TED | Talks | Bill Strickland: Rebuilding America, one slide show at a time (video)

When you have 35 minutes to be inspired, please watch this “box of slides” with Bill Strickland. As I listened to his presentation, I felt invited to dream bigger and accomplish more than I’ve ever believed possible. The sheer scale and magnitude of impact this man has had – on the people in his school, on his funders, on his business partners, and on his friends in every town – convinces me I can do more with my own life too.

from www.ted.com posted with vodpod

Innovation in Services: Zillow for Real Estate

The global economy continues to undergo seismic shifts. Previous vertically integrated industries became segmented by horizontal service providers, then disjointed as loosely connected networks of service providers. The value creators in the new economy are providing exceptional experiences by outperforming their niche in the network or tying together the nodes of the network and packaging the whole thing in innovative ways.

As part of my recent course at Darden on Innovation and Integration in Services – The New Economy, I made observations on a number of innovations as examples of value creation in this flat, networked world. This is my submission on Zillow.com and the “web 2.0-ing” of real estate.

THE SERVICE

Zillow.com: online, satellite imagery-enabled web site for real estate listings, guides, and discussion.

HOW IS IT INNOVATIVE? WHY DID IT GRAB YOUR ATTENTION?

Zillow.com combined the mass of information on residential real estate, including public appraisals, tax records, and sales records, to provide the most innovative website for real estate listings since Realtor.com. Users can search by various purchase criteria (price, square footage, home features, zip code, specific street, etc.) and find a zoomable satellite map with currently listed properties highlighted, a pricing chart for local real estate prices over time, recent sales data, and user-generated “Make Me Move” prices for homes that aren’t even for sale – but could be for the right price!

Microfinance in Africa: Profile of Five Talents International

Originally published May 30, 2007 at dolechester.mbablogs.businessweek.com.

Microfinance, venture philanthropy, and social entrepreneurship have been generating good buzz for several years now, and I’ve learned a fair amount about the topics in the halls of Darden. But it wasn’t until last week that I actually heard eyewitness accounts of the successes of a microlending organization and connected real stories and pictures with small business loans, business training, and community development efforts in foreign countries.

Ventures and entrepreneurship: coast to coast – Part 2

Originally published April 10, 2007.

Washington DC is a great city if you like a number of things: free museums, great public transportation, the federal government, perpetually losing sports franchises, and – surprise! – entrepreneurial ventures. While DC sometimes gets a bum rap for bureaucracy due to the inescapable presence of Uncle Sam, it turns out that the greater DC area has a strong and somewhat intimate venture community with a few distinguishing characteristics that set the city apart from its west coast peers. (In a spirit of full disclosure, I will be interning at a metro DC startup this summer.) I was able to learn more about the possibilities of starting a company in the DC area through a truly special Darden program called the Batten Venture Bootcamp, a three day drink from the firehose that draws students from MBA programs at Darden, Michigan, Maryland, and Georgetown.

Ventures and entrepreneurship: coast to coast – Part 1

Originally published January 13, 2007.

There are a few hubs of venture capital and entrepreneurship in the world, but Silicon Valley is the undisputed king of them all. So, after dutifully finishing my Quarter 2 exams, I boarded a plane straight to San Francisco to check it out. Two other Darden students and I organized a trip for nearly 30 Darden students on a corporate and venture tour of Palo Alto, Mountain View, San Jose, and San Francisco. Some 14 companies opened their conference rooms (and fridges!) to us over the course of a week as we learned about companies at every stage of life – from startups that never made it, to the Google monster that’s eating Silicon Valley and the venture capital firms that finance and guide the whole thing.

In this Part 1 of my winter break reflections, I will offer some comments about the culture of starting new ventures in Silicon Valley to contrast with the comments of Part 2, which will reflect my experiences at the 2007 Batten Venture Bootcamp in the Washington, DC area.

First: Some insightful comments from a venture capitalist about working in venture capital. “Move to Palo Alto.” That’s career step number one for anyone hoping to make career inroads in the Mecca of venture capital.

What are we working for?

Originally published August 14, 2006.

I just finished an invigorating read through Jim Collins and Jerry Porras’ best-seller, Built to Last.  I love the way these researchers capture the epic mythology of doing great work – of finding purpose and meaning beyond the dollar signs.  Their research showed that “visionary companies,” as they defined them, are more often built with some motivating purpose other than making money when compared to less successful competitors.  This point is one that captures my entrepreneurial spirit – to do something that matters for the long haul, something that makes a lasting impact on the world around me and improves the lives of others. 

The MBA program guides and consultants I reviewed during my application to business schools all seemed to have one thing in common: discussing the ROI of business school.  The rationale was always the same – since you’re going to business school, now’s a great time to examine the return on your investment!  It’s generallly a winsome argument, since many MBA graduates leap ahead to substantially higher salaries among multiple job offers than their pre-MBA careers would provide.  But this argument woefully discounts the non-financial return of two great years of investing in one’s self and a tremendous network of peers who are capable of leading the next generation of world-changing organizations.  To put it more directly, the prospects of learning extensive practices to create and guide organizations have much more value than the immediate salary commanded by MBA graduates.  That is why my MBA admissions essays focused on learning to make an impact on others more than making more money for myself.

As I see it, my MBA studies are a priceless time to learn about the development and management of organizations, a time to learn more about how to impact teams of people motivated toward a common goal.  I expect my education to be valuable both in my professional career and in my volunteer efforts, as I join the leadership of my church and community non-profits to make lasting impacts in the social sector as well.  While I do find it important to believe that my education will pay for itself in career successes, I also believe one of the greatest advantages of an MBA education must be to share it with those who could benefit from my service but could not otherwise afford it.

Please do not misunderstand me: I am not opposed to earning high salaries and ensuring that one’s MBA education earns significant results.  I am, however, suggesting that making an impact on others is more important than will be reflected in one’s salary, and that the financial rewards of doing good work are best invested to increasing the impact of future work.  For those who share this vision (particularly those who are  Darden MBA students), I look forward to meeting you and exploring the possibilities.

And, as a post-script, it turns out the purpose-driven “visionary companies” of Built to Last dramatically outperformed their comparison companies and stock market indices…

Risk management in venture capital

Originally published July 3, 2006.

One of the most attractive aspects (to me) of venture capital is the chance to partner with some dramatically transformational people and businesses to shape and improve the world around us.  A handy little write-up from a recent Wharton conference titled Innovation and Organic Growth: Balancing Risk and Reward gives a better perspective of the venture capital world at large, and the risk management strategies employed by venture capitalists.

The VC financing industry typically funds less than 1% of applicants; in several discerning firms, funding is provided to as few as a quarter of a percent (1 in 400) of applicantes.  This gatekeeper strategy is a primary filter to build a portfolio of big winners, not big wipeouts.  Further VC industry insights from the Wharton conference point out why the early-stage investment risk places large corporations can be at a disadvantage for investing (waiting for big payoff may cut too sharply into earnings) and small venture capital firms are more appropriately structured to take on the high risk of early-stage investing (effectively, the rewards of success are largely concentrated at the partner level in a venture capital firm).  For this reason, venture capital firms maintain strategically small numbers of partners; with too many, rewards are spread too thin to justify the risk.

For the complete article, including audio direct from the conference, visit Knowledge@Wharton: Managing Risk in Venture Capital Investing

The making of young innovators

Originally published May 18, 2006.

A reader sent me a thoughtful email about the difficulties for young innovators and the structures of the educational system that don’t seem to lend themselves to developing new innovators and entrepreneurs.  This is a provocative topic, so I thought I’d post a copy of my reply and invite others to join the dialog:

 

Thanks for your comments about my blog and your provocative thoughts about entrepreneurship and innovation.  What are you studying at
Virginia?  I was an Electrical Engineering undergrad at UVA, which gave me the opportunity to take a number of design and invention-oriented courses (and I’d be happy to recommend courses and professors).  I think the Architecture school also has a number of “innovation enhancers” in its curriculum.  I personally know a number of very successful ventures (and serial entrepreneurs) to come out of UVA.I think I understand your concerns about innovation among the twenty/thirty-something set.  Especially as I work around DC now, I feel greatly undervalued by my age – in this town, until you’ve got a crown of gray hair and a record of financial giving (politically) and success (business-ly), it’s hard to be taken seriously.But I also understand that professional innovation is a highly risky venture – those that do it well are celebrated because there’s inherently a high amount of experimentation.  Just starting a new business is a risky venture, particularly for recent graduates which may have limited business networks and experience as well as college debts to pay (to say nothing of rent, food, insurance, car, and other expenses).  New businesses may typically go several years before turning a profit as the venture traverses its own growing pains; business incubators are established all over the country (there’s one at Darden) to help shelter those businesses from the high-risk environment of a start-up. Often times the “risk equation” makes it much more palatable for new young professionals to work several years, develop business acumen and networks, then consider a new business venture (or continue their ascent through corporate ranks).I also think there’s simply a very small percentage of the population with the business sense and creativity necessary to innovate marketable solutions (much less to build successful and growing companies).  It’s more sensible (but not necessarily right) in our economic constructs to “create jobs” than to create innovators.  For most people, who need a lot of support to even enter the workplace, they rely on others to create jobs.  But as for the smaller percentage of the population which is really eager to innovate AND capable of doing so profitably (e.g. with good management, marketing, manufacturing, logistics, etc), I don’t know that there are sufficient development tracks in the educational or professional systems to identify and “incubate” those future business leaders – perhaps there’s an opportunity for innovation!Is there also a sense in which successful innovators buck the system, as did Bill Gates or Richard Bronson?  Would efforts to form a support system for entrepreneurs (who may be fiercely independent) be doomed to fail?  I suspect not, and I would offer the Kauffman Fellows Program as one high-profile example.  But how do we link these programs to undergraduate and graduate education?  How do we identify and actively develop those young business leaders who will transform the world?

VC for alternative energy

Originally published May 17, 2006.

Venture capital investors seem to have one major, common point of reference – the dot come bust of 2000-2001.  That bust followed a record year of VC fundraising – some $106 billion in 2000 among top benchmark firms – and preceded a major fallout of invested dollars across the economy.  The lessons learned all seem to point to greater discipline in VC investments, but that’s not holding back (re-)growth in VC fundraising.  The Associated Press reported in April that venture capital firms had raised some $6 billion in the first quarter of this year, more than 20% over last year’s figure for the same quarter, with projected annual fundraising around $30 billion.  (See the article as published in the Washington Post online: Venture Capital Fundraising Rises in 1Q.pdf.) [Update: The New YorkTimes ran an article suggesting that the renewed vigor in venture capital is not a sign of a new bubble: A Few Signs of Froth Do Not a Bubble Make]

The trends of last year indicated strong venture capital interest in “clean tech” and alternative energy as solar and wind technologies matured and new ventures generated profitable cash flows, buyouts, and IPOs.  In fact, three of the top IPOs of 2005 were solar power companies, as reported by the Wharton Private Equity Review.  [Update: See BW interview with Bill Joy, co-founder of Sun Microsystems and current partner at venture capital firm KPCB: Green: The Next Big Thing.  He thinks greentech is going to provide the next Google in terms of revolutionary wealth-creation.)

Now, the energy market is showing no signs of decreased demand despite continually high gas prices.  As Americans (and others around the world) effectively say “no” to conservation (see James Ellis’ op-ed piece in BW, No Sacrifices, Please), energy demand will continue to grow while limited stocks of fossil fuels (not to mention the political delicacies surrounding the international energy market) keeps a ceiling on supply.  With the proven returns in solar and wind power, and wide interest and policy incentives in ethanol, biomass, and energy storage technologies, the stage could be set for continued successful investment in clean tech industries.

And hopefully in two years the stage will be set to hire this Darden MBA into a successful and growing VC clean tech fund.

Corporate Innovation at Darden

Originally published April 14, 2006.

At the Darden School’s recent “Darden Days” welcome weekend for admitted students, I serendipitously met Professor Jeanne Liedtka, the director of Darden’s Batten Institute for entrepreneurship and innovation.  We talked briefly after a “mock case” discussion that introduced the prospectives to the case method, and I learned more about her courses in strategy and research in corporate innovation - my own fields of interest.

Well, BusinessWeek just turned out a few excellent pieces on innovation, so I thought I’d create a little home for them in this blog as well.

I was really caught by surprise by some of the answers in this Innovation Quiz.  (I scored 5 out of 12, apparently good enough for the quiz to recommend me as chief innovation officer for my company.)

There’s also a great Innovators in Our Midst slideshow (one of my favorite features of BusinessWeek online) on corporations leading innovation in all kinds of industries.

Then there’s the fine analytic piece, Innovative Writing on Innovation, offering five themes emerging from a survey of corporate leaders.

Finally, I’ll add the link to 25 Innovators, 6 Industries.

Hope that’s enough to spark the creative business thinker on a rainy Friday afternoon!