We're obsessively drawn to new disruptive technology start-ups, having both spent some time in their company here and in the Valley. Nothing lights our fire more than a small band of struggling scientists and engineers who are trying to make sense of what technology they have and finding the biggest market for it, and the most functional/desirable form for it to take. We also hope that one day there will be a massively successful UK startup,too.
It's such a rollercoaster, more often than not a battle between engineering and marketing. Over the past few years we've worked with many of them and developed a very clear point of view about what makes some more successfull, and what holds others back. Whilst many of the essential business factors repeatedly get aired, some of the critical differences in successful startups get overlooked at best, or at worse, ignored. Two of these include creating a brand story for the company, and creating an open and collaborative culture. There's a lot behind the how and the why, and that's going to be in the book.
So we were thrilled to hear a highly articulate entrepreneur Andrew Frame of Ooma and his Ten Lessons podcast was on the Entrepreneurial Though Leaders (Stanford Technology Ventures Programme). He talks about what he has learnt about designing the organisation, about the need for mentoring and being mentored, of being serious about getting the right talent in at the right time, and about putting the management of the product, not the engineering or scientific functions, at the core of the company. What a breath of fresh, highly experienced and incredibly knowledgeable air.
I can't wait to see what Ooma do!
