Successful Business Models in Information Technology

Course Description

Lectures

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   Lecture 1 - Perspective on IT Market

   Judy Estrin, co-founder of several technology companies, introduces her talk about her perspective of the IT market and lessons learned as an entrepreneur.

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   Lecture 2 - Think in Terms of Cycles

   Estring talks about how it is important for entrepreneurs to think in terms of cycles. There are many different kinds of cycles, such as economic and technology cycles, she notes. Silicon Valley, in the last decade, seems to have forgotten about cycles. We began to believe that everything was up, and nothing would come down, she adds.

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   Lecture 3 - Technology Cycles Start with a Breakthrough Innovation

   Estrin declares that technology cycles have to start with a break-through innovation, something significantly disruptive. When it happens we don't know it is a break-through technology, she notes. In time, however, applications are built around this technology, she adds.

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   Lecture 4 - Three Cycles in IT Network

   Estrin talks about the three cycles in IT networks:
   
   1) Enterprise productivity cycle
   
   2) Connecting people
   
   3) Connecting devices.

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   Lecture 5 - Three Cycles in IT Network: Enterprise Productivity, Connecting People, Connective Devices

   Estrin talks about the three parts of the IT cycle, particulary the enterprise productivity cycle. Enterprises have changed the way they did business. They use the internet to communicate with others, bringing IT to small and medium businesses. Enabling technologies have fueled this cycle, which is in its maturation phase, where IT is in minimal demand and there is over capacity.

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   Lecture 6 - The Internet is not a Business

   Enterprises use the internet to connect with partners and customers in new ways, says Estrin. This differs from the bubble part of the dotcom in that the bubble was driven by people who thought the internet was a business, she notes.

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   Lecture 7 - Collaborate with Dominant Vendors

   Estrin talks about how dominant vendors are vendors that are so strong in their market that it is hard for a start up to work around them. It is great to partner with them and very hard to go up against them, she adds.

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   Lecture 8 - Personal Connectivity Cycle

   Estrin talks about the personal connectivity cycle. The cycle of connecting people is the notion of people being able to connect to each other and connect to information anywhere. This means true mobility and ubiquitous, high bandwidth connectivity, she says. The enablers of this cycle are economic and behavioral. From an IT demand perspective, she explains, the real win is in the consumer devices and services and not in the IT infrastructure. Related issues are business models (walled garden, AOL vs. seamless systems, Internet), affordable broadband to the home, and making technology easier to use. The consumer market is not an easy market for a startup to begin with and to innovate in, she notes.

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   Lecture 9 - Connecting Embedded Devices Cycle

   Estrin talks about how the last cycle is about connecting embedded devices, as opposed to connecting computers. The real win in this is when we can build a completely new architecture for networks that are self-configuring, she says. Interesting work in academia is targeting this area. She talks about technology enablers in this cycle and the focus on low power, and not performance.

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    Lecture 10 - How to Survive in a Downturn Economy

    Estrin talks about the key things that entrepreneurs can do to adapt to the climate today:
    
    1) Adjust business model and expenses
    
    2) Ask yourself, can I afford to run this business at critical mass?
    
    3) Look for areas of incremental growth
    
    4) Lead with tight execution skills and flexibility

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    Lecture 11 - The Role of the Startup is to Create a New Market

    Innovation will drive the next cycle, says Estrin. Startups don't succeed in validated markets; the role of startups is to create a new market, she says. As an entrepreneur, you have be able to take that risk in an unvalidated market, she adds.

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    Lecture 12 - History of Packet Design: Importance of Adapting

    Estin talks about the history of Packet Design and how it adapted to the downturn in the economy. Packet Design started in 2000 as a technology company with the idea of bringing researchers and developers together under the notion that they would work on 5-6 projects and either spin out or license technologies. This model was successful for 3 years, but after that more money was needed as there was no licensing business.

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    Lecture 13 - The Role of Luck in Startups

    Start ups are difficult and risky, says Estrin. Lots of combined skills are necessary. Attention to details, hard work and a lot of luck play an important role in the success of a company, she says. The environment is risk averse today--customers, funders and employees. Start ups have to be creative and find alternative funding, she adds.

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    Lecture 14 - Reaching Critical Mass in Tough Times

    Estrin explains how it is difficult to reach critical mass in a tough economic environment, which prevents startups from growing enough to compete. She gives a personal example of Precept attempting to enter the market, but not reaching critical mass by the time Microsoft entered the market as well.

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    Lecture 15 - It's a Long Haul to Liquidity

    The consumer market is not a very friendly market for startups, says Estrin. It can be a 5-7 year deal and not a 2-year cycle. It is a long haul to liquidity, she notes, but the good news is that rent is cheaper. It is important to build a strong foundation a brick at a time.

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    Lecture 16 - It's Not Just About the Money

    Estrin emphasizes the reality of entrepreneurship sometimes being about money. But she rebukes that entrepreneurship can never be JUST about the money.

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    Lecture 17 - Confidence vs. Arrogance

    There is a fine line between confidence and arrogance, says Estrin. You have to have confidence in order to take risks, she notes. After successes, it is important to make sure the confidence does not change to arrogance. Arrogance indicates that you are not listening to customers, employees and the market. Beware the fine line, she warns.

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    Lecture 18 - Marketing and Learning from Customers

    Estrin explains how it is important not to confuse marketing with reality. Know when you are marketing and know what the real thing is, she says. Make sure you listen to real customer input, she cautions.

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    Lecture 19 - A Good Leader Must be Flexible

    Estrin emphasizes that a good leader and entrepreneur should have flexibility--flexibility in dealing with people and navigating through changes in plans. Estrin thinks that this is a hard time and environment for startups, but that should not prevent people from being entrepreneurs. Big companies must embrace entrepreneurial thinking.

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    Lecture 20 - Exit Strategies Now and Then

    Exit strategies are less clear than they use to be to 10 years ago, says Estrin. She talks about the cycles that exit strategies went through. IPO and acquisitions are both tough in today's market. People need to have patience and plan for time to liquidity, she adds.

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    Lecture 21 - Self-Configuring Architectures

    Estrin talks about how the hurdles for self-configuring architecture are a combination of new communication architecture, semi-conductor technology that can drive low power devices, new fuel sources, and from a software perspective, new communications architecture.

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    Lecture 22 - Consumer Markets are Difficult for Startups

    Estrin explains the reasons the consumer market is hard for startups is:
    
    1) The amount of marketing dollars to reach the consumer directly is larger than startups can afford
    
    2) It takes a lot of alliances to be successful and this is hard for a startup to do