William Hiroyuki Saito 
An Unprogrammed Life 
Adventures of an Incurable Entrepreneur

An Unprogrammed Life

By the age of 10, William Saito was designing financial programs for Merrill Lynch. By the time he was in college, he was running his own business, creating software for corporate giants like NEC, Toshiba, and Sony. Soon afterwards, he was selling his work to Bill Gates. In An Unprogrammed Life: Adventures of an Incurable Entrepreneur, the child-prodigy-turned-star-businessman tells his story for the first time, providing business owners and budding entrepreneurs with an invaluable insight into a remarkable story of hard work and success.

From volunteering to set up an automated filing system for his local library to helping the Japanese government respond to the 2011 tsunami, an unwavering commitment to putting his technical savvy at the disposal of those who need it most has defined Saito’s career. As a result, he has become a preeminent authority on homeland security, as well as a friend to young start-ups around the globe. He has been a judge for Ernst & Young’s ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ award as well as a winner of this prestigious prize.

Saito knows exactly what makes a company a winner, and he can identify the little things that prevent promising new ventures from ever making it big. In An Unprogrammed Life, he takes a lifetime of wisdom public. Ending each chapter with actionable ‘takeaway’ advice, this book is a must-read for anyone looking to succeed as an entrepreneur.

Table des matières

Foreword by Carl Schramm vii

Preface: FBI at the Door ix

Acknowledgments xiii

Chapter 1 Blame It on DNA 1

Chapter 2 Finding a Business Partner (Opposites Attract) 31

Chapter 3 Learning to Juggle (Med School, Business, and More)
45

Chapter 4 Building a Real Company 59

Chapter 5 Learning from Failure 81

Chapter 6 Developing for Toshiba (Camera Obscura) 97

Chapter 7 Developing for Sony–Fingerprint ID 113

Chapter 8 Birth of BAPI 133

Chapter 9 IPO: It’s All in the Timing 155

Chapter 10 Using My Japanese Connections to Fight Terrorism
167

Chapter 11 Last Exit: Microsoft Wants the Whole Thing 173

Chapter 12 My Year of Retirement 177

Chapter 13 Back in the Game 183

Chapter 14 From Todai into AIST 189

Chapter 15 Starting My Own Company, Version 2.0 195

Chapter 16 Consulting around the World 207

Chapter 17 Teaching (United States and Japan) 211

Chapter 18 Turning 40 217

Epilogue: The Perfect Storm Hits Japan 221

Appendix A: Famous Quotes and Helpful Advice 227

Appendix B: Creativity and Logical Assessment Test 231

About the Author 235

Index 237

A propos de l’auteur

WILLIAM H. SAITO is an international authority in the fields of encryption, authentication, and biometric technology. He has spent the past two decades shaping information security policy, establishing start-ups, and managing public corporations. Having earned recognition in 1998 as Entrepreneur of the Year from Ernst & Young, NASDAQ, and USA Today, Mr. Saito now runs In Tecur, a consultancy that helps companies identify and develop applications and markets for innovative technologies. He is also a Young Global Leader and Global Agenda Council member of the World Economic Forum.