Interview Series: Marylene Delbourg-Delphis
A deep-dive in the great mind of one of Silicon Valley pioneers.
HOT OFF THE PRESS!: Her latest book “Beyond Eureka!: The Rocky Roads to Innovating” is officially released this week! (Get your copy here). What an impeccable timing.
“So do we really know Marylene Delbourg-Delphis beyond the official bio below?
“Marylene Delbourg-Delphis is one of the first European women to have founded (with Guy Kawasaki) a technology company in Silicon Valley. The CEO of three additional companies in succession, she has also helped over 30 companies (so far) as a "shadow" CEO, board member, and strategy advisor. As a Vistage Chair, she is also leading and coaching a private advisory group of CEOs in the San Francisco Bay Area.
A graduate of l'Ecole Normale Supérieure in France, she holds a PhD and earned minors in mathematical logic and history of sciences, which she studied under the tutelage of French academician Michel Serres. In 2018, she was awarded the Legion of Honor, the highest French order of merit for military and civil accomplishments. In 2023, she received the Woman Leadership Award, issued by French-American Chamber of Commerce of San Francisco.”
The answer is probably no. Always discreet but ever present at many tech events, it is always a privilege to have a conversation with Marylene. Well, that is if your brain can catch up with her brain which is always running on overdrive and processing very fast.
While just the above bio would be quite impressive for anybody and settle any questions, I wanted to learn more about her story and especially about her last book: “Beyond Eureka” which hit my sweat spot (of regular complains) about the difference between invention and innovation.
When I wrote the blog “Which I am I?”, it was already clear that Silicon Valley needed a reset on its own “grandeur and delusions”. And it seems Marylene did it in a way I could not have dreamed off. But still with love for the tech world, well tough love only like how true entrepreneurs can show to their “progenitures”.
And if any doubt still remained, as for every great minds of Silicon Valley I have talked to (few more interviews!), the attraction to music AND mathematics/physics in Marylene is also strongly present. I am starting to see a pattern there.
So let’s dive into our conversation with Marylene who was kind enough to actually answer all of them including the silly ones with humor and affability.
The Delivery Man (DM): Marylene, what’s the most surprising career aspiration you had as a child? Did you always dream of becoming a technologist and being an author, or did you have a wild career fantasy involving space travel or underwater archaeology?
Marylene Delbourg-Delphis (MDD): As a child, my wild career fantasy was to become a music composer. However, when I realized the challenge of learning to play an instrument, I let the idea fade into the background. By the age of 12, I had shifted my focus and decided that I would write books, although I had no idea what topic I would write about.
DM: Could you share one of the earliest “Eureka” moments in your career that solidified your passion for tech and leadership?
MDD: My interest in technology wasn't so much a passion for tech itself, but rather for the potential it held. When I realized that I could use an Apple II to organize my research on the history of perfumes, I became intrigued by the ways technology could enhance and streamline my efforts. Similarly, I've never been directly passionate about “leadership,” as a banner. It's a skill that anyone can develop as soon as they wish to share their interests with others and persuade them to help achieve common goals. I am more passionate about empowerment and creating environments where people feel motivated and capable of achieving success
DM: Did you have any mentors early on that shaped your approach to business and technology? Any advice they gave that stuck with you?
MDD: I didn't have any specific mentors, but as someone coming from academia, I knew that I had to start from scratch and learn everything on my own. I began with finance books, and then all the people I met became mentors in their own way, usually without even realizing it. I made it a point to listen to how they spoke, thought, and sold, and through a process of trial and error, I gradually defined ways of doing things that I was comfortable with.
The most important advice I ever received didn't come from a business person, but from my parents, who were both teachers. They instilled in me two key beliefs: first, that everyone is capable of learning, and second, that in order to be trusted by others, you must first trust them. These two humanist principles became important management guidelines for me.
DM: This is a great piece of advices and values. To be remembered beyond our discussion. Now, what was the first tech gadget you absolutely fell in love with, and do you still have a soft spot for it?
MDD: The first piece of technology that captured my fascination was a Grundig TK30 reel-to-reel tape recorder. While I wouldn't necessarily say that I still have a soft spot for it, I do have fond memories of using it, including various mishaps like the tape getting jammed.
DM: Was there a point in your early career where you took a leap of faith that paid off or a risk that didn’t go as planned but led to a valuable lesson?
MDD: Starting a tech company and leaving academia behind was certainly a leap of faith in some ways. However, at the time, I didn't view it as such. Instead, it felt more like a natural progression on a path that was revealing itself to me as I walked it.
DM: Your latest book (JUST RELEASED THIS WEEK), " Beyond Eureka!: The Rocky Roads to Innovating” is packed with brilliant insights (Get your copy here). What’s one idea from the book that you wish everyone would grasp immediately?
MDD: Thank you! My key message to entrepreneurs is to learn to be at ease with uncertainty. This mindset is crucial for developing the cognitive flexibility, pragmatic openness, and situational awareness that can help us navigate the challenges and opportunities we encounter on the road to success.
DM: How did you decide to name the book "Beyond Eureka!"? Was there a lightbulb moment that inspired it?
MDD: I did not create the title myself; I was actually struggling to find one. The credit goes to Guy Kawasaki, after I shared the manuscript with him to see if he was comfortable writing the foreword.
DM: Which of your previous career roles best prepared you for writing "Beyond Eureka," and why?
MDD: Everything in both my personal and professional life has led me to finally write this book. As a child, I was captivated by the musical genre called 'Variations,' where a simple theme can evolve into a phenomenal product that draws widespread attention. For example, Chopin was only 17 when he composed his Variations in B flat major on a theme from Mozart’s Don Giovanni (Là ci darem la mano), which is widely recognized as the catalyst for his fame across Europe.
Similarly, during my time in the perfume industry, I was intrigued by how the discovery of new molecules or production methods—those 'Eureka!' moments—could inspire innovators to go beyond and incorporate that discovery within a larger ensemble. For instance, the production of high-quality aldehydes was crucial for Ernest Beaux in creating the iconic Chanel No. 5.
As a tech entrepreneur and advisor to numerous startups, I have closely observed the journey of ideas as they emerge, evolve, and either dissolve or transform into products that attract customers and secure a market position. Regardless of the industry, I have always been fascinated by the complex challenges innovators face to ensure that an idea not only becomes a product capable of infiltrating societal layers but also has a lasting impact.
DM: Was Guy Kawasaki the obvious choice for the foreword? How did you approach him to write it?
MDD: Yes, for me, this was an obvious and easy choice, because he was the co-founder of my first company in the United States.
DM: What’s the one chapter from "Beyond Eureka" you’d love to discuss endlessly over coffee with readers?
MDD: There isn’t just one chapter from my book that I’d endlessly enjoy discussing over coffee with readers, because all the topics I address have been crucial for the numerous entrepreneurs I've collaborated with. It’s vital for them to recognize that being 'disruptive' won’t make you impactful. Similarly, being in the right place at the right time, while advantageous, doesn’t guarantee success. The issues women and minorities face in innovation won't disappear magically, and established companies often have a deeper competitive edge than we might think, despite the genial Davids we think we are. We also need to understand what it truly means to be forward-thinking. That said, regardless of the topic, I hope my readers would still relish their coffee and particularly enjoy a brownie-stuffed croissant if we’re at Maison Benoit in Danville, founded by tech veteran Benoit Vialle.
DM: Now, let’s get your views on the world of current tech and AI trends. AI seems to be all the rage right now. In your opinion, what’s the most unexpected area where AI will impact our lives?
MDD: Yes, AI is the rage, and with it all sorts of predictions about what to expect or not. Yet the AI's impacts, while wide-ranging, may not necessarily be completely unexpected or transformative in the near-term across all domains. Instead, AI is more likely to augment and accelerate existing processes initially rather than radically upending them. AI will act more as a productivity multiplier by extracting insights from data, automating aspects of research, and enabling faster testing. Scientific research does seem poised to feel AI's impacts sooner given the data-driven and computational nature of many research activities.
DM: Tech is evolving at lightning speed. If you could give a one-sentence pep talk to emerging tech leaders navigating this rapid change, what would you say?
MDD: Be bloodsuckers like leeches, but calm down. Between the promises of rapid changes and the adoption of these changes, there can be a huge gap of time.
DM: If you could instantly solve one challenge related to AI ethics or regulation, which would you choose and why?
MDD: The biggest challenge is data privacy and security. Decentralized AI, differential privacy are options. Homomorphic encryption may also be a promising solution, despite current challenges.
DM: How do you see traditional business models adapting to the current AI trends? Do you foresee any revolutionary shifts?
MDD: Businesses are already using AI-powered products and services to automate routine tasks, enhance customer experiences, develop predictive maintenance solutions, develop personalized marketing campaigns targeting specific customer segments, etc. As I said before, AI is a productivity multiplier, and the adaptation of traditional business models to AI is an ongoing process. I don’t foresee immediate revolutionary shifts.
DM: What's your most controversial prediction about where tech is headed in the next five years?
MDD: I am not in the prediction business… Maybe a wider adoption of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs).
DM: Let's go on the lighter side now and what readers may not know but you have a sharp sense of humor so here we go. If AI could write a cookbook, what would the silliest or most bizarre recipe include?
DMM: The best way to know is to ask ChatGPT, Mistal, Claude, or other platforms to do so. Then it would be up to each of us to perform an analysis of their underlying assumptions and biases on what is silly or bizarre, and possibly start a debate on whether they are more imaginative than humans.
DM: What quirky gadget would you invent if you had unlimited resources and zero judgment?
MDD: A “zero judgment” state might prevent me from recognizing the potential of unlimited resources at my disposal and imagining anything.
DM: If you had to explain blockchain to a 5-year-old using only emojis, which ones would you choose?
MDD: I would challenge the person who is asking me to do that to do it themselves but without using emojis, and by simply starting with the game of telephone.
DM: Suppose you had to build your tech startup team entirely out of famous fictional characters. Who would you choose to be your CTO, head of marketing, and head of HR?
MDD: Dr. Ellie Sattler (Jurassic Park) would be the CTO, Don Draper (Mad Men) would be the head of marketing and Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird) would be the VP of People.
DM: If there were an "Escape the Tech Trap" game show, what would your unbeatable strategy be to win the grand prize?
MDD: I would enlist the Sandman to gently lull people into slumber, allowing them to traverse dreams filled with magical landscapes.
DM: Thank you so much Marylene for sharing your knowledge, your passion for tech, your author’s mindset and of course, keeping me inline with boomeranging back to me my silly questions. Always great hearing from you!
If you would like to discover more about Marylene (mostly in French), please visit her website here or by purchasing one of her books below.
Books in English