Technology Entrepreneurship, Intro & Assignment #1

Recently, I’ve embarked on one of those free, online courses that are so popular these days.  I’ve enrolled in many in the past, yet have never found the time or the desire to fully commit myself to the 5-10 hours required per week to complete a course that for all intents and purposes, has no value.  Or so I thought.

However, I’ve decided to spend the next 3 months working on this project, which will dive into what it takes to start a high tech start-up.  There are many “classroom” type learning exercises, where you get into very granular “how-to” lectures on starting a business, which is great.  But the real power is the ability to use this information by networking with other classmates around the world, and regionally, to work on a project with the ultimate goal in mind to start a business.  I will be keeping a log of this activity here on this blog.  For the first assignment, we were asked to profile a local start-up, and understand its successes, and specifically outline the 5 reasons it has found success in the market.  Below is a copy of the first assignment, profiling a local start-up, called NextDocs:

NextDocs (http://www.nextdocs.com/) provides enterprise content management software for highly regulated life sciences and biotech companies.  They cater to a wide market segment, including small, emerging biotech organizations to global pharmaceutical companies, clinical research firms and medical device manufacturers.  NextDocs allows these companies to manage critical documents for clinic, quality, regulatory, and compliance purposes.  They call 5 of the top 10 pharmaceutical customers, including Abbott Laboratories, AstraZeneca, and Baush & Lomb, to name a few.  NextDocs’ success can be measured through their tremendous growth: 0-140 employees and $15 million in revenue in 5 years, without any initial capital investment; 100% year-over-year growth, by way of an international customer base throughout Europe, as well as Asia, where they just opened up a second office.  They were the fastest growing company in Philadelphia in 2012, and the 9th fastest growing software company in the US in 2011.  From secondary research, and a recorded interview of founder and CEO, Zikria Syed, available through Philly Startup Leaders (http://phillystartupleaders.org/), these are the 5 reasons for their success:

  1. Focus on Value Proposition – They have a clear vision for what brings value to their customers.  By focusing on their business model and what differentiates their technology from others’ in the market, they’ve grown an organization that delivers a solution that meets the requirements demanded by this highly regulated industry.
  2. Expertise – NextDocs has brought together a best-in-class team to execute on their value proposition, through software development, product management, business development, and clinical knowledge.  It is evident that early on in the company’s founding, certain key personnel did not fit well in the organization, and thus resulted in negative implications for the company.  This is now a key area where the firm’s leadership focuses on today, and has parlayed into a positive, core attribute of the company.  Key personnel include:
    1. Zikria Syed, CEO – Former CEO of Broadpeak, which produced clinical trial management software, acquired by DataLabs.  Also held senior technical management positions at Microsoft and Siemens.
    2. Matt Waltz, Chief Strategy Officer – Directed product management and services at DataLabs before coming to NextDocs.
    3. Ephraim Peak, VP Global Alliances – Leads channel relationships with system integrators, including Accenture, IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle, as well as their OEM relationships.
  3. Customer Needs/Product Alignment – It seems they have a relentless focus on the customer.  They have an Enterprise Programs team that works with key clients for alpha/beta testing programs.  Furthermore, product management leverages what they call a Customer Advisory Board.  This is a group of power users that meets frequently to provide input to the product management team and allows for the NextDocs product roadmap to be directly influenced by the people using the technology everyday.
  4. Partner Relationships – They have a strategic partnership with Microsoft in a variety of ways.  The NextDocs platform leverages MS Azure for cloud deployments and Server R2 for on-premise deployments, allowing for a flexible delivery model for its customers.  The software has deep integration with Microsoft Office productivity tools, as well as SharePoint, which due to a familiar interface, allows for greater adoption by end-users, as well as high visibility throughout the industry.  They also have OEM relationships with HP and Intel.
  5. Market Need – Regulation drives innovation.  Because there is a need in the marketplace to keep documents secure, up-to-date, and in compliance with these regulations by organization such as the FDA, NextDocs is clearly aligned with its current and potential customers in this sector.

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