????問：你認(rèn)為你的這些見解能夠給年輕的創(chuàng)業(yè)者們帶來哪些幫助？

????答：相比職責(zé)明確的專業(yè)人士，創(chuàng)業(yè)者必須應(yīng)對(duì)更多不確定性。由于這些不確定性，他們往往會(huì)禁不住誘惑，試圖尋找各種指引，比如傳統(tǒng)的商學(xué)院案例研究，更有可能的是，被視為競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手的公司最近的舉動(dòng)等。根據(jù)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手的舉動(dòng)做出反應(yīng)，至少可以讓你知道應(yīng)該做什么。我們?cè)缫蚜?xí)慣于發(fā)展道路上的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)，以至于創(chuàng)業(yè)者之間會(huì)迅速陷入日益激烈的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)，而他們本身幾乎都沒有意識(shí)到這一點(diǎn)。但是，通過競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手來確定自己的發(fā)展方向，意味著放棄了創(chuàng)業(yè)最重要的理由：你可以做一些世界上前所未有、如果沒有你就不可能出現(xiàn)的東西。

????問：除了發(fā)明一臺(tái)時(shí)間機(jī)器，他們?nèi)绾尾拍芨焐羁腆w會(huì)這些智慧？

????答：我不知道。如何教會(huì)人們?nèi)プ鰪奈从腥俗鲞^的事情，是一個(gè)無解的謎題。正是由于學(xué)校往往教導(dǎo)學(xué)生遵從某種流程，我才為那些希望在真實(shí)世界中學(xué)習(xí)如何創(chuàng)業(yè)的年輕人創(chuàng)辦了獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金——只有這樣，他們才能盡早規(guī)劃自己的發(fā)展道路。

????我在斯坦福任教也是出于同樣的原因——因?yàn)槲蚁敫嬖V學(xué)生，他們不需要接受學(xué)校教育或競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手給他們鋪設(shè)的道路。從根本上來說，一個(gè)人的人生應(yīng)該由他自己去規(guī)劃。

????問：有哪些事情是你現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)知道，但很慶幸當(dāng)時(shí)并不知道的？

????答：如果我知道創(chuàng)新如此艱難，尤其是在支付行業(yè)，我恐怕不會(huì)創(chuàng)建貝寶。這也是為什么經(jīng)驗(yàn)豐富的銀行從業(yè)者中，沒人做這件事情。你需要足夠天真地認(rèn)為一件新事物能夠成功。結(jié)果證明了我的觀點(diǎn)：貝寶取得了成功。而如果我積累了更多經(jīng)驗(yàn)，我肯定會(huì)避開風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，從事一些更無聊的事情。所以，現(xiàn)在的年輕人有一種奇怪的技術(shù)優(yōu)勢(shì)，因?yàn)樗麄儧]有被洗腦，不會(huì)認(rèn)為現(xiàn)有的方法是不可避免的。

????問：你對(duì)有抱負(fù)的創(chuàng)業(yè)者最好的建議是什么？

??? 答：最重要的事情很簡單：先從小市場(chǎng)開始，占領(lǐng)這個(gè)市場(chǎng)。大的市場(chǎng)固然充滿誘惑，看起來滿是機(jī)遇，但大多數(shù)機(jī)會(huì)都會(huì)面臨許多競(jìng)爭(zhēng)者。創(chuàng)業(yè)者應(yīng)該聚焦某個(gè)特定的問題，集中精力做出一個(gè)絕對(duì)出色的解決方案。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????為了更簡便易讀，采訪內(nèi)容經(jīng)過編輯。

????譯者：劉進(jìn)龍/汪皓

????Q: How do you think young entrepreneurs might benefit from this insight?

????A:An entrepreneur must deal with more uncertainty than a professional with a well-defined role. Because of that uncertainty, there’s always a temptation to reach out for some kind of guide, whether it’s old business school case studies, or, more likely, the most recent moves of the firms that you perceive to be competitors. Reacting to them can at least give some idea of what to do. We’re so used to competing on tracks that entrepreneurs can quickly get caught up in incremental battles with each other, almost without realizing it. But defining yourself by a competitor means giving up the most important reason to be an entrepreneur: You can do something new in the world that won’t be done unless you are the one to do it.

????Q: Besides inventing a time machine, how might they realize this wisdom sooner?

????A: I don’t know. How to teach people to do what hasn’t been done is a great riddle. It’s because schools tend to breed a kind of process-oriented conformity that I started a fellowship for young people who want to learn by getting something done in the real world — precisely so they can begin charting their own path as early as possible.

????I taught a class at Stanford for the same reason — because I wanted to tell students that they don’t have to accept the paths laid down by their schooling or by their competitors. But fundamentally it’s something people have to figure out for themselves.

????Q: What are you glad you didn’t know then that you know now?

????A:If I had known how hard it would be to do something new, particularly in the payments industry, I would never have started PayPal. That’s why nobody with long experience in banking had done it. You needed to be naive enough to think that new things could be done. And it turned out to be true: PayPal worked. But if I’d had more experience, I’m sure I would have shied away from the risk and done something much more boring. This is one of the reasons that young people can have a strange advantage in technology in that they haven’t yet been brainwashed into thinking that current methods are inevitable.

????Q: What is your best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?

????A: The most important thing is simple: Start with a small market and dominate that first. Big markets are tempting because they seem full of opportunity but most of that opportunity will be for others to compete with you. Instead focus your ambition on a definitively superior solution to a specific problem.

????This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.