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HOT TOPICS
- The Startup Velocity Question
- Platform as a Service
- Man and Superman
- Web 3.0 = (4C + P + VS)
- The Future: End of Capitalism
- Capitalism 2.0
Turn Around Series: Jerry Rawls, Finisar (Part 6)
A very interesting discussion of the dramatic times during the late 90’s and the early 2000 timeframe. Read on. SM: What were your sales pre-IPO? JR: I think in the ’98 period they were probably $30M. Our fiscal year 2000, which is when we went public, was $67M. In January of 1999 the IPO market
Turn Around Series: Jerry Rawls, Finisar (Part 5)
Among the many amazing feats Jerry has accomplished with Finisar, one of the most impressive is how the company was able to grow and develop without the assistance of outside funding. SM: All of this you were still doing without outside money; it was still a bootstrapped company? JR: Still a bootstrapped company. SM: Wow,
Turn Around Series: Jerry Rawls, Finisar (Part 4)
A key strategic victory for Finisar was facilitating the fiber channel stadard to utilize multimode fiber and shorter wavelengths. Here Jerry discusses how Finisar was able to do this, a feat which leading experts at the time said was impossible.
Turn Around Series: Jerry Rawls, Finisar (Part 3)
To support the company initially, Finisar relied on providing consulting services. It’s a very common way that companies bootstrap themselves. I have done it myself. SM: What kind of Consulting did you provide? Like System Integrators? JR: Well, actually, the first customer would be Raynet themselves, but we would have to get others soon enough.
Is Bootstrapping Becoming Sexy Again?
Gone are the days when entrepreneurs boasted at cocktail parties about how many million dollars they have raised for their startups. That was so very nineties! Yes, times have changed. Entrepreneurs seem to have become savvier. In the last 2 months, I have worked / spoken with several sets of entrepreneurs who are perfectly happy
The Path to Entrepreneurship
I went to Stanford on Wednesday to give a lecture to a class of 60 students at the Department of Management Science and Engineering. The course was “Creativity and Innovation”, taught by Professor. Riitta Katila, who invited me to speak about Entrepreneurship. It was interesting for me to observe what’s top-of-mind for a cross-section of
Turn Around Series: Jerry Rawls, Finisar (Part 1)
I recently had the opportunity to talk with Jerry Rawls, the CEO and co-founder of Finisar, about his experiences during the past two decades. While technology companies are accustomed to volatile market places and constant change, Jerry guided Finisar through arguably the most volatile market environment in history. In this interview he takes us through
The Case for IPTV in India (Part 2)
By Dharma Kuthanur, Guest Author [Part 1] Broadband prices are steadily declining and already very much within the reach of the middle-class. Today, basic broadband services start as low as $5-6 per month; these often include a cap on total download volume and unlimited use packages are priced at much higher levels ($20 & up).