Bill Krause: Silicon Valley CEO, 3Com Founder, and Philanthropist

Early Life and Career Foundations

• 💡 Bill Krause's early life involved a military family, moving from Philadelphia to Japan and Germany, and a self-described "misspent youth" focused on "baseball, basketball, beer, and broads."
• 🏫 His time at The Citadel was a "godsend," instilling discipline, perseverance, and the importance of setting life goals, leading him to major in Electrical Engineering.
• 🚀 Krause developed a three-phase career plan: 15 years learning about business, 15 years building a business, and 15 years giving back.
• 👨‍💼 Early roles at General Electric and Hewlett-Packard provided foundational business knowledge, with HP exposing him to digital computers and the "management by walking around" philosophy of Bill Hewlett.

Pioneering 3Com and Networking

• 🤝 Krause met Bob Metcalfe, inventor of Ethernet, and co-founded 3Com in 1980, driven by a shared vision for networked personal computers.
• 📈 Despite early financial challenges and a "four-month survival plan," 3Com successfully went public in 1984 at $6 a share, eventually reaching $28.
• 🌐 Key product developments included the UNET (Unix for networking), an early Ethernet controller for the IBM PC, and the adoption of twisted pair Ethernet based on a suggestion from Steve Jobs.
• 🎯 3Com's economic value proposition centered on enabling shared laser printers and other peripherals, making networking cost-effective for businesses.

Building a Unique Company Culture

• 🔑 Krause fostered a distinctive culture at 3Com based on "confederated entrepreneurship," where individuals owned their work plans within shared company goals.
• ✅ The company operated with four core objectives: customer satisfaction, developing unique products, building a quality organization, and managing for financial success.
• 📊 Management was guided by a "management by priorities" system, breaking down annual plans into quarterly and monthly goals, and utilizing weekly one-on-one meetings.
• 🏆 3Com achieved its "big hairy audacious goal" of etherneting a million PCs by the end of the decade, a year ahead of schedule.

Philanthropy and Community Impact

• 💖 After retiring from 3Com, Krause dedicated himself to philanthropy, primarily focused on education, believing it's crucial for a democratic society and global peace.
• 🎓 He and his wife are major donors to the College of Education at Penn State and The Citadel, where he spearheaded the Krause Center for Leadership and Ethics.
• 💡 His wife founded the Krause Center for Innovation at Foothill College, educating teachers on integrating technology like 3D printers and artificial intelligence into curriculum.
• 🌍 Krause expresses concern that modern entrepreneurs are too focused on making money rather than contributing unique value, and that Silicon Valley companies are not adequately giving back to the community.

Mentoring and Future Technologies

• 💼 Krause continues to serve on public and private boards, mentoring entrepreneurs and contributing to companies like Ford Networks (software-defined networking, AI for autonomous networks) and Smartcar (APIs for automotive connectivity).
• 🚗 Smartcar aims to simplify automotive application development by providing a common API for diverse car manufacturers and models, enabling remote charging, maintenance, and insurance applications.
• 🚀 He emphasizes the importance of entrepreneurs having an "epiphany" about an unmet need and working to make that vision a reality.