Presentation with a personal perspective on entrepreneurship with further academic insight from a Harvard Business Review article by Linda Rottenberg "Crazy is a Compliment"

1. Being an Entrepreneur?
Erik Christian Lund
1
HBR/Crazy is a Compliment by Linda Rottenberg

2. My experience
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Maersk IBM OT
2000 2005 2012
Dot.
com
Real Estate &
Construction
Shipping Software Software Telecom
Entrepreneur
Corporate
Global-Expat
-Elaborate biz plan
-Senior advisors/mentors
-Professional board
-VC roadshow with 50+ pres.
-1st round funding 11mDKK
-Crash
Rosendhal Dev./Poldani
-Ooops/Oppprtunistics beginning
-50 people Y2 with 3Meur turnover
-Contract projects SE/DK
-Own residential projects PL
-Exit
E.MBA
HEC & BABSON
SIMI
Service
Innovation
2016
Consulting
Lund Connect
- Business & Market strategy
- Advisory on IoT, eSIM, Payments
technologies
- Offshoring & Outsourcing
- Enjoying consulting?

3. 26 September 2018 3
WHY?

4. Being an entrepreneur
• Seeing a gap in the market
• Seeing a different way of doing things / business model / operating model
• Seeing new demands
• Redefining your industry – Amazon.com
• Gorillas vs Monkeys
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5. Entrepreneurs are BIG RISK TAKERS?
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•Risk mitigation, calculated risks
•Multiple scenarios and backup plans
•Cash management
•Validation
Rather risk averse
-Containing disasters
-Taking small steps
-Using just a little bit of money
-Putting a little bit of risk on the line
-Finding out if the market will bear
-Eat the elephant 1 bite at a time towards the end goal
RICHARD BRANSON

6. Do you need to build a BUSINESS PLAN?
• Building a business plan and a Powerpoint?
• FAIL QUICK AND FAIL CHEAP / Rapid innovation
• Experimentation
• Proof of concept
• Customer buy-in
• SKUNK WORKS (Famous Locheed innovation methodology)
• Typically under funded/under resourced
• Rapid development
• Big budgets make people too concerned about failing
• Change, Adopt, Respond
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7. Do you need a lot of money?
• Half of 500 fastest growing companies started with less than 5000 USD
• Crowdfunding
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Do you need to invest yourself?
• YES!
• Credibility
• Value of work, free/minimum paid, protecting cash
Do you need to look like this?
Fastest growing segments are women
and baby boomers +55

8. Do you have to go ALL-IN?
• Phil Knight did other peoples taxes for 10 years while building Nike
• Start with 1 foot in the project and mitigate risks
• Time mitigation
• Get going
• At some point in time; close doors
• Go BIG or Go Home
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Focus versus opportunity?
• Too narrow focus
• Pursuing all opportunities
o Diluting yourself
o Core competencies

9. Hiding versus sharing information?
• How unique is the idea really?
• Value of speed
• Execution is king
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Having the right competencies?
• Knowing your own strenghts and limits
• Attracting the right team
• Making bad people choices
• Sharing the success
Going to business with family and friends?
• ….I did…..

10. Will I do it again?
Maybe
• Right team and Partner composition
• Disruptive business model or technology
• Timing & time to market
• Customer buy-in & ability to execute
• Soft engagement + ramp up
Challenge, passion, building something, having fun!
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