entrepreneurial lessons
DESCRIPTION
Entrepreneurial Lessons. Rafi Gidron [email protected]. Prologue is an investment and entrepreneurship organization that invests intellectual, financial and management resources to create and nurture early-stage ventures targeted at high growth markets and applications. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
![Page 2: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Prologue – Parallel Entrepreneurship
Prologue is an investment and entrepreneurship organization that invests
intellectual, financial and management resources to create and nurture early-stage
ventures targeted at high growth markets and applications
![Page 3: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
The Prologue Parternership
• Principals:– Dr. Rafi Gidron
• Chromatis (founder), Scorpio (founder), AST, Columbia University
– Orni Petruschka • Chromatis (founder), Scorpio (founder),
Cellaris, ECI, Bellcore, Cornell– Albert Olier
• Chromatis, Scorpio, ZettaLight, IAF, Technion– Nimrod Goor (US Office)
– Model N, Devicescape, MedSim, Banner Aerospace, HBS
![Page 4: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
High-Tech Commercialization – Drivers
Capital
Technology
Market
Entrepreneurship
![Page 5: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
Prologue – Value Proposition
Undeployed Capital
Technology Backlog
Large Markets
![Page 6: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
The Prologue Concept
![Page 7: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
A Company is Born
![Page 8: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
A Company is Born
![Page 9: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
Entrepreneurial Lessons
![Page 10: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
From $0 to $4.75 billion in 27 Months
Ha’aretz, June 2000
![Page 11: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
Lucent’s Share
![Page 12: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
August 2001
![Page 13: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
From Acquisition to Closure in 14 Months
Ha’aretz, August 2001
![Page 14: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
“Because it is there” George Mallory, British Mountaineer,
before attempting to climb Mount Everest in 1924
![Page 15: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
The Challenges
• Market
• Technology
• Finance
• Business
• Execution
• Exit (financial reward)
• Fun
![Page 16: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
The Means
• Team• Product selection• Execution and culture• Finance• Timing• Luck
![Page 17: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
The Team
• Core team• Employees• Venture capital• Board of directors,
board of advisors
![Page 18: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
Team Selection -Core Team and Employees
• Balanced and seasoned founding team
• Founders from the target market and from Israel
• Employees with high B/E (Brain/Ego) ratio
• Preference to potential vs. experience
• Enhance the management team with expertise according to the company’s life stages
![Page 19: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
Road to Success
– The right product at the right cost point (Marketing, R&D, CTO)
– Development execution (R&D)– Bugs free easy to operate systems (R&D)– Be in front of the customer (Sales)– On-time delivery (Operations)– Customer support (Sales, R&D)– Infrastructure (HR, Finance,
Administration)– Financing, coordination, management
![Page 20: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/20.jpg)
Team Selection - Venture Capital
• Resources to support the company over time
• Chemistry with management
• Leading US-based VCs for their reputation and contacts base
• Israeli VC for comfort level for US-based VCs
• Strategic investment: dilemma
![Page 21: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/21.jpg)
Team Selection - Directors and Advisors
• Enhance board with external director
• Name recognition
• Experience
• Contacts to client base
• Contacts to strategic partner base
![Page 22: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/22.jpg)
Product Selection - Tradeoffs
• Market opportunity is not obvious - some selection criteria:– Market needs vs. Market trends– Execution risk vs. Technology risk– Niche vs. Mainstream– Geographical focus vs. Worldwide – Point product vs. Platform
• Numerous roadmap choices
(depending on product
complexity)
• Product selection is only
a basis for change!
![Page 23: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/23.jpg)
Product Direction
• Keep an open mind• Be in the face of customers• Listen to customers• Listen to your colleagues, peers,
subordinates, supervisors
![Page 24: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/24.jpg)
Execution
• Company setup
• Focus Focus Focus• Professionalism
• Culture and values
![Page 25: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/25.jpg)
Company Setup
• Target market based company - facilitates access to market and strategic partners
• Israeli R&D
• Avoid usage of government aid programs with strings attached
• Significant target market presence from Day 1
• Over time move center of gravity to the target market as company matures
![Page 26: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/26.jpg)
Professionalism• Take responsibility - no “small head”• Dedication• Be on time• Challenging, not impossible milestones• Balance between orderly and creative
processes - know, or ask, when it is ok to cut corners
• Raise a red flag the moment you identify the problem
• Do your utmost to solve the problem
![Page 27: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/27.jpg)
Company Culture and Values• We are all partners• Listen and communicate • Team work• Hierarchy does not mean much• Talk at eye level internally and
externally • Help recruit more good people• No bullshit
![Page 28: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/28.jpg)
Timing is Everything
• Market development and product introduction phases: Prefer time to market over completeness
• Financing rounds
• Exit considerations
![Page 29: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/29.jpg)
IPO vs Acquisition
• Build the company solely for IPO
• When an acquisition opportunity comes up, consider shareholders value in light of IPO track risks:– stock market volatility– political risks– execution risks
![Page 30: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/30.jpg)
Luck
![Page 31: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/31.jpg)
“I have climbed my mountain,
but I must still live my life”Tenzing Norgay, first to climb Mount
Everest together with Sir Edmund Hillary
![Page 32: Entrepreneurial Lessons](https://reader036.vdocuments.mx/reader036/viewer/2022062314/568146f2550346895db42700/html5/thumbnails/32.jpg)
Lessons Learned the Hard Way
• A few examples:– Strategic investment - created
misperception in the industry– Operations support was
started too late– Product definition zigzag– R&D performance could be
even better– Late in correcting staffing
mistakes