DEMOgala 2012: Sun Microsystems CEO stresses edginess, leadership and having fun in keynote.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: QUARTERLY TECH REPORT

As a who's who of the Colorado tech community noshed on breakfast the morning of Oct. 25, former Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy took to the stage at the Sheraton Downtown Denver and delivered the keynote speech for the 8th annual DEMOgala, the Colorado Technology Association's big annual event.

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Steve Foster, president and CEO of the CTA, said 2012 was a banner year for DEMOgala. "We're well over 30 percent growth over last year," Foster said of attendance. The number of exhibitors jumped from 31 in 2011 to 55 in 2012, he added. "The amount of activity is ridiculously bigger than last year."

McNealy was in the Mile High City as the event's keynote speaker, but also to help launch Wayin, a new social-media startup. (He's chairman of the company.) After rattling off a top-10 list detailing why Colorado is a better place to do business than California, McNealy said that entrepreneurs should not shy from controversy. "If you don't have a controversial strategy, you have no chance," he said. "The bigger the opportunity, the more controversial you have to be. But you have to be correct. I can't help you with that."

But even the biggest and best opportunities need execution, and for that you need the biggest and best leadership. "You can't really create leaders, you have to identify them, and I think the same goes for entrepreneurs," said McNealy, paraphrasing former General Electric CEO Jack Welch. "Who would have thought Steve Jobs would have been a leader?"

But good leaders can't always be about work. They should also be "a little corny," he added. "When you have a startup, you do more with that than you do anything. So you've got to have fun. Having fun is an order. You must have fun."

McNealy also vented on education--a system he said he views as broken in the U.S. He said young people often waste some of their best years on campus. "A degree matters? No, youth matters."

A startup ecosystem requires a culture that melds competition and cooperation, he added. "Everybody should be buying from each other. You'll help each other out, and you'll also network with each other. This event is a very powerful opportunity. We need to cheer each other on and help each other out."

BREAKOUT SESSIONS

Beyond the main stage and the exhibit floor, DEMOgala featured a dozen...