Billionaire Deshpande talks entrepeneurship at the Campus Y

Facebook and ShamWow have a lot in common.

Neither of these products would have been possible without their founders’ conviction and teamwork, venture capitalist Gururaj “Desh” Deshpande said.

Deshpande, who spoke about social entrepreneurship Tuesday afternoon at the Campus Y, has a net worth of $7.6 billion.

Deshpande described how he started in India with only $26.95 in his pocket, traveled to Canada to get his master’s degree, then became part of a startup company, Codex Corporation, before it was bought by Motorola. He later invested as a venture capitalist with several companies.

“Opportunities lead to experience,” he said. “Keep your eyes open for opportunities. Any time you get an opportunity, just do it.”

“Unless you get out there and start doing it, you won’t ever do it.”

Deshpande was also appointed by President Barack Obama to the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, of which Chancellor Holden Thorp is also a member.

Deshpande said he often tours universities around the country, sharing his experience with students to encourage them to be more entrepreneurial.

“You always have hurdles — you don’t have enough resources, enough people, enough time — but entrepreneurship is all about overcoming those limitations to solve the problem, and you can do it if you have enough conviction,” he said.

“As a country, we need to start even more new companies and get them to be large, because that’s the way to create jobs.”

The talk drew about 50 students and faculty.

Organized through the Campus Y, the minor in entrepreneurship, TEDxUNC and other campus groups, the talk was meant to inspire those on campus toward entrepreneurship and innovation, said Mackenzie Thomas, co-president of the Campus Y.

She said he was brought to campus to contribute to the innovative environment and talk with students.

“He provided a great deal of advice, stories and a question and answer for students regardless of their interests,” Thomas said.

James Carras, a sophomore global studies major and entrepreneurship minor, said the talk related to his own experiences as an aspiring social entrepreneur.

“Any time Desh comes to campus to speak to students, it’s a valuable experience,” he said.

“I’m trying to figure out how to get my own goals off the ground, and he started so small and became so big, and all at the same time maintaining that social purpose and social impact.”

Deshpande listed several startups in the past few years, including Facebook, that were started by young people who didn’t possess a lot of business savvy but still pursued an idea.

If young people have an idea, resources and a belief in their cause, they should pursue it despite the unfamiliarity, he said.

“Every year you will look back and think, ‘Gee, I didn’t know I could do all these things.’”

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