10月18日（多伦多当地时间）下午4时，陶闯博士受邀参加加拿大约克大学（York University）2017届毕业典礼并发表毕业演说，被授予约克大学荣誉法学博士学位（Honorary Doctor of Laws )。
约克大学（York University）是加拿大最负盛名的综合研究性大学，位居世界前列。陶闯博士曾任教并创立约克大学地理信息工程专业，专设“陶氏”工程教育基金鼓励创新事业 。此次两千多人的毕业典礼上，约克大学授予其最高荣誉法学博士学位（Honorary Doctor of Laws )，加拿大安大略省总督亲自接待庆贺。
▲ 2017 约克大学毕业典礼现场
陶闯博士，连续创业者 、知名企业家、投资人，如今的他多重身份，时间流转回22年前，他就是一个身无分文的普通学生。求学加拿大，初来乍到，除了热情似乎什么都没有了，越洋千里坚定寻求更好的教育机会。
When innovator, entrepreneur and visionary Vincent Tao first arrived in Canada, he had nothing but a clean basement floor to sleep on, and his passion for education.
22年前的1995年，陶闯离开中国，来到卡尔加里大学继续攻读地理信息工程学的博士学位。他清楚记得当时的自己只能从路边或者旧货市场添置一些零散的旧家具，再后来又花了850美金，买了车。“这是我当时最大的一笔支出”，他告诉大家，“结果，邻居告诉我，四个车轮大小都不一样。”
That was 22 years ago, in 1995, when he came from China to pursue a PhD in the field of geomatics engineering at the University of Calgary, and he remembers with clarity furnishing his basement apartment with items left to the curb, or from garage sales. Eventually he purchased a car, for $850.
“That was the most expensive item I had ever had,” he told graduands of York’s Faculty of Education, Faculty of Health and Lassonde School of Engineering on Oct. 18 after receiving an honorary doctor of laws. “And then one day, my neighbour told me that my car had four different sizes of wheels.”
▲ 2017 约克大学毕业典礼 陶闯博士发表演说
曾经住过地下室，到后来建立起10亿美金价值的企业，这是一段漫长艰辛的经历。对他来说，跨出万里长征第一步，就是树立目标。
That was the beginning of a journey that would take him from sleeping on a basement floor to becoming the founder of a billion-dollar international company. The first step in that journey, he said, was setting a goal.
第一目标——他希望成为一位教授，一位研究学者。照如今的成就看来，显然，这一步迈得勤恳务实。他的研究成果在地理信息领域受到广泛认可，一举斩获七项国际大奖，赢得大额奖金，也顺利被评为大学教授。2001年，他加盟约克大学，被授予加拿大国家首席研究教授，帮助约克大学创立地理信息工程专业。
His first goal was modest, compared to what he’s achieved, and he set his sights on becoming a professor and researcher. Eventually, his research was recognized and he earned seven international awards and scholarships. From there he was offered a position as a professor, and in 2001 he moved to York University and was awarded a Canada Research Chair, and helped to build York U’s Geomatics Engineering program.
一旦你的目标建立起来了，什么对你是最重要，一切了然于心。然而，他说，这并非那么容易，尤其是当一个人一面承受着巨大的压力，另一方面无数的选择和机会围着你转，常常就会忘记初衷是什么。
“If your goal is set, you will know what matters most to you,” he said. “However, it’s easy to forget it all when you are confronted with many daily pressures and choices.”
其二，颠覆自己，寻求更高的突破。
Once your goal is set, you need to strive for a breakthrough, he told graduands.
如何商业化自己的研究所学，如何对测绘地理行业做出贡献，他慢慢开始思考这些问题。他决定做出一些改变——成立了一家初创公司GeoTango，将研究成果商业化。转眼一年过去了，一件产品都没能卖出，公司唯一的销售也离开了 ，无奈他只有变身“销售员”，尝试各种渠道接触任何可能的客户，“推销售卖”自己的产品。
公司终于迎来了第一位客户，提及此事，陶博士依然难掩当年的兴奋和激动，之后越来越多的客户开始陆续找上门来。
His breakthrough was driven by his desire to commercialize his work, and make an impact in the industry. He funded a startup company selling cutting-edge and innovative technology in global mapping – but after one year, he had not made one sale, which forced the only sales staff to leave. He became his own sales person, tracked down the CEO of a company that was his ideal customer, and found a way to deliver an elevator pitch.
“This company became my first customer,” said Tao, adding that this sale sparked interest from many other companies.
01年，GeoTango创立，05年公司被微软收购，陶博士随后开始了他的微软五年。他竭尽所学，发挥所长，开创性成立并领导开发微软公司下全球最大地图系统--微软虚拟地球。
Tao’s company was later acquired by Microsoft, where he then worked and devoted his skill and knowledge to geomatics. He would eventually make a contribution to the development of Microsoft’s world’s largest global mapping system, Virtual Earth.
▲Greg Sorbara（左） 陶闯（中） Rhonda Lenton(右）
陶闯（Vincent Tao）被授予约克大学荣誉法学博士
陶博士最后提出一条建议 “关键在于坚持”。
The final piece of advice Tao offered is that persistency counts.
当时正值中国经济突飞猛进，还在微软工作的他明察于心，他做了一个大胆决定，毅然回到国内，拥抱互联网发展大浪。
When he was working at Microsoft, there were indications that the Chinese economy was growing rapidly, so he made the bold move to move back and “catch this wave.”
2009年，他以创始合伙人的身份加入PPTV，当时还是一家专于体育赛事和电视直播的网络视频公司。中国的互联网市场和美国相比，存在巨大差异，竞争也更为激烈。他前后接触了超过60家投资机构，没有一家愿意投资。
“当时公司把钱都烧完了，我不得不拿出自己的钱，给超过200 名员工付薪水 。”即使到了最艰难的时候，也没有放弃的念头。
In 2009, he did that, and co-founded a company called PPTV, an Internet video company that offers live streaming of sports and TV. While waiting for the “wave,” Tao realized China’s Internet market was vastly different from North America’s, and highly competitive. He approached more than 60 venture capital funders with no offer.
“Our company was running out of cash and I had to use my personal money to pay for the salary of over 200 employees,” he said. But, he didn’t give up.
转折出现在2010年圣诞。经一位朋友推荐，陶闯有机会碰面软银集团孙正义先生。这位亚洲最著名的投资人答应留给他10分钟时间。
“我明白这10分钟是多么至关重要，”他回忆，当时整晚都在准备，熬了一整夜反反复复修改。
最终，PPTV成功引入软银战略投资2.5亿美金，打破了中国互联网市场单笔融资成交额最大的记录，同时也奠定PPTV 的发展规模，正式进军成为一家独角兽级的互联网公司。
Right before Christmas of 2010, he was referred by a friend to the Chairman of Softbank, the largest Asian investor, and had locked in 10 minutes of his time.
“I knew how critical those 10 mins would be,” said Tao. “I worked overnight and got my business presentation revised multiple times.”
His company finally received US$250-million investment for PPTV from Softbank, which broke the record for the single largest investment in China’s Internet market. With this investment, PPTV grew to be a billion-dollar company.
一个人的智商并不是决定因素，坚持到底才是成功的关键。确实，他做到了，事实证明，坚持，成就了他的现在以至未来。
Persistence, he said, is a great substitute for talent and it is the key to success and so important to achievements in life.
“我也知道，如今的你们面临很多选择，有些甚至很艰难，工作也好，地点也好，未来也好， 一切都是未知”，他告诉毕业生，“无论内心产生多大的波澜，你需要的是不断追问自己，了解什么对你才是最重要的。听从内心的声音，不惧风雨；忘记外面的蜚短流长，不畏人言。”
“I am sure that you are now facing choices, maybe tough choices, about your job, work place and future life,” he told the graduating class. “When confronted with many of those choices, you really need to think deeply about who you are and what really matters to you. You have got to hear your own heartbeat and quiet all the outside noises.”
“从现在起，你们将开启全新的人生，未来注定不平凡 ，享受你们的旅程吧！”
“So from today on, you are about to experience something extraordinary. Enjoy your trip!”
