How I became an entrepreneur at 66 | Paul Tasner

Prevodilac: Milorad Sekulic Lektor: Ivana Krivokuća

I'd like to take you back about seven years in my life.

Želeo bih da vas vratim unazad sedam godina mog života.

Friday afternoon,

Petak poslepodne

a few days before Christmas 2009,

nekoliko dana pre Božića 2009. godine.

I was the director of operations

Bio sam direktor operacija

at a consumer products company in San Francisco,

kompanije potrošačkih proizvoda u San Francisku,

and I was called into a meeting that was already in progress.

i pozivaju me na sastanak koji je u toku.

That meeting turned out to be my exit interview.

Ispostavilo se da je taj sastanak bio moj oproštajni intervju.

I was fired, along with several others.

Bio sam otpušten zajedno sa još nekoliko ljudi.

I was 64 years old at the time.

Tada sam imao 64 godine.

It wasn't completely unexpected.

Nije bilo sasvim neočekivano.

I signed a stack of papers,

Potpisao sam gomilu papira,

gathered my personal effects,

skupio moje lične stvari,

and left to join my wife

i otišao da se pridružim svojoj ženi

who was waiting for me at a nearby restaurant,

koja me je čekala u obližnjem restoranu,

completely unaware.

potpuno nesvesna.

Fast-forward several hours,

Nekoliko sati kasnije,

we both got really silly drunk.

oboje smo se baš dobro napili.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

So, 40 plus years of continuous employment

Pa, više od 40 godina neprekinute zaposlenosti

for a variety of companies, large and small,

u raznim kompanijama, velikim i malim,

was over.

je bilo gotovo.

I had a good a network, a good reputation --

Imao sam dobru mrežu, dobru reputaciju -

I thought I'd be just fine.

Mislio sam da ću biti dobro.

I was an engineer in manufacturing and packaging,

Bio sam inženjer u proizvodnji i pakovanju.

I had a good background.

Imao sam dosta iskustva.

Retirement was, like for so many people,

Penzija, kao i za mnoge ljude,

simply not an option for me,

jednostavno nije bila opcija za mene.

so I turned to consulting for the next couple of years

Pa sam se okrenuo konsaltingu narednih nekoliko godina,

without any passion whatsoever.

bez ikakve strasti.

And then an idea began to take root,

I tad je jedna ideja počela da se pomalja,

born from my concern for our environment.

rođena iz moje brige za okolinu.

I wanted to build my own business,

Želeo sam da razvijem svoj posao,

designing and manufacturing biodegradable packaging from waste --

dizajn i proizvodnju biorazgradivog pakovanja od otpada -

paper, agricultural, even textile waste --

papirnog, poljoprivrednog, čak i tekstilnog otpada -

replacing the toxic, disposable plastic packaging

koje bi zamenilo toksično, jednokratno plastično pakovanje

to which we've all become addicted.

od kojeg smo svi postali zavisni.

This is called clean technology,

Ovo se zove čista tehnologija,

and it felt really meaningful to me.

i za mene je imala veliki značaj.

A venture that could help to reduce the billions of pounds

Poduhvat koji može da pomogne u smanjenju količine milijardi kilograma

of single-use plastic packaging dumped each year,

jednokratnog plastičnog pakovanja koje se odbaci svake godine

and polluting our land, our rivers and our oceans,

i zagađuje našu zemlju, reke i okeane,

and left for future generations to resolve --

i ostaje za buduće generacije da reše -

our grandchildren,

naše praunuke,

my grandchildren.

moje praunuke.

And so now at the age of 66,

I tako sada, kad imam 66 godina,

with 40 years of experience,

sa 40 godina iskustva,

I became an entrepreneur for the very first time.

postajem preduzetnik po prvi put.

(Cheers)

(Ovacije)

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

But there's more.

Ali ima još toga.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Lots of issues to deal with:

Mnogo je problema sa kojima se treba izboriti:

manufacturing, outsourcing, job creation,

proizvodnja, spoljna saradnja, kreiranje poslova,

patents, partnerships, funding --

patenti, partnerstva, finansiranje -

these are all typical issues for a start-up,

sve su to tipični problemi svakog startapa,

but hardly typical for me.

ali netipični za mene.

And a word about funding.

I koja reč o finansiranju.

I live and work in San Francisco,

Živim i radim u San Francisku,

and if you're looking for funding,

i ako tražite izvor finansiranja,

you are typically going to compete with some very young people

uobičajeno su vam konkurencija veoma mladi ljudi

from the high-tech industry,

iz visokotehnološke industrije,

and it can be very discouraging and intimidating.

i to može da bude obeshrabrujuće i zastrašujuće.

I have shoes older than most of these people.

Imam cipele starije od većine tih ljudi.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I do.

Zaista imam.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

But five years later,

Ali pet godina kasnije,

I'm thrilled and proud to share with you

uzbuđen sam i ponosan da podelim sa vama

that our revenues have doubled every year,

da su nam se prihodi duplirali svake godine,

we have no debt,

nemamo dug,

we have several marquee clients,

imamo nekoliko istaknutih klijenata,

our patent was issued,

naš patent je priznat,

I have a wonderful partner

imam odličnog partnera

who's been with me right from the beginning,

koji je bio sa mnom od početka,

and we've won more than 20 awards for the work that we've done.

i dobili smo više od 20 nagrada za posao koji smo odradili.

But best of all,

Ali, što je najbolje od svega,

napravili smo mali, veoma mali pomak,

we've made a small dent --

a very small dent --

in the worldwide plastic pollution crisis.

u krizi svetskog zagađenja plastikom.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

And I am doing the most rewarding and meaningful work of my life right now.

I sada obavljam posao koji mi pruža najviše zadovoljstva i smisla u životu.

I can tell you there's lots of resources available to entrepreneurs of all ages,

Mogu vam reći da ima puno resursa dostupnih preduzetnicima svih godina,

but what I really yearned for five years ago

ali ono za čime sam najviše žudeo pre pet godina

was to find other first-time entrepreneurs

je da nađem druge preduzetnike-početnike

who were my age.

koji su moji vršnjaci.

I wanted to connect with them.

Želeo sam da se povežem sa njima.

I had no role models, absolutely none.

Nisam imao na koga da se ugledam, absolutno nikog.

That 20-something app developer from Silicon Valley

Onaj dvadesetogodišnji dizajner aplikacija iz Silicijumske doline

was not my role model.

nije bio moj uzor.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I'm sure he was very clever --

Siguran sam da je pametan -

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I want to do something about that,

Želim da učinim nešto

i da svi mi uradimo nešto povodom toga.

and I want all of us to do something about that.

Želim da krenemo da pričamo više

I want us to start talking more

about people who don't become entrepreneurs until they are seniors.

o ljudima koji ne postanu preduzetnici do njihovog starijeg uzrasta.

Talking about these bold men and women who are checking in

Da pričamo o tim hrabrim muškarcima i ženama koji se prijavljuju

when their peers, in essence, are checking out.

kada se njihovi vršnjaci, u suštini, odjavljuju.

And then connecting all these people across industries, across regions,

I da tada povežemo sve te ljude u okviru više industrija, regiona

across countries --

raznih država -

building a community.

izgrađujući zajednicu.

You know, the Small Business Administration tells us

Znate, Administracija za mala preduzeća

nam kaže da je 64 posto novih poslova stvoreno u privatnom sektoru Amerike

that 64 percent of new jobs created in the private sector in the USA

are thanks to small businesses like mine.

zahvaljujući malim firmama kao što je moja.

And who's to say that we'll stay forever small?

I ko može da kaže da ćemo ostati zauvek mali?

We have an interesting culture

Imamo interesantnu kulturu

koja zaista očekuje da, kada dostigneš određene godine,

that really expects when you reach a certain age,

you're going to be golfing, or playing checkers,

ideš na golf, ili da igraš dame,

da čuvaš unuke sve vreme.

or babysitting the grandkids all of the time.

And I adore my grandchildren --

Ja obožavam svoje unuke -

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

and I'm also passionate

a takođe sam vrlo zagrejan

about doing something meaningful in the global marketplace.

da uradim nešto značajno na globalnom tržištu.

And I'm going to have lots of company.

I imaću dosta društva.

Biro statistike kaže da će do 2050. godine,

The Census Bureau says that by 2050,

there will be 84 million seniors in this country.

biti 84 miliona starih u ovoj državi.

That's an amazing number.

To je zapanjujuć broj.

That's almost twice as many as we have today.

To je skoro duplo više nego što nas ima danas.

Can you imagine how many first-time entrepreneurs there will be

Možete li zamisliti koliko će biti preduzetnika početnika

among 84 million people?

među 84 milion ljudi?

And they'll all have four decades of experience.

I svi će imati četiri decenije iskustva.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

So when I say, "Let's start talking more about these wonderful entrepreneurs,"

Dakle, kad kažem: „Počnimo da više pričamo o ovim divnim preduzetnicima“,

I mean, let's talk about their ventures,

mislim, hajde da pričamo o njihovim poduhvatima,

just as we do the ventures of their much younger counterparts.

kao što pričamo o njihovim mnogo mlađim kolegama.

The older entrepreneurs in this country have a 70 percent success rate

Stariji preduzetnici u ovoj zemlji imaju procenat uspeha od 70 procenata

starting new ventures.

u pokretanju novih poduhvata.

70 percent success rate.

70 procenata uspešnosti.

We're like the Golden State Warriors of entrepreneurs --

Mi smo kao Golden Stejt voriorsi u svetu preduzetnika -

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

And that number plummets to 28 percent for younger entrepreneurs.

I taj broj opada na 28 procenta kod mlađih preduzetnika.

This is according to a UK-based group called CMI.

To je po grupi po imenu CMI baziranoj u UK.

Aren't the accomplishments of a 70-year-old entrepreneur

Zar nisu uspesi preduzetnika od 70 godina

every bit as meaningful,

podjednako bitni,

every bit as newsworthy,

podjednako vredni objave,

as the accomplishments of a 30-year-old entrepreneur?

kao i uspesi preduzetnika od 30 godina?

Of course they are.

Naravno da jesu.

That's why I'd like to make the phrase "70 over 70" just as --

Zato hoću da postignem da fraza „70 iznad 70“ -

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

just as commonplace as the phrase "30 under 30."

bude ustaljena kao fraza „30 ispod 30“.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Ovacije)

(Cheers)

(Applause)

(Aplauz)