ypically,high-techstart-upsfollowaseriesofcommonsteps.Someexam-plesoftheexperiencesofhigh-techcompa-niesI’vewatched—allofthemstartedbyphysicists—willhelpillustratehowtonegoti-atethesometimes-torturouspathfromcon-cepttosuccess.1.Gatheryourteamaroundtheidea.Experienceisinvaluabletothemanagementteamofastart-upcompany.Withsomanydailydecisionstomake,youneedpeoplewhoarefamiliarwithyourmarket,yourtech-nology,andtheinternaloperationsofacom-panyliketheoneyou’restarting.Mostlikely,youareatechnologistwithanideathatiskeytoanewhigh-techcompany.Butyourcompanywillalsoneedskillssuchasproductdevelopment,marketing,sales,manufacturing,andfinance.Ifnoneofyourfoundinggrouppossessestheseskills,youneedtorecruitpeoplewiththerequisitebackgroundstofillouttheteam.Yourfund-ingsourcemaybeabletohelpyoufindthetalentedindividualsyouneed.2.Doyourmarketresearch.Startingyourcompanywilltakealotoftime,effort,andmoney—yoursandthatofothers.Sobeforeyougettoofar:Getintothemarketplace,talktopotentialcustomers,andmakesuretheywanttobuyyourproduct.Itwouldbeashametowastemoneyandtalentonanonexistentmarket.Thismayseemanobviouspoint,buymanyentrepreneursoverlookit.Inadditiontoconfirmingthebasicneedforyourproduct,youshouldseektoconfirmyourall-importantcompetitiveadvantageduringthisresearchphase.Acompetitiveadvantageisthereasoncustomersfeelcompelledtobuyyourproductratherthancompetingalternatives.Anothermustduringmarketresearchisrefiningyourdefinitionoftheproduct.Whatlevelofperformanceisneeded?Howshouldtheproductbepackaged?Whatdegreeofcomplexitydocustomerswant?Forinstance,anopticalspectrometercouldbeofferedasasimplemonochrometer,orasaninstrumentthatdisplaysaspectrum,orasasophisticat-edanalyticalsystemthatidentifiesmolecularspecies.Whatdoesyoursdo?Youcanlearnmanyotherthingsfrompotentialcustomers.Theywilldescribevari-ousapplications,someofwhichmayrequireadditionalproductdesigntosatisfy.Theycanhelpyouscopethesizeofthepotentialmarket.Theywillhavelotsofinformationaboutcompetitors—informationthatishardorimpossibletogetotherwise.Perhapsthemostvaluableinformationyoucansecureishowcustomersperceivethevalueofyourproduct;thatis,howmuchyoucancharge.Bestofall,thepeopleyouvisitwillusuallybecomeyourfirstcustomers.Afterall,theywereinvolvedindefiningtheproduct.Aculight,alasermanufacturerinSeattle,providesagoodexampleofsuccessfulmar-ketresearch.Thescientistsrunningthecom-panycarefullytargetedpotentialcustomerstoconsultbeforelaunchingtheirfirst,andthensecond,product.Withthatapproach,theyhadnosurprisesbringingtheirproductstomarketandwereabletofindtheirimportantfirstcus-tomerseachtimewithoutdifficulty.3.Writeyourbusinessplanandsecureseedfunding.Therearealwaysexpensesassociatedwiththeinitialphasesofacom-pany.Evenifthefoundersdrawnosalaryatfirst(whichiscommon),therewillbetravelexpenses,servicefeesforattorneysorotheroutsiders,andproductdevelopmentpurchasessuchaspartsandequipment.Soyouwillneedaninitialinjectionoffunds,typically$50,000to$500,000,togetyouthroughthefirstsixmonthsorsoYoucometoappreciatethevalueofabusinessplanwhenyoustartanewcompa-ny,becauseplansareaprimarytoolforsecuringfunding.Whenmakingyourfirstcontactwithafundingsource,youcanbettheinvestorwillaskforaplantoread(seeBusinessPlanOutlineatleft)beforetakingtheconversationtothenextstep.Howmuchdetailshouldyourplaninclude?Youwanttoputacompletestoryinfrontofpotentialinvestors,butwithou...
