High-Tech Ventures

I read this book years ago shortly after it was first published. I had just worked for a startup which exhibited many of the issues, good and bad, addressed in the book. Gordon Bell was VP of engineering at DEC when they developed the VAX, and his insights into the technical development mind-set are good, even if they are not as poetic as those in "The Soul Of A New Machine" by Tracy Kidder. The Bell-Mason diagnostic is worth the time spent reading the book by itself. The discussion of where a high-tech venture should be at various stages in its development is highly insightful.I think that "pedantic", as used in another review, is not entirely off the mark - but the insight I gained from this book was well worth it. We have experienced a ludicruous period in high-tech development in the late 1990s - as things return to a more businesslike basis, the approach in this book becomes more appropriate and even vital to survival. If you are considering starting, working at, or investing in a high-tech venture, this book will repay the cost and time spent reading it very, very well.And I think this will be a timeless classic, much like Graham and Dodd did for value investing. The cases here are certainly dated - the mistakes and things to avoid are timeless.

Having worked for 4 pre-IPO companies, I've seen a lot of inexperienced entrepeneurs make a lot of ill-advised decisions. Even worse, I've watched their backers blithely sit back and believe that they will become rich on the strength of some new buzzword.It takes a good plan and better execution to turn a startup into a real company--two things that seem to be lacking in most new ventures.Gordon Bell has created a complete model for the stages of a startup firm. VCs, executives, and ESPECIALLY potential new hires should use these models to estimate the success factor of a startup. I think the 6 characteristics of a successful high-tech CEO are priceless. Of the duds that I've worked for, none of the CEOs could meet these stringent requirements. Are there many people who do? No. Do most startups fail? Yes. I urge anyone looking to join a startup to get this book, and even if you don't feel inclined to read it through, at least see what Bell has to say about the CEO, and then use his criteria to evaluate the leader at the team you are considering joining. Another one of his observations that rings true to my experience is the danger of 'multiple agendas.' There is something in the nature of an entrepeneur that seems to make it almost impossible to focus on a single product or niche market, at least until it some measure of market success is achieved. I've fought this battle many times, and I've never understood why the VCs and the Board don't reign in their eager young entrepeneurs. I've concluded that it is because they are often ignorant themselves. Being able to spend somebody else's money doesn't automatically confer wisdom. This book is almost 10 years old, but many of the author's predictions came true. I think he over-estimated the advantages of Japan, but perhaps American business actually learned something from Japan and applied it. If American management had not done that, perhaps Bell's predictions of Japanese economic superiority would have come to pass also.I did think that it was interesting to read an engineer's perspective on marketing. An intelligent and experienced person often has wise things to say, even about disciplines where they have no formal educational background. I would strongly urge both marketing and engineering people to approach this text with an open mind.Overall, this is a wise and perceptive book. It provides a good persective on the high-tech startup phenomenom and anyone who wishes to better understand the internal dynamics of a startup would find this an interesting and rewarding read.

This is the one book to have if you're starting a company. Theexamples are very dated but the content is timeless - and dead on themoney.

Excellent analysis and review of high-tech entrepreneurship and investing, as much from investor and board member point of view as entrepreneur. A reasoned and scientific approach to venture investing and capital financing, and an instructive guide for the entrepreneur from concept development (seed) all the way to mature enterprise / IPO or acquisition. Particular emphasis is placed on describing and modeling the various stages of a high-tech startup. The author introduces the Bell-Mason Diagnostic, a polar graph representing relevant startup metrics & capabilities, which is used to assess the potential of a startup. Note that equal attention is paid to organizational development (people) and market development issues, as well as the sexier topics of finance and technology engineering. Nice to see a balanced presentation that involves more than just a discussion of cash and bits. Only downside is due to the '91 print date, there is no recent commentary on the rash of internet ventures starting around '95 to present day. However, it's still the best book i have read to date on the hi-tech venture. Highly recommended.

This is a great book for understanding what to do at each stage of a new business. The discussion on "when the CEO gets fired" may be unnerving but its a milestone that often shocks a fledgling organization. Its blunt, down-to-earth style is a good tonic for startups suffering from too much hype and reality distortion. Whether the "several hundred billion dollar computer industry is largely intelligent by 1990 standards" - its prediction for 1999 - is questionable. Its workstation examples may be a bit dated, but the lessons to be learned are fundamental for anyone wanting to run a venture-funded business.