Thursday, December 3, 2009
Insights and Opinions: Ten vision tests for success
Today's Insights and Opinions piece -- where we feature content from experts and thought leaders in the community -- comes to us from angel investor Dave Berkus, who recently posted a list of ten factors to see if the vision for your technology might be attractive to customers or investors. Dave manages angel funds Berkus Technology Ventures, LLC and Kodiak Ventures, L.P. and is a partner in Trenchant Ventures, LLC. Dave has recently started blogging on his site at Berkonomics.com.
A vision must be solid and flexible enough to pass a number of critical tests if it is to guide a business enterprise to greatness. Here in brief are ten tests for a successful vision. Try these on for size, and test yourself for attractiveness to the marketplace, to investors and to history.
Ten tests for a successful vision
1. Is your market identifiable and accessible? Test yourself as to whether you can identify the size of your market niche, and whether you can overcome the many barriers to access customers within your niche.
2. Where in industry life cycle? If your vision is for a product or service that fills a need in a mature industry, you may be flying against the prevailing winds as a market shrinks over time, taking your business with it. Conversely, a fast growing industry lifts most all good participants, making excellent companies excel even more and grow even faster, like a small plane flying at 150 knots with a 75 knot tailwind. (Continued)
Read the rest of Dave's ten tests for successful vision in our Insights and Opinions section. Have your own observations on the market, the high tech industry, or startups you think we should share here? Let us know!