A short interview excerpt in which Jeff Hoffman explains that when he advises presidents (both Obama and Trump) he focuses not on politics but on promoting entrepreneurship. Hoffman outlines his core belief that entrepreneurs are problem-solvers who can change the world, and gives examples of recent international visits (Thailand, Paraguay) where he advised leaders on supporting entrepreneurs locally.
The day we met outside of Chicago, we were talking about scheduling it together, and you said, well, I'm going. I'm going to going on a trip with Obama next week. I was like, that's quite the name you just dropped there. And then last year, you showed up here unannounced, which was cool because you're on your way to go see Trump. So you've advised multiple presidents. What the heck do you talk about?
I care about not politics, because I do not know politics. It's like I said, quit trying to pretend to be something you're not. I care about one and only one thing. Entrepreneurship. My fundamental belief in life is that if you want to make the world a better place, you unleash an army of entrepreneurs.
Amen to that.
Entrepreneurs are problem solvers.
Yeah.
Entrepreneurs are innovative, efficient. You know, I remember when that book Lean Startup came out, I remember thinking when I was starting up, I couldn't even afford the book. You got a book to tell me how not to spend money, and I don't even have the money to buy the book at the time. We're lean because we're broke anyway. At the beginning, we're efficient because we don't eat until we create value. Entrepreneurs are literally the ones that will change the world. So with that as my fundamental belief, that is why I've been going country to country. I was recently in Thailand, where we met with the prime minister and the king. We just did that down in Paraguay to their president and their White House. Everywhere I go, my advice is this. Here are a list of things you can do to support entrepreneurs where you live. To give everyone in this room more chances to succeed. Because if you want to fix America, quit looking at Washington. We can do it right here in this room.
That's beautiful.
