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Michael Sippey

I love the bird metaphor... Makes me think of "Are you my Mother," except this time it'd be ill-prepared entrepreneurs wandering around going "are you my business model?"

"Um, no, I'm a snort."

Guru Manager

As a European Entrepreneur(otic) = multiple start-ups and a successful IPO in London. I had the pleasure (and pain) of raising money in the Dot.Con era for a pharma start-up when everyone was getting money for adding ".com" to their crazy idea. It wasn't easy and it wasn't with any incubator or government subsidies.

Bottom line it was an Irish ex-plumber ex-investment fund manager (still have my qualifications in HVAC) Entrepreneur, returning from UK, funding three Czech Scientists in Prague, for a technology that stopped bleeding and had potential for other medical benefits that ultimately delivered 44 global patents.

But back then to investors it was simply a nutter with a vision that did not include ".com".

400 shareholders before IPO (Initial Panic Offering)

Funding was beg, borrow, scrape, cajole, avoid the revenue sheriff, or whatever to get the company over the line and eventually IPO.

Survive or Die
Therefore I absolutely agree without the pain, the slow burning, the long nights and early mornings starting from a kitchen, moving into a few rooms above a Pizza parlour there would never have been products around the world with the technology in them...

Soft-loans totally mess up a start-up (see German Biotech Industry as a classic example).
The current start-up I am involved in, Guru Manager has been passed for government support, but the costs associated with the grant were too expensive. With out-sourcing around the world, I save many hundred of thousand dollars. Had I taken the grant, I would be resitricted to hiring local labour at 8 times the cost for the same expertise.

With India out-sourcing growing at 32% in the quarter April-June 2006, start-ups are no longer required to be in physical clusters when you can have your expertise 2 seconds away or 36 hours by DHL.

I envy the start-ups in the Bay-Area as you describe in your post, but acknowledge that most Entrepreneurs are somewhat pioneers and used to getting along just fine and work on the basis of "some you win, some you lose - and maybe one or two you make a killing"

Regards, Gerry Brandon

Guru Manager

As a European Entrepreneur(otic) = multiple start-ups and a successful IPO in London. I had the pleasure (and pain) of raising money in the Dot.Con era for a pharma start-up when everyone was getting money for adding ".com" to their crazy idea. It wasn't easy and it wasn't with any incubator or government subsidies.

Bottom line it was an Irish ex-plumber ex-investment fund manager (still have my qualifications in HVAC) Entrepreneur, returning from UK, funding three Czech Scientists in Prague, for a technology that stopped bleeding and had potential for other medical benefits that ultimately delivered 44 global patents.

But back then to investors it was simply a nutter with a vision that did not include ".com".

400 shareholders before IPO (Initial Panic Offering)

Funding was beg, borrow, scrape, cajole, avoid the revenue sheriff, or whatever to get the company over the line and eventually IPO.

Survive or Die
Therefore I absolutely agree without the pain, the slow burning, the long nights and early mornings starting from a kitchen, moving into a few rooms above a Pizza parlour there would never have been products around the world with the technology in them...

Soft-loans totally mess up a start-up (see German Biotech Industry as a classic example).
The current start-up I am involved in, Guru Manager has been passed for government support, but the costs associated with the grant were too expensive. With out-sourcing around the world, I save many hundred of thousand dollars. Had I taken the grant, I would be resitricted to hiring local labour at 8 times the cost for the same expertise.

With India out-sourcing growing at 32% in the quarter April-June 2006, start-ups are no longer required to be in physical clusters when you can have your expertise 2 seconds away or 36 hours by DHL.

I envy the start-ups in the Bay-Area as you describe in your post, but acknowledge that most Entrepreneurs are somewhat pioneers and used to getting along just fine and work on the basis of "some you win, some you lose - and maybe one or two you make a killing"

Regards, Gerry Brandon

Chris Harris

I just posted a comment about a similar topic on my blog a little while back about making do with your existing capital titled, "Why all the fuss over financing?" Despite the natural tendency to rush for as much funding as you can get your hands on - raising money can definitely make one "fat and lazy" - and if you raise enough money to get a nice office - you don't have a chance!

olynnduncan

This is a great post... I started working for an incubator a few months ago, which then made the hard decision to shutdown and push the startups out, sink or swim style.

In our new company, we're still working on swimming. (We've had no funding since... mid-July) But it's not just the money-- we're learning how to be a business, too. I think that, as you explain, if an incubator shields the entrepreneurs too much from the pains of standing on their own and operating successfully, they also kill the new endeavor's ability to BE a real business.

However, without guidance and direction, new companies kill themselves by making simple & avoidable errors that more experienced business people already know and would prevent.

Maybe a better alternative is for new startups to take advantage of local/state/national organizations, individuals, and literature that mentor entrepreneurs, but don't baby them through the process. A bit of support, a lot of pain, and then survival of the fittest takes over to weed out the ideas and organizations that can't learn to operate & support themselves long term. ;)

https://me.yahoo.com/a/sQC3vTkax4LBjwNqsxXUufr0ofpk8rN6Vd5I#1ae6d

Incubators are great in theory, but they do cause lots of problems. Entrepreneurship means being bold, brave and being prepared to take risks. Incubators don't foster or encourage that. They're kind of like an arm round the shoulder, great occasionally but sometimes what you really need is a kick up the backside.

Kenny's guitar lessons

The long slow, painful apprenticeship; scraping cash together, working long hours in cramped conditions, is, I believe essential for any new business. The lessons learned, about oneself as much as running a business are invaluable and the contacts made at that time are lifelong.

aamir

Honestly, its a good move to educate overseas Customers with such information,
so that he is fully equipped to take it further without any loss of time, thereafter.

Regards


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