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HOT TOPICS
- The Accelerator Conundrum
- 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
founder
Eric Benhamou & the Turnaround of 3Com (Part 11)
SM: Did the market understand your positioning as an integrated networking solution? EB: I think they did. Of course we were coming from behind in routers, and we were behind SynOptics in hubs, and we were behind others in single categories. We started to strengthen our position in all our segments, and this helped because
Eric Benhamou & the Turnaround of 3Com (Part 5)
Here Eric details several significant happenings. Not only does he discuss the development of Bridge and the IPO, but also the birth of networking as a recognized market, as well as the merger with 3Com. SM: Where you running Bridge during the IPO? EB: I was not the CEO, but I was one of the
Eric Benhamou & the Turnaround of 3Com (Part 2)
Eric discovered, at a very early age, one of the most common attributes of entrepreneurs: “I want to do things my way!” This, however, was not welcome in France, where he was growing up. SM: The old “I am going to do it my way” saying … EB: That’s right. I even started a small
Lessons for CleanTech Entrepreneurs: Raychem CEO Paul Cook (Part 12)
SM: Do you wish Raychem was around as an independent company today? PC: Yes, yes I do. SM: Why did you make the choices you did regarding Raychem? PC: I made the decision to retire at 66 because I believe the CEO has to be young and vigorous. When I retired I decided the best
Lessons for CleanTech Entrepreneurs: Raychem CEO Paul Cook (Part 11)
SM: When it comes to selling, what kinds of customers do you look to sell to? PC: In our business it was all industrial customers, we didn’t have any consumer products. SM: When you are looking at a customer’s problem and finding solutions, you are essentially selling concepts. You don’t always have the product ready
Lessons for CleanTech Entrepreneurs: Raychem CEO Paul Cook (Part 10)
SM: We talked about the organization, pricing strategy and how to scope out the technology and market. Anything else? PC: The other principle I think is critical is to hire outstanding people. That is the absolute key; those are the people who are going to make it. You have to spend time recruiting the best
Lessons for CleanTech Entrepreneurs: Raychem CEO Paul Cook (Part 9)
SM: The core research remains with the central development team? PC: The basic technology is being developed by a research group which is trying to solve problems for the divisions. The divisions in turn focus on solving the customer’s problem. The sales problem is typical sales except you have to learn what the customer’s problems
Lessons for CleanTech Entrepreneurs: Raychem CEO Paul Cook (Part 8)
SM: So, for a startup, the cleaning up of the dirty energy is a more viable problem to solve for the next 50 years. If you were running a company which was going to go after that market, what process would you follow? PC: First you have to figure out what you can do that
