translating research into a multi billion dollar global company - sherwn greenblatt

Creating Your Future: Bose Corporation - An Entrepreneurial Saga

NORCAT2013

© MIT Venture Mentoring Service 2013

Reason for Having a Company

To use technology and creativity to develop products and/or services that provide real and demonstrable benefits to people.

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Founding Principles

Hire Good PeopleGive Them Freedom to GrowPlay for the Long Run

Always Strive for Excellence

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Operating Corollaries

Remain Privately HeldGrow ContinuouslyFinance the Company Internally Through Profits

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StrategyProducts that have great performance and benefits for their priceProducts that are uniquely suited to their application (lifestyle, wave, NR headsets, etc.)Strong protection of intellectual property rights through the use of patents and trademarks

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Questions for You to Think About

What’s the purpose of your venture? What do you want from your venture? What are your founding principles?

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Fostering Innovation: Bridging Academia and Industry at MIT

NORCAT2013

© MIT Venture Mentoring Service 2013

MIT Entrepreneurial ActivitiesStudent Academic Commercialization Alumni

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External

MIT VMS History

• Founded in 2000 by Alec Dingee and Dave Staelin

• Initially funded by founders• Model validated in first year• Steady growth and improvement

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Premise

What do you do when you have an idea and are passionate about pursuing it?

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Model

• Learning to be an entrepreneur is like learning a profession

• Learn principles in class – doesn’t make an entrepreneur

• Practice in competitions – doesn’t make an entrepreneur

• Analogous to learning to play a full contact sport – learn by doing

• VMS provides the coaches

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Approach• Build a process to develop entrepreneurs• Utilize experienced volunteer mentors – they

have been there• Set strict guidelines for mentors – unbiased

advice• Coach – give guidance, not direction• Mentor in teams• Learn by doing – entrepreneur does the work

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Organization

• Reports to the Provost - Chief Educational Officer of MIT

• Governed by Board of MIT Leaders - Deans and Vice Presidents

• Small Paid Staff - Administrators and Mentors - 24/7 Service

• Many Volunteer Mentors to Lead and Contribute

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Requirements to Participate

• Be a member of the MIT community• Have an idea• Be passionate about commercializing the idea• Be committed to spending the time and effort

to build a successful venture• Idea must not violate the laws of physics or

the laws or ethics of the USA

The Ventures• 310 ventures currently engaged in program– 203 active ventures– 24 low activity– 83 graduates

• Various stages of funding • Every field imaginable

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Criteria for Mentor Selection

• Has Relevant Experience• Motivated to Volunteer• Has the Time to Participate• Not Motivated for Personal Gain• Personality Appropriate to Advise• Role Model for Mentees

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The Mentors• 181 Mentors

- 169 Active- 12 on call Specialists

- 45% with an MIT background• Most with startup experience• Broad range of:

– backgrounds– technical and industry expertise– business expertise

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MIT VMS Metrics• Founded in 2000• History: > 2500 entrepreneurs/>1400 ventures

served• Scale: ~200 ventures currently working towards

launch• Impact: > $1.3 billion raised by ventures• Results: 172 ventures launched• Success: 26 ventures/ > $1 billion in liquidity

events• Sustainability: Mentor base growing by referrals

~170 active mentors• Value: Entrepreneurs keep enrolling ~20/month

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Outreach

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Assistance for Prospective Venture Mentoring Programs Now Available from VMS. Types of assistance ranges from:

MIT VMS Outreach

• Workshops at MIT• Workshops at client’s site• Immersion of client’s team at MIT• A VMS team participating temporarily in

client’s mentoring program• Consulting to client on specific issues• Significantly reducing client’s start-up time

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Programs Based on the MIT VMS Model

KindleMentoringProgram

British ColumbiaInnovation Council(Canada)

EntrepreneurialMentoringProgram (North Carolina)

École polytechniquefédérale de Lausanne(Switzerland)

FloridaInternationalUniversity

Harvard Innovation Lab(Cambridge)

The Hub of HumanInnovation (Texas)

Grupo Guayácan (Puerto Rico)

Council for Entrepreneurial. Development(North Carolina)

Consortium of 6 Universities(St. Louis, Missouri)

Inkef Capital (Netherlands)

Barcelona Activa(Spain)

Broad Institute(Cambridge)

Chicago Innovation Mentors (CIM)

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Programs Based on the MIT VMS Model

NYC Economic Development Consortium

University of Wisconsin MadisonUniversidad Anáhuac (Mexico)

(Western Massachusetts)

HSE Mentoring Program(Boston)

LaunchPad

YEI Mentoring Program(Newhaven, CT)

University of Manitoba (Canada)

MaRS Discovery Toronto (Canada)

University of Wisconsin

MIT Club of Northern California

Jumpstart (Ohio)

Columbia

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THANK YOU!

Sherwin Greenblattvms@mit.edu

web.mit.edu/vms

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