Increasing the Odds of Success

A fellow blogger recently pointed me to a study done by a couple of Harvard business professors (Gompers and Lerner) titled “Performance Persistence in Entrepreneurship”. This study looked at the track record of first and second time Entrepreneurs creating a successful enterprise. (Success was defined as taking the start-up entity public.) The results of the study were chilling to say the least.

They found that first time Entrepreneurs only had a 22% chance of success and for the 78% who tried it again the Entrepreneur was only 23 % successful in their next venture. They also noted that to a certain degree “success breeds success” - the successful ones who tried a second venture were 34% likely to succeed.

This Harvard research and a companion study done by CIBC World Markets in 2005 suggested that successful ventures had a number of consistent characteristics that made them over achieve. These traits included: a) High Level of Education (2 of 3 Canadian Entrepreneurs have post secondary education), b) Extensive Use of Advisers (Service Professionals, Board Advisers, Board of Directors), c) Outsourcing Strategies (Companies focused on core competencies and outsourced other non-core functions), d) Technology Enablement (Companies utilized Web presence, CRM software to enhance and support customer interactions) and e) Focus on US and International Markets (Canada is only the starting point).

This is where the Ontario Commercialization Network (OCN) comes into play. Eight of the 13 centres have been funded with an Entrepreneur In Residence (EIR). These individuals are seasoned executives who have build, sold and turned around a number of ventures in their careers. The role is to “accelerate the path to commercialization” for these early stage companies.

EIR’s in the OCN all have a unique and individual style in advising their clients on "creating the organization's traction". Supported by Provincial, Federal and Private funds, EIR's across the province rely on a core set of resources to support their clients. These include 1) Education and Reference material, 2) Extensive network of contacts and practical experience, 3) Market Research, 4) Executive Coaching and Mentoring, 6) Assistance in building a Compelling & Focused story.

Entrepreneurs are the key to Ontario’s innovation agenda and are encouraged to sign up with the Commercialization centre in their region. We need to do all we can to increase their odds of "Stunning Success".

Is Success Spelt with a Large S or Small s?

In our quest to commercialize Ontario's newest Innovative companies, a number of us are struggling with how to measure their progress and the definition of Ultimate Success. Many of my colleagues are big proponents of "the only measure is total number of Jobs Created" others are suggesting that "Revenue, Customers Acquired or Dollars of Investment Attracted" are more applicable indicators of achieving that Home Run.

For my clients, I encourage them to "Think Huge" and try to define their Home Run around their Vision statement. This forces them to become big thinkers and set a Large S target cannot be easily achieved by fixing one thing or completing a couple sub-tasks.

Sharon, an intern at the RIC-Centre did a little research around the Blue Jays this year. She notes that the team has had 3790 At Bats achieving 1020 hits. Of these hits, there have been 649 singles, 240 doubles, 7 triples and 124 Home Runs. The Large S target of hitting that Home Run has only occurred 3% of the times At Bat. Given this low probability, I am sure that the players in the batter box are defining a series of Small s targets like getting to first, not striking out, advancing the runner, not swinging at the the silly sinker etc.

Early stage companies are encouraged to work out a series of Small s targets in all facets of their business. These include completing the necessary business planning, building that unique set of features and services, populating a winning team, securing the first Beta customer, locking in critical financing and driving toward that first quarter of profitability to name a few. Small s successes will be easier to demonstrate short term wins and be an inspirational lift to the Entrepreneural teams. The target of hitting the ball over the Green Monster will come in its own time.

For me Thinking Huge this summer is to drive my handicap under 20. (For many of you this would simply be a Base Hit! You have no idea how big this challenge is for my game.) Now that I have posted this blog, I can head out to the first tee and try to avoid driling it into the woods......

I will celebrate my Small s accomplishments on the patio of the 19th - anyone care to join me?

"Is there anyone out there....?"

Having recently done some maintenance on my Ipod, I was reminded about one of my favourite Pink Floyd songs that contained the phrase: "..... Is there anyone out there...". For those that know me well I have spent the past 2.5 years trying to increase my Significant Impact. I have done this by focusing more on Not-For-Profit work, increasing my level of Coaching and Mentoring and spreading the word about Good Governance, Climate Change and Sustainability. Encouraged by colleagues such as Gordo, Pinky and the 'Dag, I have been long overdue in establishing a Blog to support these efforts.

Late last year I signed up to be an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) within the Ontario Commercialization Network. This network includes many well known brands including MaRS (www.marsdd.com), Communitech, Tech Alliance, ISCM, OCRI, OCETA and BioEnterprise. Most of my EIR is centred in Peel, Halton, Hamilton and occasionally in Toronto. I initiate my work from the RIC-Centre (www.ric-centre.on.ca) in Missisauga. This brand is emerging as one of the key resources in the commercialization network. Supported by the Ministry of Reaserch and Innovation (MRI), the Brampton / Caledon / Mississauga Board of Trades and the University of Toronto Mississauga, we are helping young organizations "...Accelerate Their Time to Commercilization." The work is challenging, fulfilling and a ton of fun - especially if you can see the progress these companies are starting to make.

Consequently, I now have a steady and reliable feed of interesting and exciting stories about our Innovation Economy in southern Ontario. The time is ripe for me to get onto the computer and create a regular feed of information for my newly minted Blog. As a result of my 'slow off the mark' approach, I have some key catch up to do this month.

Once again, I ask the Question: ".... Is there anyone out there........?"