この本は、コロンビア大学の教授が、VC出資を受けたベンチャー企業について調査したもので、「How Innovation Sustains Prosperity in a More Connected World 」、平たく言うと、世界がつながっていくなかで、米国経済がどうイノベーションを推進していくか、について議論されている。
The optimal number of mouths (or hands) between a bootstrapper and her customer is zero.Sure, stores provide great customer reach, and wholesalers provide distribution.But God invented e-commerce so that you could sell direct and reap greater margins.And God was doubly smart because She knew that by going direct, you’d also learn more about your customer’s needs. Stores and wholesalers fill demand, they don’t create it.
If you create enough demand, you can always get other organizations to fill it later. If you don’t create demand, all the distribution in the world will get you nothing.
Toyota introduced the Lexus lines of cars by positioning them as being as good as a Mercedes but half the price. Toyota didn’t have to explain what as good as a Mercedes meant. How much do you think that saved it?
you should start a business with a
small upfront capital requirement, short sales cycles, short receivables terms,
long payables terms, and recurring revenue. It means passing up the big sale
that takes twelve months to close, deliver, and collect.
Most entrepreneurs do a top-down
forecast: There are 150 million cars in America. It sure seems reasonable that
we can get a mere 1 percent of car owners to install our satellite radio
systems. That’s 1.5 million systems in the first year.
Hire young, cheap, and hungry
people-people with fast chips, but not necessarily a fully functional
instruction set. Once you achieve significant cash flow, you can hire adult
supervision. Until then, hire what you can afford and make them into great
employees.
・SURVIVAL OF THE QUICKEST。 →今すぐコストを抑えられる企業のみが生き残れる。49ページのチャートを本当に実行できるのか。今すぐに徹底してできるか、CEOの力量が問われていると言える。できない企業は、高コスト構造を維持し続け、Death Spiralに入る。
・NO ONE MOVES FAST ENOUGH。 →不況時は焦る必要は全くない。多くのベンチャー企業経営者は焦り過ぎる。不況時は、成功企業であるシスコ、アドビ、ヤフー、アマゾンですら、営業費用をきちんと抑えて事業経営を行っていた。いわんや、成功モデルが確立していないベンチャー企業なら、尚更のこと。
・Sequoia Capitalのエースキャピタリストのメール。 →2000年のバブル崩壊期と今は同じことが言える。Batten down the hatch(船のハッチを閉める)という表現を使っている。12ヶ月のキャッシュリザーブが最低限必要。
最近のコメント