In an attempt to make this blog more lively and engaging, I would be adding some interesting video interviews. This video interview is one of the first in a series to come. Douglas Howe has broad experience with technology start-ups and has been my professor for entrepreneurship start-up strategies. Currently, he is working with an incubation center in the Santa Clarita region. Please read the entire bio below the video. The highlights of the video are available in text below the video as well.

The objective of this interview would be to address some critical issues with tech-startups which Douglas Howe would elucidate upon. Some areas that we would get a better understanding of by the end of the interview would be: starting up, incubators and marketing

About Douglas Howe:

Douglas Howe, Founder and Principal of Emerson Management Solutions, has specialized in marketing, business development and general management, including turnarounds and restructurings of established companies and launches of high growth pre-revenue start-up operations. His successes include projects across a variety of industries and applications and include companies such as Crown Zellerbach Corporation, General Electric Company, Nikon Inc., Van Camp Sea Food Company, Olympus America Inc., Rockwell Scientific Company and Vivitar Corporation. He is a former jet attack pilot in the U.S. Navy where he accumulated 185 combat missions and over 300 carrier landings. Mr. Howe is also a member of the Practitioner Faculty at Pepperdine University’s George L. Graziadio School of Business and Management. In this position, he teaches courses on global marketing, entrepreneurial start-up strategies and business-plan writing to candidates for Master of Business Administration degrees.

Highlights of the Interview:

Three most common mistakes entrepreneurs make

1) Having insufficient startup and operating funds. Often underestimating amount of time and money required.

Solution: 2 to 3X rule. You will take two to three times as long and two to three times as much to reach your next milestone. Make sure you have enough cash for the next milestone. Spend Cash wisely.

2) Failure by the entrepreneur to segment his market.

Solution: Attack, grow and dominate one niche market. Would you rather have 90% of a grape or 10% of a watermelon?

3) Often entrepreneurs focus on the upside. Don’t neglect the downside and the evidence which shows that.

Solution: Do scenario planning . Monitor actual performance against assumptions and projections. Have a contingency plan. It’s important to be able to identify when something is going wrong and to be courageous to adopt a new strategy.

It’s important to be patient - you get the chicken by hatching the egg and not by smashing it. Do your research and make sure that your idea is really feasible.

About Incubators:

• Subsidised Costs for tech-startups: Office-space, Network infrastructure, etc.
• Mentorship and Advice
• Additional Questions about incubators answered below:

• What is the percentage of incubators that often spin off and end up outside the community it was nurtured in?

  U.S. Small Business Administration states that only 40% of new businesses are still in business after 6 years, but this number more than doubles (to 87%) for companies that graduate from an incubator.  And of that 87%, 84% decide to reside in the community where they were incubated.  Therefore, in answer to your question, on 16% of companies decide to move elsewhere.