tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83771032024-03-25T02:09:43.220-04:00The Egalitarian Entrepreneur - Jeff PhillipsA contradiction in terms, this blog contains anecdotes, technobabble and geekspeak for developers, entrepreneurs and mere mortals alike. Technopeasants welcomed, too!Jeffrey J. Phillips, PMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538189311302565046noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377103.post-5659611176769268382011-03-21T07:10:00.000-04:002014-05-21T08:42:12.067-04:00Consulting Opportunities<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Whether you or your company needs help with business development or product development, <a href="http://www.transformtec.com/">TransformTec</a> can help you. Our aim is to <a href="http://transformtec.com/about.php">provide leadership and guidance </a>to product development teams and business divisions with technical excellence, <a href="http://transformtec.com/contact.php">operational efficiency</a>, and fiscal responsibility.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/jeffphillips">Jeffrey J. Phillips, PMP</a> is a strategic technology executive and product development thought leader who has worked in blue-chip and start-up company environments, including <a href="http://www.research.att.com/">AT&T Bell Labs</a>, <a href="http://www.nec.com/">NEC</a>, <a href="http://www.sony.com/">Sony</a>, <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/">Microsoft</a>, <a href="http://www.pace.com/">Pace</a> and <a href="http://www.technicolor.com/">Technicolor</a>. He has a strong technical background with <a href="http://transformtec.com/contact.php">field-proven commercial expertise</a> and translation-level fluency in English and Spanish.<br /><br />Look to <a href="http://www.transformtec.com/">TransformTec</a> for your <a href="http://transformtec.com/about.php">consulting</a> needs in these areas:<br />
<ul>
<li>Consumer Electronics</li>
<li>Telecommunications</li>
<li>Software / Hardware</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Product Planning and Strategy</li>
<li>New Product Development</li>
<li>Vendor Management</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>New Business Development</li>
<li>Account Management</li>
<li>Sales</li>
<li>Systems Integration </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Product Management</li>
<li>Program Management</li>
<li>Project Management</li>
</ul>
<a href="http://transformtec.com/contact.php">Contact TransformTec</a> , send email to "jeff at transformtec dot com", or leave a voicemail at +1-424-777-0813 now for expert leadership and guidance for your <a href="http://transformtec.com/about.php">product development </a>teams and business divisions today.</div>
Jeffrey J. Phillips, PMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538189311302565046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377103.post-16591644369064700692009-12-30T06:58:00.003-05:002009-12-30T07:03:39.164-05:00Happy New YearThe Egalitarian Entrepreneur blog has been around for five years - wow, I can hardly believe it! <br /><br />I hope everyone is finding this blog helpful and useful for your purposes.<br /><br />In this particularly difficult time period where this is so much economic strife and financial duress, and there are over 16 million Americans unemployed (not to mention how many people globally), my wish is that this blog provides some insights and life lessons for us to share and help each other. <br /><br />Whereas 2009 may have been a year for struggle, reflection and growth, 2010 just might be the best year yet! <br /><br />Wishing you and yours a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.<br /><br />- Jeffrey J. Phillips, PMPJeffrey J. Phillips, PMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538189311302565046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377103.post-14133182841606974792009-12-28T12:05:00.003-05:002009-12-28T12:11:54.064-05:00Self-improvementJust found this new website that is being built by a Executive Coach in Central America. Its pretty cool - you can find information about self-improvement, professional development, successful techniques for enhancing your professional level, and short essays that will nourish you with good ideas. See <a href="http://www.developmenthighway.com/">http://www.developmenthighway.com</a>Jeffrey J. Phillips, PMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538189311302565046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377103.post-1125920361308576942005-09-05T07:28:00.001-04:002008-10-31T11:31:16.605-04:00On SpammingI had to turn off comments for the last posting due to a spambot that found my site and inserted a bogus comment. It's turned back on now, so feel free to comment away! Let me hear from you, and what you think of my blog...... BTW, if you're blogging and you haven't turned on the word verification feature or some other kind of monitoring feature, you should do that now. Spammers suck, big time. Such a lazy way to get their messages out, with no cranial capacity at all. Morons.... If they only had a brain, they'd devise clever methodologies for reaching their target audiences instead of wasting people's time with unwanted invasive emails and pop-ups. I think they should all be rounded up and forced to watch George Orwell's "1984"and Fritz whats-his-name's "Metropolis" until they refute technology entirely and go live in a desolate desert somewhere where they can no longer inflict their sub-100 IQ spamming ways on decent hardworking folk..... but I ramble, so I'll stop here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377103.post-1122272270650538982005-07-25T01:47:00.000-04:002005-07-25T02:17:50.656-04:00Interlude and Transition #3It has been a good ride, and I've learned so many things in the year I've been running <a href="http://www.TransformTec.com">TransformTec</a>. But I recently decided I couldn't continue to self-fund my company and I needed to "get a real job"..... So I set my resume up on the internet job boards, explored interesting opportunities hither and thither, and decided to accept a position in product planning and management with a UK-headquartered company focused on digital television technology. Check out <a href="http://www.pacemicro.com/americas/home/main.asp">Pace Micro Technology PLC</a> - I recently started working in the Americas division, based in Boca Raton, Florida...... Perhaps the biggest single thing I learned during my year as an entrepreneur is about customers - without customers, a company cannot survive. My first major professional transition was from Boston to Silicon Valley. My second major professional transition was from the corporate world to the entrepreneurial world. Now, this third major professional transition is from the entrepreneurial world back into the corporate world - a little older, a little grayer, a little balder, a little humbler, a little more forgiving of others, and yes, maybe a little wiser. In the past year I learned about founding a company, accounting and financing for small businesses, motivating colleagues on a shoe-string budget, business development, marketing, public relations, and last but certainly not least, the importance of customer acquisition and deal-making. I will combine these newly acquired skills and experiences with my existing technical skills and experiences, and forge ahead. Moving from engineering into marketing..... moving from Silicon Valley to South Florida. The California Adventure is coming to a close, and the Florida Adventure is about to begin..... and my wife, our three kids and I enter it with relish, with gusto, and with eyes wide open. Its great starting afresh, my new colleagues are bright and team players, the company has lots of momentum right now, and I plan to be a major contributor to its continued success. Onward and upward, no looking back! The interlude is closing, the transition will soon be complete, as we slipstream into the next level in this game of life.....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377103.post-1109656543482014932005-03-01T00:55:00.000-05:002005-03-01T21:37:46.230-05:00<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/133/1742/640/TechBA_inaugrtn_PESS+Jeff.jpg"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #006600 3px solid; BORDER-TOP: #006600 3px solid; MARGIN: 2px; BORDER-LEFT: #006600 3px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #006600 3px solid" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/133/1742/320/TechBA_inaugrtn_PESS%2BJeff.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Abel Salazar of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.pessweb.com">PESS </a>discusses the parameters of his business model and talks about his client base in Mexico with Jeff Phillips, CEO of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.TransformTec.com">TransformTec, Inc.</a> PESS provides power engineering services and solutions to utilities and large scale enterprises. Their predictive maintenance programs and machinery diagnostics allow their current and prospective clients to minimize downtime and optimize equipment failure prediction capabilities. <a href="http://www.hello.com/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt="Posted by Hello" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbh.gif" align="absMiddle" border="0" /></a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377103.post-1109656461889211912005-03-01T00:54:00.000-05:002005-03-01T21:43:56.176-05:00<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/133/1742/640/TechBA_inaugrtn_Practum+Jeff.jpg"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #006600 3px solid; BORDER-TOP: #006600 3px solid; MARGIN: 2px; BORDER-LEFT: #006600 3px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #006600 3px solid" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/133/1742/320/TechBA_inaugrtn_Practum%2BJeff.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Andreina Siller, CEO of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.practum.com">Practum</a>, discusses her company's expansion from training into product development with Jeff Phillips, CEO of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.TransformTec.com">TransformTec, Inc.</a> In addition to providing project management training, Practum is developing an add-on product for Microsoft Project which allows project managers to abstract a high-level perspective from Gantt and PERT chart tasks. <a href="http://www.hello.com/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt="Posted by Hello" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbh.gif" align="absMiddle" border="0" /></a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377103.post-1109656392267949422005-03-01T00:53:00.000-05:002005-03-01T21:46:15.340-05:00<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/133/1742/640/TechBA_inaugrtn_BrainUp+Jeff.jpg"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #006600 3px solid; BORDER-TOP: #006600 3px solid; MARGIN: 2px; BORDER-LEFT: #006600 3px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #006600 3px solid" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/133/1742/320/TechBA_inaugrtn_BrainUp%2BJeff.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Guadalupe Sanchez, CEO of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.brainup-systems.com">BrainUp Systems </a>explains her company's capabilities and existing client base with Jeff Phillips, CEO of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.TransformTec.com">TransformTec, Inc.</a> BrainUp Systems supplies subject matter experts in all phases of software development, including tools, processes, and remote tracking.<br /><a href="http://www.hello.com/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt="Posted by Hello" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbh.gif" align="absMiddle" border="0" /></a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377103.post-1109656333830641212005-03-01T00:52:00.000-05:002005-03-01T21:48:42.186-05:00<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/133/1742/640/TechBA_inaugrtn_Marcus+Jeff3.jpg"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #006600 3px solid; BORDER-TOP: #006600 3px solid; MARGIN: 2px; BORDER-LEFT: #006600 3px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #006600 3px solid" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/133/1742/320/TechBA_inaugrtn_Marcus%2BJeff3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Marcus Dantus, CEO of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.simitel.com">Simitel</a>, and Jeff Phillips, CEO of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.TransformTec.com">TransformTec, Inc.</a> Simitel is a software development firm marketing a wide range of IP based call center solutions, including IP PBX, Si-ACD, Si-DIAL, Si-IVR, Speech Recognition, and the ICeCAP platform. <a href="http://www.hello.com/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt="Posted by Hello" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbh.gif" align="absMiddle" border="0" /></a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377103.post-1109656240909384272005-03-01T00:50:00.000-05:002005-03-01T21:52:31.626-05:00<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/133/1742/640/TechBA_inaugrtn_Bill+Jeff1.jpg"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #006600 3px solid; BORDER-TOP: #006600 3px solid; MARGIN: 2px; BORDER-LEFT: #006600 3px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #006600 3px solid" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/133/1742/320/TechBA_inaugrtn_Bill%2BJeff1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Jeff Phillips, CEO of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.TransformTec.com">TransformTec, Inc.</a> congratulating Dr. William Musgrave, CEO of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.tensv.org">The Enterprise Network</a> (TEN) for his inspirational opening remarks at the TechBA inauguration. Dr. Musgrave and his staff at TEN have worked diligently for many months towards today's successful opening ceremony.<br /></span><a href="http://www.hello.com/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt="Posted by Hello" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbh.gif" align="absMiddle" border="0" /></a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377103.post-1109656181268598162005-03-01T00:49:00.000-05:002005-03-01T21:57:13.266-05:00<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/133/1742/640/TechBA_inaugrtn_Jeff.jpg"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #006600 3px solid; BORDER-TOP: #006600 3px solid; MARGIN: 2px; BORDER-LEFT: #006600 3px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #006600 3px solid" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/133/1742/320/TechBA_inaugrtn_Jeff.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Jeff Phillips, CEO of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.TransformTec.com">TransformTec, Inc.</a> admiring one of the technical exhibits at the TechBA inaugural event. TransformTec, Inc. is a product development company and technology broker that helps its clients convert intellectual property into cash by transforming technology concepts into products.<br /><a href="http://www.hello.com/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt="Posted by Hello" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbh.gif" align="absMiddle" border="0" /></a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377103.post-1109656090954455892005-03-01T00:48:00.000-05:002005-03-01T18:52:46.340-05:00<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/133/1742/640/TechBA_inaugrtn_Musgrave+Gonzales.jpg"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #006600 3px solid; BORDER-TOP: #006600 3px solid; MARGIN: 2px; BORDER-LEFT: #006600 3px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #006600 3px solid" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/133/1742/320/TechBA_inaugrtn_Musgrave%2BGonzales.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />VIP speakers listen intently to Secretary Fernando Canales. The government of Mexico's Secretary of the Economy gave an inspirational speech about technology commercialization on both sides of the border.<br /> <a href="http://www.hello.com/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt="Posted by Hello" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbh.gif" align="absMiddle" border="0" /></a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377103.post-1109656018536411632005-03-01T00:46:00.000-05:002005-03-01T22:05:13.376-05:00<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/133/1742/640/TechBA_inaugrtn_JaimeOaxaca1.jpg"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #006600 3px solid; BORDER-TOP: #006600 3px solid; MARGIN: 2px; BORDER-LEFT: #006600 3px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #006600 3px solid" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/133/1742/320/TechBA_inaugrtn_JaimeOaxaca1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Jaime Oaxaca, Chairman of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.fumec.org.mx/ingles/home.htm">FUMEC</a>, earned applause from the invited guests when he mentioned his alma maters University of Texas at El Paso and Stanford University. FUMEC in general and Mr. Oaxaca in particular played pivotal roles in determing where to implement <a target="_blank" href="http://www.techba.com">TechBA</a>'s mission and vision, ultimately deciding on the city of San Jose and the facilities at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.tensv.org">The Enterprise Network</a>.<br /><a href="http://www.hello.com/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt="Posted by Hello" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbh.gif" align="absMiddle" border="0" /></a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377103.post-1109655953573133292005-03-01T00:45:00.000-05:002005-03-01T22:06:42.600-05:00<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/133/1742/640/TechBA_inaugrtn_Gonzales+Canales.jpg"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #006600 3px solid; BORDER-TOP: #006600 3px solid; MARGIN: 2px; BORDER-LEFT: #006600 3px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #006600 3px solid" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/133/1742/320/TechBA_inaugrtn_Gonzales%2BCanales.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Secretary Fernando Canales and Mayor Ron Gonzales confer <em>en voce sotto</em> on a point being addressed by another speaker at the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.techba.com">TechBA</a> inaugural event.<br /><a href="http://www.hello.com/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt="Posted by Hello" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbh.gif" align="absMiddle" border="0" /></a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377103.post-1109655865190999062005-03-01T00:44:00.000-05:002005-03-01T22:08:18.303-05:00<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/133/1742/640/TechBA_inaugrtn_Mayor-Gonzales1.jpg"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #006600 3px solid; BORDER-TOP: #006600 3px solid; MARGIN: 2px; BORDER-LEFT: #006600 3px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #006600 3px solid" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/133/1742/320/TechBA_inaugrtn_Mayor-Gonzales1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The Honorable Ron Gonzales, Mayor of San Jose, laughs as he reminds the invited guests that when he was first elected mayor in 1998, he was the first Mexican-American to hold this office. Since that took 150 years and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.techba.com">TechBA</a> was implemented in under six months, TechBA is setting a new high bar for the success of Mexico – United States business relations and ventures.<br /><a href="http://www.hello.com/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt="Posted by Hello" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbh.gif" align="absMiddle" border="0" /></a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377103.post-1109655753318958662005-03-01T00:42:00.000-05:002005-03-01T22:10:31.856-05:00<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/133/1742/640/TechBA_inaugrtn_Sec-Canales1.jpg"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #006600 3px solid; BORDER-TOP: #006600 3px solid; MARGIN: 2px; BORDER-LEFT: #006600 3px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #006600 3px solid" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/133/1742/320/TechBA_inaugrtn_Sec-Canales1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The Honorable Fernando Canales, the government of Mexico's Secretary of the Economy, gave an inspirational speech about technology commercialization on both sides of the border. He challenged the best and the brightest of Mexico's technologists and entrepreneur's at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.techba.com">TechBA</a> member companies to succeed in delivering their high quality products and services into the United States marketplace.<br /><a href="http://www.hello.com/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt="Posted by Hello" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbh.gif" align="absMiddle" border="0" /></a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377103.post-1109653550991292202005-02-28T23:53:00.000-05:002005-03-02T01:06:10.376-05:00TechBA Inauguration<p><a href="http://www.techba.com" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:arial;">TechBA</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">, the Mexico-Silicon Valley Technology Business Accelerator, held an opening ceremony for ribbon cutting today in its new facility at The Enterprise Network’s Sobrato Center for Innovation in San Jose. The distinguished sponsor was the government of <a href="http://theegalitarianentrepreneur.blogspot.com/2005/02/honorable-fernando-canales-government.html" target="_blank">Mexico’s Secretary of the Economy, Fernando Canales</a>. Other dignitaries at the VIP podium included:<br /><br /></span></p><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;">the Honorable <a href="http://theegalitarianentrepreneur.blogspot.com/2005/02/honorable-ron-gonzales-mayor-of-san.html" target="_blank">Ron Gonzalez, Mayor </a>of San Jose</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Bruno Figueroa, the government of Mexico’s Consul General in San Jose</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://theegalitarianentrepreneur.blogspot.com/2005/02/jaime-oaxaca-chairman-of-fumec-earned.html" target="_blank">Jaime Oaxaca, Chairman </a>of </span><a href="http://www.fumec.org.mx/ingles/home.htm" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:arial;">FUMEC</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> (Fundación México-Estados Unidos para la Ciencia, <strong><em>translation</em></strong>: Mexico – United Status Foundation for Science)</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://theegalitarianentrepreneur.blogspot.com/2005/02/vip-speakers-listen-intently-to.html" target="_blank">Dr. William Musgrave, CEO </a>of </span><a href="http://www.tensv.org" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Enterprise Network (TEN)</span></a></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Dr. Jorge Zavala, CEO of <a href="http://www.techba.com" target="_blank">TechBA</a></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Alberto Herrera, CEO of Medida, a TechBA member company</span></li></ul><p><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The speakers gave empassioned speeches thanking the government of Mexico for its vision and support of TechBA. TechBA is a first-of-its-kind effort for Mexico in the Silicon Valley. Dr. William Musgrave gave the opening remarks, where he thanked the Sobrato family for their generous donation of The Enterprise Network (</span><a href="http://www.tensv.org" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:arial;">TEN</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">) building, which houses TechBA and other TEN entrepreneurial companies. Dr. Musgrave also mentioned that TEN was asked to submit a US$2 million grant application with the U.S. federal government’s small business administration office, and jokingly exhorted their representative in attendance to “please send us the check”. Jaime Oaxaca, </span><a href="http://www.fumec.org.mx/ingles/home.htm" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:arial;">FUMEC</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> Chairman, gave an exceptionally compelling speech, saying how he had great credentials because he was born in Texas and knew every bar in Juarez, which got a round of applause and laughter from the guests. All kidding aside, said <a href="http://theegalitarianentrepreneur.blogspot.com/2005/02/jaime-oaxaca-chairman-of-fumec-earned.html" target="_blank">Mr. Oaxaca</a>, he earned his engineering degree at University of Texas at El Paso and his business degree at Stanford University. Mr. Oaxaca acknowledged Mexico’s Secretary of the Economy, the Honorable Fernando Canales, for his vision and proactive support of FUMEC and TechBA. The Honorable Ron Gonzalez thanked the Mexican government’s selection committee - which included FUMEC, Dr. Jorge Zavala, and several universities - for choosing San Jose and The Enterprise Network. <a href="http://theegalitarianentrepreneur.blogspot.com/2005/02/honorable-ron-gonzales-mayor-of-san.html" target="_blank">Mayor Gonzalez </a>mentioned it took less than six months from the time the decision was made until the time of TechBA’s inauguration. He further mentioned that when he was first elected mayor of San Jose in 1998, he was the first Mexican-American to hold this office in San Jose. Since that took 150 years, he said, TechBA is setting a new high bar for the success of Mexican – United States business relations and ventures. <a href="http://theegalitarianentrepreneur.blogspot.com/2005/02/honorable-fernando-canales-government.html" target="_blank">Secretary Fernando Canales </a>inspired guests with his speech about technology commercialization on both sides of the border. Secretary Canales cited the reasons why the government of Mexico put so much faith and confidence in TechBA's mission, and set high expectations for the successes TechBA's member companies will accomplish in Silicon Valley and the United States.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Following the ribbon cutting ceremony, guests enjoyed a technical exposition of TechBA’s member companies, and a buffet lunch. During the exposition, we had the opportunity to speak briefly with representatives of four TechBA companies. These were:<br /></p></span><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://theegalitarianentrepreneur.blogspot.com/2005/02/marcus-dantus-ceo-of-simitel-and-jeff.html" target="_blank">Marcus Dantus, CEO </a>of <a href="http://www.simitel.com" target="_blank">Simitel</a>, which develops and markets IP based software for call centers</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://theegalitarianentrepreneur.blogspot.com/2005/02/andreina-siller-ceo-of-practum.html" target="_blank">Andreina Siller, CEO </a>of <a href="http://www.practum.com" target="_blank">Practum</a>, which develops, trains, and sells project management software for small and large scale enterprises</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://theegalitarianentrepreneur.blogspot.com/2005/02/guadalupe-sanchez-ceo-of-brainup.html" target="_blank">Guadalupe Sanchez, CEO </a>of <a href="http://www.brainup-systems.com" target="_blank">BrainUp Systems</a>, which provides software development and application support services</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://theegalitarianentrepreneur.blogspot.com/2005/02/abel-salazar-of-pess-discusses.html" target="_blank">Abel Salazar</a> of <a href="http://www.pessweb.com" target="_blank">PESS</a>, which provides power engineering services and solutions</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;">About TechBA: </span><a href="http://www.techba.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:arial;">TechBA</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> is the first high-technology business accelerator started by the government of Mexico's Secretary of the Economy and administered by FUMEC, </span><a style="COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline; text-underline: single" href="http://www.fumec.org/ingles/home.htm" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:arial;">Fundación México-Estados Unidos para la Ciencia</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> (translation: Mexico-United States Foundation for Science) in collaboration with </span><a style="COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline; text-underline: single" href="http://www.tensv.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Enterprise Network (TEN)</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">, and assisted by several institutions of higher learning in Mexico such as: </span><a style="COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline; text-underline: single" href="http://www.itesm.mx/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:arial;">Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM)</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">, </span><a style="COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline; text-underline: single" href="http://www.up.mx/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:arial;">Universidad Panamericana (UP)</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> and </span><a style="COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline; text-underline: single" href="http://www.ipn.mx/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:arial;">Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN)</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">. TechBA member companies are among the best and the brightest of Mexico's technologists and entrepreneurs.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;">About TransformTec: </span><a href="http://www.TransformTec.com" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:arial;">TransformTec, Inc.</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> is a California-based corporation that converts intellectual property into cash by focusing its efforts on developing software, hardware, and systems for the consumer, multimedia, and telecommunications sectors. The company turns ideas into reality by transforming technology concepts into products. Through a visionary business platform incorporating technology auctions and unique product development processes, TransformTec redefines how new product markets are created and entered. For more information, please visit </span><a title="test" href="http://www.TransformTec.com" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:arial;">www.TransformTec.com</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">.</span></p>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377103.post-1107219659172811672005-01-31T19:44:00.000-05:002005-01-31T20:00:59.173-05:00Top TenHere are the Top Ten issues facing entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley today.
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<br /><strong> 1)</strong> Money, or the lack thereof!
<br /><strong> 2)</strong> Gathering momentum for your idea and/or company.
<br /><strong> 3)</strong> Staying power (or, how long is the "runway"?).
<br /><strong> 4)</strong> Influencing and motivating others to do as promised (or, responsibility without authority).
<br /> <strong>5)</strong> Separating the wheat from the chaff when taking on new clients and projects (who's hot and who's not).
<br /><strong> 6)</strong> Creating and maintaining deal flow (or, establishing your pipeline).
<br /><strong> 7)</strong> Turning prospective clients and customers into paying clients and customers (or, if they're not creating revenue today, are they really your clients and customers?).
<br /> <strong>8)</strong> Nothing attracts success like success (or, earning credibility one client at a time)
<br /> <strong>9)</strong> Repeat business (or, keep them coming back for more)
<br /><strong>10)</strong> Financial and other metrics to determine your success, and learning to pass it on (or, its never to early to share for other's benefit)
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<br />Surely these issues are applicable in other environs. But in Silicon Valley today, five years after the dot.com bust, by paying attention to these issues and mastering them, the budding entrepreneur will have a higher probability for success. I've already covered the first two issues in my last posting. In subsequent blog postings I will go over the rest of them, and we'll see if yet more come to surface.....
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377103.post-1103472992018513552004-12-19T11:16:00.000-05:002004-12-19T11:16:32.016-05:00Issues Facing Entrepreneurs in the Silicon Valley TodayThere are many issues facing entrepreneurs in the Silicon Valley today. I've been living and breathing these issues ever since I founded my new company here in the late spring of 2004. To talk about all of them in one blog posting would be too lofty a goal, so in this posting, I'm just going to focus on what I consider to be the top two issues based on my experiences. I'll ruminate on the rest of them in future postings, as they come to mind or happen to me in real time. That's what's so great about blogging - I can write as little or as much as I want, whenever I want. The freedom to do so is liberating and quite energizing, I must say......
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<br />Sorry for going off-tangent, getting back to the issues facing entrepreneurs in the Silicon Valley today, I would have to say that money is hands-down the single most important issue. So <strong>Issue One is Money</strong>, or really, the lack thereof. All the entrepreneurs I meet don't have enough of it, and all of them are trying to find creative ways to get more of it. I'm not talking about finding investment money, because each entrepreneur has their own "special" approach for getting funding, either from family & friends, angel investors, or from the last resort, vulture capitalists.... I mean venture capitalists. I'm referring to money from deal flow, money for work performed or expected to be performed. I've talked to entrepreneurs at conferences and seminars, at networking events, at private lunches and dinners, at CEO forums, and in business meetings and phone calls, and the one thread that never fails to pop up in the same vein is the paucity, scarcity, and downright absence of money. I've had clients say to me "Zero budget, Jeff. Can we pay you after we've made our money?". This, after I'd worked on their account for six weeks. And I've heard clients offer "Money is tight. We'd like to pay you with a percentage stake in our company." That's great, but you can't put butter on it and stick it in a sandwich to feed your kids, can you? One of the best ones I've heard is "We'll give you a success fee." Okay, I'm game. From my Junior Birdman Decoder Ring that I pulled out of my kid's cereal box one day, I've learned that "success fee" is the 21st century way of saying "commission". Isn't that what vacuum cleaner salesman and used car dealers work from, a commission? I never heard of engineering professionals working solely on commissions, have you? Commissions are great, when added on top of other compensation like salaries, bonuses, or consulting rates, but commissions-only compensation make monthly cash-flow difficult in my business niche environment, where sales lead times are often six-to-twelve months. So money has got to be the number issue facing entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley today. Lack of it, and how to get more. <strong>Lesson learned</strong>? Always ask if there is a budget before spending any time with a prospective client! Don't invest too much of your valuable time with someone who has no intention of compensating you for it until too far out in the future.....
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<br />In my estimation, the second most important issue facing entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley today is gathering momentum for their start-up company. Going from a stand-still to 100mph in nothing flat is quite a feat, and you have to have the panache of a leader and the stomach for it. So <strong>Issue Two is Gathering Momentum.</strong> One minute, your company doesn't exist, and the next minute, you breathe life into it, and you naturally need to spread the word about it. First of all, how do you get people to take you and your business idea seriously? With hundreds of new companies coming on line, how do you make yours stand out above the crowd? How do you gather enough momentum to make your website attract eyeballs? With money in short supply, how can you get some visibility, ally yourself with strategic partners that won't ask for your first-born, and build deal flow to create a consistently recurring revenue stream? All good questions, I would venture you'd agree with me here. So what are the answers? Well, in my experience, I've found that <strong>gathering momentum is a function of the business relationships you build and the quality of the people you surround yourself with</strong>. As an entrepreneur and the CEO of my own company, I make the decisions about who I'd like to hire, about whether or not to join boards or associations, and even whether or not to go to certain conferences, seminars, or networking events. Early on, I found out about a business incubator and venture accelerator called TEN - The Enterprise Network of Silicon Valley. After meeting with their CEO, I was convinced he had the integrity and ethics for the kind of business relationships I find successful. I subsequently established business relationships with him and his staff, and even joined TEN. This has proven to be a good decision, resulting in solid business relationships with even more future potential. I also established business relationships with other CEOs and entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley that met my high standards of ethics, integrity, and relevance. I don't suffer fools gladly, and I give short shrift to "flies" masquerading as entrepreneurs just waiting to take advantage of neophytes. Then, too, instead of going out and incurring debt by hiring too many people and leasing plush office space before we had real revenue, I decided to bring on board a leadership team of three people to help me in their areas of expertise. Namely, product marketing & sales, business law, and web marketing technologies. I've known these folks for many years, and I trust them implicitly to do the right things for my company. So I've surrounded myself with three people who's opinions I respect and who aren't afraid to give me bad news when necessary. <strong>Lesson learned?</strong> Creating a compelling website, talking about your company to everyone you see all the time, and proactively spending 110% of your time doggedly pursuing clients and customers - all these are extremely important and contribute to gathering momentum. But IMHO, the business relationships you establish and the quality of the people you surround yourself with are the key for gathering momentum for your start-up company.
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<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377103.post-1102779353037886782004-12-11T10:50:00.000-05:002004-12-11T10:49:07.326-05:00Starting out as an Entrepreneur in the Silicon ValleyIf you've read previous postings in this blog, then you know by now that I spent 19 years working for AT&T Bell Labs, NEC, Sony, and Microsoft, and a couple of startups, where I developed hardware platforms and software systems such as the NEC PowerMate personal computers, the Sony VAIO laptop and desktop computers, and Microsoft interactive television middleware. As a developer, I have a passion for engineering prototypes and developing systems. With this in mind, I founded TransformTec in the late spring of 2004. I saw an opportunity in my years at large corporations and small startups to capitalize on the fact that sometimes, really good ideas never make it to market. Some of these innovative ideas are emergent, while others are almost ready to launch. But in all cases, the idea generators cannot or will not bring these to market. I founded TransformTec to convert these intellectual property assets into cash. TransformTec is a product development company and a technology broker. We've identified 41 acquiring companies in the telecommunications, multimedia, and consumer electronics space to which we want to market and sell. We analyze these acquiring companies’ strategic product roadmap needs, and fulfill them with client’s prototypes. In essence, TransformTec is all about converting intellectual property into cash.
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<br />That’s the summary of why I decided to become an entrepreneur. But if you’ll bear with me, I can tell you a little more below. Let me tell you 4 things about TransformTec. The leadership team we currently have in place, what TransformTec is, our paths to cash, and making money – what I like to refer to as “the TransformTec pipeline”.
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<br />From the get-go, I knew I could do all the engineering tasks myself - like architecture, design, development, and program management, at least in the beginning. But for the nascent company to be successful, I also figured I needed a web presence, some marketing savvy, and some legal guidance. First I brought Dennis Mesina onboard, he and I go way back, he’s been practicing law in the Bay Area for almost 20 years. Then I brought on board Jim Warholic, whose knowledge of crafting effective websites, and search engine secrets, has proven very helpful. Next I brought Chris Sanders onboard, who I’ve known for about 10 years (including at NEC and Sony), and his marketing and sales skills are invaluable. I am confident being associated with these great talents as we bring TransformTec to the next level.
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<br />I can think of no better way to describe my company than by simplifying its fundamental premise: <strong>Monetize intellectual property</strong>. At TransformTec, this is done in two ways: (1) by working with idea generators to develop their idea into a prototype and then selling that IP asset to an acquiring company, or else (2) by brokering a fully cooked idea between an idea generator and an acquiring company. For my company, there are two paths to cash. But in both cases, we need to understand the customers’ needs - in this context that’s the forty-one acquiring companies we are targeting. We need to engage with them and figure out how to take some technology under development over here, to fill a niche in their strategic product roadmap over there. One path to cash is through developing products with idea generators, and the other is through brokering technology. Then it’s simply a process of designing and developing a solution for the acquiring companies - preferably something that we’ve been working on with one of our idea generator clients! Regarding brokering technology, the path to cash there is through (1) cataloging intellectual property assets, (2) creating premium search services, and (3) offering topic sponsorships.
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<br />Finally, I’d like to explain the <strong>cash cow</strong> I’m building, My exit strategy is not to IPO or get merged or acquired. My exit strategy is to create a viable enterprise and lead that enterprise into the future, generating strong cash flow for stakeholders. I will stuff the TransformTec pipeline with projects every year. Projects go in on one end, and revenue comes out of the other end. Sounds pretty easy, doesn't it? Well, it is simple, but let me tell you, its definitely not easy! I intend to take on two projects the first year, with no sales activities or revenue generated. In the second year, I’ll sell off the first two project’s prototypes and intellectual property assets while simultaneously developing five more projects, and qualifying ten projects for year three. Ramping up staffing as needed and as appropriate is a skill refined from years of developing products. Conservatively guestimating each project to average $2.5m in revenues, by the time we get to year five I am projecting $50m in annual revenues. I expect to sustain twenty projects a year, with $50m in annual revenues, into perpetuity. Hence, a <strong>cash cow</strong>.
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<br />I’m very passionate about my work. Already in the past seven months I've learned so many new things as an entrepreneur in the Silicon Valley, things I never could have learned before. If any of this is interesting to you, I’d like to hear your comments. I would be interested in your feedback on my entrepreneurial ideas and my product development and technology broker company. I invite you to send us email at <a href="mailto:info@TransformTec.com">info@TransformTec.com</a>. There are many issues facing entrepreneurs in the Silicon Valley today. I've been living and breathing them ever since I founded my new company here.....
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377103.post-1102743535910642582004-12-10T23:47:00.000-05:002004-12-11T06:49:51.183-05:00Interlude and Transition #2After four years of working at Microsoft, the challenges were fewer and the excitement grew dim. I soon found myself yearning for new challenges and exciting new technologies. But where does one go after Microsoft? Is there life after Microsoft? After working for four years with some of the best minds in the software industry, what does one do for an encore?
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<br />As I engaged in this navel gazing exercise of introspection, I came to the realization that no existing technology company could meet my high standards of excellence, commitment, and perseverance. So I began to formulate an idea for starting my own company. On my own time, during weekends and evenings, I started a thought process that eventually led to the founding of my own company. I first talked it over with my wife of 22 years, and got her buy-in and support. Next I spoke with my 3 kids - two teenagers and a tweener. They encouraged me, gave me their blessings, and were just great about the whole thing. Then I started socializing my ideas for a new company with long-time friends who were uninvolved in my profession. Getting positive feedback, I wrestled with whether or not I should stay at Microsoft until my new company got off the ground, or else break off the ties that bind and start afresh. This was the most difficult decision-making process yet, because at its most elemental form, this decision involved the security and well-being of my family......
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<br />When I think of a safety net, I often conjure up images of trapeze artists in a three-ring circus, doing amazing feats of agility and gravity-defying stunts to thrill and amaze a captivated audience. Although most don't notice it, there is usually some webbing device, referred to as a safety net, underneath the area where the trapeze artists are working, so in case they fall they don't actually plummet to a horrifying death in front of unsuspecting little children munching on popcorn and candy cotton. If they fall, they are safely cocooned into the webbing device, and emerge unscathed, ready to get back up there and join their fellow trapeze artists. So the safety net serves the dual purpose of saving the trapeze artist from a gruesome mangled death, as well as not creating a traumatic event in the minds of the viewers. Very smart, that.
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<br />Not to mix my metaphors too much, but there is also this concept of free-falling when parachute jumping. In this context, free-falling refers to the brief moments in time between leaping from the aircraft and pulling the ripcord to release the parachute. It's an exhilerating sensation...... To keep your orientation, you must remember the colors blue, green, and brown. Blue for sky, green for ocean, and brown for land. By remembering these colors, even in a moment of distraction or panic, you can always orient yourself correctly to land upright on land. Which of course is much better than landing upside down in water...... Anyway, before you pull your ripcord to open the parachute, you are free-falling towards earth at an alarmingly fast speed, which causes the sensation of exhileration. Its an exquisite feeling, a thrilling adrenaline rush of euphoria and pseudo-panic. Once you pull the ripcord and the parachute opens, you feel safer as you slowly float down to dry land. Your pulse returns to normal, you feel almost calm, compared to the previous sensation of free-falling......
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<br />As I mentioned before going off on a tangent about safety nets and free-falling, the most difficult decision-making process yet was whether or not to start my company before or after quitting Microsoft, because at its most elemental form, this decision involved the security and well-being of my family...... Do I free-fall without a safety net, or do I take the safe route and start my company in my spare time? What a fateful decision to grapple with! Greater minds than mine have struggled with this dilema, no doubt, and I'm sure each person decides what's true for themselves in their own circumstances.....
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<br />In my case, I decided I could not do anything half-baked. I could not start my company in my spare time. I had to work on it full-time. For I do things full-bore. When I decide to do something, I throw my passion, commitment, and energy into it completely. Was it risky? Sure! Was I apprehensive? You bet! Did my colleagues at Microsoft encourage me to stay? Of course! But in the final analysis, I listened to my deepest inner self. I went with my gut. I gave myself over to that undefinable construct of positive energy, threw caution to the winds, and just did it.....
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<br />I believed in myself. I thought to myself, "I can do this thing!" And so, I began free-falling without a safety net. I quit Microsoft, and founded <a href="http://www.transformtec.com">TransformTec</a>, a product development company and technology broker dedicated to converting intellectual property into cash. After 19 years of working at AT&T Bell Labs, NEC, Sony, Microsoft, and a couple of start-ups along the way, I took a leap of faith and jumped in feet first..... and became an entrepreneur - the founder, President, and CEO of <a href="http://www.transformtec.com">TransformTec, Inc.</a>
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377103.post-1101515958017118862004-11-26T19:02:00.000-05:002004-11-26T19:39:18.016-05:00Customer LandscapeDeveloping and releasing a Version 1.0 product at Microsoft is a near herculean task. Many great minds representing different disciplines with differing perspectives and agendas need to come together and agree that the software code is production-worthy. Comparatively speaking, subsequent versions are much easier to get out the door. After releasing Version 1.0 on June 1, 2001, we hoped our "showcase" customers would welcome the product with open arms......
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<br />Alas and alack, the downward spiral in the economy was taking its toll on our "showcase" customers. Slowly but surely, as the fiscal angel of death descended on their houses, one by one they started backing out of their commitments to us. We used this time of uncertainty to refine our product, even enhance it with some new features, and tweak it into the best possible state. We released Version 1.5 at the end of October 2001, thinking surely that would entice our customers to sign on the dotted line. We were all proud of the little plaque to attach to our Ship-it Awards, but the victory still seemed a tad hollow without real paying customers using our product. We continued to refine, enhance, and tweak, adding what we thought were surefire customer pleasers like PVR (personal video recorder, also referred to as DVR, or digital video recorder) features, and VOD (video on demand) features. We all worked smarter and harder and long into the night, hoping against hope that the business development and sales staff would garner design wins and customer satisfaction. Sadly, by the time we released Version 2.0 on April 19, 2002, the writing was on the wall. Not a single shipping, paying, customer had been won. The few customers remaining wanted yet more tweaks before they would consider the product ready, and frankly speaking we were all quite worn down.
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<br />To turn things around, a new executive was brought in to lead the future vision. We focused Version 2.0 on the last remaining hopeful customers in Europe and Latin America. We ramped up the staff for a new thin-client product for North America, and soon we were fastly and furiously specifying new features and roadmaps.
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<br />Finally, after much customization work, we signed paying customers in Europe for Version 2.0. Soon after that, after a complete overhaul and even more customized engineering development, we signed paying customers in Latin America. At long last, we felt good about what we had accomplished - a real product into paying customers hands. Life was good...... And still fresh development continued on, for the new thin-client product. We had high hopes that would really capture the hearts and minds of a much larger customer base. Customers are, after all, the main reason why products are developed, are they not? At least that's what I'd like to think.....
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<br />I learned many lessons during these years. As engineers we often overlook the changing customer landscape, but we do so at our own peril. A great product without a customer base can not really be that great. Even if we create the most intricate, elegant, software solutions and provide compelling products and services, if we don't have the ability to market and sell them to real paying customers, our efforts are for naught. Ultimately, customer satisfaction is at the heart of a success - develop the right product for the right customer at the right cost and at the right time, and you'll have a winner, with many customers coming back for more. Develop a whizbang technology just to show you can, and it may be a minor footnote in the dusty annals of some arcane museum somewhere. "Build it and they will come" only works in the movies. At least that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.....
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377103.post-1101501086083501112004-11-26T16:01:00.000-05:002004-11-26T15:38:09.406-05:00Ship-it AwardsWhen I was there, Microsoft had this really cool way of recognizing organizations that released **real** products to **real** customers. It was called a Ship-it Award. Maybe they still continue this practice, I hope so because it was a good one. Everyone who participated in the product development and market launch of a Microsoft product got one of these things. Mine has a nice grey marble base, with two black obelisks rising out from either side, with a glass etching in the center. The inscription on the glass reads like this:
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<br />"Every time a product ships, it takes us one step closer to the vision: empower people through great software - any time, any place, and on any device. Thanks for the lasting contribution you have made to Microsoft history."
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<br />Bill Gates' signature is below the inscription, and a small bronze plate with the employee name is under that. On each of the black obelisks, the employee is encouraged to put the 25mm-by-40mm aluminum plaque containing the name of the product, the version number, and the release date. I'm sure the Ship-it Award's verbiage and appearance evolve over time, but it is still an inspirational tool for employees. In fact, when people interview, they are often asked how many Ship-it Awards they have, an indication of how many development cycles they have worked through. I still keep my Ship-it Award on my desk, right next to the Sony plaques I alluded to in a prior blog posting. My Ship-it Award reminds me of the four years I spent working at Microsoft......
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<br />After Release B, we were on a good roll. The technical teams started gelling very well together, and everyone knew we were on to something good. The program managers spec'ed out all the features and APIs for the next release, getting buy-in from the software developers, test engineers, and marketing folks. The software developers coded the modules and subroutines necessary to support the marketing requirements. The test engineers performed quality assurance on the deliverables from the software developers, and when bugs were found everyone collaboratively resolved them one way or another. Some bugs need code modifications, others needed documentation changes, while still others were deemed not likely to occur in the real world, and yet others were left for future discussions.....
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<br />Finally, on June 1, 2001, we completed everything necessary and signed off on Version 1.0 of our product. True to form, just as we had hoped, the next release after Release B was production-worthy, so instead of calling it Release C we called it Version 1.0. We were so happy, ecstatic in fact! It had been a long haul - some of the engineers had been working on this product for a few years. It was very satisfying and gratifying for all of us in development. We only hoped our customers would be as ecstatic as we were. The customer landscape was changing, as the economy was diving deeper and deeper into recession, but we fervently hoped that our "showcase" customers would welcome our Version 1.0 product with open arms......
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377103.post-1101498540028436932004-11-26T14:21:00.000-05:002004-11-26T14:49:00.026-05:00Release BDuring the summer of 2000 in Microsoft's interactive television group, things were abuzz with anticipation. Our main customers were impatiently waiting for the production version of our software for high end set top boxes. Some months before I arrived, the head of the organization had promised everyone a trip to Hawaii if they released the product on time. They didn't, and now the engineers and business development people were anxious to put the finishing touches on the product and proudly roll it out the door. Release B was a step in the right direction.
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<br />At first I was aghast at all the different versioning schemes the group had invented as the delays rolled way past the customers expectations. It seemed so patently transparent, who did they think they were fooling? They tried several flavors of Alpha and Beta to whet their customers appetites, but none were really ready for prime time. Then they tried Beta 1, Beta 2, Beta 3 to indicate they were getting very, very close to production-worthy code. When I arrived on the scene, they had just transitioned over to yet another new nomenclature - the alphabet - and had just released Release A and started working on Release B. I worked with the leadership to instill more engineering discipline into our processes, and create actual meaningful definitions for milestones. Up until now, there really wasn't great concurrence between the various technical disciplines (development, test, and program management) about crisp definitions on things like entrance requirements and exit criteria for milestones. The creative geniuses who held great sway over the organization felt that software code would just dribble out whenever it was ready to dribble out, and I felt that was a hell of a way to run a ship. So for Release B, I was determined to make milestones meaningful.
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<br />And so it was. Eventually, we were able to broker agreements between the disparate groups, and everyone worked long hours until finally, in November 2000, we happily signed off on Release B. We held release parties, and patted ourselves on the back- visible progress! We felt we finally were closing in on the last mile. We felt if we followed the same disciplined approach, the next release would be production-worthy. Finally, after so long, a product our customers could put into production use was just one more release away..... if only we could continue to agree with each other, stop internecine bickering, and all row the boat in the same direction...... we could see light at the end of the tunnel, and we hoped it wasn't an onrushing train.
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377103.post-1098633330669744342004-10-24T11:28:00.000-04:002004-10-24T11:55:30.670-04:00Interlude and Transition #1After a few years at Sony, things were really heating up in the high-tech field in general and in the Silicon Valley in particular. It was a boom time for the economy, too. I now had 15 years of experience at 3 major league players in the high-tech field. So I decided to be adventuresome, step out of my comfort zone and be a risk taker. Opportunities abounded for me. In fairly quick succession, I became a director of software engineering at a multinational company (made my first business trip to Paris, way cool!), then VP of product development at an internet music appliance startup company (precursor of the iTunes business, we were a five years ahead of the market), and finally VP of engineering at a B2B ecommerce startup company. With dizzying speed I had accomplished my career objective, and was having so much fun and hard work developing software, hardware, and systems products with talented staff at a breakneck pace.
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<br />Looking back in 20/20 hindsight, I guess I knew in the back of my mind that it couldn't last forever. What goes up, must come down as the Newtonian physicists always like to remind us. And so it was with the tech-fueled boom times at the turn of the last century. Everything seemed to fall like a house of cards - venture capital money dried up, the economy slowed into a recession, and hundreds of thousands of displaced engineers started showing up on the unemployment roles.....
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<br />So what did I do? I did what any self-respecting, experienced, degreed computer scientist would do in troubled economic times - I went to work for Microsoft! When I first arrived at Microsoft, it was an awesome place to work. Cool projects, cool people, and a cool work environment - life didn't get any better than this! I was on cloud nine, having the time of my life. For the first couple of years there, I kept wondering why I hadn't sought out Microsoft as an employer earlier in my career. Life was good.
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