Startups require a mind-set from their CEO that is very different from that appropriate to larger, more established companies. It’s hard to fathom now, but back in 1994 the future of internet e-mail was still in doubt. At the time Jeffrey Morrison, now CEO of Stage One Partners in Los Gatos, piloted a startup e-mail firm called Siren Software.
Being great at something last year doesn’t count for much next year. But you don’t have to reinvent the wheel: you can build the future on your core competency. Todd Mozer and his team at Sensory, Inc. show us how.
CEOs are visionary, so we see visions. Sometimes our enthusiasm and forward thinking makes those visions diverge from what is possible within time and budget restraints. Tom Oliver, CEO of CoolSystems, found a path between hard choices.
Rob Wrubel, Co-CEO & Co-Founder of Yoga Works, is a serial entrepreneur with a golden touch who discovered a great secret. There’s money to be made introducing “early adopter” concepts to the masses.
Where there’s pain, there’s opportunity. Tom Engdahl, CEO of Work Force Logic, identified the pain points and found a way to make life easier. If your service or product makes your customer’s life easier, you’ve got an edge.
Robert Sher is founding principal of CEO to CEO, a consulting firm of former chief executives that improves the leadership infrastructure of midsized companies seeking to accelerate their performance. He was chief executive of Bentley Publishing Group from 1984 to 2006 and steered the firm to become a leading player in its industry (decorative art publishing).