For many entrepreneurs, it’s difficult to find genuine and applicable advice to build something from scratch, especially when you’re creating a new market or a product where people don’t see a big market fit.
In such a case, founders’ stories like Akio Morita, Dietrich Mateschitz, and Steve Jobs can help you build your roadmaps.
A great ambition is the key:
Rockefeller often said, “Don’t try to copy others, but do something for the happiness and greatness of humanity,” and that’s where you build great companies.
You often see Elon Musk doing the same thing.
Akio Morita also had a mission and ambition, but it was quite different. He was the one who flipped the narrative of a nation.
In the 1950s, Japanese products were seen as cheap, low-quality copies. Morita literally made it his mission to change that. In his early days, he thought, “I will do something for the future of Japan.”
He was one of Steve Jobs’ greatest inspirations. Steve Jobs used to say that people don’t know what they want, and that’s what Akio Morita proved in his career. While building the Walkman, everyone said it was a misfit, but he saw the potential and the future and went all for it, which led to Sony!
He was obsessed with marketing.
When his first tape recorder was a failure, he realized that innovation isn’t the only thing needed to be successful. You have to reach out to your audience to promote your product.
He was so obsessed with marketing that he even moved to America to understand his audience and culture.
Initial quality builds trust and unlocks opportunity.
Like all other great founders (i.e., Andrew Carnegie), he used to believe in building great products from day one, and it will not only build credibility but also open new opportunities.
You might have heard this from many successful entrepreneurs like Jensen Huang: their 90% focus is to do a great job today, and that’s what Akio taught the world.
He was a pioneer of new markets.
Like Dietrich Mateschitz, Steve Jobs, and Christian von Koenigsegg, Morita didn’t just enter markets; he created them. He turned visionary ideas into a multi-billion-dollar empire by seeing potential where others saw nothing.
He was the master of the “Long Game.”
Morita never thought in terms of months; he thought in decades. He focused on a 5-to-10-year horizon and encouraged his employees to think long-term rather than chasing immediate, small wins. Once in talks with a company, he told them he would also be successful in 50 years as they were.
He was fueled by extreme determination.
His success was built on a foundation of absolute self-confidence. He was bold enough to believe he could change the world’s perception of his country, and he was determined enough to make it happen.
He was loyal to his Co-Founder
Morita, the visionary and business leader, was fiercely loyal to his partner, Masaru Ibuka, the genius engineer. Akio stated that without Ibuka, there would be no Sony. You can see a living example of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger for a successful partnership.