1. Entrepreneurship What does it take?
Steve Sheafor Cindy Lindsay

2. Critical Success Factors
What does the market need?
Knowledge - Research, trend analysis, market experience, extrapolation to a future or currently non-existent market
How quickly can you meet the need?
Team - Technical competence, experience, structure, execution, flexibility
What makes your solution unique?
Innovation - Creativity, focused solution(s) - can be technical, market, business model uniqueness
How do you find your customers?
Sales Expertise - Targeted marketing & selling, excellent presentation skills, good cost/benefit analysis, sales persistence
Is the Business Model Viable? C

3. Dialogic Systems - Startup #1
1981
Mainframe terminal processor
Raised $48M ($100M in today’s dollars)
Technical & Marketing issues contributed to a spectacular failure
Great contacts established S

4. Cornerstone Imaging - Startup #2
1986
High resolution PC display subsystems - graphics processors
Raised $9.1M from personal contacts
Tried several market/product approaches
Flexibility paid off as technology changes dramatically impacted the business
Identified document image processing as the market opportunity (1989)
Initial Public Offering 1993
Business continued to change C

5. Sitera Incorporated - Startup #3
1996
Network Processors - NPUs
Selected Colorado for lifestyle and technology infrastructure
Started as an experienced team rather than a product idea
Identified market and created product category
Raised $34M mostly from previous contacts
Acquired by Vitesse Semiconductor in 2000 for $750M S

6. Start-up Consulting
Focus on working with start-up teams to minimize their time-to-money
Business plan review
Market and sales plan review
Strategic planning
Presentations
Critical hires
Introductions in the Venture Capital community
Seed investing
Board Membership
Board of Directors
Technical Advisory Board C

7. What Did We Learn? Focus on flexibility and breadth of background
Failure is a learning experience
Who you know is critical
The team is the most important factor in successful startups
The market & the business model are more important than the technology S

8. Startup Pitfalls Not understanding your market
Poor planning & execution
Inappropriate business model
Unwillingness to make the hard decisions
Not hiring a balance of talents
Unwillingness to hire the senior management for whom you will work C

9. Managing Human Capital
Create the right management team
Experience mix
Teamwork is critical
Sets the tone for the company
The team is the company
Hire to fill the skill, but consider the teamwork aspect equally
Structure the potential rewards to match the effort and contribution - start-up employees are also owners S

10. Funding Your Startup Explore all alternative funding sources
VCs
Corporate funding
Angels
Incubators
Go into a VC through someone you know
Communicate the business opportunity clearly - the business model is key
Have a VERY tough skin, learn from every encounter and don’t give up C

11. Questions?
? ?
? ?
? ?
? ?