Shaping the Future: The Founding Story of Tesla with Marc Tarpenning, Co-founder, Tesla; Venture Partner, Spero Ventures

​About this session: Entering the market with a new product is always difficult, but how do you do it in a new category with a product like a car, that can’t be iterated on quickly? Marc discusses how he approached this problem in the early days of Tesla Motors.

​Marc will share the origin story of Tesla’s first product, the Tesla Roadster. You’ll find Marc’s advice especially relevant if you work in hardware, physical products, or other product categories where rapid iteration is a challenge. Marc will also share his #NeverGiveUp story and making it to the other side even when the odds are stacked against you.

​About Marc: Marc Tarpenning is Venture Partner at Spero Ventures. At Spero, Marc helps entrepreneurs bring about radical change in old industries by creating sustainable products and experiences that are significantly better than the old way of doing things. He’s particularly interested in supporting startups solving problems in food, agriculture, energy, water, and recycling. Marc was a Co-founder and VP of Engineering at Tesla Motors, a car company that is accelerating the world's transition to sustainable transportation. Previously he was VP of Engineering at PacketDesign and CFO, VP of Engineering and Co-founder at e-reader maker NuvoMedia. Marc holds a BA in Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley.