Thought Leaders

Thought leaders in the startup investment arena can influence the outcome of individual businesses and the business community as a whole.  Two such leaders are author and academic, Dr. Jeffrey A. Timmons, and angel investor, Guy Kawasaki.  

The late Dr. Jeffrey A. Timmons has been called the "The Johnny Appleseed of Entrepreneurship Education."  According to an official biography, Dr. Timmons wrote numerous academic books. Additionally, he published in excess of 100 academic articles and papers (Stanford, 2013).

 In a memorial published on Bloomberg BusinessWeek, the author poses “Three Key Questions for Entrepreneurs” reflecting on the legacy of Dr. Timmons.  The first is “What is the opportunity?” Dr. Timmons enjoyed differentiating “good ideas and real opportunities.” By exploring this question, an entrepreneur will be able to assess whether their idea is sustainable and valuable, or just a fleeting thought.   “How good is the founding team?” emphasizes “the importance of a team vs. a ‘lone ranger’ approach.”  He stressed the value of understanding the skillsets of the team members. Will the team have “the toughness for the long haul, and the philosophical makeup to keep them ethical?” The third and final question is “Does the venture have access to the necessary resources?”  This question is speaking to capital requirements, but also to the importance of acquiring outside expertise that can be leveraged to assist the team through challenging periods.  These questions can offer valuable direction to an entrepreneur in the startup phase of a business.

In contrast, Guy Kawasaki is more philosophical in his approach to considering a startup. Since the early 1980s, contemporary angel investor Kawasaki has held a number of positions at several important technology companies, including Google and Apple.  Additionally, Kawasaki is a cofounder of the angel investment firm Garage. Kawasaki has authored ten books. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University and a Master of Business Administration from UCLA (Kawasaki, 2013). 

In Kawasaki’s book, The Art of the Start, he offers “ten tips for anyone starting anything.” One such tip is “Make Meaning not money.” He offers a few ideas within this suggested tip, such as “increase the quality of life,” “right a wrong,” and “prevent the end of something good.” Another tip is to “Make Mantra” Kawasaki sees value for a startup having a mantra, but strongly suggests staying away from mission statements.  He recommends that the mantra be three words or less, because he believes the mission statement is “long, boring and irrelevant.”  The three-word mantra can “set your entire team on the right course.”

Leveraging the advice from Timmons and Kawasaki will hopefully help entrepreneurs create successful businesses that provide value to the world.