I have been involved in starting new business for 31 years. During the first twenty years, I served as an advisor to small businesses (except for my own) and have acted as a principal in start ups for the last 11 years. When people have asked me the reason for the change, I have told them that in an advisory role I felt like I was in the back seat of a car telling the business owner how to drive. Too many times great innovations failed - the car went over the cliff while I was shouting in the owner's ear to turn. I reached a point where I felt I could do a better job of driving the car and acheive a higher success rate in bringing innovation to market. I was right. I can do a better job in most cases, even though 9/11 caused me to drive one of my own companies over a cliff.
When it comes to launching a new business, that is what I do. I convert the vision into a business plan. I find the right people to work in this intense, high risk environment and lead them in developing one off products or services and all of the business practices that will enable scaling and replication. I can communicate with the diversity of people needed to get the business off the ground. I can deal creatively with all of the problems that commonly occur, both anticipated and unanticipated, in a new business launch. When the business becomes sustainable, then I hand it off to people to run who enjoy that stage of the business cycle.
I can fill any of the following positions on your team:
- CEO / President / Executive Director
- Vice President / Director of New Business Development
- Director of Community Relations
- Directory of Sustainability
- Corporate Counsel
- Instructor / Professor / Trainer
- Board Director or Advisory Board Member
I can perform any of the following activities:
- Develop a commercialization strategy
- Build a business plan
- Coordinate startup specialists
- Create a website or blog site
- Draft a contract
- Talk to people
- Obtain seed capital
- Produce a promotional video
- Design a rapid market entry sales campaign
- Plan an intellectual property strategy
- Write a grant application
- Form a collaboration with a charity
- Value a business
