Key Idea: Find The Right IdeaEntrepreneurs Brian Kissel and Venkat Krishnamurthy took us to the Stanford Engineering Venture Fund Laboratories to see their invention. |
Key Question:A:
Find the right idea! Sounds simple but it is nearly impossible. We only say this because about 3 million American try to start a business every year. The number of companies has remained steady over the last decade so we know that every idea just doesn't make it. And, many ideas make it small but only a tiny fraction make it big. Q: How did Brian and Venkat gain confidence to start Paraform? A: Venkat is the engineer and he kept working on the technical problems while Brian, who has an MBA, worked on the business plan. He tried to figure out who the customers would be, how big the market could be, how much it would cost to serve the customers and what kind of investment they needed. This exercise took six months. Think about itWhat do you already know a lot about? In that field, where are the service or product gaps? Are you near a university that may be coming up with great ideas that need to be exploited? Clip from: The Enterprise NetworkSanta Clara and San Jose, California: Silicon Valley is famous for technology startups and its goal is to never lose the distinction of being "the place" for innovation. The Enterprise Network (TEN) houses over a dozen start-ups working to bring new technologies to the marketplace. At TEN they find low-cost office space and mentors who guide them. You will meet the men who run the incubator and a number of the entrepreneurs who depend upon the leadership and camaraderie offered here. According to the National Business Incubation Association, there are about 5,000 incubators worldwide with about 1,100 in the US. We chose this incubator because it became famous during the dot-com boom and it is situated close to Stanford University. Stanford was early to the idea of technology licensing. Technology licensing has assisted faculty and students in the process of launching companies which in turn have created thousands of jobs and brought millions of dollars into Stanford University. Stanford enjoys the "success breeds success" principal so things are popping there. In this program we go to the campus to see how one PhD student is working to commercialize his discoveries. Go to all the key ideas and video of this episode... The Enterprise Network (TEN)Mark Godwin, President & CEO
Access Growth LLC Visit our web site: http://accessgrowth.com
Office: 408-893-4500
Business Classification: Year Founded: 1993 Find The Right IdeaBRIAN KISSEL (CEO, Paraform): We make software for converting physical objects to digital models to be used in industrial design and animation applications. Not a member yet? Learn! Be empowered! Join us! |
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