Definitely, one cannot argue with success. Prominent academics, venture capitalist, executives and entrepreneurs led by Dado Banatao were invited as guest speakers. These guys have lived and thrived in Silicon Valley. Their repetitive success are attributed to their competence, passion and confidence.
So far, it was the most valuable seminar I have attended. I summarize the main learning in the following.
1. Venture Capital. I have encountered this kind of funding in my MBA school days and have met these people at SODEC and CommunicAsia. However, I have limited understanding on how this type of financing works. I was more familiar with conventional funding by securing bank loans but never through a VC. When engaging with a VC, one must know the following about the VC:
- Is there synergy?(smooth relationship is a key success factor since the VC can intervene with business operation)
- What is his appetite? (e.g. minimum investment of $2M, maximum 40% equity)
- What is his primary interest? (e.g. software, engineering, biotech etc.)
- What can the VC bring to the organization (e.g. marketing expertise, distribution etc.)
2. Elevator Pitch. Anybody with experience in Sales will tell you that the ability to communicate information about your product in a short span of time is very important. You could have a brilliant idea but could blow a deal because of a clumsy presentation. When delivering a pitch, one must be aware of the following
- Define a problem
- Confidence is key
- Crunch the numbers ( how much do you want? how big is the market?)
- 666 (6 slides per topic, 6 lines per slide, 6 words per line)
- Be interactive. Never read from the slide.
- Check your spelling, it indicates your level of competence.
3. Vision. Dado Banatao was very impressive. Finally, I met a mentor who talks about strategic planning and product marketing with authority. He went through the management semantics interactively that kept his audience attentive. We had a glimpse of his management style, passion and focus. Dado is in the same league as Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. It is very disappointing that the average Filipino does not even know him. The Filipino should celebrate Dado Banatao's success with equal vigor as Manny Pacquiao.
The event concluded with elevator pitches from seminar participants to a panel of mentors including Dado. New ideas range from semiconductor innovations (thin film), BPO innovation (video monitoring), Mobile Phone Apps and AI. I had no high expectations on the presentations but they turned out fine.
I hope the TechBootCamp would be an annual event. I would encourage wannabe Technopreneurs to attend.
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