John Kerry calls for tech upstarts to tackle world problems

STANFORD, Calif., June 24 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged entrepreneurs to build successful companies that could tackle worldwide problems that include extremism violence, climate change and government corruption.

Kerry, speaking at the the 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Summit, called on the 15,000 attendees to consider "generational challenges" when building businesses. That means creating tools and opportunities that will deter young adults from the lure of extremism, create a steady movement to a low-carbon, low-emissions economy and fight back against corruption that eats away at public confidence. It does not have to be complicated, he said.

"You simply have to do what you do best -- innovate, experiment, identify the needs in the market, come up with good ideas to meet them, build competitive economies where jobs are created, and where hope and opportunity are widespread and refuse to take no as an answer," he said.

The 2016 GES, which ended Friday, was the seventh annual White-House sponsored gathering of entrepreneurs "at all stages of business development." It is aimed at showcasing and inspiring entrepreneurship and creating investment and partnership opportunities through workshops, panel discussions, mentoring and networking sessions.

Kerry was among the many high-level business and governmental professionals in attendance, including Uber CEO Travis Kalanick and Valerie Jarrett, President Barack Obama's chief advisor.

Kerry also met with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, walked the Stanford campus and sat in a parked Google self-driving car.