Things have progressed very quickly with my new position (see previous post for background). After a series of Skype and face-to-face meetings the professor has invited me to partner with him in the formation of a new company with himself as CTO and myself as CEO. After further discussion clarifying our roles, personal objectives, priorities, and an approximate equity split I’ve accepted the position.
There are many things that need to quickly get done but at the highest level I am focused on the following:
- Finding a corporate attorney to set up the company, formalize founder agreements, etc.
- Engaging with potential customers and partners to better understand their needs, their markets, potential business models, and to start developing relationships
- Defining our business model and developing a business plan
- Securing an option from the university for exclusive negotiation rights for the relevant IP
(Securing financing is certainly also important but right now I am not ready to talk to investors until I tackle the above items.)
All this is very exciting and exactly what I was looking for. Once the company and my role is formally established I’ll post details as to what we are up to. What I’ll say for now is this: it involves a technology that can transform a wide variety of applications and markets as it enables new capabilities and reduces cost. Yes, this sounds like a lot of the hype we all hear about various new technologies. But the reactions I’ve received from the customers, advisors, and lawyers I’ve talked to so far make me feel comfortable writing this. Once I post further about it here you can all judge for yourselves.
As an aside, I came across this excellent note by Hunter Walk advising how to choose your next job if you’ve decided to quit your existing one. The article focuses on the concept of clarifying what you are optimizing for (near-term compensation, long-term compensation, commute time, fun, whatever…) and then choosing a position that delivers on your selected priority. It resonated so strongly with my experience that I though it appropriate to highlight it here.