Next to the reputation of a Venture Capital (VC) firm’s principals, CEOs top evaluation criteria when choosing a VC is the ability to add value to the portfolio company beyond funding. No surprise. However, looking at the prioritization of qualities of a VC, there is a disconnect between the VCs and the customers. According to DeSantis Breindel CEOs tend to …
Make your innovation a hedging process
They are the largest, probably the among the best in class at what they do. They are highly branded and recognized for what they have achieved. They have more resources than most other players to play with. The smartest people. The most money. They desperately want to stay on top. And yet, they fail. How can Nokia go from one …
Bad ideas that became irresistible
Who is in search of a copycat? Anyone? Well, Michael Wolfe illustrated to all of us that although engineering and product are still key to the very best companies there is so much more to a sound business model. All it takes to understand this point is to look at great inventions that failed – or to look at the following great …
Great power shifts to watch
Here are 10 trends to watch that will have a major impact going forward according to Thomas W. Malnight and Tracey S. Keys of IMD: 1. Social everything: New generations and their digital world stepping forward Social technologies are now a central part of everyday life and work. The social generations are reshaping companies from the inside, helping them to …
New venture: Go or go for no
It is messy in the middle. Exactly at the point when you have invested all your time, money, or reputation and yet lack progress, cash flow, etc. That’s when the pain of failure becomes ubiquitous. Fatigue sets in. Team members, investors, your family members or other stakeholders show impatience, or uncertainty. The challenges become confusing. What do you do? You know challenges almost …
Next ‘big thing’: A product of time and hunger
Entrepreneurs, investors, advisors … We are all in the search of the next big thing – trends, ideas, companies, investments. I admit I can relate to this, but we are much better of slightly changing the focus and spending the energy on searching for those who are hungry for success – be it partners, entrepreneurs, ecosystems… We like to work …
Public investment funds: The triumph of technocracy over democracy
Legacy institutions are broken. Frustration has grown around the inability of governmental bodies to manage investments. Concerns over the lacking performance amongst government-sponsored incubators and related organizations remain and stands in contrast to the high political priority to entrepreneurial activity (see here). Consequently, commercial organizations owned or controlled wholly or partly by the government (the ‘parastatals’) are spreading faster than …
Angel investments: How not to fail
War stories. People love recounting the one time they caught a big fish, not the many futile hours they spent waiting for a bite. Investors love to recap the successful exchange traded investments they did, and tend to forget the unsuccessful ones. Angel investing is no different. Looking at the venture capital industry as a whole, we know for a …
Broken VC model: Pressure increases as VC goes mainstream
The financial crisis seemed to mark a turning point in the spectacular growth of alternative investments, such as managed investments in hedge funds, private equity, real estate, commodities, and infrastructure. Poor performance and liquidity problems led to massive redemptions. By now, however, those problems have subsided, and alternatives are back on track. As a matter of fact, alternative investments have reached a compounded …
Eco-labels: Give up and get lost
The substantial scepticism amongst the corporations of eco-labels’ enduring credibility and rigour of criteria and certification procedures leading to a costly and highly bureaucratic process almost outweigh the benefits of brand-strengthening, addressing consumers’ sustainability demands and protecting against pressure-group attacks. While revealing the extent of the corporations’ mounting frustration, IMD rhetorically asks: Have eco-labels had their day?