Ray Zinn, co-founder of microchip company Micrel, joins Talking Business Now host Kelly Scanlon to discuss entrepreneurship, startup success, staying true to core values maintaining a disciplined focus and being a "student of life."

A Silicon Valley pioneer, Zinn founded the company in 1978—and he chose to bootstrap it to profitability rather than take venture capital. 

When Microchip acquired the company in 2015, Zinn delivered a total equity value of more than $800 million.

Before attending college, Zinn worked at a janitorial service. After college, he moved to San Francisco and started working in rocket motor manufacturing and then in the semiconductor industry. He and a friend founded Micrel with $300,000, and the company was profitable in its first year. In total, Micrel achieved profitability in 36 of its 37 years. During his 37 years with Micrel, Zinn served as president, CEO and chairman of the board. He's known as the longest-serving CEO of a publicly traded Silicon Valley company. He also holds more than 20 patents for semiconductor design.

Zinn spends his time these days as a speaker, author and leader of a Silicon Valley accelerator called ZinnStarter, which is dedicated to mentoring entrepreneurs to build profitable and sustainable companies. He's also a podcaster and author of Tough Things First and Zen of Zinn, 

Tune in to find out Zinn's: 

■ Rationale for bucking the traditional Silicon Valley mindset of starting with venture—capital and bootstrapping the company instead.

■ Formula for building a profitable, sustainable company. Ray led Micrel through eight downturns in the global chip markets, including the dot-com bust and the Great Recession.

■ Perspective on why so many startups fail—and how to avoid it.

■ Advice on handling mistakes.

■ Decision-making philosophy.

■ Strategy for earning 20 patents for semiconductor design (hint: it requires a team effort).

■ Approach to creating a corporate culture built on dignity of the individual.

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