Book Review – The Nvidia Way – Minh Quang Duong
I spent the last few days reading The Nvidia Way by Tae Kim. It is a great read on one of the largest corporations in the world, one of the most important players in the AI race and its CEO, Jensen Huang. Here are a few things I learned:
Jensen, like everyone else, had a lot of luck. He was born in Taiwan and lived for a while in Thailand before moving to the US with his brother. In the US, his uncle sent both brothers to a religious school in Kentucky. The experience there played a key role in shaping the young Jensen. Who knows if he hadn’t gone there, whether he would have had the grit and appreciation for hard work that brought him unbelievable success later?
Lady Luck continued to bless Jensen when he made a fateful decision to leave AMD for LSI. While working there, he had a chance to meet with who would eventually be his Nvidia cofounders. The three of them utilized their network and reputation at previous employers to raise funds for the startup. One of the cofounder was allowed to resign and leave with a powerful computer which would be of great help later on. As Nvidia grew, it had a couple of near-death experiences. Each time, there was always luck involved, be it that Jensen managed to find a piece of equipment that sped up the crucial testing phase or a competitor didn’t put their foot down to kill Nvidia.
But all that luck would be meaningless without Jensen’s maniacal work ethic. The man worked while on holiday with his family and called it “relaxing”. He is the one that instilled the crazy work ethic at Nvidia. His philosophy is to outwork and outcompete everyone else, stay on guard at all times and prioritize customers. He would joyfully and seriously wish an ample dose of suffering on someone that wishes to be successful. Frankly, I felt inspired by his work ethic and ashamed that I am nowhere close to that.
