Description
Book SynopsisAn 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 E
Trade Review
"Some lives unfold so extraordinarily that it is tempting to ponder the stark imbalance of talent and drive with which some people are born. This is certainly the case with William Hiroyuki Saito, one of the world’s foremost experts on data security, whose life story makes for both a captivating autobiography and a business self-help text of considerable value." -- South China Morning Post
Table of Contents
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
