bite the bullet and start a company around your idea? It always seems like we don't know enough to start. - How much knowledge/ understanding of economics and finance is needed to start a company, in particular in tech/ science? - Couldn't they fork off an experimental company, to try the experimental billion dollar making way, without risking much of the millions of income? - How did you find the best partners for your company? Did you find it among your friends from university?