Silicon Valley is littered with the
carcasses of startups that had a promising technology, but
failed to transform it into a viable business. While
execution is always key, an all too common cause of
corporate death is the failure to transform a technology
into a business concept, and then make that concept a
reality.
- The bad news is that one entrepreneur after another
makes the same mistakes, and companies that avoid the
common errors are rare.
- The good news is that many of those errors are
avoidable.
- This event is for entrepreneurs who want to avoid
the mistakes of their predecessors.
This event is a presentation, not a panel, and
articulates a series of lessons entrepreneurs can learn from
the mistakes and successes of those who have gone before
them. In creating these lessons, the speaker, Dr. Richard
Caro, has synthesized 20 years of experience as a technology
entrepreneur, and a five year series of systematic
observations of the common failure modes of startups in a
range of fields (including life sciences, communications, &
nanotechnology) — sharing primarily the relative complexity
of the underlying technology.
Speaker:
Dr. Richard G. Caro
Dr. Richard G. Caro has over 20 years of experience at the
intersection of technology and business: as CEO of two
startups, CTO of a third, occasional angel investor, and
advisor to numerous new business ventures in fields such as
life sciences, communications, alternative energy, security,
and nanotechnology. He has been responsible for the
development of a number of successful products and has 21
issued patents.
Richard is presently founder & CEO of
TangibleFuture, Inc.,
which provides hands-on guidance to entrepreneurs navigating
the path from idea to profitable business. Prior roles
include Managing Director at RHK, a provider of advisory
services to the communications industry; CEO (founder) of
Vital Insite, a venture-backed medical device start-up;
Engineering Program Manager at Coherent, then one of the two
largest laser manufacturers in the world; and V.P.
Technology Development (CTO & employee #5) of Summit
Technology, a pioneer in the laser refractive surgery
business. Before entering industry, he was a member of the
research staff at Stanford University. Richard received a
B.Sc. (Hons) degree from Melbourne University, Australia,
and a D.Phil. in experimental physics from Oxford University
— where he was a Rhodes Scholar.
|
|
Format & Schedule:
| 10.00 a.m. |
Coffee & registration. |
| 10.30 a.m. |
Presentation. |
| 11.15 a.m. |
Q&A—audience questions. |
| 12.00 noon |
Wrap up. |
Date & Time: Saturday, June
25th - 10.30am to 12 Noon (doors open - 10:00am)
| Event Venue: |
Arts & Science Bldg (804), Room 135,
Santa Clara University
500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara,
California 95053-1500
Directions |
Campus Map
Free Parking - parking permits are not required on
Saturdays. |
|
