Doerr drew a sharp contrast between professional failure and personal failure. As a venture capitalist, he noted, screwing up means losing some money and a bit of pride—painful but recoverable. But failing as a parent means losing love and lives that can never be regained. It was a remarkably vulnerable admission from a man whose career was defined by high-stakes risk-taking. He attributed this wisdom to his late mentor Ken Kennedy, a beloved Rice professor who had passed away just months before the ceremony. Kennedy had taught Doerr not to be afraid to fail in business and career, but also modeled what it meant to put family first. Kennedy had urged his own daughter to 'let yourself become the extraordinary person who you are'—a gift Doerr called the greatest a parent can give a child.