Reid Hoffman: Black-Eyed Peas’ Will.i.am

What can entrepreneurs learn from a genre-crossing, multi-platinum musician? How to take a big opportunity and leverage it into something epic From his earliest days as a founding member of the Black Eyed Peas, Will.i.am learned from mentors how to not only identify big opportunities but compound them.

From the Super Bowl to the first iTunes commercial, from the founding of Beats and his tech company i.am+ to a song beamed back from Mars, his ability to bring multiple stakeholders together to leverage partnerships and compound possibilities will inspire founders at any stage of scale.

• Don’t settle for a big opportunity, leverage it to benefit multiple brands.
• Creativity and a willingness to adapt are crucial in today’s digital world. Learning from successful examples can help businesses expand beyond early adopters and achieve success.
• Educate yourself, understand the industry, and leverage your strengths for bigger opportunities. Create a strong brand and innovate to create new revenue streams.
• Build on proven building blocks for compound growth and success.

Creating unexpected partnerships and staying at the table can lead to exponential growth and increased leverage, making it important to create and leverage opportunities instead of just being present.

Collaboration and combining opportunities can lead to innovative solutions with benefits beyond just the initial purpose.

Seize opportunities and believe in the potential of partnerships, even if the outcome is uncertain. Use creativity to leverage success and collaborate to achieve greater results.

Collaboration between industries can lead to innovation and success. Trust in a brand can be reinforced by leveraging the platform of a different industry, as seen in the successful partnership between musicians and technology.

Knowing when to act and seize an opportunity can create epic success. Leverage moments and events, like the Super Bowl and robotics competitions, to gain recognition and momentum.

Utilize unexpected partnerships, creativity as capital, and a strong foundation to transform a ratings loser competition into a mutually beneficial event.

Musician will.i.am used his partnership with Salesforce to create a groundbreaking Super Bowl halftime show in 2011. He convinced the network to create two new ad slots that would bookend the halftime show, integrating his performance with the promotion of the Salesforce app, Chatter.

He also searched for ways to put the Black Eyed Peas logo on the field, despite strict rules against writing on the turf. His innovative strategies made the performance bigger and more valuable, showcasing his creativity and business acumen.

By finding unexpected solutions, will.i.am was able to push the boundaries and create a truly memorable performance.