Sherman McCorkle

What Do You Want to Know?

Ask Sherman

August / September 2009 By: Sherman McCorkle Volume 7 Number 4

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If you're a prospective or actual technology entrepreneur, you may have a question about what to do—and what not to do. Sherman McCorkle is president and CEO of Technology Ventures Corporation, which has been helping entrepreneurs for more than 15 years. He'll answer your questions in this space.

I was laid off from my company and the job prospects in my industry look bleak. For several years I have been toying with the idea of starting my own company. Is now a good to start an entrepreneurial enterprise?

Yes! And no. The current upheaval in the economy has created unprecedented opportunity for new entrepreneurs. Small changes to the socio-economic environment have always been fertile ground for startups able to take advantage of shifts in consumer attitudes and the recent dramatic shifts in the global economy have created even greater opportunities. New niches abound as economic worries force global corporate giants shrink their market footprint, millions of baby boomers begin to retire and billions of new Chinese consumers enter the consumer market. Coupled with the vast array of collaboration technologies, a highly mobile workforce and access to customers due to the widespread adoption of technology, it is easier than ever to form a company to take advantage of these changes.

But the fundamentals of a successful enterprise have not changed. Startups still require an effective risk-mitigation strategy, also known as a business plan, and access to capital. The world capital markets have tightened dramatically as has localized lending to would-be entrepreneurs. Gone are the days of back-of-the-napkin funding deals (if indeed those days ever existed). In today's environment the successful entrepreneurial fundraiser has a well-researched, clearly articulated business strategy that addresses the risks associated with this new and dynamic business environment. So the fundamentals have become more important than ever.

If you are the type of person who can create and execute a plan that takes into account all of the risks this new environment can present then this is a great time to start a company.

Can anyone be an entrepreneur?

There is an entire industry out there that would like you to believe that it is possible. The creation of entrepreneurs seems to have become an industry unto itself. A quick check of a large online bookseller shows that there are over 144,000 titles that deal with entrepreneurship. There are over 9 million web hits on the keywords "entrepreneur help" and hundreds of entrepreneurial seminars available. With all of this help you would think that anyone can become an entrepreneur. But just like a diet book cannot make you skinny, I don't believe a book on entrepreneurship makes an entrepreneur.

I think that most people have the capacity to learn the skills necessary to becoming a successful entrepreneur but many lack the opportunity or desire to become one. Books, lectures, and coursework can help teach the skills needed but the missing ingredient for most of us is the "why." Why would you undertake all of the effort needed to create a startup?

The "why" comes in many forms: economic need, personal ambition, technology interest. But for many of us those "whys" can be answered outside of starting a business. We meet these needs through our employment, our hobbies or our extracurricular activities.

Even when the "why" is present, most people never have the opportunity to launch their business. The timing is never right. Luck runs against them. Then the clock runs out.

So, no, I don't think that most people can be an entrepreneur. The real question is, "Are you most people?"

Do you Twitter?

Not in public.

Twitter, and the social media revolution that it represents is a very interesting shift in traditional relationship building. Some have postulated that our Rolodexes will be replaced by our FaceBook friends and our Twitter subscribers. While I still rely on my Rolodex and the phone for most of my interpersonal communication, social media do tend to give me a snapshot view of what others, many outside of my generation, are thinking, in a very convenient package.

My use of the new social media has been more passive than active. I don't maintain a personal Facebook or Twitter account but I like to review the activity on our company's accounts.

I will be the first to admit that social media can be a tremendous time consumer but if you use it judiciously to augment activities in which you are already engaged, there are some very effective tools. I have seen some impressive early market research conducted using Facebook and software like TweetDeck on the iPhone can provide a great augmentation to the RSS feeds I get from some of the news sites.

I am still getting comfortable with the new social media but I have already found that a small investment of my time in learning the technology has allowed me to benefit from a tool that wasn't even available three years ago. Now that is innovation!

Sherman McCorkle will answer your questions in this space. Send your questions through our contact page.