First Serve Strategies

Archive for the ‘Entrepreneurship’ Category

Throughout modern history the movers and shakers of developed countries have celebrated left-brain thinking.  Success is pre-ordained based on the mastery of standardized tests (PSAT, SAT, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT) that measure an individual’s aptitude for analytical, logical and linear thought. The ability to acquire and disseminate knowledge is valued.  After all, mastery of analytics, logic and linear thought put a man on the moon and returned him safely in the 1960s, and launched us headlong into the high technology world of the knowledge era.   Knowledge is power.

In 1997 left-brain engineers and scientists from IBM developed a computer program powerful enough to beat world champion Garry Kasparov in the quintessential left-brain competition, chess.  In so doing, is it possible they marked the beginning of the end of the knowledge era?  If technology can beat a world champion chess master at his game, what’s to keep technology from rendering a world-class disease diagnostician—think Dr. Gregory House—obsolete?   Isn’t a diagnostician’s skill derived from a comprehensive knowledge of known diseases, and the possible combination of related symptoms:  knowledge that can be stored in databases, and retrieved and processed at speeds far greater than the capability of the human mind.

While computers have the ability to handle left-brain activity with ease, they have difficulty with context. Discerning joy, fear, anger or anxiety from the expression on someone’s face requires the ability to instantaneously see individual parts of the face in the context of the whole.  In order for innovators and entrepreneurs to develop solutions for today’s complex needs, they need to understand those needs within the context of people’s lives, and/or the whole of society.  This ability to understand context comes from the right hemisphere of the human brain.

In his book, A Whole New Mind, Daniel Pink suggests that we are moving from a knowledge economy to a creative economy, requiring a renaissance of right brain thinking.  Is it time to re-engage the often-maligned right hemisphere of the brain?  Are we in an era where competitive advantage will be determined more by creativity, design and context than by knowledge, analytics and logic?

I welcome your thoughts,

©Mark P. Loschiavo

Nobody trips over mountains.  It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble.  Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain.
~Author Unknown

As we enter into the first month of the New Year I am reminded of the important role perseverance plays for the successful entrepreneur

Even in the most prosperous times starting an entrepreneurial venture can be a daunting process.  As educators, facilitators and mentors in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, we commit ourselves to providing every entrepreneur we encounter with a blueprint for success.  Our goal is to improve the odds in favor of the entrepreneur.  In reality, regardless of preparation and execution, “shift happens” that can instantaneously change the odds.  No matter how well conceived the business plan, it usually changes the minute it meets the marketplace.  The ability to persevere during those times of ambiguity, uncertainty and changes is the mark of a successful entrepreneur.

I believe Joseph Segel, founder of over 20 American companies, most notably QVC, summarized the importance of perseverance quite well.  When discussing the amazing success of QVC Joe said, “Everyone wants to hear about the one big success.  Nobody wants to talk about the 17 failures that came before QVC.”

In a recent interview, one of our entrepreneurs, Zach Conover, was asked about the skills necessary to be a successful entrepreneur.  He said, “Being good at something like this is like being a good pitcher in baseball.  You need a short memory. You have to remain confident after a bad pitch that your next pitch will be better.”  That is the voice of an optimist who sees the opportunity in every difficulty.  That is the voice of the Baiada Center.

©Mark P. Loschiavo

This often misquoted line from the movie Field of Dreams (“Build it and he will come”) has led to the demise of more than a few entrepreneurial ventures. The sentiment is actually much older than the movie. It was Ralph Waldo Emerson who first said, “Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door.”

Any high school graduate in the U.S. should remember Emerson as a famous American essayist, philosopher and poet. Few people, however, realize that in his early career he co-founded and ran a school for young ladies. That said, he might have made a dismal entrepreneur in today’s world with his “mousetrap” philosophy. With today’s increasingly crowded markets it takes much more than a better mousetrap to get customers to beat a path to our door. With so many products, options and features, just creating customer awareness of your product can be a daunting task.

Following the dot com bust, the idea of “eyeballs” and “clicks” as a barometer of company valuation became laughable to many. In retrospect the concept has merit in one particular arena.

Take a moment to reflect on how villages, towns and cities form. It always starts with a group of settlers, brought together in community based on location. Location may be decided based on trading routes, access to natural resources or common interest. Once the community is in place commerce ensues. Said differently, where there is a common community, there is a place and an opportunity for entrepreneurial ventures to flourish. If we transpose this same concept to the electronic age, we start to see the value of “eyeballs” and “clicks”.

A recent article in CNNMoney.com entitled LinkedIn’s startup story: Connecting the business world, Ellen Lee describes how LinkedIn founder, Reid Hoffman built his company around the single goal of getting to 1 million members. “I’m a huge believer in getting a million people, getting them engaged, and then building a business model on top of that,” he says. Forty-one million members later that is exactly what he has done. With the community in place, the opportunity for commerce ensued, and entrepreneurship flourished.

The difference between online communities and physical communities is that online communities are typically built around a common interest. In the case of LinkedIn the common interest is professionals wanting to connect. Facebook, on the other hand was based on a particular demographic—college students. One could argue that Twitter is based more on a specific psychographic.

So, the next time you are tempted to scoff at a business idea based on a business model that is built around “eyeballs”, you might want to first ask, “will these eyeballs lead to a community of people with a common interest, which once in place, provides an opportunity for entrepreneurial ventures?”

©Mark P. Loschiavo

Excerpt for Laurence A. Baiada Center for Entrepreneurship Newsletter

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

- Winston Churchill

Have you ever noticed how much energy is spent focusing on things that are unpleasant? Whether discussing current events with friends or watching the evening news, the topic invariably turns to threatening weather, crime in the streets, disease, political scandal or a bad economy. If you think I am overstating the case, categorize every conversation or encounter you have in one day on a sheet of paper with two columns. In the left column list all encounters focused on something positive. In the right column list all of the encounters focused on something negative. By the end of the day, that piece of paper will be listing to starboard.

Consider the amount of time and attention in the first quarter of 2009 that was devoted to talking and writing about the woes of the economy. There are roughly 200 million working-aged people in the United States. If each of those people thinks about the woes of the economy for only 20 minutes a day, it amounts to 6 billion hours. Now consider the possibilities if those 6 billion hours were spent focusing on entrepreneurial opportunities.

People often ask me how the entrepreneurs we work with every day are dealing with these difficult economic times. My answer is always the same. They know times are tough, but their focus is on building their businesses and making a difference in the world. The economy, good or bad, is just one of the many external factors they need to consider when trying to execute on their visions.

In a recent interview, one of our entrepreneurs, Zach Conover, was asked about the skills necessary to be a successful entrepreneur. He said, “Being a good entrepreneur is like being a good pitcher in baseball. You need a short memory. You have to remain confident after a bad pitch that your next pitch will be better.” That is the voice of an optimist who sees the opportunity in every difficulty. That is the voice of the Baiada Center.

©Mark P. Loschiavo