The Founder Of Adobe Systems Faced By Noam Wasserman

‘Herewith appear to be the most pressing matters; one, infective and inexperienced entrepreneurial leadership. Two, the dialectic nature between front of house and back of house, and three, a lack of general training motivation and direction in original concept.’

When he was a sophomore in high school, Barry Minkow founded a carpet cleaning company - ZZZZ Best Company in his parents’ garage. At that time, the carpet cleaning industry has few entry barriers and all Minkow needed was a small amount of start-up capital. However, he soon found out that his firm was actually tough to survive in the industry as the ease of entry means fierce competition. The young man encountered a series of trouble: bad checks, complaints from customers, urge for payment from suppliers and finally the shortage of working capital. Not surprisingly, the bank refused to loan money to his low profit margin company.

| - Lecture: “Managing Innovation and Fostering Corporate Entrepreneurship” (con’t)- Presentation & Annual Report follow up.

Startup.com is a documentary film about govWorks.com, a start-up tech company that operated between May 1999 and December 2000. The company raised $60 million US dollars from various venture capitals and was thought to become a million-dollar business that will go public on the stock exchanges. Unfortunately, the company did not survive when the dot com bubble bursted. The company was founded by two best friends since high school, Kaleil Isaza Tuzman and Tom Herman. Their friendship also fell apart as the company came to an end. govWorks.com was acquired by a multinational corporation on New Year’s Day 2001 due to the company’s rapidly depleting cash flow and inability to get more funding.

As it relates to my chosen entrepreneur, Mark Cuban experiences the rise of new businesses on a regular basis. He is one of the main cast members on the show ‘Shark Tanks’, where a group of successful business leaders listen to new self-starters promote their ideas in hopes of a loan from one of the “sharks”. The show itself has helped inspire many American entrepreneurs to come up with new ideas.

Many us have heard don’t borrow money from family or go into business with friends. In the case of Tactus fund-raising, they faced many financial obstacles in raising their capital. Craig and Micah did the right thing by not obtaining funds from friends and family at first. One of the major reasons new startup companies fail is because they undercapitalize. A startup company must have enough capital to get establish and stay afloat through the slow

Has the message of dreaming big been overly exaggerated; that living life without limits sets us on a path of corruption and destruction? Are we to believe that the self-interests lies in the hands of the greed and power -hungry young Americans? The desire for more gives the illusion that obtaining happiness and fulfilment leads to immediate gratification. In the article “ One Startup’s Struggle To Survive Silicon Valley’s Gold Rush,” Gideon Lewis-Kraus reveals that among the most successful startup companies, struggling startup companies in particular worry not only about survival but the conflicting problems of funding and investing. If we can diminish the lust for greed and despite our own self-interests, we might be able to find that

Venture capital is another option for a start-up business, however, these types of companies tend to invest more in high-growth potential companies like those in the technology industry. Miller could also approach his corporate customers with a proposal for their investment. He could offer interest in his company in exchange for capital. (Shein, 2011)

On this seminar Dr. Kenneth J. Reed, member of the RIT Board of Trustees, and a visiting research scientist of the School of Chemistry and Materials Science, talked about his experience of becoming an entrepreneur in the field of science. He used the famous Homer’s Odysseus as an analogy to describe each of the phases and challenges that he had to deal with during the formation of his own company. Dr. Reed’s history was inspiring but at the same time very realistic. The speaker pointed out that the process to become an entrepreneur and create a company is not an easy one. Even big organizations with long trajectories can fall due to several factors.

My experiences at the Demo Day solidified my fascination in the ecosystem of startups and venture capital. Unlike software where objects are definite and fulfill specific conditions, entrepreneurship represents an exciting uncertainty where success can be defined in myriad ways. However, due to the inherently uncertain nature of startups, a recurring theme among the startups I met was the need for funding to convert their dreams into realities. As the Demo Day ended, I determined that although creating a startup would be exhilarating, I want to become a venture capital investor. I decided that these innovators shouldn’t have to be concerned with funding and that becoming a venture capital investor would allow me to remove their limitations and join them on their paths to success.

Ryan’s father is a serial entrepreneur and has the unique experience of vetting start-ups and building them to a particular exit strategy. In working

Heather Evans is a very recent graduate from Harvard Business School and has been working on getting her venture off the ground for quite some time. She has the know-how and skill in her industry but not the funds. This is why she is seeking out investors. This is proving to be more difficult and time consuming than she had anticipated. I think most people have this experience at one time or another especially if they are starting their own business. The great ideas of the world do not always get all the support in the world.

Gil Reihana is a smart, young, ambitious, and educated entrepreneur. After graduating college with an information technology degree, Reihana inherited a substantial amount of money. With investments from multiple family members & coupled with his inheritance, Reihana launched X-Stream. X-Stream is a technology company that assembles personal computers and sells them through chain stores & independent retailers throughout New Zealand and Australia. The company gained a reputation for having “quality hardware, customized products, excellent delivery times, and after-sales service” (McShane &Von Glinow, 2013). In

Collins, J.C. & Porras, J.I., 1995, ‘Building a visionary company’, California Management Review, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 80-100.

Startup.com shows the perils of going into business with a shaky business plan. It shows the initial excitement, the rise and fame, the bumping of heads and the eventual downfall. Such is the story of govworks.com, the documentary, startup.com covers it’s first, and only, year in business.