Guy Kawasaki

Chief Evangelist, Canva; Former Chief Evangelist, Apple; Former Brand Ambassador, Mercedes Benz; Best-Selling Author

Guy Kawasaki Fee Range
Call for Fee
(Inquire for virtual fee)

Travels From
California, United States

Guy Kawasaki Speaker Biography

Chief Evangelist, Canva; Former Chief Evangelist, Apple; Former Brand Ambassador, Mercedes Benz; Best-Selling Author

Guy was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1954. His family lived in a tough part of Honolulu called Kalihi Valley. They weren’t rich, but he never felt poor because his parents made many sacrifices. His mother was a housewife, and his father was a fireman, real estate broker, state senator, and government official during his long, distinguished career.

Hawaii

Guy attended Iolani School where he graduated in 1972. Iolani is not as well known as its rival, Punahou because no presidents of the U.S. went there, but he got a fantastic and formative education there. (Punahou is “USC,” and Iolani is “Stanford.”) Guy owes his writing career to Harold Keables, his AP English teacher. Keables taught him that the key to writing is editing. The fact that Guy has written fifteen books (or one book fifteen times) would shock and delight Harold Keables.

Stanford

After Iolani, Guy matriculated to Stanford. He graduated in 1976 with a major in psychology which was the easiest major he could find. After Stanford, Guy attended the law school at U.C. Davis because, like all Asian-American parents, his folks wanted him to be a doctor, lawyer, or dentist. He only lasted one week because he couldn’t deal with the law school teachers telling him that he was crap and that they were going to remake him.

UCLA

The following year Guy entered the MBA program at UCLA. He liked this curriculum much better. While there, he worked for a fine-jewelry manufacturer called Nova Stylings; hence, his first real job was counting diamonds. From Nova, its CEO Marty Gruber, and his colleagues in the jewelry business, Guy learned how to sell, and this skill was vital to his career.

Software Development

Guy remained at Nova for a few years until the Apple II removed the scales from his eyes. Then he went to work for an educational software company called EduWare Services. However, Peachtree Software acquired the company and wanted Guy to move to Atlanta. “I don’t think so” was his reaction because he couldn’t live in a city where people call sushi, “bait.”

Apple

Luckily, his Stanford roommate, Mike Boich, got Guy a job at Apple. So one could make the case that Guy owes Mike everything. When Guy saw what a Macintosh could do, the clouds parted and the angels started singing. For four years Guy evangelized Macintosh to developers. He also met his wife at Apple during this timeframe–Apple was very good to Guy.

ACIUS

Around 1987, Guy’s job at Apple was done because Macintosh had plenty of software by then, so he left to start a Macintosh database company called ACIUS. It published a product called 4th Dimension. To this day, 4th Dimension is a great database. Guy ran ACIUS for two years and then left to pursue his bliss of writing, speaking, and consulting. He wrote for MacUser, Macworld, and Forbes. Guy calls these the “Wonder Years” as in “I wonder why I deserve such a good life.”

Fog City Software

In 1989, Guy started another software company called Fog City Software with three of the best co-founders in the world: Will Mayall, Kathryn Henkens, and Jud Spencer. They created an email product called Emailer and then a list server product called LetterRip.

Return to Apple

In 1995 Guy returned to Apple as an Apple fellow. At the time, according to the pundits, Apple was supposed to die. (Apple should have died about ten times in the past twenty years according to the pundits.) Guy’s job on this tour of duty was to maintain and rejuvenate the Macintosh cult.

Venture Capitalist

In 1997, Guy left Apple to start an angel investor matchmaking service called Garage.com with Craig Johnson of Venture Law Group and Rich Karlgaard of Forbes. Version 2.0 of Garage.com was an investment bank for helping entrepreneurs raise money from venture capitalists. Today, version 3.0 of Garage.com is called Garage Technology Ventures; it is a venture capital firm and makes direct investments in early-stage technology companies.

Garage

In 2004, Guy worked at Garage and then he began writing and speaking. Eventually he started another company with Will Mayall and Kathryn Henkens. This company created a website called Alltop–for “all the topics.” It aggregates RSS feeds and organizes them into topics such as photography.alltop.com, Macintosh.alltop.com, and social-media.alltop.com. It also publishes human-interest stories that elicit the reaction, “Holy kaw!“

Canva

Then in 2013, Guy became a special advisor to the CEO of the Motorola division of Google. In 2014, Guy resurrected the title “chief evangelist” and joined a Sydney-based company called Canva. This company provides an online, graphic-design service. Its goal is to democratize design. If you need graphics for social media, flyers, posters, infographics, business cards, or book covers.

Wikimedia

In 2015 innovation keynote speaker Guy Kawasaki was appointed to the board of trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation. He joined Wikimedia in order to help democratize knowledge. What could be cooler than democratizing computers, design, and knowledge?

Mercedes Benz USA

In 2015 Mercedes Benz USA retained Guy as brand ambassador. Seriously, he’s not making this up. Somebody’s got to fill these positions and they don’t all have to be world-class golfers and tennis players.

Guy Kawasaki Speaking Topics

The Art of Innovation

The Art of Innovation explains how to create innovative services and products using tactical and practical techniques. Guy uses examples from ice making to telephony to digital photography to expose the truths of innovation. Key principles include jumping to the next curve, breaking down the barriers, and thinking digitally and acting analogically.

The Art of Enchantment

The speech explains how organizations and individuals can change people’s hearts, minds, and actions. Enchantment was a New York Times bestseller.

The Art of the Start

The speech about how to create a new company. It reflects the knowledge Guy has gained from Apple, starting multiple companies, working as a venture capitalist, and advising dozens of companies. His book by the same name is the de facto standard for books about entrepreneurship.

The Art of Social Media

Guy demystifies social media in this speech and makes social media a useful and powerful marketing tool. Many people believe that Guy’s book by the same name is the best book ever written about social media.

The Lessons of Steve Jobs

Guy is one of the few people in the world who can credibly give this speech. He draws from his experience working for Steve and applies these lessons to business practices.

Guy Kawasaki Books

Wise Guy: Lessons from a Life
Purchase Book
Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions
Purchase Book
Art of the Start 2.0: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything
Purchase Book

Guy Kawasaki Videos

Check Guy Kawasaki Availability

Recent Books

Wise Guy: Lessons from a Life
Purchase Book
Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions
Purchase Book

Your Speakers

Please add any speakers you are interested in to your list. You can send this list to us to inquire about availability.

Clear All

No Speakers in List

Scroll to Top