The New Wave of Entrepreneurship

There is a multi-trillion dollar economy opening up to technology faster than ever. It has been driven by trends that have changed the nature of how entrepreneurs will be characterized going forward; specifically, industry executives will be the next wave of in-demand startup CEOs.

In April of 2007, Apple changed everything with the launch of the iPhone. It is hard to imagine that it has only been 8 years since the release of the first truly pervasive smartphone, but there is no denying its impact has been world-changing. Beyond the creation of a new dimension of industry-driven, by location-based, services (and with it, a myriad of billion dollar companies), an equally significant phenomenon emerged. By creating technology that was intuitive to the consumer masses, every person around the world started to embrace technology as more than just a work tool. Lawyers, doctors, car mechanics and people from every sector of the economy not only had a tool for productivity, but a piece of technology in their pocket they embraced as an intimate part of their lives.

Furthermore, these new consumers could now point to a standard for usable technology. Cumbersome, enterprise legal software that won’t allow a lawyer to search cases from outside the office is no longer acceptable. For those outside of the Silicon Valley silo, conversations can be heard from construction workers sitting on a lunch break saying “Wouldn’t it be nice if there was an app to …”.  Unfortunately, these conversations are often too far away from Silicon Valley’s ears, which are still dominated by the talk of what will be the next WhatsApp or Instagram. Even so, a new breed of entrepreneur is emerging who see firsthand the challenges in their industry, and with that the opportunity to make a world-changing impact, and these entrepreneurs do not fit the founder archetype that many Silicon Valley investors look for.

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Previous decades saw similar shifts in entrepreneur characterizations. The late 90s were about Harvard MBAs applying traditional management techniques to leverage brand new Internet technologies. The “aughts” brought on the “22 year-old Stanford Computer Science” graduate applying technology to a low hanging industry. Now, in this decade, we are seeing a new wave of entrepreneurship driven by industry executives with deep product backgrounds leveraging technology to disrupt a traditionally non-tech industry.

For the past 2 years I’ve had the opportunity to see this shift firsthand as the managing partner of Silicon Valley Software Group (SVSG), a firm of CTOs focused on helping companies with their technology strategy. SVSG has seen entrepreneurs ranging from movie producers, lead singers of platinum album rock bands, travel executives, and hedge fund managers all trying to figure out how to leverage their domain expertise through technology. After a number of similar engagements, a few observations have emerged:

• In each venture, a product-focused entrepreneur saw the adoption of technology among their peers in a particular industry and, with that, the opportunity to create a product focused on that industry.
• None of these entrepreneurs had notable tech experience.
• Hardly ANY of these high profile individuals had relevant connections with the Silicon Valley community.

This last observation is of particular importance!

The combination of growth capital, multidisciplinary talent, and mentors sharing best practices around how to create hyper-growth businesses are often taken for granted by those who are part of the ecosystem. However, the disconnect between Silicon Valley natives and outsiders is shocking. Many of the companies SVSG has come across have no ability to raise strategic capital at first because their businesses are too risky when considering common pitfalls they are more likely to fall into compared with their Valley peers. Concepts as commonplace as the lean startup methodology are welcomed as sage insight to these new entrepreneurs.

What is missing for these new founders is a bridge into Silicon Valley. To date, this has been stymied by a narrow mindset from the Silicon Valley community. However, the forces of capitalism will eventually prevail and these new entrepreneurs will find their own community to center around. Keen investors will lead the herd and take advantage of existing markets ripe for change. Incubators and accelerators will emerge with a focus on entrepreneurs with deep industry experience. We are in a tech boom right now and there are countless ways to apply technology to industries that haven’t changed in decades. For those sitting in the corner office, the time has come to venture out, there are markets to disrupt.

This post originally appeared in Toptal

Know That Your Decision To Quit Is Not Based On Incorrect Reasoning

This May Not Be The Right Reasoning

Firing and layoffs may affect you but if you have the right attitude and strategy , most likely you would be able to steer through this rough patch

You are a qualified professional, and have spent a life time working for others. When you look back you may realize that you have facilitated wealth creation but not for yourself where as , the notice salary is what is needed to strike your name off the organization rolls, unless you are in a secure government job  or you have been a master at managing your career successfully. You may feel cheated at the end of a very long and painstaking stint in your job when you realize that things have not worked out for you. But this may not be the right reasoning to don the entrepreneurial hat.

The Job Options Keep Reducing As You Grow Older

You need to understand that the job cuts happen for reasons beyond your control, but you must focus on your action plan

You may become vulnerable with increasing age, as you realize that the career options that you have at hand keep reducing as you grow older. The factors responsible for this pain may not be limited to and may include

1. Your unintended complacency to keep yourself updated as you get used to the tunnel end view point in your job
2. The time constraints experienced by you due to the hectic schedule you are subjected to in your job. Great organizations the world over have ,off late, recognized the fact the personal well being can no longer be ignored if the burning issues of employee retention, employee engagement, employee productivity and employee motivation need to be addressed effectively as these can no longer be separated from the realms of personal well being that can be achieved through a focus on work life balance by working on your health, family and other social obligations.
3. Your higher salary for the same job that can be performed by another younger employee with a lower salary , so it makes business sense for most businesses to go for the cost cutting exercise
4. Your degenerated health due to excessive working and ignoring proactive health care in the past, leading to frequent breaks from the job and rising hospital bills
5. The rising  ,health bills of the aging dependent parents and the education spends of the growing children

and the list may go on and on

You May Fall In Any One Of These Four Categories

You must have a strong reason(why?) to be an entrepreneur

While in job you never think about these aspects of your career, it is very important for you to know that you fall in any one of these four categories.It is very important to know that your decision to quit is not based on incorrect reasoning of finding faults but it is actually driven by your passion to do something worthwhile, which would be the basic reason for your business to exist in the first place and that same reason will keep on fueling its growth as well.

1. You have just started your career, and are left with little time and energy after fulfilling the requirements of your job , and you are quite happy about the way things are
2. You have begun to experience difficulties in your job with time, as your heart lies somewhere else and you are contemplating move.At this stage you must evaluate your present situation to check if the state of affairs experienced by you is not an offshoot of your incorrect understanding of the facts and you really need to work on your attitude, motivation and skills to find some meaning for yourself in the present settings. Work diligently towards improving your self to ensure you have more fulfilling and rewarding career ahead.
3. You realize that the time has come for you to be your own boss as the job doesn't hold the promise it used to once hold and you wish to follow your passion which needs you to hang up. You want to take some time to plan quitting your job but you are not too sure of what exactly do you wish to pursue next
4. You have successfully managed your career till now and the success story continues to grow stronger with time

Embark On Your New Journey

Being an entrepreneur is a totally different ball game as compared to being an employee, aspirants must undergo a thorough preparation

What ever may be the case , It is never too late to make a start in the right direction. You need to explore what you enjoy doing the most and the expertise you have developed while doing job, this will help you in filtering the right options. For any assistance  , you may contact us at admin@successnsynergy.com. The services offered by us include entrepreneurship development, project feasibility study, systems & process design, organization development, investment options and business partnerships. It shall be our pleasure to be assisting you as you embark on your new journey.

Sanjay Sharma