Warning & Disclaimer
This book may change the way you think about
business. By reading these pages, you may well become a social
outcast – don’t be surprised when your ideas and proposals
encounter wide eyes and gaping mouths in the boardroom. I
offer no guarantees or warranties -- read on at your own risk!
"So, you have a new technology,
invention or idea that’s going to change the world. You’re going
to start a company, hire a team, bring in investors, dominate
your market and everyone involved will become rich beyond their
wildest dreams. Realists may accuse you of being a deluded fool,
however the Nasdaq and other stock markets list plenty of companies
that started out with no more than a couple of hippies, a dream,
a garage and a credit card. Unfortunately, for every company
that succeeds in reaching the Nasdaq there are many more that
fail somewhere en-route. When describing
the story of Apple Computer, Steve Jobs used to use the immortal
lines ‘the journey is the reward’. I’m sure the journey was
rewarding enough for Mr. Jobs but he and his merry band of
pirates also became gazillionaires when their stock options
hit pay dirt and Apple became the first technology IPO of
the modern era. The journey that started out with a couple
of barefooted hippies working from a garage and went on to
form a profitable corporation that put PC’s on desktops all
over the world has inspired a whole new generation of hippies
to set out on journeys of their own.
Taking your company from Zero-to-IPO is
one of the most challenging, exciting and rewarding journeys
you’re ever likely to undertake. After a few minutes flicking
through the pages of this book, shrewd readers will realize
that IPO is not the holy grail it’s made out to be, avoid
getting involved in any form of technology startup, take a
sensible job and live happily ever after. If you’re one of
the poor souls stricken with the entrepreneurial disease,
you relish working long hours and you’re attracted to almost
unimaginable levels of stress and risk, this book could help
you avoid taking your company off in the wrong direction.
When you finish this book, you should be able to plot your
own route from Zero-to-IPO with a comprehensive travel plan
detailing precisely how to get from here to there. You’ll
be armed and prepared to deal with most of the obstacles that
you’re likely to encounter on the way and you’ll have a list
of virtually all the resources you’re going to need.
The route for the journey from Zero-to-IPO
for high-tech entrepreneurs is surprisingly uncharted today,
however there is a well trodden path from Zero-to-IPO that
an elite group of venture investors have been guiding their
companies along for years. It took me twenty years as a high
technology entrepreneur to discover the route – I’ve spent
the last few years plotting it out so that you and other travelers
don’t have to spend twenty years figuring this out for yourselves.
Entrepreneurs have traditionally looked
to venture investors to guide them through the early part
of the journey and then introduce them to investment banks
to guide the company through the later IPO-preparation stage.
This model works well when the lead venture investor knows
the route and has the time to provide continuous guidance
to management, however venture investors don’t always make
good guides and they’ve allowed many a good company to veer
off track.
The focus of this book is the journey from
Zero-to-IPO, however we also look at the best way of reaching
other destinations such as selling the company and how to
survive some of the difficult terrain that we’re likely to
encounter en-route.
Dreams of the land of milk and honey attract
many adventurers. If you can make it through the IPO and the
subsequent restrictions on selling your stock, there’s a good
chance that you can cash out and live the rest of your life
in luxurious ignorance of the financial worries of the rest
of the world. This is one of the reasons that it’s unusual
to find people making the whole Zero-to-IPO journey for a
second or third time around. Some successful travelers move
on to drive their public corporations and endeavor to take
over the world but many prefer to spend time on their yachts,
the golf course or hanging out in one of their beachfront
homes. The point is that once someone has successfully completed
the journey from Zero-to-IPO, they rarely come back to Zero
to start all over again, unless it’s as an outside investor.
So, many entrepreneurs that start the journey are doing it
for the first time -- they’re heading out across new terrain
and they need as much help and guidance as they can get.
Of course, you’ll find all the resources
you need to complete the journey in Silicon Valley, however
other high-technology hubs have sprung up in recent years
with their own venture capital and professional service organizations.
If you’re living with the hillbillies you’re going to have
a real struggle attracting investors and bringing together
the resources that you’re going to need – it could be time
to relocate! If you’re near one of the top technology schools
in the country and your office (or garage) is within walking
distance of a good sushi bar, Indian restaurant and Starbucks
coffee shop, then you’re probably in a high-tech hub and it
may not be necessary to take a one way ticket to San Jose,
California..."
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Preparing for your Journey
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