I worked at Oak Investment Partners for a long time until retiring from it at the end of 2015. Here is part of my page on the Oak website in 2015:
During that time, I had the opportunity to dive into hundreds of tech companies over many cycles, and the further opportunity to be an insider at dozens in which we invested. I learned that what most people tell you about how to be a successful entrepreneur often doesn't match up well with the winning companies I saw.
So what's a person to do?
One thing you can do is read my book. It won't tell you how to win (that's on you), but it will clearly identify some of the most important success patterns to follow, and some of the popular failure patterns to avoid. It has dozens of examples from real life to illustrate the points.
Here are some of the companies in the book and the points or patterns they illustrate.
CRM co., OpenData, Sybase: Do NOT make your execution match your strategy! If you're going to invade a country, don't attack everywhere, pick a beach.
Captura/Concur: Don't let perfection get in the way of making your product usable.
Web services company: Pick something that you can finish, well and quickly.
Smartdrive: When you think you're really focused, try making the focus even narrower.
Inktomi: Don't move on to the next battle until the current one is totally wrapped up; mostly wrapped up may not be good enough.
Workflow companies, collections: The customer defines the problem, not you.
HNC/FICO: Using a platform to attack a narrow but important problem set.
US Auto Parts: Does the customer have a problem right now?
G-Market/E-Bay: Cross-border issues are more than language.
Bank processors e.g. Fiserv: Customers aren't fond of risk.
Nextpage: Are your benefits tangible?
Fastclick: Can you deliver results quickly?
Rebelmouse: Make each step towards a vision be usable.
Athena Health: Adding a whole new service can be 1+1=3
Radisphere to Candescent Health: Giving your customers to someone else can be a great idea!
Company A: Using end-user products in a product/service can save time and money.
Video Ad Network: Sell it first, then build and deliver it seems backwards, but it beats everything else in the right situation.
Maestro Health: You don't always have to program everything; sometimes having people do some of the work is a big win.
Evident: Methods that are great in one domain maybe be failures in a different one.
The Innovator's Dilemma book: Listening to your customers can hold you back.
Smartdrive: Picking the right group of customers to listen to is key.
TxVia, Feedzai: Building a tool and delivering an application or service with it can be an overwhelming advantage.
MobiTV: Do you have large customers? The power relationship determines the outcome.
Huffington Post: Pick a direction, go quickly, stop for nothing.
I'm kind of slow. It took me more than ten years to start noticing the patterns I've written about, and another ten years testing the patterns against the companies my partners looked at and/or invested in. But they've held up. I know I haven't discovered all the relevant patterns or explained the success of every company, but I also know that I don't read about the things I wrote in the book, which is why I took the trouble to write it. I hope new generations of innovators will improve their odds of success by following the path of the winners.
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.