Comments on: Victory From Adversity

By: Paul Marshall (@ceomarshall)

Paul Marshall (@ceomarshall) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:29:33 +0000

This example is not completely uncommon so don’t think of it as a one off. The technology we sell was originally developed by a commercial customer who identified a need and built it in house. They were smart enough to realize that it had broader application but they were not the right ones to commercialize the product as it was not core business, hence our humble beginnings.

The $1 thing is pure magic though….can’t vouch for that being repeatable!

~Paul

By: Mike Diliberto

Mike Diliberto — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 06:12:00 +0000

Steve,

As always, great story around a very valid, yet often overlooked aspect of customer development.

I am in full agreement with Nancy’s comment above. I have seen many entrepreneurs become upset or dejected upon learning that someone has done what SG did: see enough value in a solution that they are willing to put effort into building it.

I’ve been equally guilty of this same attitude in my earlier days; I think somewhere in business school we get imbued with the idea that “first mover advantage” is necessary and sufficient for success. It certainly bears repeating that there’s no use in being a first mover if there is no market for your product.

By: Joe DiNucci

Joe DiNucci — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:43:21 +0000

Thanks for the great memories, Steve. Mark Cramer’s comment above reminds me of why I took that meeting in 1997. My admin (remember them?!) had worked with you at Convergent or somewhere, and you asked her to ask me to meet. Lesson 1: Maintain your network! AND since I ended up as a VP at EPNY with several splendid outcomes (experience, money and invaluable friends), I’m really glad I did meet with you. Lesson 2: When someone asks you a favor, do it.

And I have helped more than a few early stagers grok and execute your Customer Development Sell-Design-Build mantra.

Great story, and thanks for including me.

PS: This was no stunt.

By: Nancy

Nancy — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 01:12:15 +0000

What a great story. First-time entrepreneurs often feel a bit defeated when they find out that someone has already executed their idea. However, E.piphany used this to their advantage which should be a lesson learned for all entrepreneurs out there who are tempted to give up when they find out someone else has beaten them to the punch. Most markets can accommodate more than one player so entrepreneurs should focus on ways to differentiate above their competition in a way that creates additional value for their customers. What an excellent story. Thanks for sharing!

By: Mark Cramer

Mark Cramer — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:47:32 +0000

Thank you for sharing this. There are a lot of “take-away”s, but here are two that I like:

1) Getting a potential customer to spend the time to actually run through what it is that they need is invaluable. And very difficult to do. That Joe DiNucci would spend the time and effort to “brainstorm” is amazing. Entrepreneurs need to seek out these opportunities whenever and wherever they can.

2) It’s important to listen. Entrepreneurs most always have an idea of what it is they want to sell, but what they often need to be doing is listing to what it is that people actually want to buy. (See point #1)

I look forward to reading more stories like this.

By: DK

DK — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 09:15:34 +0000

Ah, the halcyon days of The Great Internet Bubble!

Seems to me these kinds of feats are feasible to pull off only when large companies grow stagnant, while new industries are created without them.

Hard to imagine anyone pulling this sort of stunt on Google or Cisco

By: Nivi

Nivi — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 05:30:50 +0000

Reminds me of this awesome quote from Sumner Redstone from http://bit.ly/26rukA:

“Success is not built on success. It’s built on failure. It’s built on frustration. Sometimes it’s built on catastrophe.”

By: Chris Ryland

Chris Ryland — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:12:55 +0000

You remind me of an old friend who had absolutely ZERO lack of self-confidence and absolutely ZERO human respect, with these shenanigans.

(In his case, as a fresh-faced new Merrill-Lynch stockbroker, right out of college, he walked up to Delorean after a failed pitch to a large group at Merrill for his car start-up, and asked if he could take over Delorean’s personal stock account; he did get some business out of it.

Great story!

By: Jerry Ji

Jerry Ji — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:42:35 +0000

Dear Professor Blank,

What magic spell did you use to make SGI license their code for just a dollar (after poaching one of their key employees)?

By: Mark Essel

Mark Essel — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:44:55 +0000

Epic turn around Steve. I feel a confidence boost when I see other businesses working on related ideas. I haven’t thought to recruit from those companies!

How’d you work out the dollar licensing fee, reality distortion field?

You forgot one lesson: making solid friendships that go beyond business deals- Bill Davidow was the lock for sealing that epic deal.