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| StreetSmart Entrepreneuring Introduction - Getting Ready |
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| To just survive, businesses must demand the same quality and value from their managers and employees as their customers’ demand of them. |
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| 1. Vision - what you hope to achieve through this venture. |
| 2. Culture - a set of underlying, shared values. |
| 3. Innovative Product/Market Strategy - what you sell and how you will sell it. |
| 4. Sound Business Model - how you will earn a profit. |
| 5. Passionate Execution |
To get and retain your attention, I need to be provocative. I want you to react to and
challenge my perspectives. If you cut me some slack and follow my logic, I think you will
discover I’m raising valid issues while, perhaps, over generalizing. Yes, I may create
simplistic symbols to emphasize my point.
I will pick on big companies. First, let me be clear, I am incompetent to lead and manage
a large company. Big companies are not bad they’re simply products of their
environment and needs. Most big companies are publicly owned and must report sales,
profit and other financial information every quarter. Big company managements are
rewarded for meeting short-term financial goals and punished for unpredictable results.
This motivates management to protect past successes, try to minimize risk and
uncertainty and seek incremental improvement. Of course this may actually lead to even
larger risks and more serious consequences – but maybe someone else (the next CEO)
will deal with these in the future. Many large companies today try to grow and increase
earnings through developing incrementally improved products, acquiring innovative
companies with high growth prospects and buying back stock to improve earnings per
share. Big companies need entrepreneurs – they can’t internally generate enough
innovation nor tolerate the risk of failure. I recently attended an investment conference
where the CFO of one very successful large company explained their company-wide
business model of a 20% minimum return on invested capital and that any new initiative
had to quickly achieve this threshold. This doesn’t seem like a fertile environment for
breakthrough innovation requiring extensive market development (Primary Demand).
I’ve also introduced ESSs, Entrepreneurial Snap Shots, as my technique for
describing a few key lessons from entrepreneurial companies that I’ve been close to. I’ve
included seven ESS highlights in Appendix A and will refer to them throughout this book.
Even though the ESSs are in the Appendix, they are important and I recommend you
actually read them after “Are You Ready?” I served as CEO of two of these
companies, as a co-founder and Chairman of one and as an involved director of three.
The final ESS is Rico Lingerie. Rico Lingerie is the story of my father’s business in the
1920s and 1930s. In this brief introduction, you will see why this stimulated me to
entrepreneurship and how it inspired me over my career.
Appendix B is an anecdotal narrative covering a few key events during Zymark’s first two
years. My purpose is to help you feel the urgency and passion required to begin building
your new business.
Entrepreneurs, among other characteristics, are not bureaucrats. Bureaucrats love
documentation – more is better. Entrepreneurs, however, value their own time and
appreciate concise, easy to read and rich content communication. I respect your needs,
and hope you extract a few valuable ideas from my thoughts. Keep this book nearby and
consult it when you face challenging issues. I have left white space for you to annotate
this book as you read through it. Note your agreement and/or disagreement for future
reference.
The world is changing and success for all businesses is far more demanding than in
years past. Let me illustrate this with one personal example. In the 1950s and 1960s my
father drove Buicks. Every three or four years, he would visit the local Buick dealer and
select a new car. He never considered another brand or another dealer. He then looked
the salesman in the eye and asked for his “best price” and then my father would buy the
car. As consumers in those days, we were loyal to and trusting of big, established
corporations. Since then, we all have transitioned to highly informed and demanding
customers for virtually every purchase – and the Internet is accelerating this process. No
one today would buy a car by visiting one dealer and considering only one brand.
Informed customers demand quality and value from their vendors and competitive
alternatives keeps raising the standards. Many of our old corporate icons have failed
and no longer exist.
challenge my perspectives. If you cut me some slack and follow my logic, I think you will
discover I’m raising valid issues while, perhaps, over generalizing. Yes, I may create
simplistic symbols to emphasize my point.
I will pick on big companies. First, let me be clear, I am incompetent to lead and manage
a large company. Big companies are not bad they’re simply products of their
environment and needs. Most big companies are publicly owned and must report sales,
profit and other financial information every quarter. Big company managements are
rewarded for meeting short-term financial goals and punished for unpredictable results.
This motivates management to protect past successes, try to minimize risk and
uncertainty and seek incremental improvement. Of course this may actually lead to even
larger risks and more serious consequences – but maybe someone else (the next CEO)
will deal with these in the future. Many large companies today try to grow and increase
earnings through developing incrementally improved products, acquiring innovative
companies with high growth prospects and buying back stock to improve earnings per
share. Big companies need entrepreneurs – they can’t internally generate enough
innovation nor tolerate the risk of failure. I recently attended an investment conference
where the CFO of one very successful large company explained their company-wide
business model of a 20% minimum return on invested capital and that any new initiative
had to quickly achieve this threshold. This doesn’t seem like a fertile environment for
breakthrough innovation requiring extensive market development (Primary Demand).
I’ve also introduced ESSs, Entrepreneurial Snap Shots, as my technique for
describing a few key lessons from entrepreneurial companies that I’ve been close to. I’ve
included seven ESS highlights in Appendix A and will refer to them throughout this book.
Even though the ESSs are in the Appendix, they are important and I recommend you
actually read them after “Are You Ready?” I served as CEO of two of these
companies, as a co-founder and Chairman of one and as an involved director of three.
The final ESS is Rico Lingerie. Rico Lingerie is the story of my father’s business in the
1920s and 1930s. In this brief introduction, you will see why this stimulated me to
entrepreneurship and how it inspired me over my career.
Appendix B is an anecdotal narrative covering a few key events during Zymark’s first two
years. My purpose is to help you feel the urgency and passion required to begin building
your new business.
Entrepreneurs, among other characteristics, are not bureaucrats. Bureaucrats love
documentation – more is better. Entrepreneurs, however, value their own time and
appreciate concise, easy to read and rich content communication. I respect your needs,
and hope you extract a few valuable ideas from my thoughts. Keep this book nearby and
consult it when you face challenging issues. I have left white space for you to annotate
this book as you read through it. Note your agreement and/or disagreement for future
reference.
The world is changing and success for all businesses is far more demanding than in
years past. Let me illustrate this with one personal example. In the 1950s and 1960s my
father drove Buicks. Every three or four years, he would visit the local Buick dealer and
select a new car. He never considered another brand or another dealer. He then looked
the salesman in the eye and asked for his “best price” and then my father would buy the
car. As consumers in those days, we were loyal to and trusting of big, established
corporations. Since then, we all have transitioned to highly informed and demanding
customers for virtually every purchase – and the Internet is accelerating this process. No
one today would buy a car by visiting one dealer and considering only one brand.
Informed customers demand quality and value from their vendors and competitive
alternatives keeps raising the standards. Many of our old corporate icons have failed
and no longer exist.
The
Zenie
Group
Zenie
Group
| Starting a company is easy; it’s building a successful business that’s hard. |
I am truly grateful to the mentors and colleagues who helped me during my career. Their
hard work, advice, support and constructive challenges all contribute to my
entrepreneurial experience. Others challenged me - forcing me to test my logic and
beliefs. I dedicate this book to these friends, and to the next generation of
entrepreneurs. You are the enablers of our great economy. We’re counting on you.
This book is not based on deep research; it’s simply a collection of insights and beliefs
based on 35 years practicing entrepreneurship as a CEO and as an entrepreneurial
coach. My limited time in the library (web) is to verify facts that I use to support my beliefs.
I don’t expect anyone to agree with all my beliefs. I urge you, however, to think about
them and keep them in mind as you face new experiences. Discuss this material with
your entrepreneurial colleagues to stimulate controversy and vigorous debate – only good
will come from this.
I believe my advice fits well with emerging businesses from 1 to 1,000 FTEs (Full Time
Equivalent employees). I would like to think that larger businesses are well advised to
form semi-autonomous business units and apply these ideas to them as well.
My experience is primarily built on a business-to-business perspective commercializing
“Primary Demand” products. Primary demand products are those creating entirely new
markets rather than simply offering incremental, perhaps large, improvements to existing
products. Generally, primary demand products are relatively sophisticated products
linked with significant service components that aim to obsolete current practices.
Consumer markets may differ in detail, but the principles should generally apply.
This guide focuses on the entrepreneurial CEO. But even if you’re not the CEO it will
help you understand your bosses’ behavior. And, who knows, you may become a future
entrepreneurial CEO.
Entrepreneurship is less science and art and more actual practice. A Google or similar
web search for “entrepreneurship” will lead you to numerous educational sites. More
than any other field, however, entrepreneurial success is results based. It’s not
surprising that many of our most respected entrepreneurs are college dropouts – Bill
Gates, Michael Dell and Steve Jobs, for example.
Forgive me for occasionally using sports analogies, but entrepreneurship and sports
share many attributes; in most cases they are competitive, time constrained, focused on
scores and demand team play. Entrepreneurship and sports live in the present. Athletes
and entrepreneurs must constantly re-earn their jobs or be replaced by more effective
people. Bill Belichick, the head coach of the New England Patriots football team recently
commented; “If you live in the past, you die in the present”.
In this spirit, I’ve organized this guide into three major segments: Are you Ready?, Get
Set and Go. Each major segment begins by highlighting its “Guiding Principles”. The
chapter then develops the underlying logic behind these principles. I’ll try not to bore you
with lots of words, sentences and paragraphs, and wherever possible, I will use bullets,
tables and graphics.
As we progress through these three segments, I’ll organize my points around my
entrepreneurial success framework:
hard work, advice, support and constructive challenges all contribute to my
entrepreneurial experience. Others challenged me - forcing me to test my logic and
beliefs. I dedicate this book to these friends, and to the next generation of
entrepreneurs. You are the enablers of our great economy. We’re counting on you.
This book is not based on deep research; it’s simply a collection of insights and beliefs
based on 35 years practicing entrepreneurship as a CEO and as an entrepreneurial
coach. My limited time in the library (web) is to verify facts that I use to support my beliefs.
I don’t expect anyone to agree with all my beliefs. I urge you, however, to think about
them and keep them in mind as you face new experiences. Discuss this material with
your entrepreneurial colleagues to stimulate controversy and vigorous debate – only good
will come from this.
I believe my advice fits well with emerging businesses from 1 to 1,000 FTEs (Full Time
Equivalent employees). I would like to think that larger businesses are well advised to
form semi-autonomous business units and apply these ideas to them as well.
My experience is primarily built on a business-to-business perspective commercializing
“Primary Demand” products. Primary demand products are those creating entirely new
markets rather than simply offering incremental, perhaps large, improvements to existing
products. Generally, primary demand products are relatively sophisticated products
linked with significant service components that aim to obsolete current practices.
Consumer markets may differ in detail, but the principles should generally apply.
This guide focuses on the entrepreneurial CEO. But even if you’re not the CEO it will
help you understand your bosses’ behavior. And, who knows, you may become a future
entrepreneurial CEO.
Entrepreneurship is less science and art and more actual practice. A Google or similar
web search for “entrepreneurship” will lead you to numerous educational sites. More
than any other field, however, entrepreneurial success is results based. It’s not
surprising that many of our most respected entrepreneurs are college dropouts – Bill
Gates, Michael Dell and Steve Jobs, for example.
Forgive me for occasionally using sports analogies, but entrepreneurship and sports
share many attributes; in most cases they are competitive, time constrained, focused on
scores and demand team play. Entrepreneurship and sports live in the present. Athletes
and entrepreneurs must constantly re-earn their jobs or be replaced by more effective
people. Bill Belichick, the head coach of the New England Patriots football team recently
commented; “If you live in the past, you die in the present”.
In this spirit, I’ve organized this guide into three major segments: Are you Ready?, Get
Set and Go. Each major segment begins by highlighting its “Guiding Principles”. The
chapter then develops the underlying logic behind these principles. I’ll try not to bore you
with lots of words, sentences and paragraphs, and wherever possible, I will use bullets,
tables and graphics.
As we progress through these three segments, I’ll organize my points around my
entrepreneurial success framework:
Recently (July 2006) while listening to the “Imus in the Morning” radio program, Don Imus
the host was interviewing Pat Buchanan the conservative political analyst. During their
discussion of illegal immigration, Buchanan commented that continued virtual open
borders will “unglue” our country. He explained that patriotism and culture is the glue that
holds our nation together. If you substitute vision for patriotism, Buchanan is applying
our framework to our national needs.
My goal is to motivate potential entrepreneurs to pursue their dream, but also to
discourage those without real entrepreneurial potential from spending valuable time
distracted from a more suitable career.
Throughout this book, I’ll use the politically incorrect “he” to be race and gender
independent. I’ll also use the term “product” to include all components of the value
package be they physical products, software or services.
Successful entrepreneurs create market discontinuities – dramatic changes rather than
incremental improvements to current practices. They may or may not require
technological inventions. Let’s cite some examples:
the host was interviewing Pat Buchanan the conservative political analyst. During their
discussion of illegal immigration, Buchanan commented that continued virtual open
borders will “unglue” our country. He explained that patriotism and culture is the glue that
holds our nation together. If you substitute vision for patriotism, Buchanan is applying
our framework to our national needs.
My goal is to motivate potential entrepreneurs to pursue their dream, but also to
discourage those without real entrepreneurial potential from spending valuable time
distracted from a more suitable career.
Throughout this book, I’ll use the politically incorrect “he” to be race and gender
independent. I’ll also use the term “product” to include all components of the value
package be they physical products, software or services.
Successful entrepreneurs create market discontinuities – dramatic changes rather than
incremental improvements to current practices. They may or may not require
technological inventions. Let’s cite some examples:
Think about it - to a great extent, these innovations came from entrepreneurs with
limited resources rather than large companies’ R&D efforts.
As you read through this book, please:
limited resources rather than large companies’ R&D efforts.
As you read through this book, please:
Today we’re concerned about outsourcing American jobs. The action is here – nearby
your markets! Early in the 20th Century we began exporting jobs from the Northeast and
Midwest to lower cost factories in the south. Following World War II, we transferred
manufacturing jobs to low cost foreign countries. Now, we see knowledge work also
moving off shore. Much is written about China and India educating their people in
technology and instilling a strong work ethic – good for them. We’re now clearly
challenged to create new jobs that need to be performed near our US-based customers –
the largest global market. In this book, I will try to develop an underlying principle that the
greatest strength of entrepreneurship is intimate relationships and understanding of
unmet customer needs. If this is true, entrepreneurial companies will need highly capable
people constantly interacting with their customers in order to lead their companies
forward. You cannot do this by phone, e-mail or videoconference. We’re actually in
sourcing entrepreneurs from around the world. This is still the land of opportunity.
If I’ve been successful, as you finish this book, you will observe that Frank only made a
few points - supporting them with simple logic and examples. If you remember these
underlying principles, I’ve done my job. Start and end here:
your markets! Early in the 20th Century we began exporting jobs from the Northeast and
Midwest to lower cost factories in the south. Following World War II, we transferred
manufacturing jobs to low cost foreign countries. Now, we see knowledge work also
moving off shore. Much is written about China and India educating their people in
technology and instilling a strong work ethic – good for them. We’re now clearly
challenged to create new jobs that need to be performed near our US-based customers –
the largest global market. In this book, I will try to develop an underlying principle that the
greatest strength of entrepreneurship is intimate relationships and understanding of
unmet customer needs. If this is true, entrepreneurial companies will need highly capable
people constantly interacting with their customers in order to lead their companies
forward. You cannot do this by phone, e-mail or videoconference. We’re actually in
sourcing entrepreneurs from around the world. This is still the land of opportunity.
If I’ve been successful, as you finish this book, you will observe that Frank only made a
few points - supporting them with simple logic and examples. If you remember these
underlying principles, I’ve done my job. Start and end here:
In StreetSmart Entrepreneuring I will try to be:
| Entrepreneurship is not an intellectual exercise; If you’re ready, go for it. I wish you the best. |
| Do not always take me literally, but please take me seriously. |