A few weeks ago I posted some commentary as to the various questions I had about my future. Since then, with the help of many conversations and much reflection, I’ve come to some early conclusions—despite the fact it’s only been one month since I left my job at Analog Devices. My need to establish some early decisions is driven by the realization that I am better off putting some stakes in the ground and trying some things rather than analyzing the landscape for an extended time without actually doing anything.
In my earlier post I had concluded that I didn’t have the right goal. I wrote that instead of thinking in terms of “finding my next job” I should be thinking in terms of a more meaningful, audacious goal. Since then, I’ve come to realize something that I’ve actually known for a quite a while—that what I really want to do is start my own company and be its CEO. Having said that, this is not necessarily an immediate goal. While I could go ahead and do this now I do feel that I would be happy taking on a lesser, interim goal as a stepping-stone. One possibility could be to co-found or join a startup in a marketing/business development capacity with an experienced CEO at the helm.
Another conclusion I’ve come to is that it is a seed- or early-stage startup that I want to get involved in rather than a late-stage startup. This is where I would have the greatest learning and enjoyment and is what would motivate me the most. I also think it is where my “intraprenurial” experience at Analog Devices has its greatest applicability.
This brings me to yet another realization resultant from the conversations with entrepreneurs I’ve had this month. My experience of founding and building the iCoupler® business within Analog Devices involved many of the same challenges, experiences, and learnings as occur in a startup. I am referring to such things as building the team, developing early prototypes, selecting the initial market, obtaining customer evaluation/validation, defining (and revising) positioning, developing products, selecting follow-on markets, and of course—gaining senior management funding. While I am sure these things are all more difficult in a startup without a large company’s infrastructure and support, they nonetheless involve the same set of uncertainties, market forces, and principles as exist in a startup.
The last set of decisions I’ve made revolve around the need for action. In parallel with continued exploration I’ve decided to jump in and get involved in a several startup activities:
- MIT Enterprise Forum Start Smart Workshop: I’ve enrolled in this 8-week educational program for technology entrepreneurs.
- Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center (MTCC): I’ve volunteered to be on the advisory panel for MTCC’s Platform Meetings. These are meetings in which a local entrepreneur presents their business and solicits feedback advice from the panel.
- CleanTech Open Mentor Program: I’ve submitted an application to be a mentor for startups participating in CleanTech Open’s accelerator/business competition program.
- MassChallenge: I’ve submitted an application to be a mentor for startups participating in MassChallenge’s accelerator/business competition program.
That’s it for now. I don’t know exactly where these early decisions and actions will take me but I am confident they are important steps to take over and above my continued networking.