Over the past six and a half years, I have written three business plans for new technologies. I do not consider myself a ‘serial entrepreneur’ because each of the technologies could (should) work together, still I pitch them separately. If one of them gets funded, there is a good possibility the others also get funded for two reasons: the collective value increases if one of them gains traction; and there is shared or cross integration functionality (such as a database).
I find the pitch process interesting. Personally, I am a thinker and tinkerer. I like to ‘actualize ideas’. Catching the nuances and schmoozing is not something I am good at. Without question, hustling in part of the process.
I went to business school twice, so I know the value in product testing, understanding customer needs and wants, and marketing and branding. Sure, I full heartedly believe in establishing a company culture and rallying a team of employees and partners around it. But a lot of this comes later.
When you are truly innovating (inventing) software, you need to build and protect the technology as quickly as possible. Of an immediate concern, you need to: get funded, make key connections, commit with partners, build a team, and establish a user base. Whatever the meeting / conversation, my mind is on these five objectives.
The latest two technologies I have been working on are Skills Based Approach and Skills Label. The latter is a patent pending utility – a standardized display to express learning expectations and outcomes in any discrete task. Please feel free to contact me if you are interested in working with me on these cutting edge technologies.
