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After spending 30-plus years around Silicon Valley, I could tell you a few dirty little secrets.
And one of the biggest is that exciting technological breakthroughs occur all the time. Just subscribe to any given tech e-letter, and you'll find a gusher of brilliant ideas in your inbox every morning.
What it takes to succeed – to turn those innovations into profitable products or services – is great leadership. And as investors, if we want to score the kind life-changing profits the tech sector can provide, we have to find Silicon Valley's truly excellent leaders.
That's why "Great Companies Have Great Operations" is Rule No. 1 of my Tech Wealth Secrets system.
But great leaders don't always come from where you'd expect – Harvard Business School, Stanford's Graduate School of Business, or even a thorough study of Stephen R. Covey and Dale Carnegie.
Sometimes they emerge from a Taiwanese army mud run…
Leading by Example
That's where Ambarella Inc. (Nasdaq: AMBA) Chief Executive Officer Fermi Wang says he learned the importance of leading by example.
Wang served two years in the Taiwanese army after graduating college. Like most soldiers, he spent his fair share of time training in the rain and mud.
And there he noticed one superior in particular not just joining his subordinates in their exercises, but seemingly thriving while doing so.
"There were no dry clothes for him," Wang told Investor's Business Daily last year. "Even though he was a high-ranking officer, he stayed right there with us the whole time."
Besides leading by example – knowing the technology and putting in long hours – Wang prides himself on making big promises. And then he doles out the promotions and bonuses when employees work hard and solve problems.
Wang met Les Kohn in 1995 while working together at C-Cube Microsystems. C-Cube was a pioneer in video-compression technology, which made possible many digital video formats.
And since then, Wang and Kohn, now chief technology officer at Ambarella, have gone on to become successful serial entrepreneurs.
In 2001, they helped put together Afara Websystems, a pioneer of advanced computer servers. Afara was later acquired by industry heavyweight Sun Microsystems, now a division of Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL).
They then went on to start up Ambarella in 2004. Since then, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company has become a leader in supplying specialized semiconductor chips for video-compression technology and digital cameras.
In other words, these are people who know how to build a thriving, profitable company around high-growth technology.
Now let's take a look at what that means for Ambarella stock…
About the Author
Michael A. Robinson is a 36-year Silicon Valley veteran and one of the top tech and biotech financial analysts working today. That's because, as a consultant, senior adviser, and board member for Silicon Valley venture capital firms, Michael enjoys privileged access to pioneering CEOs, scientists, and high-profile players. And he brings this entire world of Silicon Valley "insiders" right to you...
- He was one of five people involved in early meetings for the $160 billion "cloud" computing phenomenon.
- He was there as Lee Iacocca and Roger Smith, the CEOs of Chrysler and GM, led the robotics revolution that saved the U.S. automotive industry.
- As cyber-security was becoming a focus of national security, Michael was with Dave DeWalt, the CEO of McAfee, right before Intel acquired his company for $7.8 billion.
This all means the entire world is constantly seeking Michael's insight.
In addition to being a regular guest and panelist on CNBC and Fox Business, he is also a Pulitzer Prize-nominated writer and reporter. His first book Overdrawn: The Bailout of American Savings warned people about the coming financial collapse - years before the word "bailout" became a household word.
Silicon Valley defense publications vie for his analysis. He's worked for Defense Media Network and Signal Magazine, as well as The New York Times, American Enterprise, and The Wall Street Journal.
And even with decades of experience, Michael believes there has never been a moment in time quite like this.
Right now, medical breakthroughs that once took years to develop are moving at a record speed. And that means we are going to see highly lucrative biotech investment opportunities come in fast and furious.
To help you navigate the historic opportunity in biotech, Michael launched the Bio-Tech Profit Alliance.
His other publications include: Strategic Tech Investor, The Nova-X Report, Bio-Technology Profit Alliance and Nexus-9 Network.
I AM JUST GETTING STARTED. I HOPE (AMBA) IS A GOOD MOVE.
FRED
Your views on AMBA assures my convictions.
Occassionally Amba sells off with GPRO. I view this as an inefficiency to exploit!(bUY)
Rudy