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- The Startup Velocity Question
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- Man and Superman
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- The Future: End of Capitalism
- Capitalism 2.0
Bootstrapping to Exit in Israel: Eli Sasson, Founder of Minicom (Part 3)
Sramana: What were some of your lessons learned in those early days of forming the company? Eli Sasson: We had some unpleasant hiccups on our way. We did all of the design and product research. We based everything on the PC environment, but during the same time, IBM pushed the PS/2 very aggressively in the
Bootstrapping to Exit in Israel: Eli Sasson, Founder of Minicom (Part 2)
Sramana: Who were the first few educators who embraced the concept? During the time we are talking about, it must have been difficult to get teachers to embrace technology. Eli Sasson: We spent money and hired an industrial designer. We had a clear understanding of what we wanted. We knew what we wanted the interface
Bootstrapping to Exit in Israel: Eli Sasson, Founder of Minicom (Part 1)
Eli Sasson is the founder and president of Minicom Advanced Systems, a global leader of IT management solutions for data centers, server rooms, and rack environments. Eli co-founded Minicom in 1988 and sold it to TrippLite in April 2012. Prior to founding Minicom, he earned his MBA from Tel Aviv University. Eli was born and
From Czechoslovakia to Silicon Valley: Roman Stanek’s Journey to GoodData (Part 7)
Sramana: What has your revenue ramp rate looked like over the years? Roman Stanek: In 2012 we were over $15 million in revenue. We also have a backlog for the next couple of years. We know we have $15 million waiting for us twice over.
From Czechoslovakia to Silicon Valley: Roman Stanek’s Journey to GoodData (Part 6)
Sramana: It is good that you have identified a process for moving into new business areas, particularly since you are a SaaS-based business. Roman Stanek: SaaS is an unforgiving business. It is a resource-intensive business, and customers can always churn. There is loyalty, but it is only gained by quality service. There is a very
From Czechoslovakia to Silicon Valley: Roman Stanek’s Journey to GoodData (Part 5)
Sramana: What were the steps that you took to validate your concept? Who was the first customer you went to talk to who resonated with your value proposition? Roman Stanek: I absolutely believe that as much as you can validate a business model there is no substitution for intuition. The opposite applies as well. If
From Czechoslovakia to Silicon Valley: Roman Stanek’s Journey to GoodData (Part 4)
Sramana: Within the B2B framework, your strategy is to get a close to customer business processes as possible. Do you ask customers what their pain points are and design solutions around them? Roman Stanek: That is exactly what I do. I am definitely a B2B person. You need special skills to be a B2C person,
From Czechoslovakia to Silicon Valley: Roman Stanek’s Journey to GoodData (Part 3)
Sramana: You have mentioned a few of the companies that you have founded. What was involved in going from zero to one million dollars in revenue? What were some of the highlights and strategies you used? Roman Stanek: The first company did not actually reach a million dollars in revenue. This is a great question.