A new study from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation analyzes the backgrounds and motivations of entrepreneurs who have established successful companies.
The study, "The Anatomy of an Entrepreneur: Family Background and Motivation," was published this month.
The authors of the study interviewed about 550 company founders from a variety of industries, including aerospace and defense, computers, electronics, healthcare and services.
The research showed that entrepreneurs are typically well-educated and experienced. They have ideas they want to commercialize, are motivated to build wealth, and like the idea of being their own bosses in a startup.
The entrepreneurs in the study were likely to be more educated than their parents and to come from the middle class or the upper-lower class, with very few coming from backgrounds of extreme wealth or extreme poverty. They performed well in high school and college, with the vast majority ranking average or above in their educational institutions.
Entrepreneurs don't always come from families of entrepreneurs, however. A little over half of the sample were the first in their families to start a business.
These company founders are much more likely to be married and have children when they launch their business.
The authors plan to continue the research into a new round of inquiry that will focus on "the deeper formative factors that influence this select and incredibly important class of individuals."
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
New Website Providing Expert Advice for Small and Mid-Sized Businesses -- Bizmore.com -- Goes Live
This week, Bizmore.com, a new website providing expert advice and guidance for small and mid-sized businesses, went live. With former junk bond king Michael Milken as a major investor, the site will respond to specific questions posed by executives.
Advice will be provided by industry experts and peers within the industry. Experts include David Allen, organizational and personal productivity guru; Jeffrey Pfeffer, management and strategy professor at Stanford Graduate Business School; Gary Hamel, management and strategy expert, and professor at London Business School; Libby Sartain, an HR specialist; Jason Jennings, a leadership advisor; and others.
According to a July 29 New York Times blog article by Brad Stone, Bizmore is a subsidiary of San Diego-based Vistage International, an executive coaching and networking organization, which is partly owned by Milken. Vistage has so far committed about $10 million to the venture, The Times article states.
Rafael Pastor, Vistage CEO and a former EVP at News Corp., told The Times that Bizmore's opportunity is to provide "instantaneous information that is very tailored to a specific question or need, which some of the old media organizations couldn't do even when they were at their height."
According to Stone, the experts who answer the questions are unpaid for their services, but a possible spinoff could be additional sales of their books and lectures.
The site will also include contributions from freelance writers on various business and management topics.
The business model for the site is to gain advertising as the site increases readership.
If Bizmore can maintain and increase the contributions of its high-profile experts, my sense is that more and more traffic will be driven to the site.
Advice will be provided by industry experts and peers within the industry. Experts include David Allen, organizational and personal productivity guru; Jeffrey Pfeffer, management and strategy professor at Stanford Graduate Business School; Gary Hamel, management and strategy expert, and professor at London Business School; Libby Sartain, an HR specialist; Jason Jennings, a leadership advisor; and others.
According to a July 29 New York Times blog article by Brad Stone, Bizmore is a subsidiary of San Diego-based Vistage International, an executive coaching and networking organization, which is partly owned by Milken. Vistage has so far committed about $10 million to the venture, The Times article states.
Rafael Pastor, Vistage CEO and a former EVP at News Corp., told The Times that Bizmore's opportunity is to provide "instantaneous information that is very tailored to a specific question or need, which some of the old media organizations couldn't do even when they were at their height."
According to Stone, the experts who answer the questions are unpaid for their services, but a possible spinoff could be additional sales of their books and lectures.
The site will also include contributions from freelance writers on various business and management topics.
The business model for the site is to gain advertising as the site increases readership.
If Bizmore can maintain and increase the contributions of its high-profile experts, my sense is that more and more traffic will be driven to the site.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
NeoClassics Films Ltd., a Startup, Distributes Low-Budget, Quality Independent Films from Around the World
Last week, I attended a very interesting presentation by Irwin Olian, Chairman and CEO of NeoClassics Films Ltd., which is based in British Columbia, with North American headquarters oin Culver City, CA. The company was formed in late 2007.
The company distributes independently-produced, feature-length films for initial release. The pictures are produced by filmmakers from around the world, with a focus on English language films from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, the U.S. and Canada. In addition, foreign language pictures from France, Spain, Germany and other countries are being licensed and distributed with subtitles. The company presently is, or will be, distributing films from Australia, Belgium, Jordan, Canada and the UK.
The initial focus is on films with a budget of $5 million or less, with plans to expand this horizon over time as the firm's distribution network is established and matures.
Olian said that his company's ability to identify and reach a targeted market for these films is fundamental its film-acquisition strategy. The company has acquired five films in its first year of operation, and plans to acquire approximately 8-12 films a year.
Current films include: The Black Balloon, from Australia, which has been in select theaters since last December; Moscow, Belgium, also in theaters since last December; Surviving Crooked Lake, a 2007 Canadian Film, which was scheduled for release this month; Captain Abu Raed, Jordan's entry for the 2009 Oscar competition; and St. Trinians, a British film scheduled for release in select theaters on August 28. These films have received excellent reviews and many awards.
Olian and other members of his financial and management team are highly experienced and well connected in the entertainment business. With a BA from Princeton and a law degree from Harvard, Olian was previously CEO and Chairman of three successful junior mining exploration companies.
NeoClassics is using a conservative business model that identifies good pictures but does not assume any hit movies or over-sized revenues.
The company is currently raising a Bridge and Development fund of up to $5 million, and is considering whether to raise a Print & Ad Fund and a Production Fund, both of which would be significantly larger than the Bridge and Development Fund.
Mr. Olian's presentation was highly interesting and entertaining. It included the playing of trailers for three of the five movies mentioned above. Many attendees walked away with a positive feeling about the company, but at least one in the room was concerned about the small amount of cash on hand, wondering whether the company could keep operating long enough to implement its vision.
The company distributes independently-produced, feature-length films for initial release. The pictures are produced by filmmakers from around the world, with a focus on English language films from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, the U.S. and Canada. In addition, foreign language pictures from France, Spain, Germany and other countries are being licensed and distributed with subtitles. The company presently is, or will be, distributing films from Australia, Belgium, Jordan, Canada and the UK.
The initial focus is on films with a budget of $5 million or less, with plans to expand this horizon over time as the firm's distribution network is established and matures.
Olian said that his company's ability to identify and reach a targeted market for these films is fundamental its film-acquisition strategy. The company has acquired five films in its first year of operation, and plans to acquire approximately 8-12 films a year.
Current films include: The Black Balloon, from Australia, which has been in select theaters since last December; Moscow, Belgium, also in theaters since last December; Surviving Crooked Lake, a 2007 Canadian Film, which was scheduled for release this month; Captain Abu Raed, Jordan's entry for the 2009 Oscar competition; and St. Trinians, a British film scheduled for release in select theaters on August 28. These films have received excellent reviews and many awards.
Olian and other members of his financial and management team are highly experienced and well connected in the entertainment business. With a BA from Princeton and a law degree from Harvard, Olian was previously CEO and Chairman of three successful junior mining exploration companies.
NeoClassics is using a conservative business model that identifies good pictures but does not assume any hit movies or over-sized revenues.
The company is currently raising a Bridge and Development fund of up to $5 million, and is considering whether to raise a Print & Ad Fund and a Production Fund, both of which would be significantly larger than the Bridge and Development Fund.
Mr. Olian's presentation was highly interesting and entertaining. It included the playing of trailers for three of the five movies mentioned above. Many attendees walked away with a positive feeling about the company, but at least one in the room was concerned about the small amount of cash on hand, wondering whether the company could keep operating long enough to implement its vision.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Does Your Startup Need Funding? Google's New Venture Unit May Be Worth Contacting
Despite the severe recession, Google started up a venture capital arm in March, according to an article in the August issue of Entrepreneur Magazine. Rich Miner, previously in charge of developing Google's Android OS, and Bill Maris, founder of early web-hosting company Burlee.com, manage Google Ventures, and want to invest up to $100 million in their first year.
Areas of investment will likely include software, hardware and Internet startups, as well as clean technology and health care.
So far, Google has invested in two companies based in Northern California, near Google's HQ, the article says: Pixazza, a Google AdSense-style technology that allows users to shop via photographs, and smart-grid metering service Silver Spring Networks.
Pixazza CEO Bob Lisbonne praised Google for being supportive without micromanaging.
Given the success of many of Google's ventures and investments, it would make sense for startups in need of funding to consider contacting Google Ventures to talk.
Areas of investment will likely include software, hardware and Internet startups, as well as clean technology and health care.
So far, Google has invested in two companies based in Northern California, near Google's HQ, the article says: Pixazza, a Google AdSense-style technology that allows users to shop via photographs, and smart-grid metering service Silver Spring Networks.
Pixazza CEO Bob Lisbonne praised Google for being supportive without micromanaging.
Given the success of many of Google's ventures and investments, it would make sense for startups in need of funding to consider contacting Google Ventures to talk.
Monday, July 27, 2009
More and More Small Businesses Are Now Using Twitter to Market Themselves
More and more small businesses are benefiting from the use of Twitter to enhance their marketing efforts, according to an article in the New York Times on July 22 titled, "Mom and Pop Operators Turn to Social Media."
Though there has been a lot of publicity about the use of Twitter by large companies such as Dell and Starbucks, the article points out that "today, small businesses outnumber the big ones" on Twitter, and "in many ways Twitter is an even more useful tool for them."
"For many mom-and-pop shops with no ad budget, Twitter has become their sole means of marketing," the article states. "It is far easier to set up and operate a Twitter account than to maintain a Web page. And because small-business owners tend to work at the cash register, not in a cubicle in the marketing department, Twitter's intimacy suits them well."
Anamitra Banerjee, who manages commercial products at Twitter, said that when he joined the company in March, "I thought this was a place where large businesses were. What I'm finding more and more, to my surprise every single day, is business of all kinds."
Twitter, which does not yet make money, is now concentrating on teaching businesses how they can join and use it, Mr. Banerjee said, and the company plans to publish case studies. He is also developing products that Twitter can sell to businesses of all sizes this year, including features to verify businesses' accounts and analyze traffic to their twitter profiles.
According to Mr. Banerjee, small-business owners like Twitter because they can talk directly to customers in a way that they were only able to do in person before. "We're finding the emotional distance between businesses and their customers is shortening quite a bit," he said.
Though there has been a lot of publicity about the use of Twitter by large companies such as Dell and Starbucks, the article points out that "today, small businesses outnumber the big ones" on Twitter, and "in many ways Twitter is an even more useful tool for them."
"For many mom-and-pop shops with no ad budget, Twitter has become their sole means of marketing," the article states. "It is far easier to set up and operate a Twitter account than to maintain a Web page. And because small-business owners tend to work at the cash register, not in a cubicle in the marketing department, Twitter's intimacy suits them well."
Anamitra Banerjee, who manages commercial products at Twitter, said that when he joined the company in March, "I thought this was a place where large businesses were. What I'm finding more and more, to my surprise every single day, is business of all kinds."
Twitter, which does not yet make money, is now concentrating on teaching businesses how they can join and use it, Mr. Banerjee said, and the company plans to publish case studies. He is also developing products that Twitter can sell to businesses of all sizes this year, including features to verify businesses' accounts and analyze traffic to their twitter profiles.
According to Mr. Banerjee, small-business owners like Twitter because they can talk directly to customers in a way that they were only able to do in person before. "We're finding the emotional distance between businesses and their customers is shortening quite a bit," he said.
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