Tjan On Entrepreneurship

Presenting thoughts and lessons on Entrepreneurship winter 2009 Tony Tjan founder and CEO

What will your magical journey be?

Defining Entrepreneurship The relentless pursuit of opportunity without regard to resources. Bill Sahlman, Harvard Business School

Reasons to Believe % Of Forbes Billionaires… Started with… 0

Easiest time to take a risk is when you have little to risk, but you need: 1. The ability to dream 2. The heart first, and the brain second to follow it 3. The right value system 4. Some luck

A Peripatetic “Career” Timeline An Intense, Unpredictable, and Joyous Journey First Real Early Big Company Venture First Real Job Venture “Ventures” & Capital “Structured Big Consulting & Foundation” Investment Holding Company

What lessons could the following possibly provide? Internet Services Management Natural Hamburgers Consulting Nail Salons Fortune 200 Pets Company Venture and Early Stage Investments

Four Lessons from Hamm*: “Why Entrepreneurs Don’t Scale” 1. Blind Loyalty 2. Tasks vs. Goals 3. Single Mindedness (humility and curiosity) 4. Isolation / Introvertedness * Why Entrepreneurs Don’t Scale, John Hamm

Four Stages of Entrepreneurship •Requirements: Vision, passion, creativity Stage 1: •Positives: Isolation and task orientation are positives Idea Generation 1 day to ? •Watch-outs: Paralysis through analysis •Resourcefulness and evangelism Stage 2: •Positives: Single-mindedness, loyalty Proof of Concept •Watch-outs: Isolation 1-2 years •Requirements: Resourcefulness, evolutionary strategy Stage 3: •Positives: Cultural loyalty and spirit; balance task vs. Minimum “Scale” goal 2-5 years •Watch-outs: Blind loyalty and market Evolution Stage 4: •Requirements: Strategic thinking, delegation / process, Real Scale infrastructure, communication •Positives: Experience, cultural integrity Years 3-4+ •Watch-outs: Blind loyalty, task orientation, single- mindedness, and isolation

A Peripatetic “Career” Timeline An Intense , Unpredictable, and Joyous Journey 1 2 3 4 5 Big Company & Venture Capital & Early Ventures First Real Job First Real Venture Big Consulting Holding Co. •Mentorship & •Meaningful Roles •Strategy as •Right People at •Pregnancy Envy Relationships Symphony Right Stage •Value of Dollar •Company vs. Institution •Helping People •Rejection •Customer-driven •Letting Go: Understand Everything Delegation •Strategy as Jazz •Operating Metrics

The Earliest Lessons: Dreams, Hard Work, and Thicker Skin Early Ventures •Pregnancy Envy •Value of Dollar •Rejection

First Job Lessons: Relationships and Communicating First Real Job •Mentorship and Relationships •Helping People Understand

First Venture Lessons: A Few from the too many to list… First Real Venture •Meaningful Roles •Company vs. Institution • Strategy as Jazz

Most Recent Business Lessons Big Company & Strategy as Symphony Big Consulting - Top driven (conducted) but individually owned - Multiple evangelists •Strategy as - Strategic direction: goals and principles vs. tasks Symphony Front End Customer Strategy • Customer-driven - Right Customer, Right Product, Right Price Everything (FECS) - Practical survey research and 3 min rule Venture Capital & Holding Company Entrepreneurial Wisdom and Practicality • Right People at - Human capital over financial capital Right Stage - Right people for each stage - Isolating the few operating metrics that matter • Letting go: Delegation • Operating Metrics

Wrap Up: 4 + 4 Takeaways The Attitude The Pragmatic 1. Love it now – hard work is 1. Customer understanding: after you start; thick skin surveying and 3 min rule 2. What you have, not what 2. Key operating metrics: you don’t focus, alignment, intensity 3. Meaningful roles over 3. Communicate: structure, extrinsic rewards schedule, story-tell 4. Institutional value and 4. Relationship and mentorship purpose vs. pure financial value is intangible but company goals invaluable

Discussion and Q+A

Tjan On Entrepreneurship

by Anthony Tjan on Mar 10, 2009

Accessibility

Categories

Tags

Upload Details

Usage Rights

2 Embeds 4

Statistics

Tjan On Entrepreneurship — Presentation Transcript

http://www.slideshare.net	3
http://www.toobla.com	1